Fish questions - new tank

[clevan]

I recently added a sailfin tang to my new tank (I now know I should have added him last), and have questions when I can add a new fish. My son would love to add a clown fish, are they compatable and when can I add the fish? The tang has been in for 1 week and the levels have been fine. Any suggestions for other things to add like crabs, snails, etc that can liven up the tank (obviously I'm new to this).
Thanks for the help

 

[rbursek]

You will be fine, I read and read and read and did not follow all the rules, add a combination of cleaners as your tank matures, they need **** to eat add too many to soon they starve. If you add less aggressive fish later, against the rules, been there done that, turn off your lights before adding and leave them off for a day or two, lets the new one find his space and calms down the more aggressive one in the tank. IMO it worked for me.
Bob

 

[rbursek]

As a follow up, and I do not have one but from a X who wrked at my LFS told me most Clowns are very agresive, should be fine with the Tang, I have Sail fin one with a Purple, added at the same time thou, no prblems, I mean I do not have a clown.
Bob

 

[rbursek]

As a follow up, and I do not have one but from a X who wrked at my LFS told me most Clowns are very agresive, should be fine with the Tang, I have Sail fin one with a Purple, added at the same time thou, no prblems, I mean I do not have a clown.
Bob

 

[clevan]

Thanks for the tips, do you know the life expectancy of a tang and/or clown fish in the tank?

 

[IslandCrow]

I've heard of clownfish living over 10 years in an aquarium. As far as compatability, I've never owned a sailfin tang, but clownfish can usually hold their own pretty well. If you're worried, get a maroon clownfish. . .of course then, you may have to worry about the tang. . .just kidding, even maroons generally don't pick on anything more than twice their size.

 

[Mike612]

Sailfin tangs are very peaceful fish. They will only harass newly introduced fish if they are similar in shape and even then, it usually only lasts a couple of hours.

 

[Anonymous]

How big is your tank? If you don't have at least a 75 gallon, your tang will not last long.


Sailfin will live peacefully with a clown.

 

[Anonymous]

I see you have a 34 ga tank. GET THAT TANG OUT!!!!

Your tank is not big enough to hold a tang. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[mr_X]

yep....your tank is way too small for any kind of tang.
quick...go get a bigger tank!

 

[clevan]

I can't really go buy a bigger tank, what do you guys suggest? I guess the guy at the fish store got me but they don't take returns...do people buy or trade fish?
Thanks

 

[mr_X]

they will take it for store credit most likely. did you tell the guy what size tank you had? talk to the manager or owner and tell them the sales guy/girl gave you bad advice. if he's remotely decent, he'll trade you up.

 

[shavo]

alot of people sell tanks cheap on craigslist.

 

[Brian5000]

I second Mr. X. Even if it isn't their policy to take fish back, you got bad advice from them making this a special circumstance. The manager will probably give to store credit, but I'm sure you'll spend the money there anyways :wink: If he doesn't do it, he's even more of a jerk than guy that used to run my LFS.
_________________
Excalibur

 

[clevan]

Guys a jerk, although he said I could return the fish for no credit...what a great guy! Any advice on buying fish online?

 

[IslandCrow]

I'd suggest informing him that you'll be relating your experience and the name of his store on this forum. I've had that change more than one person's mind about taking a return. Now, if he didn't know how big your tank was, that may be another matter. A responsible owner would have asked, but that's more of the exception that the rule I'm afraid. Either way, he obviously doesn't care for the welfare of his fish, so I'd look for another LFS or like you said, someplace online. Liveaquaria.com seems to be one of the best online stores. I've used a couple others, but they've been the best, and everyone I've talked to has had similar experiences. I'd avoid Marine Depot Live. I got the distinct impression dealing with them that it's just a business to them, and they don't care about the welfare of their livestock, just making a sale. Not to mention 2 of the 3 fish I ordered were wrong, and when they sent me a replacement for one of them, it was still wrong. A month later, the matter was finally resolved to no one's satisfaction.

 

[web2000]

Hopefully you have more than LFS in your area. If the one you bought the sailfin from won't take it back for credit than maybe you can build a relationship with another one and they will give you credit for it. It's always nice to have a place near you to go in case of emergency anyway so find the closest place to you that is nice to deal with. Even if it's 15 or 20 miles away that might not be too far for you to go. I know I travel 30 minutes in California because there is a real standout place that far away.

Bill

 

[clevan]

Thanks guys for all the info. I'll try liveaquaria.com

 

[mr_X]

clevan..check out "in living color", and if you want to take a trip (i guess about an hour or so), check out "the hidden reef" in levittown. they are by far the best store in the area. not to mention that they are the biggest too, and have excellent prices on livestock, and IO is 29.95 for a 160 gallon bucket. Geeze...i should get a paycheck for that! :roll: