Newbie to the reef world and fish

jimbo1989 · 06/14/2013, 11:46 AM

Hi all. I am new to the website community and just have a few questions hoping someone can help me with. I have a 30 gallon bow front with about 40 lbs of LR. This is not my first sw tank it is actually my 5thtank. The rest were all larger aggressive tanks , but this is my first time doing a reef tank. In the tank i have a pair of false perc clowns, a orange spot goby and purple firefish. I also have snails a conge and a blue legged soccer crab i do beleive its called. I use to have 3 yellow tailed damsels in there until they started to pick on my clown fish so i got rid of them and took them back to my lfs.

The firefish was out and about for the past two days and now all of the sudden he is hiding along with my orange spot goby.... There is tons of hiding spots for these two fish. Is this normal? Both very pretty fish and wish they would stay out more..

Also how often and how much should I feeding the fish ..? I mix it up with frozen mysis shrimp frozen blood worms and some flake.. I also tried the dainichi pellets but nothing really seems to like them and they just sink to the bottom

Any and all help would be helpful thanks

MrClam · 06/14/2013, 03:00 PM

Clowns can actually be somewhat aggressive, particularly when they mature and establish a territory. In that small of a tank they may be bullying the firefish (which is very timid) into hiding. I would watch for this behavior, and if that is the case you may have to take either the clowns or the firefish out.

As to feeding, it is a difficult topic. Something you will have to gain a feel for. I would suggest feeding once a day only as much as your fish can eat in a few minutes. Keep an eye for food settling on the bottom, which indicates you are overfeeding.

jimbo1989 · 06/14/2013, 08:30 PM

Will keep an eye out for the bullying and watch the feeding thanks for the advice

hollister · 06/14/2013, 09:19 PM

I would rotate flake and meat. I feed flake in the morning and meat in the evening. I would feed at least 2 times a day no more then they can eat in 2 minutes. Or 3 times a day no more then they can eat in 1 min. 2 times a day is good though.

So you just added this fish and they pick on others or you have had them and then one day they didnt get along?

jimbo1989 · 06/16/2013, 11:43 AM

I have had the fish for a little bit and everyone was fine now all the sudden the firefish and the orange goby hide constantly. i saw the firefish out for about 5 minutes last night and that was it. I will try the feeding twice a day thing also. The clowns have been in the tank for a month and the goby and firefish have been in for a week so idk.

06/14/2013, 11:46 AM	#1
jimbo1989 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: new jersey Posts: 27	Newbie to the reef world and fish Hi all. I am new to the website community and just have a few questions hoping someone can help me with. I have a 30 gallon bow front with about 40 lbs of LR. This is not my first sw tank it is actually my 5thtank. The rest were all larger aggressive tanks , but this is my first time doing a reef tank. In the tank i have a pair of false perc clowns, a orange spot goby and purple firefish. I also have snails a conge and a blue legged soccer crab i do beleive its called. I use to have 3 yellow tailed damsels in there until they started to pick on my clown fish so i got rid of them and took them back to my lfs. The firefish was out and about for the past two days and now all of the sudden he is hiding along with my orange spot goby.... There is tons of hiding spots for these two fish. Is this normal? Both very pretty fish and wish they would stay out more.. Also how often and how much should I feeding the fish ..? I mix it up with frozen mysis shrimp frozen blood worms and some flake.. I also tried the dainichi pellets but nothing really seems to like them and they just sink to the bottom Any and all help would be helpful thanks

06/14/2013, 03:00 PM	#2
MrClam Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 557	Clowns can actually be somewhat aggressive, particularly when they mature and establish a territory. In that small of a tank they may be bullying the firefish (which is very timid) into hiding. I would watch for this behavior, and if that is the case you may have to take either the clowns or the firefish out. As to feeding, it is a difficult topic. Something you will have to gain a feel for. I would suggest feeding once a day only as much as your fish can eat in a few minutes. Keep an eye for food settling on the bottom, which indicates you are overfeeding.

06/14/2013, 08:30 PM	#3
jimbo1989 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: new jersey Posts: 27	Will keep an eye out for the bullying and watch the feeding thanks for the advice

06/14/2013, 09:19 PM	#4
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	I would rotate flake and meat. I feed flake in the morning and meat in the evening. I would feed at least 2 times a day no more then they can eat in 2 minutes. Or 3 times a day no more then they can eat in 1 min. 2 times a day is good though. So you just added this fish and they pick on others or you have had them and then one day they didnt get along?

06/16/2013, 11:43 AM	#5
jimbo1989 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: new jersey Posts: 27	I have had the fish for a little bit and everyone was fine now all the sudden the firefish and the orange goby hide constantly. i saw the firefish out for about 5 minutes last night and that was it. I will try the feeding twice a day thing also. The clowns have been in the tank for a month and the goby and firefish have been in for a week so idk.