What to do with "beginner" fish

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oibara599

New member
I'm new to the marine hobby and even though it can seem overwhelming, I love it so far. I have a 30 gal thats been up and running for a little over a month now and just recently purchased a pair of osc clowns. I've been given advice on all sorts of good beginner fish - my question is when do you "graduate" to the next level of fish? If I stock it with a few more fish, do I get more "beginner" fish?
 
You haven't really described if this is a Fish Only tank, Fish and Corals or full Reef Tank. Also knowing your parameters and what "advanced" fish you are looking for would help. I get concerned about introducing damsels as your first fish as they tend to become quite territorial especially with a smaller tank. All fish that live stay in your tank unless you have a deal with you LFS to take back anything you don't want. IMHO, I would check compatibility charts for your most "advanced" fish and watch overstocking your tank. It can happen quickly and will make your parameters difficult to maintain.
 
Its a fish only tank. I'm not looking for advice on which fish to buy, I was just wondering, from the experience of this forum, is there a good rule of thumb for integrating more advanced fish other than whats considered beginner fish. From reading a lot on this forum it seems that many beginners stock up on beginner fish, which I understand. However what happens when they want something different but their tank is now full with "beginner" fish?
 
My tank has been running for 9 years. I have my original fish that I began with. I've only ever gotten rid of one animal in my tank - a chocolate chip starfish that my wife was fearful we would wake up with it attempting to eat us in our sleep. It ate everything that wasn't nailed down and some things that were.
 
I never plan to change. The fish I get are the fish I want. If I did not feel able to care for them, I would wait and work on water quality and stability until I was sure I could care for the ones I wanted.
 
I think to answer your question you have to ask three different questions.

1. Has enough time elapsed to add a few fish? (is your tank mature enough) If so,

2. Is the new fish well suited for my tank size? If so,

3. Is the new fish compatible with my other inhabitants?

I am not sure there's a rule for integrating harder or "more advanced" fish. Usually, when I think about beginner or more advanced, I think of corals. That's not to say that some fish aren't more difficult to keep though. I personal ask myself the three questions above when I am thinking of buying new fish/inhabitants, not how advanced the fish is. I hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the advice. I guess my problem is that there are too many fish I want for the size of my tank! Im going to hold out as long as possible since I cant make up my mind. Because Im a beginner, I just didn't want to get "beginner" fish for the sake of being a beginner.
 
I ran into the same problem, couple of territorial damsels that I started with. A tank and 2 damsels. I wanted more, cooler stuff. The tank they were in turned into my fuge/ sump with lr, some chaeto and other macros, snails, crabs, cleaner clams and the dreaded choco chip star. Seems to work well, and no one is nipping anyone anymore in the DT.
 
Yeah thats why research is so important in this hobby. Trying to remove damsel fish are almost impossible without breaking the whole tank down. Clowns are easy. I bought clowns as my first beginner fish. They are still with me today.
 
I would plan ahead on the fish you can keep in your tank, and plan for which ones you want. You'll find most people on here list their "stock list" before their tank is even wet. That way you dont fill up your bio load too fast, etc. And this way, you can start to incorporate some of the more hardy fish at the beginning and aren't dropping in the most sensitive ones when your tank might still be developing itself.
 
Imo there are no "beginner fish". That term is a leftover from a time long past where people would use fish to cycle their tank. You should have a picture in your head of what you want your tank to look like (ie. what fish, coral, live rock etc) prior to starting, and always work towards that. Hold off on getting what you consider "beginner", and wait until you have the setup that can support those "advanced" fish you're thinking of getting down the line.
 
Sk8r said:
I never plan to change. The fish I get are the fish I want. If I did not feel able to care for them, I would wait and work on water quality and stability until I was sure I could care for the ones I wanted.
Click to expand...

^^That.

I'd never heard of "beginner fish" until I got back into this hobby again. I see a lot of advice to get "beginner fish" or people asking for good "beginner fish" -- IMO not really the way to set up a tank. I never put anything in my tank with the intention of removing it later. I've never even owned a clown LOL.
 
Well, it's pretty easy for me, all the fish I like are considered "beginner fish", I am only limited by my tank size, because I want to keep some tangs.

But hey, that will be for my next tank..... and yes, I am thinking of my next tank, but ALL of my original fish will make the move too.

I love my clowns, I don't care if they are considered "beginner fish"
They have given me the ultimate thrill IMO.... they have spawned(only one time so far) and I have managed to keep two of the fry alive ( going on 4 months old now)

Not bad for a newbie if you ask me..........

And that's what this hobby is all about for me, giving my guys the best enviroment I can create for them..... they're part of the family now

Hope this helps
 
For a small tank I would go with small fish :-) cardinals, dartfish, gobies, maybe asix line wrasse at the end. you want layers. some fish are swimmers, some are bottom dwellers, others stay in the rock. I have a few tanks but in my 28. cardinal, 2 clowns, sixline, 3 fire dartfish, and a diamond spot goby. Eventually the sixline, goby, and clowns will need more room.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
My favorite-ever tank was a 100 g coral reef with 7 sorts of colorful damsels, some blennies, gobies, and a lot of motion all the time. I wish I still had it.
 
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