New Fish Tank... Help with start up fish

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 11:50 AM

I just purchase my first salt water fish tank it's a 60 gallon tank. I know I can't have fish yet , but what would you recommend me to start of with?

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 11:52 AM

what do you plan to keep? do you want corals or a fish only tank?

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 11:57 AM

I would like to do both , or just fish

Sugar Magnolia · 08/14/2013, 11:59 AM

I just posted in your other thread. You really don't need to post duplicate threads in different forums to get advice.

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 12:03 PM

If you want to have coral make sure the fish you are buying are reef safe. Here are some common fish:

Clown fish
Damsels (these guys grow up to be bullies)
Gobies
Chromis
Royal Gramma
Cardinals
Wrasse (Reef-safe!)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/a...plies.cfm?c=15

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 12:07 PM

Go It! Do you recommend me getting coral first then fish ?

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 12:12 PM

nope....some fish first then soft corals or zoanthids....after 6 months LPS and SPS (if your lighting and water parameters are good enough)

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 12:18 PM

Thanks .. So ill start of with something liek 1-2 clow fish. After I get the fish should I wait about a month before I get soft coral or zoanthids?

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 12:26 PM

you can start putting coral in right after your cycle but most people get a few fish first and there CUC (so there is something moving in the tank)...I started with fish in my qt but by got ich and died

. I ended up having coral in my tank before any fish.

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 12:33 PM

Dang sorry to hear. it's just something that can happened no matter how careful you are. How long have you've had your tank ? As far as. Clean up crew what would you recommend? Sorry for all the question

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 12:45 PM

Np...Ive had my tank up and running since Nov 2011.

Clean up crews are made up of snails and crabs mainly.

I would suggest nassarius, astraea, cerith, hermits, possibly turbo snail

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 12:53 PM

Nice.

So once my tank has complete it's cycle I should get a clean up crew as well as 1 or 2 fishes ?

MrTuskfish · 08/14/2013, 01:06 PM

Get a quarantine tank before any fish.

ghst1203reef · 08/14/2013, 01:47 PM

Sorry to ask another question in your thread but do you need a QT for your first fish? I haven't added any yet but was thinking I wouldn't need one for the first fish because nothing else is in the DT

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 01:51 PM

Based on what MRTURKFISH said, Yes a quarantine tank needed before adding any fish to tank.

ghst1203reef · 08/14/2013, 01:55 PM

I see he said that but I'm asking why would you need to I guess. Isn't the the main purpose of a QT to make sure the fish doesn't spread anything to anything else in your tank? If you don't have anything would you need one for the first fish?

MrTuskfish · 08/14/2013, 02:10 PM

If your 1st fish has a parasite, or other disease (ich is the most common); the whole tank has it. Then you have to treat the fish in your HT/QT while the DT stays fishless for 12 weeks or so. The life-cycle of parasites is complex and forms of the parasite can stay in a fishless tank for a long time. I'd read the stickies at the top of the disease forum; vital info for all of us. The last thing you want is a tough strain of a deadly parasite in your system. Parasites are easy to treat in a QT, very tough in a DT.

mcardenas · 08/14/2013, 02:19 PM

MRTUSKFISH...this is dumb question,but How do you know when the fish has parasite or other diseases.

nlgill13 · 08/14/2013, 02:32 PM

visual and behavioral observation is usually how you can tell if a fish is sick or not (but not always). If a fish is breathing hard and fast, if it is loosing scales or has something on them, fins are deteriorating, etc.

+1 check out the disease forum

Sk8r · 08/14/2013, 05:07 PM

It's not FISH that catch things from your first fish, it's your TANK. Many pests reproduce in the sandbed, and once your TANK is infected, you have to go fishless for 8-12 weeks.

MrTuskfish · 08/15/2013, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcardenas

MRTUSKFISH...this is dumb question,but How do you know when the fish has parasite or other diseases.

Reading some good books on the hobby. Read the stickies on our forum. Don't jump into this great hobby just armed with info from a LFS, or even our forum. I wouldn't add any fish until you've done some serious research. Far too many folks give up on SW tanks because they fail to learn first. As great as I think our forum is; you can't learn the hobby one question at a time.

