First Reef Fishes

Lauramichelle

Lauramichelle

New member
I have a 20 Gal reef tank, coral and CUC only at this time. It has been cycled for about 8 weeks now. I do 5 gal water changes every week. What with rocks cape and such, it turns out to be abut 40%.
I am looking to have a friendly, beginner level, tank. Since I only have a 20 gal, I'm not expecting to have anymore than 3-4 fish. Possibly the following:
1) A Royal Gramma
2) A Clown
3) A Watchman Goby (Maybe with a Pistol Shrimp ?)
4) Then undecided (Yellow Tail Damsal or a Kaudern Cardnal)
So far, weekly testing at my coral shop indicates all levels have been holding really good. Therefore, I need some help from all you experts out there. I'm considering starting out with the Royal Gramma and the Clown. I realize the Clowns are territorial, but I'm not going to have that many fish anyway. But you all are the experts. Given my list of possibles, what are your thought?
I'm looking for order, how many new guests at a time, spacing between arrivals.
Thank you so much
 
Get a QT tank first of all, you didn't mention this. You will want to keep your fish in a tank with some PVC pipe, a HOB filter, heater, and power head. Monitor the fish in their for four weeks at a time and see if any diseases show themselves. The longer you QT the better. Once your fish are in a reef tank there isn't much you can do about diseases like velvet or ick, but remove the fish and treat with copper or hypo, or tank transfer in a separate tank.

Your list looks great. I would go in order of this: clown(ocellaris or percula, I assume you are doing one: that is all I would do in that tank), royal gramma, watchman goby(you can wait and buy a pistol shrimp until you are ready to add the goby), then the cardinal. The damsel would probably be aggressive in that tank, they really need 50 gallon tank or larger. Only buy one fish at a time and put it in QT. After one fish is done with QT, you can get the next one in line.
 
Thank you Reefing Newbie. Ok, now I have another question. Quarantine for 4 weeks? So are you saying I should get another tank, cycle it, then get fish and monitor for a month? Please, I am not disputing you at all, since I'm just starting out I'm just confused. Most everyone else acclimates and adds fish. Also, how large, or small, does my QT need to be? It almost seems more practical to keep a coral only aquarium and skip the fish. Although I'm not sure that's possible what with bacteria requirements. I would apprciate any help a lll of you might provide. Thanks again
 
Yes QT for four weeks(you can just observe or proactivly treat your fish with copper and prazi, but monitoring is perfectly acceptable). For fish that you can get small I would suggest getting a 5.5 gallon tank to watch them in. Just get the basic filtration, heating, and hiding things(PVC for hiding). QT is probably one of the most common things that if not done, or done properly, causes people to leave the hobby. Their fish will get ick or velvet and soon all the fish will be infected and die if proper measures aren't taken. Living with ick long-term isn't possible because the fish will be under constant stress. So setting up a smaller tank to watch fish in for any disease is worth it(and treating if you see anything). I am sure if you go to the fish disease forum you will find a wealth of information to help you. Steve(snorvich) and Mr.Tuskfish are the experts on this stuff and I deeply respect their opinions on things, especially disease and QTing fish.
 
Great job, Reefing Newbie. Awesome advice all around and well said.

I think a 10 gallon is ideal for a small QT if you have room for it. It won't cost you any more for the equipment for it or the tank itself. 10's are the cheapest size of all generally and you have a little more water volume so it's more forgiving in terms of salinity and nutrient levels. Also, I like live-rock and a sand bed in mu QT but that doesn't work if you have to medicate. I use mine for acclimation, observation and food training. I've never needed to medicate a saltwater fish. I don't stock any disease prone species and have never observed any symptoms. If I did see disease and need to medicate, I would move the fish to another bare tank as Newbie described and leave the original QT fallow for a necessary period to eradicate any disease.

I think your stock list sounds awesome. I would suggest a captive bred Ocellaris clown. There are many varieties including black ones, ones with no stripes, etc. Take your time checking your options and get one you really like. Don't be afraid to spend a little extra for a really cool variety. Clowns are hardy fish and will hopefully be with you a very long time. Get one you love. Ocellaris have the most varieties and are most peaceful. You can always add a second, smaller one later if you get a larger tank and then have a pair which is ideal in terms of observing natural behavior.

I'd do the cardinal rather than the damsel.

Good luck. It's sound like you're off to a great start. Any pics of your tank?
 
Why thank you small alien. I am really starting to be able to step up to the plate all because of what I have learned through RC, and want to pass on this wealth of information to anyone who could use it.

Small alien did help me here a bit in his post, 10 gallons are cheaper and would work better if you have the space. I was not sure if you had the space or not for one but definantly do the 10 if you have the space. If it is just a observation tank like small alien's then you could eventually set it up as another tank if you have the time and space. You could then just use your HT(hospital tank) as a QT tank as well with no rock or sand. Personally, I am having the two be one because I am proactivly treating my fish. I have had ick and want to be 100% postive that I don't get it in my tank(or as close to that as I can be). I am not going to push for either way as both methods are used by great people in the hobby and both work well. You should use which ever one you feel comfortable doing.
 
I really do appreciate the information.
I have tried to upload a photo but it keeps failing. I believe it's too large. I'll keep trying.
 
You have to copy the IMG code and post it here.

Like this:
Asof20Jan12.jpg
 
Cool. Thanks for sharing. You want your rocks touching the bottom glass, not just resting on the sand. Try working them down in. And then make a pile with lots of openings and holes. Then poke at it with your fingers to be sure it's stable. A mound like that will give you more hiding places and habitat and also be better for flow and filtering.
 
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