School fish

[salt e]

i want at least 5-6 schol fish in my tank but im not too sure which ones to go with as im not trying to have them OUT GROW the tank any time too soon... my GF sayz that i have to keep this tank for 1 year before going to the 250 gal, we went to the LFS yesterday and grabbed a couple of Chromies to check the water quality and all is fine so far, (it appears at least). and she likes the way they school together and im not too sure i want to be stuck with a tank full of Chromies...

i have seen the Pilot fish (yellow & black) and those seem so much cooler to me then a few Chromies but the more i researched them i found out that they can grow to :eek1: 3 FEET LONG*! :eek1: ... im not to sure about there growth rate so never-the-less, im considering on the batch...and if they appear to be out growing the tank im sure the LFS would credit me for a few smaller ones in exchange.

does anyone else have any good ideas on what school fish are fun and colorful and what fish to stay away from and why...

 

[salt e]

BTW does anyone know how long it should take IF the water quality is not all that it should be.... how long it should take the Chromies to die...( ? ) they made it through the night :mixed: and they are extremely active and feeding

 

[jjirsa78]

If you're doubting your water, start testing it

I tried setting up my first tank without a thermometer, and found that I was the lucky owner of a broken heater. The first 2 chromis lived, but none of the snails did, and a 6 line wrasse I added 2 weeks after the chromis died about 6 hours after introduction. After finally checking the temp, I found it to be ~92 degrees.

Thus: chromis living through the night don't mean everything's OK, and live chromis alone are not an indication of a ready tank.

 

[NicoleC]

Nothing schools in a tank that size for long. Sorry. They'll school at first while they are getting used to the tank, and then stop. You have to have a BIG tank and scared fish to see them school long term.

Even if the water quality is poor, the chromis could certainly survive. Chromis are tough.

They have these things called "test kits" that let you check the water quality without making a fish suffer and possibly die.

 

[salt e]

lucky for me i have those things called "TEST KITS" and every thing has been testing fine.... whew~ i was just not too sure that the tank was 100% yet for the things that i couldn't test for... things such as bacteria... unless there is a test kit for that, (which im honestly not too sure of)


Tmp - 80F
SG - 1.022
pH - 8.4
alk - 300
NO3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NH4 - 0


im not new to the idea of WATER TESTING...my dad has had SW tanks for a long time, i have just finally started my own for the first time, so although im new to the forum... im not new to water testing / water changes :rollface:

SOooOoOOoo... on that note...what might the best way to check for bacteria levels in the tank... the tank / sump / refug was already previously owned by another person and was given to me and was left sitting dry for 3 days with the substrate still wet but no water circulation... the Refug still had water in it as well and as it appears most of the critters in the refuge have done well... i have taken all of his LIVE SAND or what there was left of it and salt water rinsed it VERY WELL with about 30 gallons in order to get rid of any NO3 - NO2 - NH4 - that would be found and left behind... i then put that sand back in my old tank and ran it with a power head...boosted the temp up to 85 for a bacteria boost and kept the lights over the tank for 3 days before mixing the sand around and running tests on the water 10 mins' later to search for any trace elements that might have been left behind. NONE.... at that point 1/2 the sand was introduced back into the tank. i was worried that for some reason or another the tank itself being dry for 3 days might have forced me to RE-CYCLE the whole thing all over again from losing bacteria along the walls. i needed to be completely sure before moving my sting ray over. Im sorry if it makes me look like a jerk but if its him or the Chromies... i pick the Chromies to be the ones to kick the bucket.
the tank also has about 90 lbs of previously cured live rock from my old tank.

p.s.
back to school fish... types (*?)
what might a good size tank for schooling fish be?

p.S.s.
im getting ready to move the sting ray and inverts ( 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 peppermins, 1 coral banded) over today...and pointers on how to make this transfer as safe as possible would be greatly appreciated

 

[rxdi]

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spe...ary.php?id=5773

Threadfin Cardinalfish.

 

[clsund]

Salt, I think you got the reaction you did because testing your tank with Chromis is pretty old school and not very friendly to the Chromis- today, advice usually only given out by LFS workers stuck in the old ways. Anyhow, it sounds like your tank won't go through a cycle since it was someone else'e set up. How long did they have it going before you bought it?

