Newbie here :)

WELCOME! There are many many very extremely superbly knowledgable people on here, and everyone will definitely steer you in the right direction for what you want to get out of your tank. Hope you enjoy it!
 
Hello and Welcome!

The one fish per 10 gallons is for small fish, so for example a clown fish is one fish, but an tang or trigger is multiple fish.

But most of the fish you can put in a 55 will all count as one fish.
 
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Thanks to the both of you for your warm welcome :)

So it means that I can have 5 small fishes in the acquarium if I want a 55gallon. Is there a simillar rule for live rocks, corals and invertebrates or does the number of rocks, invertebrates and corrals affects the rule of the small fish per 10 gallon?

I ordered 2 books about species of invertebrates and fishes (the ones that the forum here recommend :) ). Until I receive it, is there a good place where I can see plenty of infos about them :)

Once again, I am sorry about all the questions... There are just so many things to know and it is just so fascinating :)
 
There is no rule for LR, but many people would suggest at least 1 pound per gallon, but everything in this hobby is pretty much just make it how you want it to look. And sand, many people would suggest about 2 pounds per gallon, however I have a 75 gallon and I put 80 pounds of sand in, and love how it looks.
 
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We love the questions! So much better to ask them now, than ask us later why is my fish or coral dead.

And generally 1-2 lbs per gallon, if you have more porous rock you dont need as much. And you dont want too deep of sand bed, i would stay keep to two inches or less. I just dumped in sand till it looked good to me.

Also, there is no limit on corals or inverts. Space mostly dictates how much you can have, or it just means its time to upgrade to get more room! Do be aware that some corals need more room than others because they will sting their neighbors. But you will come across that when you do your research.
 
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Thanks slm32123 and Little_fish for your useful answers.

I am glad there are no limits of inverts :) They are all so fascinating, interesting and good looking... I did not know I needed sand in the aquarium.... Hmm I think I am gonna start study that too since I saw that it takes minimum 2 months for everything to be ready for new residents :).

There are plenty of interesting and useful infos in this forum, I am so glad I joined :).

Is it ok if I buy the fishes, inverts and corals in a pet store? I have tortoises I am a member of a tortoise forum and some poor tortoises receive very bad cares there. I have heard horrible stories... Is it the same thing for fishes? If I buy them there, can they be sick or something?
 
Bifferwine said:
You can buy your livestock from pet stores -- some stores are better than others. Be sure to pick out healthy looking fish. And if the tanks are overrun by pests, don't buy there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. What is the best way for me to know if the fish does not look healthy or when the tank is overrun by pests?

There is a place not too far from my place and they only sell fishes, I think I am going to go there. What is bothering me with this place is their oscar fishes have holes in them so it means their cares are not appropriate... But maybe their saltwater aquariums and species are fine. I will have to go take a look :)
 
Just if their fins are not in good shape, or they have white dots on them, seem kinda sluggish. Also ask the person to feed them, dont take no for an answer. Cant remember any of the other things.
 
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Big oscars are prone to Hole-in-head disease. It happens a lot. It is also possible that the fish was taken in from someone getting out of the hobby or moving or downsizing. There's no way to keep all fish 100% healthy, just like every other animal, even us people. Most stores will give you a free replacement within a certain amount of days is the fish dies. If you go through that couple times in a row and your tank is 100% ready then I'd switch stores.
:twocents:
 
Look for fish with bright eyes, not super skinny looking, the fins and scales dont have white dots or other odd looking stuff on them, and are swimming/acting normal. Also make sure that they eat in the store, never let them tell you that they just ate, a healthy fish will always eat.
 
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Thanks Waddi and little_fish, I will look for that and I will ask them to feed the fish in front of me to see if he eats. Should I ask that for an invert too?

Thanks for the info old 5k0ol, I will ask them if they have a store policy about their fishes and inverts.
 
No, for inverts i dont normally check for anything besides that they are alive ;)

And other than a few online stores, i have never seen or heard of a store that has a policy like that on their saltwater livestock.
 
Thanks for the info Little_fish. I will keep my fingers crossed that the aquarium near my place sells healthy fishes, corals and inverts :)
 
hahaha little fish, my LFS would hate you :S He has some really nice rockwork and yo uwould get him to tear that down!

But then again... so do I hehe
 
Well, i never actually get that fish. But i will decline to buy a fish if they were caught too easily. To me it signals a really sick fish if you can just scoop them out.
 
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little_fish said:
Well, i never actually get that fish. But i will decline to buy a fish if they were caught too easily. To me it signals a really sick fish if you can just scoop them out.
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I never thought of it that way. I'm going to have to use that rule of thumb when I'm looking at fish at my LFS. Thanks!
 
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