What fish should I avoid?

[SaltWaterN00b]

I'll be putting up a 55g this weekend (pics to come) and the wife wants Clown fish and I was told the following would be ok to put with them:

Pgymy Angels, Blennies, Gobies, Dottyback/Basslets, Cardindal fish, Fire Fish, Small Wrasse or Hogfish or a smaller tang like one of the Kole type tang or a small Yellow tang.

My question is are there any of the above species (specific Dottybacks, firefish etc...) I should stay away from or any that are not in that list that I should avoid as a n00b to salt water systems?

 

[nycitaliano9]

you got 3 weeks to a month to worry about what fish your going to put. lol buy biospera when you go to fishtown 3 day cycling

 

[marrone]

I never used biospera but it's probably just like cycle, which is a liquid that you place in that tank. Some times you need to put in additional to make it.

Nitrex on the other hand is a rubber type of media, similar to carbon, that you place in a filter bag and put inside a canister or hand on filter. You can add fish from day one and the Nitrex lasts for about 6 months. I've been using it for over 20 years and setup many tanks with it and never had any problems adding fish from day one.

As for fish none on the list will be a problem with the clowns, you just need to determine which ones you want to place in with them as there will be problems mixing certain fish together with others.

It's also very important to try and plan out what your tank is going to be like, fish, inverts & corals, so you can setup it up correctly.

 

[SaltWaterN00b]

For now the tank will be all fish, well for a LONG time it will be all fish

 

[marrone]

Still you need to plan out what fish your going to get. You just can't go out and get any fish as they mayn't work with what fish you have or what fish you may want to get.

Since you want Clown fish you need to look at what other fish you also want and then determine if your going to be able to mix them together or if they're to large or aggressive for your system.

Do some research on fish, from many of the on-line sites, and come up with a list. Then from there people can give you the pro's and con's of each fish and if it will work. You can then make a decision on what you want to do. Remember it's your tank so the decision should be yours.

 

[grknyer]

I have a clown fish in my tank that coexists with a purple firefish,brazilian gramma,green chromis, blue damsel,bangaii cardinal and soon a mystery wrasse and eventually a flame angel.

 

[masterswimmer]

In addition to the list of fish and information already given, it is very important to add the fish in the right order too. You can increase the likelihood of success with various fish just by introducing them to your tank in the proper order. Always add your least aggressive fish first, continuing on this pattern to the most aggressive of the tankmates last.

swimmer

 

[nycitaliano9]

SORRY MASTER BUT NOT ALWAYS TRUE MY FIRST FISH WAS A HUMA TRIGGER AND HE HAS BEEN IN MY TANK FOR 7 months never seen him snap at any fish only snaps at crabs and snails .MY FISH YELLOW TANG,T P CLOWN ,SALFIN TANG,DAMSELS AND THEY ALL GET ALONG. MAYBE IM LUCKY WITH MY TRIGGER LOL

 

[masterswimmer]

SORRY MASTER BUT NOT ALWAYS TRUE MY FIRST FISH WAS A HUMA TRIGGER AND HE HAS BEEN IN MY TANK FOR 7 months never seen him snap at any fish only snaps at crabs and snails .MY FISH YELLOW TANG,T P CLOWN ,SALFIN TANG,DAMSELS AND THEY ALL GET ALONG. MAYBE IM LUCKY WITH MY TRIGGER LOL

Sorry NYC, I'm not going to be the one to make a recommendation like that. You can do it. There are always exceptions to the rules. The generally accepted method for adding fish is to add the least aggressive first and the most aggressive last. If you want to do it differently that's up to you. The point here is to make good recommendations for someone to succeed. The way you did it, regardless of your success, is NOT the way to advise a fellow reefer.

BTW, no need to YELL.

:grouphug:

swimmer

 

[nycitaliano9]

master your right im stupid for even saying what i said i was lucky but your right.

 

[masterswimmer]

master your right im stupid for even saying what i said i was lucky but your right.