As for schooling fish, it might be hard to do in only 60 gal for the reasons Nicole mentioned. Schooling is a behavior for fish that are wary of being eaten. In such a small space, they won't have fear for long.

Maybe a pair of some fish instead?

 

[salt e]

icic...im learning fast...lolz...

umm, before i got the tank the other guy had it for about 6 years... it was a very well established tank... there was calcium build on back wall that was removed with many knuckle cuts i must add... the tank i have now is a 100 gal. my old tank is a 60 gal that i need to transfer my ray OUT of... im just wondering....what is the best way to do that... just like from the LFS to home...bag 20 mins... slow drip.... or is there a safer method that im just not aware of...

in any case...i think your advice might be right...maybe a pair would work better if a 100 gal is just too small... im not sure...

btw: thanks rxdi for the link...

 

[NicoleC]

Rays need extra slow acclimation, but other than going slower, doing a drip like you do from a LFS is the way to go.

Sorry, I was being snotty. Some LFS STILL try to tell you to cycle with a fish so they can sell you one. :mad2: Half the time the poor newb then ends up with a damsel that grows up to be a holy terror.

It's only been a few days -- you may cycle yet. But maybe not, or maybe only a small one. Keep testing ammonia and if you see ammonia peak, then nitrite then nitrite falls to zero you have cycled. There is no bacteria test (too many kinds of bacteria and they are everywhere), but if the tank is cycled you have bacteria.

Yes, pairs are the way to go. Everyone loves clownfish pairs, but many other fish can be paired, too. What kind of fish depends on what you want the tank to be, eventually, and what it is now.

 

[bassnman11]

Once your tank stabilizes, you might want to look at some cuerlian damsels. I found one at the LFS and the kid there said it looked like a LAKER fish. They are dark purplish blue with yellow tail and belly. They are very pretty, cheap, and mine is not agressive at all.

 

[salt e]

i checked google image for the cuerlian damsels...nothing...but i will keep an eye out....

no offence taken Nicole...but you are correct, the LFS was the one that gave me the advice... i have been reading storys about the LFS's.... i see it pays to do your own research rather then trusting someone that gets paid to know NOTHING~!

but the question still remains... what size tank would be prime for schooling fish... i also understand that in order to keep them schooling i need to keep them on there toes or FINS if you will.... so would it seem cruel to have at least one aggressive fish in the tank not really to bully them, but just enough to keep an eye on the other fish when he's out and about? if so what might be a good fish for the aggressor role?

 

[NicoleC]

BIG. The only tanks I have seen established fish school in are public aquarium sized.

Someone with a 500 or 800-ish tank may chime in though with a personal experience, maybe?

 

[rxdi]

I got 3 Lyretail Anthias, 2 females and a male thinking they would school. They did for about 3 weeks, once they got use to the tank with no predators they spread out though the tank. I added a 5" Vlamingi Tang and the two females Anthias will stay together now, but the male won't. I'm going to add 3 or 4 Thread fin Cardinal fish next and see what happens.

 

[bassnman11]

Just remember, that guy at the LFS was probably working at Burger King last week. Sorry to say, unless the owner is knowledgable, your probably dealing with a minimum wage clerk that knows nothing or worse, knows a little. The people are what make a LFS.

 

[salt e]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7681018#post7681018 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bassnman11
Just remember, that guy at the LFS was probably working at Burger King last week. Sorry to say, unless the owner is knowledgable, your probably dealing with a minimum wage clerk that knows nothing or worse, knows a little. The people are what make a LFS.

True. im very careful now when i go and find myself asking questions about things i really dont know about... its funny now that i have more of an understanding of SW tanks...i went to the LFS today and MILDLY started quizing the guy that works there about things i have read about and looked into, i was pretending that i really had no clue just to see what kinna mumbo jumbo he would toss out... he answered about 75% of all the questions incorrectly... i guess they feel its better to give a SEMI- logical answer rather than none at all... honestly i would more so appreciate a straight forward, " Sorry... I DONT KNOW." rather then the first thing that comes to his mind i feel kinna bad for all the people that go there and get the same false info and end up with a tank full of dead fish... but i feel more bad for the fish :rolleye1: