Quarantine tank

[Jmck]

All fish like to hide in rocks and corals.

Get a really nice big tank and you will have lots of big active swimming fish like tangs with your corals and the tank will look gorgeous.

Fish only tanks are hard because you dont get the added color and character of corals.

SPS Are large stony polyp corals that are known as hard corals. They include acropora, montipora and other corals with a hard skeleton.

you should spend the 3-4 weeks before adding a new fish checking your bioload (amm, nitrate, nitrite) and making sure it is all settled. Adding too much fish will cause a cycle and kill everything, tis why we say 1 a month. Make sure you add aggressive fish last though :)

Get corals imo, they arent that hard unless you get SPS corals, the soft corals and LPS are much easier to look after and require just good lighting with very little dosing.

 

[isa]

Thank you so much Josh!

I am glad that some corrals are not for experts only :). I will wait minimum a month before adding a new fish thanks for the info. I know I will not start before a couple of months and I know that I have to wait minimum 2 months to get the first cycle done but it is so exciting, I cant wait to put my cleaning crew in there :D!

 

[Jmck]

Your welcome Isa, Its nice to see people who ask lots of questions :) the biggest thing everyone says here is 'nothing good happens in a reef tank fast' Means, if you go to quick the tank is going to crash.

Zoas are one of the best looking easy corals to look after. Duncans and hammer corals are the next on the top of my list :) And disc corals

 

[Bifferwine]

I think that a lot of corals are easier to keep than fish. As Josh mentioned, zoas (zoanthids) are very easy, as are leathers and mushrooms.

 

[Jmck]

I didnt mention leathers and mushrooms because I find them boring :D hehe

 

[isa]

Thanks Josh and Sarah :)

I am taking note of everything you guys are saying, I did some research and since I want a 55gallon and since I want peaceful fish that will leave my inverts and corrals alone, I decided that maybe I would go with a couple of Damselfish :sfish:, I love the lemond one :D I hope I will be able to find one :). I have to start reading a lot of the inverts too, since they looks kind of complicated, it looks like they can hurt the fishes or the corrals. I cant wait to receive my 3 books I ordered :D

Ok I might sound very very stupid here but remember, I am a tortoise person so I know more about reptiles about anything else :D Is it possible that a fish lay eggs in the aquarium, so I will have more fishes? :ugh:

 

[Jmck]

Hahaha, isa, kind of funy, yo usay you want peaceful fish, then you say you want damsels :P they are some of the MOST territorial fish you can get :P

Good fish to start with are

Clownfish
Firefish - Purple and normal
Flame angel
Lawnmower blenny


There are more, but they are some of the nicest beginner fish.

Onto inverts, most inverts are fine. Some crabs and hermits can cause issues. But shrimps, snails, stars and urchins are all great for the tank. There are lots of reef safe and non reef safe, this forum and google are all your friends on these. But remember, inverts are very sensitive to changes in water condition.

And yes, fish can lay eggs, Clownfish are the most common breeders in tanks but they will all become food for your other fish when they hatch unless you get them out of the tank :P

 

[cms722]

+1 Jmck on the clowns. Lol I'm slightly biased. You hear horror stories about them but I personally love them and would never have a tank without one if I could help it.

 

[isa]

Opps lol, on the Lemond Damselfish, it says ''One of the more peaceful of the damsels'' I thought that was peaceful but they mean of the damsels and not of all the fish. That is sad, I was falling in love with the little one pic. What does territorial really mean? That the fish will attack the other fishes that goes near their favorite spots? What if he is the last one I add in the tank and there is only one, will he attack his neighbours?


Thanks for the specie for beginner, I will google them and check their description the forum species list.

Would you say that the inverts (exept a cleaning crew) would be too much for a beginner? I will have to be prepared and to know everything there is to know about the water of the aquarium. I would totally hate if they would die because of me :(

No way! They will lay eggs and the other fishes will eat the baby fishes :shock: You actually see the baby fish? Are fishes like in Finding Nemo and they really take care of the eggs?

 

[Jmck]

yea, you can get a damsel, but like you said, it has to be put in last. Even so, it will still at times try and beat up on s ome fish, but you reduce the risk by getting the most peaceful one and introducint him last

I think inverts are fine for beginners. Sea stars should not be introduced to a new tank because they need lots of food to live and they will die otherwise, but later they are easy to look after. And other inverts are fine for a beginner.

Mainly, if you can keep the water chemicals (ammonia, nitrates, nitrates, phosphates) all in control, and regular water changes, you can have any coral except sps and any invert and any fish that will suit your tank.

yep. the other fishies eat the babies. the clowns will take care of the eggs, dunno about the babies. But yes, they are little fish that get eaten. Poor things, I want mine to start laying because it will be free food, but they may actually survive and do well for all i know

 

[isa]

Thanks for all the info Josh! I will keep reading everything I can but now I have a better idea of where I should ''concentrate'' my reading :)

 

[Jmck]

Anytime :) Remember, if you get stuck, post it here, and someone will point you in the right direction

 

[Bifferwine]

Very few fish breed in captivity. I can count the ones I know of on one hand. The ones that do normally don't have any young that survive unless you have a special breeding set up.

 

[isa]

Very few fish breed in captivity. I can count the ones I know of on one hand. The ones that do normally don't have any young that survive unless you have a special breeding set up.

I am glad I will not find too much babies that will be the meal of other fish lol. I did not look at everything yet but I think every fishes that will be in my tank (max 5) will be the only one of his specie, I hope they will not interbreed :shock: Tortoises can do that when an owner keep different species in the same enclosure :nono:

 

[chuck78]

I Agree