The best way to go about this hobby is NOT to haunt the fish store on weekends and after delivery day looking for the strange and colorful.
It's to go through the visual catalogs (check out our sponsors) and make a list of your favorites with the following: name/diet/adult size/price.
Look at your tank and, if you can't visualize it any other way, cut strips of paper to the adult size length, and tack them up to the glass. Plenty of room? If not, go to your second choice. And DO remember the pretty fish on the labels of various companies all happy together in a flock---are Photoshopped.
Now check the compatibility charts (Live Aquaria has a nice one) Peel off the ones that won't play nice together.
And finally come to RC and ask those who've kept those fish together---was there a problem?
Impulse buys are a fast track to trouble. I give you mine. Had a lovely tank, reef. Spotted the prettiest thing I've ever seen, a ghost eel. I was young and stupid. But I did ask...is he reef-safe? [not knowing this says NOTHING about fish-safe]---and he was gorgeous. 300.00 worth of fish later, I was finally able to unbuild my reef and catch him. He went back to the fish store. They're supposedly hard to feed. Catch is---they prefer hunting live prey at lights-out.
Benefit from the experience RC has. We can tell you a lot, so you don't have to find out the hard way.
It's to go through the visual catalogs (check out our sponsors) and make a list of your favorites with the following: name/diet/adult size/price.
Look at your tank and, if you can't visualize it any other way, cut strips of paper to the adult size length, and tack them up to the glass. Plenty of room? If not, go to your second choice. And DO remember the pretty fish on the labels of various companies all happy together in a flock---are Photoshopped.
Now check the compatibility charts (Live Aquaria has a nice one) Peel off the ones that won't play nice together.
And finally come to RC and ask those who've kept those fish together---was there a problem?
Impulse buys are a fast track to trouble. I give you mine. Had a lovely tank, reef. Spotted the prettiest thing I've ever seen, a ghost eel. I was young and stupid. But I did ask...is he reef-safe? [not knowing this says NOTHING about fish-safe]---and he was gorgeous. 300.00 worth of fish later, I was finally able to unbuild my reef and catch him. He went back to the fish store. They're supposedly hard to feed. Catch is---they prefer hunting live prey at lights-out.
Benefit from the experience RC has. We can tell you a lot, so you don't have to find out the hard way.
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