I’m finally getting a fish tank :grin:. I should be able to get any tank 40 gallons of smaller that is already cycled through a reliable tank trade type network that is in my area. I understand that you have to be patient and take your time with this stuff and that it can take quite some time. I don’t want a tank with cephs or corals, maybe an anemone if I get clown fish, but that’s it apart from live rock. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share what type of fish that they keep in their tank so I can get some ideas on what to keep. I’m viewing this as a starter tank, and hope to graduate to cuttlefish in a different tank this summer; I just want to get my bearings.

Im also would like to hear any comments or suggestions.

P.S. on of my favorite salt water animals are blue ribbon eels, clowns, and frog fish

Hey man, you can always go with the old reliable damsels! But if you want to go crazy, I am a huge fan of puffers they're not that hard to keep and they're really fun. A word of warning though don't get a poisonous species and DON'T make them puff, it is a huge stress and causes early death.

You could definitely keep a clownfish, they are relatively easy. I would stay away from damsel fish as they are often aggressive (and hard to remove from the tank :roll:). I wouldn't recommend a frogfish until you have some experience, you would be really sad if it died. My former cuttlefish tank has a clownfish and a small blenny. I hardly ever see the blenny, but the clownfish pops out of the live rock any time I am near the tank. You could also get some type of cleaner shrimp, they are fun to watch.

Congratulations on your tank. Frogfish and Ribbon Eels are great, but yeah, not for a first sw fish. They are not unlike cephs in the way of feeding... typically hard to ween off of live foods. I have 2 frogfish right now, and while they do eat frozen/thawed items, my A. pictus is still hesitant to eat off the end of a stick after about two and a half months. My A. hispidus however eats like crazy. I've read several times that Ribbon Eels are among the hardest sw fish to keep, unless you can get them to eat dead foods. But yes, absolutely gorgeous creatures.

If you decide to go with an anemone, you're going to need to invest in some high-power lighting. T-5's or metal halides are a must. They require just as stable water conditions as a coral/reef tank though.

Gobies, Blennies, and Clowns are great "starter" fish.

Thanks for the replies, I think I probably agree tht keeping frogfish or ribbon eels is out of the question ...... at least for the moment

I think an anemone would be a bad idea for a first sw tank, since they sometimes sting other corals and fish and require strong lighting. You would be better off getting a hairy mushroom, a colt coral, or some other coral that the clownfish might host. Try to steer away from Maroon, or Tomato clownfish because they can get pretty aggressive.

i strongly advise against ever getting a blue ribbon eel, for the most part they do not do well in captivity and you may just end up killing the animal but you have other options ghost ribbin eel wich is a very hardy fish and is also very nice looking.. Keep in mind that black ribbin eels and blue ribbin eels are the same

HAVE FUN

My tanks usualy have alot of lion fish eels ect. nice agressive fish ;) for a small tank like 40 gal you could have some dwarf lions. the dwarf fuzzy is a good begginner fish

I'm not sure I would recommend a lion fish for a starter tank. For one thing, you want to learn how to clean the tank, and chances are, you will be sticking your hand in the tank every time you drop something into the tank by mistake. Also I wouldn't recommend mixing a clown fish and a lion fish since the clown will likely become lunch.

would it still be a problem if the clown had an anemone to hide in?

would it still be a problem if the clown had an anemone to hide in?

The clown won't always hide in the anemone (like when it is coming to the surface to feed). Lion fish are predatory fish, feeding on live food. A clown fish is just another type of food for the lion fish.

thank you,I was just wondering how affective the relationship between a clown and an anemone was.

maybe not but it would probably stress the clown out constantly being around a predator. I recommend you start with less aggressive fish and if you feel you really want a lion fish you can trade in your setup or start a new one for more aggressive things like lion fish and eels.

Fuzzy Dwarf Lions have a pretty good reputation for being relatively peaceful community fish. I kept one myself in my community tank and it never once harrassed my Neon Goby or tiny Yellow Clown Goby. Both could have easily been lunch. Then again, upon the introduction of the dwarf lion to the tank, my Rainfords Goby hid and never came out, and eventually starved. Zeke (the fuzzy dwarf)had tons of personality. Lost everyone to a $15 Coral Beauty I couldn't pass up... it brought Ich into the tank. QUARANTINE for fish new fish is a must. Definitely an advantage for ceph keeping.

If you do decided to add anything that has a potentially predatory nature, add it last. If all the other fish have established territories they will be less likely to be bullied around.

i was in the same boat a few months ago and i went with a sharpnose puffer. theyre hardy, ridiculously cute and very personable. i definitely reccommend'em!

would an eclipse twelve system be too small for a pair of clowns, some live rock, and an anemone

maybe not if you get smaller clowns like percula, but no tomato, clarkii or maroon clowns.

I have three salt aquariums, it can take a long time and a few failures to achieve a good balance with everything in your tank but once you get it its easy. Fish with personality rather than flash will hold your interest much longer. If it aint broke don't fix it.

would an eclipse twelve system be too small for a pair of clowns, some live rock, and an anemone

Most people recommend a larger tank for an anemone, but if that's all you have in there it would probably be fine, just make sure you have strong enough lighting for it. Stock lighting in an eclipse probably won't do it.

ok, ive been looking at nano cube aquariums, and I think one of them is what im looking for. I found an Aquapod 24 Gallon Aquarium Kit w/2 - 32W Power Compact and wondered if that would cut it for an anemone (http://www.aquariumguys.com/aquapod24.html), or what nano cube could I use? I dont want one of the ones with the separated light that is not in the hood if I can help it, and I will take either a 12 or 24 gallon aquarium, I just dont understand all this fancy schnacy "watt" stuff, and what watterage (or somethin :roll:) I will need

You really need T-5's or metal halides for an anemone. You might can find a T-5 retrofit kit for the hood.

thanks, but what does the watt part mean?

Well, one way to gauge it is "Watts per gallon". Ideally you should have 5 watts per gallon for SPS and anemones, 3 watts per gallon for less demanding corals.

Thanks AM for your help and being patient with me! I found this tank, it has some T5s and stuff, would it work?

http://wholesaleaquaticsupplies.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=3182

Looks good.

I know that there are many opinions on the best salts, but i wanted your guyses throw on it, Im looking for a cheapish, but good salt for an anemone and some clowns.

And whats the difference between a mated pair of clowns and just two single clowns? why are they so expensive? dont clowns change sex when there are two of them? so when you get two you will have a mated pair?

Sorry to keep bothering you guys with questions, and thanks for the help.

Yes clowns are hermaphroditic but they can be aggressive towards each other. The larger of the pair would be the female.

so I might as well get an unmated pair of clowns for half the price rather than a mated pair

huh...take my money will you!!! (fish people)

I know that there are many opinions on the best salts, but i wanted your guyses throw on it, Im looking for a cheapish, but good salt for an anemone and some clowns.
Try this thread... http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6913

Clown fish generally need to be put together BEFORE they acquire a sex. A troup in the wild will consist of a SINGLE large female, a SINGLE smaller male and three or four unsexed juveniles (all about 10% smaller as you go down the hierarchy). The juveniles will remain smaller than the male until the male dies or becomes female (because the female died). ONE of the juveniles (the largest) will then become the male and the male will grow larger fairly quickly. If you attempt to put an unmated pair in a tank you may end up with a pair of females and are not likely to have both for long. Two males are less of a problem as one should change if they accept each other. Juveniles are the best bet (especially with some of the more aggressive species) and will eventually change and accept each other with a greater likelyhood of becoming a mated pair. Note that once a clown becomes a female, she will NOT revert to a male. All that said, we lucked out when we went hunting for ours and were able to get six Clarkeys (not as pretty as some of the others but live well together) that likely were caught as a family. The female is quite obvious but the male and juveniles all look very similiar in size. One is often difficult to find (none of the others are) and we suspect that it is the male (females are very bossy).

As for your choice of anemone, a lot depends upon the type of clown you buy. There are anemones that most clowns will take to but the Clarkeys often don't host and the more agressive tomatoes will sometimes even host with a flower anmeone (there are no Caribbean anemones that naturally host fish as there are no native Clown fish in the Caribbean. However, some will host crabs). Be aware that a carpet anemone will kill even a clown and that a condy will not harm but may not host (our yellow striped maroon took up with our condy's but the condys kept trying to escape it).

As an asside, pygmy angles are similar but opposite, the largest is male and ALL the others are female. If the male dies, the largest female changes sex and chaperones the rest of the troup. Unfortunately, we only have one pygmy angle and have not been able to observe the behavior in a tank (and have no room to try ;>).