08/14/2013, 11:50 AM	#1
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	New Fish Tank... Help with start up fish I just purchase my first salt water fish tank it's a 60 gallon tank. I know I can't have fish yet , but what would you recommend me to start of with?

08/14/2013, 11:59 AM	#4
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	I just posted in your other thread. You really don't need to post duplicate threads in different forums to get advice. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

08/14/2013, 01:06 PM	#13
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	Get a quarantine tank before any fish. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

08/14/2013, 01:47 PM	#14
ghst1203reef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 127	Sorry to ask another question in your thread but do you need a QT for your first fish? I haven't added any yet but was thinking I wouldn't need one for the first fish because nothing else is in the DT Last edited by ghst1203reef; 08/14/2013 at 01:53 PM.

08/14/2013, 02:10 PM	#17
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	If your 1st fish has a parasite, or other disease (ich is the most common); the whole tank has it. Then you have to treat the fish in your HT/QT while the DT stays fishless for 12 weeks or so. The life-cycle of parasites is complex and forms of the parasite can stay in a fishless tank for a long time. I'd read the stickies at the top of the disease forum; vital info for all of us. The last thing you want is a tough strain of a deadly parasite in your system. Parasites are easy to treat in a QT, very tough in a DT. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

08/14/2013, 11:52 AM	#2
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	what do you plan to keep? do you want corals or a fish only tank?

08/14/2013, 11:57 AM	#3
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	I would like to do both , or just fish

08/14/2013, 12:03 PM	#5
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	If you want to have coral make sure the fish you are buying are reef safe. Here are some common fish: Clown fish Damsels (these guys grow up to be bullies) Gobies Chromis Royal Gramma Cardinals Wrasse (Reef-safe!) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/a...plies.cfm?c=15

08/14/2013, 12:07 PM	#6
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	Go It! Do you recommend me getting coral first then fish ?

08/14/2013, 12:12 PM	#7
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	nope....some fish first then soft corals or zoanthids....after 6 months LPS and SPS (if your lighting and water parameters are good enough)

08/14/2013, 12:18 PM	#8
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	Thanks .. So ill start of with something liek 1-2 clow fish. After I get the fish should I wait about a month before I get soft coral or zoanthids?

08/14/2013, 12:26 PM	#9
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	you can start putting coral in right after your cycle but most people get a few fish first and there CUC (so there is something moving in the tank)...I started with fish in my qt but by got ich and died . I ended up having coral in my tank before any fish.

08/14/2013, 12:33 PM	#10
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	Dang sorry to hear. it's just something that can happened no matter how careful you are. How long have you've had your tank ? As far as. Clean up crew what would you recommend? Sorry for all the question

08/14/2013, 12:45 PM	#11
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	Np...Ive had my tank up and running since Nov 2011. Clean up crews are made up of snails and crabs mainly. I would suggest nassarius, astraea, cerith, hermits, possibly turbo snail

08/14/2013, 12:53 PM	#12
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	Nice. So once my tank has complete it's cycle I should get a clean up crew as well as 1 or 2 fishes ?

08/14/2013, 01:51 PM	#15
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	Based on what MRTURKFISH said, Yes a quarantine tank needed before adding any fish to tank.

08/14/2013, 01:55 PM	#16
ghst1203reef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: El Paso TX Posts: 127	I see he said that but I'm asking why would you need to I guess. Isn't the the main purpose of a QT to make sure the fish doesn't spread anything to anything else in your tank? If you don't have anything would you need one for the first fish?

08/14/2013, 02:19 PM	#18
mcardenas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Tucson Posts: 91	MRTUSKFISH...this is dumb question,but How do you know when the fish has parasite or other diseases.

08/14/2013, 02:32 PM	#19
nlgill13 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Boulder,CO Posts: 1,291	visual and behavioral observation is usually how you can tell if a fish is sick or not (but not always). If a fish is breathing hard and fast, if it is loosing scales or has something on them, fins are deteriorating, etc. +1 check out the disease forum

08/14/2013, 05:07 PM	#20
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	It's not FISH that catch things from your first fish, it's your TANK. Many pests reproduce in the sandbed, and once your TANK is infected, you have to go fishless for 8-12 weeks. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.