Note to new hobbyists:

[Sk8r]

Bear in mind that blennies and gobies are sold as adults: other species are sold as tiny babies because shipping a live foot-long fish is real expensive. Check out the adult size before assuming it will be happy in your 30 gallon tank. It is certainly NOT true that fish only grow to fit the tank: what happens is not happy at all. Also remember that pretty well every fish is aggressive if put in too small a tank.

The pix of multiple happy fish side by side that decorate boxes and ads are photoshopped. Fish require swimming room and grazing room---they need something to do all day: that's one function the live rock has.

Because marine fish grow so very, very large, it really is a different world than the WYSIWYG of many freshwater species.

We're here to ask. And if you google the name of the fish, the internet can tell you adult size on many species. Some sellers also have compatibility charts.

And 'reef safe' only means it won't eat corals. 'reef safe with caution' means it will eat some corals, if you have those species. It does not mean it won't eat its tankmates.

And in general you do NOT want weed in your display tank with the one exception of seahorse tanks. Most weed is aggressive and some is near impossible to control. Cheatomorpha is a beneficial, rootless moss that can safely grow in your sump, IF it can't get to your return pump.

 

[Indymann99]

And 'reef safe' only means it won't eat corals. 'reef safe with caution' means it will eat some corals, if you have those species. It does not mean it won't eat its tankmates.
.

Lionfish are 100% reef safe ;-)

 

[Zafak]

+1 on the weed comment. My first tank had caulerpa because I thought it looked cool. My second tank had caulerpa because I used rock from my first tank. Rock that I had scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed with a stiff brush until I couldn't find any caulerpa. For the next year it would randomly pop up from holdfasts that had grown into the pores of the rock. I eventaully had to dry the rock completely to kill it off. My friend started the hobby with frags from my first tank. Her tank is now a jungle of caulerpa. Nothing I tried would eat it and every time I thought it was gone, it reappeared with a vengeance.

 

[MuShu]

I like to use the analogy of the German Shepherd dog- yes, it will fit just fine in a 4 foot crate. Yes, it can live like that for years, but it won't do well. Same with our fish. You can keep a panther grouper in a 30 gallon tank when it's a 2-inch fry, but those fish get huge and need a lot of room.

LiveAquaria has a good minimum tank size recommendation, but ask around here. A great example is the sailfin tang. LiveAquaria has it listed as needing a minimum of 220 or 240 gallons, but many members here have stated that they have needed to rehome theirs to systems much larger. If you want a sailfin tang in your tank, put a dinner plate in and see how much room it has. That's how big they will get. Yes, you can fit one in your biocube when it is tiny, but you had better have a bigger tank waiting for it.

 

[LeJeune981]

There is always that one exception from the rule

My manderins now living I'm my fuge

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