Started my first sw tank.

[jimzonation]

Hi all,
I recently got into saltwater and I started with a 9 gal ehiem tank, right now I have one piece of live rock and one clown in it. I'm wondering what other fish would go good with him and what the best ideas are for the coral. I bought the additional blue actinic light any ideas and or tips would be greatly appreciated. I've been with a freshwater tank for 15 years and it's time to branch out, I feel confident and up to the challenge of the smaller tank. Thank you all!!

 

[CoralsAddiction]

A tail spot Blenny or high fin goby if you have sand. Also clown gobies are cool

 

[hotelbravo]

You say you just started it but how long has it been running. And is it cycled?

 

[jimzonation]

It's been running for two weeks. It is cycled I put a piece of live rock in about four days ago and got the clown yesterday. I went on the directions from my aquarium store Tropical Isle in Framingham mass

 

[Mock]

9 Gallons? One clown? One Little Rock? 2 Week Cycle? Your fish store isnt the best place to get information.

In 9 Gallons, you shouldnt even have a fish IMO. But if you want one, keep just the clown and grow a zoa garden with some mushrooms. It will not take much effort and you wont have to deal with much chemistry and lighting.

Dont add more fish.... You will just up the rate at which your nitrates rise and can lead to killing everything.

 

[hotelbravo]

It's been running for two weeks. It is cycled I put a piece of live rock in about four days ago and got the clown yesterday. I went on the directions from my aquarium store Tropical Isle in Framingham mass

This sounds bad...
You should stop listening to lfs they do not have the best reputations. The people here on this website are only here to help we are not trying to sell you anything and have no way to advance ourselves by giving you bad information. Dont get me wrong I love my LFS and I even volunteer there on weekends and days off but anything they tell me I always triple verify because they have been wrong in the past.

 

[jimzonation]

Sounds good to me guys I'll take any and all tips, I've been going on a tank that they have that is the same exact tank it has two clowns in it and live rock and corals with some hermit crabs in it. It seems to do great but I'm not there all the time. They have said to put max two small fish in this tank with the live rock setup I want to create. What do you guys think?��

 

[Mock]

Sounds good to me guys I'll take any and all tips, I've been going on a tank that they have that is the same exact tank it has two clowns in it and live rock and corals with some hermit crabs in it. It seems to do great but I'm not there all the time. They have said to put max two small fish in this tank with the live rock setup I want to create. What do you guys think?��

I dont think you understand...... They are a fish store. I have worked at one too and kept stonies in a 2.5 gallon tank, what everyone didnt know was that I would do a gallon a day water change out of the stony tank in the back. I didnt have to worry about levels in it, only water movement because I already had great water to swap with it and to keep it under control.

You are trying to maintain a 9 gallon tank with no other system to pull known well water from..... One slip up and you can lose everything.

Small softies, shrooms, zoas should be your focus. Fish should not be even on your mind when it comes to a tank this small unless you are willing to do water changes every day and stay on top of nitrates..... And I STRESS keeping just the clown for a while..... Do not go adding any other fish to this tank any time soon

 

[Pokahpolice]

In 9 Gallons, you shouldnt even have a fish IMO.g.

There are plenty of fish you can keep in a 10 gallon tank. Firefish, many different Gobys (spelling? Gobies?) Some Pigmy Wrasse, Blennies, Yellow Stripped Cardinal. Just don't mistake when I say "Plenty", I mean 2-3 fish...not one of each. With that said, keep the system stable for 6-8weeks before you add anything. 2 weeks is super new and where you are new to the hobby you honestly are going to have your hands full with such a small tank. The smaller the tank the harder it is to keep stable water conditions. Your LFS should have steered you towards something a little larger. 29G IMO is a good starting size that won't break the bank.

 

[ThRoewer]

Well, two weeks is hardly cycled, though I have put fish into fresher tanks without issues. It really depends on what you fill it with, fully cured or fresh live rock.

Was that live rock fully cured or rather fresh? If fresh 2 weeks is by no means enough cycling time - a month would be the bare minimum.

In general I would advise to wait now for at least a month and see how that clown does before adding more fish.

Also, from your description I gather that you didn't quarantine the fish. That means that this tank may now be infected with ich (or something worse).
This isn't a freshwater tank where you can treat your fish as needed. Anything that cures saltwater fish diseases usually devastates your tank. That's why you need a quarantine tank and a treatment tank (can be both the same though I would advocate to have two distinguished tanks.)

As for the 9 gallons being too small - no!
I have 3 Gramma loreto for almost 3 months in a 10 gallon QT.
In my current DT of "only" 25 gallons (5 of those are taken up by rocks) I have
a pair of percula,
a pair of high fin gobies,
a pair of mandarins,
a pair of Pseudochromis fridmani and
a single blue stripe pipefish male (lost the female in QT).
I also have on shrimps
a pair of Stenopus tenuirostris,
2 peppermit shrimp,
2 cleaner shrimp,
2 sexy shrimp,
1 female anemone (porcelain) crab
at least 3 Alpheus randalli (a pair of them living with the high fin gobies),
a small army of hermits.
and several hundreds of Mysis and Amphipods that continue to grow in numbers.
All are doing quite fine (well the clowns are often feeling itchy but never show anything).
I also have a whole lot of SPS and LPS frags and several zoanthids, of which most are holding up well or even grow quickly.
So you can put quite a bit into a small tank if you pick the right things and know what you are doing.

And yes, stop believing everything your LFS tells you.

 

[jimzonation]

The live rock is fully cured and I have the live sand with the saltwater already made in 5gal containers. And the clown was quarantined before going into this tank. I have a friend who uses a 30 gal as his quarantine tank tank that he let me put him in. Thanks for all the help guys I appreciate it a lot!

 

[jimzonation]

I want to learn the salt water system so I guess that why I came here

 

[hotelbravo]

We may seem harsh or very serious but we are trying to ensure you do not make a mistake.

 

[KorD]

9 gal tank is a good size to start with IMO.. but then again i love all my nano tanks
take time to learn all there is to know before jumping in way to far.. fell free to ask here instead of your LFS, there are loads of times I laughed when I was told something from an LFS trying to make a sale.

 

[jonwright]

my initial thought is that your water parameters will be kept in check best by water changes in that small of a tank. Tinkering with water chemistry (alk, Ca, Mg, salinity etc) will be tough to do as small mistakes will be amplified.

Personally, I'd hold off on any more livestock until you've seen your current livestock thrive for at least a month - if not more.

Change water once a week (prolly 1-2 gallons depending on what your alk looks like) will probably be the best way to start.

Stay away from all kinds of additives. You don't need them. Don't worry about the inevitable green hair algae that's coming your way - put in some snails and be patient.

Welcome to the hobby.

and...you might try post in the "new to the hobby" section for tips and clues. This section is rather where more of the dedicated folks that keep anemones hang out (they are challenging to keep).