Hey man, not stupid. You were relating your experience. We just have to be careful not to tell those kinds of stories as if it's the right way to do it. :hug:

swimmer

 

[nycitaliano9]

I Just Forget I Get Lucky And Think Its The Right Way To Do Thing Lol Im Still Learning Thats Why We All Talk To The Master. Take Care Russ

 

[Tonyscoots84]

SORRY MASTER BUT NOT ALWAYS TRUE MY FIRST FISH WAS A HUMA TRIGGER AND HE HAS BEEN IN MY TANK FOR 7 months never seen him snap at any fish only snaps at crabs and snails .MY FISH YELLOW TANG,T P CLOWN ,SALFIN TANG,DAMSELS AND THEY ALL GET ALONG. MAYBE IM LUCKY WITH MY TRIGGER LOL

umm WTH are you talking about... please recc. good info as master said... master and many other members on here have been in this hobby much much longer then both of us combined... please dont think im flamming you just want the people on here to give good advice but 1st and most important give good advice if your gonna give any at all. i had the same problem on here in the beginning of my membership on this awesome site.... and 2nd no what your talking about before u try to teach someone something that generally does not work and as u said is luck...

theres 2 ways of doing things 1 is the right way and the other is the wrong way... although there are many ways of doing things there is a guideline that must be followed when adding fish because some get territorial and u want that to be diminished by adding the territorial last so they get used to entering a tank with its tankmates already in there who are less aggressive and not so territorial..

again im just trying to make sure the new people here should get the right advice they deserve im not bashing you NYC but lets do things the right way and give the right advice please.. what worked for you might not work for everyone.. ohhh and NO NEED TO YELL (especially at master) lmao :grouphug: :Up_to_som

 

[reefman]

i've learn there r exceptions to any sterotypes. (i.e. i had a friendly piranha and a killer guppy):shocked:
but would u chance a new guppy or piranha with your prized fishes?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

For now the tank will be all fish, well for a LONG time it will be all fish

:funnypost

Yeah you say that now but wait till she says " Honey can we get an anemone for the clown fish?" Then when you get to the LFS they tell you that anemone's are hard to keep but "they will host in corals" Trust me it's a very easy trap to fall into and you'll be just like us LOL.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

:funnypost

Yeah you say that now but wait till she says " Honey can we get an anemone for the clown fish?" Then when you get to the LFS they tell you that anemone's are hard to keep but "they will host in corals" Trust me it's a very easy trap to fall into and you'll be just like us LOL.

that trap sucks man.... lolz.. im so addicted its not even funny... ok everyone over mah house for a ARTA Meeting.. (Addicted to Reef Tanks annonymous) lmao...:Up_to_som

 

[masterswimmer]

ok everyone over mah house for a ARTA Meeting.. (Addicted to Reef Tanks annonymous) lmao...:Up_to_som

Tony, this is a public forum. How anonymous can it possibly be?

As Chief said, it's soooo easy to get lured into the reef thing. I'd say set everything up as if you were going reef and just do it with fish. It works that way. However, setting it up for fish only and wanting to go reef doesn't work nearly as easy. You'll wind up spending twice for some of the same things, unnecessarily.

swimmer

 

[marrone]

Actually it's better to not set it up as if you were going reef as if you decide to do so down the line there usually is a lot better equipment or a different method that is being done at the moment. People that decide to go reef usually change over their tank quite abite and you don't want to get stuck with equipment that isn't in your current plan. The money you're going to spend now could be better invested later on.

 

[masterswimmer]

In years gone by I'd say that was accurate Mike. I don't agree with that philosophy anymore. In the late 80's and early 90's people had very difficult times or even impossible results keeping sps and lots of lps.

The times have progressed to the point that most, not all corals can be kept sucessfully. The changes that will be made in the future I don't think will enable us to keep the coral we keep now any better.

It's not like the equipment we are using in this day and age is questionable. It has been proven successful, not like the systems from as recent as 15 years ago, when advancements made it possible to keep previously impossible species.

 

[marrone]

To send a lot of money on lights and thing right now, that you don't need, when you may go reef in 1 year, is just a waste of money. It's just that simple. When the time comes you can probably get those lights and other pieces of equipment for cheapier and your setup maybe completely different at that time and the equipment that you purchased won't fit your needs. Equipment changes everyday as new and better equipment keeps coming out. There is no reason to invest in equipment now, that you don't need, as when the time comes when you do need it, it will be old or better equipment will be out there.