New to the hobby.

[mtkid6]

Big day today. I am going to be picking up the first fish for the tank. Made a double check before I left and water is good ( ph 8, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, ammonia 0, and 1.024). The plan is a bi colored blennie, clownfish( mostly cause its free), and an dwarf angelfish. I am not sure which angelfish so here are the choices, Halfback, Potters, Flame, and Coral Beauty. Does anyone have a recommendation?

 

[little_fish]

If you plan on keeping corals, i would stick with either the flame or the beauty, they seem to be your best chance at getting a non-coral eater. The only one i would stay away from is the Potters, they need a large tank to do well and often dont survive the shipping and moving around.

But remember, only one fish at a time and two or three weeks between fish, especially if this is your first fish.

 

[mtkid6]

Do you think it would be ok to get the blennie and the clownfish at the same time. Its a promotion at the lfs. Spend $50 and get a free clownfish?

 

[little_fish]

You can always try. I would get them and then just make sure you watch your parameters incase you have a mini cycle.

 

[Northstar24]

I would stay away from the Potters, they need a large tank with lots of cover. I think you'll be fine with adding the Blenny and the Clownfish at the same time, but I would make up extra water just in case a mini cycle gets kicked off by over-loading the current bacteria in the tank

 

[mtkid6]

Thanks! I've got some made up from a few days ago. How long would it be before I would see a cycle starting?

 

[Northstar24]

Hopefully you don't see a cycle after adding the fish, it's not normal. Keep water mixed up just in case though. I would personally test every day for 3 or 4 days after adding the fish to be safe

 

[mtkid6]

Here is one of my new guys. He seems to be pretty happy so far.


https://www.livingreefs.com/members/mtkid6-albums-37-tank-picture976-flip.jpg

 

[little_fish]

How cute! I hope you two have a long and happy life together!

 

[Bifferwine]

What an adorable little blenny!

 

[BL1]

New critter. Did not realize how long the sweepers can get.

https://www.livingreefs.com/members/mtkid6-albums-37-tank-picture964-galaxi.jpg

I had one of those in the middle of my 75 as my showpiece. The sweepers got so long that it was stinging corals that were on the edges of my tank. Needless to say it got removed from the tank.

 

[mtkid6]

He is so cool. I also got a tomato clown but she is tough to get a good picture of. I have been feeding frozen brine shrimp for the shrimp anything else I should add to the diet?

 

[BL1]

You should mix their diet up, I feed a little bit of everything. Krill, mysis, fortified brine, squid, rotifers

 

[Bifferwine]

You should mix their diet up, I feed a little bit of everything. Krill, mysis, fortified brine, squid, rotifers

Yep, a variety of frozen foods is good. Petco and Petsmart carry a lot of different types.

 

[little_fish]

Ya, dont rely too heavily on brine shrimp, it has very little nutritional value.

 

[mtkid6]

I will check out those other options. No hints of a mini cycle so far. Any other good care tips for those guys?

 

[little_fish]

Nope, just keep feeding good quality food and keep up on your water changes!

Glad to hear everything went smoothly!

 

[mtkid6]

do you have any good suggestions for the next fish?

 

[little_fish]

Yes, wait at least 3 weeks!

 

[mtkid6]

No plans to get a new one for a least that long. Just looking for ideas to do some research on.