Aquamarine 900 Journal - My First Marine Tank

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

This is coming along really well.

45x turnover is not unreasonable, considering that a lot of power heads only produce at about 1/2 capacity. My tanks tend to have a lot of flow.

So you want clowns. Sorry, not a huge fan of clowns. I know everybody is, I just don't personally think they are so special. But you enjoy your clowns. Good fish to go with clowns...

Something with a different habit. If you get clowns, which are swimmers find fish that have the following habits

1. Rock perchers
2. Cave dwellers
3. Sand sifters

They'll offer something different than clowns behaviorally speaking and more than likely the clown fish will ignore them as they are not going to usually be fish from the same genus. Clownfish, remember, are damsels. Generally speaking, and this is very general, you want to avoid putting fish together than are the same genus or major group. More than likely this will cause aggression, whether they look alike or not. If they are in a similar group, more than likely they'll compete because their behavior will be similar, same environmental niche and all.

L

Im assuming as you didnt mention anything else apart from flow its fine? i was thinking of a 3rd powerhead possibly smaller around 2500lph.

i know everybody loves clowns and its not just finding nemo honestly !

as for your list i was thinking
1.mandarin? (i know this is not for a new tank and i would need to mature my tank)
2. i like royal grammas and i think 2 of these would fit in nicely
3. i literally have no clue on this criteria tbh

i have looked at other damselfish but im pretty certain i want clownfish mixed in with a nice anemone i love how they behave and i could watch it for hours.


what about my lighting for corals is it adequate?

 

[ainsy]

I love clowns - so I am with you on that one. I would avoid any other damsels - I have always found them to be very pugnacious and will terrorise anything else in your tank (and will prob. take a few shots at you when you put your hands in!)

Way, Way , Way to early to consider a mandarin - you need the tank to be running for at least 12 months IMO - or it will just waste away.

Royal Gramma are lovely fish.

You don't have anything like enough light for a 'nem - generally they type of 'nems that clownfish will host in need lots of high intensity light. They also need tip-top water quality - so a really mature tank (like for the mandarin!) is necessary.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

I love clowns - so I am with you on that one. I would avoid any other damsels - I have always found them to be very pugnacious and will terrorise anything else in your tank (and will prob. take a few shots at you when you put your hands in!)

Way, Way , Way to early to consider a mandarin - you need the tank to be running for at least 12 months IMO - or it will just waste away.

Royal Gramma are lovely fish.

You don't have anything like enough light for a 'nem - generally they type of 'nems that clownfish will host in need lots of high intensity light. They also need tip-top water quality - so a really mature tank (like for the mandarin!) is necessary.

So your saying my lighting is rubbish ?
And yes I am aware that's it's way to early for a mandarin but I wouldn't want to add anything else just for a year. Thinking gobies aswell now guna do some research on them as I know very little about them
Any other input?

 

[lljdma06]

No, your lights aren't rubbish, but to have the nems you'd like for clownfish, you'd need like what, 6 tubes, ainsy? I'm not great with floresecent anymore. Or go with Metal Halide. Also you need a mature tank. Sure, I added nems after 6 months, but rock flower nems are not the same kind of nem as those that are typically hosted by clown fish. I would also say that you couldn't have the sps corals either. But most people who start out, start out with lighting more designed for soft corals & Lps. Haha, lighting upgrades often come later.

L

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

I was going to go with soft corals to start with so thats okay and in currently bartering over a book o corals, stock selection is very important so this is why I'm learning months in advance

 

[ainsy]

No I'm not saying your lights are rubbish!

Sorry if it came across that way!

I just didn't want you to buy and expensive 'nem and end up regretting it.

You are being really sensible - that is the best way to approach things - start with some softies and if in the future you want corals that need more light then you can always up the intensity.

Still wouldn't get the mandarin yet - it's not so much about the tank being mature - it's more about there not being enough of the microscopic beasties that they feed on.

Sorry again!

 

[lljdma06]

No I'm not saying your lights are rubbish!

Sorry if it came across that way!

Didn't come out that way. It's the typical lighting that a first time salty starts off with when they are doing a predominantly softy tank. But like you said for the nems he wanted and sps corals, he'll have to eventually upgrade.

I just didn't want you to buy and expensive 'nem and end up regretting it.

Sheesh, I'm not even buying an expensive nem, well, I did, but because of the color morph not because it was difficult to keep.

You are being really sensible - that is the best way to approach things - start with some softies and if in the future you want corals that need more light then you can always up the intensity.

Yep.

Still wouldn't get the mandarin yet - it's not so much about the tank being mature - it's more about there not being enough of the microscopic beasties that they feed on.

Sorry again!

+1 on the Mandarin. Won't lie to you, sooooooo tempting, especially when you see your tank crawling with pods. But I'll put it in perspective. I've got a panda goby. It takes about 30 or so panda gobies to equal the body mass of one average mandarin. My panda goby will consume about 1/2 a bottle of Dr. G's copepods a month and that's not all he eats and that's an appropriate fish for a 5.5g pico. Now, imagine a Mandarin on pods? And that's all he eats? Serious money drainage. Mandarins aren't super expensive fish, but pods aren't cheap.

L

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

thanks for the great replies a awesome read to wake upto!
I'll hold on the mandarin then, im still entertaining the idea of gobies? would they be a better choice?

oh and by the way +1 on llj's post ainsy i wasn't saying you said they were rubbish, i was simply asking if they were lol. Basically i wanted to know my limitations

 

[lljdma06]

Depends on the goby, I love my gobies.

L

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

What could I look into in the goby field?
So far my list consists of 2x percula clownfish, 1 or 2 royal grammas and a flame angel ( which my LFS keeps with corals)

 

[ainsy]

You have some of my fave fish - I love the flame also!

If you are dead set on the mandarin you can easily and cheaply set up a breeding culture of pods to keep your tank topped up with them.

 

[lljdma06]

I'd just do one royal gramma. They fight. Mine attacks his reflection all the time and does his little hissing cat face. Funniest thing ever! Two is pushing it a bit unless your tank is larger, yours for me is borderline, and one will not suffer from being by himself, unless you are totally lucky and score a mated pair. Then, that'd be just awesome.

L

 

[ZoddyZod]

How about a symbiotic goby & shrimp pair?

probably the main reaon I want a salt tank one day.

....sorry, I've strayed into salt waters. I'll immediately head somewhere where I know what I'm talking about!

 

[lljdma06]

How about a symbiotic goby & shrimp pair?

probably the main reaon I want a salt tank one day.

....sorry, I've strayed into salt waters. I'll immediately head somewhere where I know what I'm talking about!

Awwwwww, you are always welcome here.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

You have some of my fave fish - I love the flame also!

If you are dead set on the mandarin you can easily and cheaply set up a breeding culture of pods to keep your tank topped up with them.

Im not dead set on much yet tbh, apart from the flame and clownfish that is

I'd just do one royal gramma. They fight. Mine attacks his reflection all the time and does his little hissing cat face. Funniest thing ever! Two is pushing it a bit unless your tank is larger, yours for me is borderline, and one will not suffer from being by himself, unless you are totally lucky and score a mated pair. Then, that'd be just awesome.

L

Noted i'll get 1 as when i tried to breed tropical gourami fish back in the day they never paired and just killed each other

How about a symbiotic goby & shrimp pair?

probably the main reaon I want a salt tank one day.

....sorry, I've strayed into salt waters. I'll immediately head somewhere where I know what I'm talking about!

ive read about this pairing and i love the idea of it! a shrimp and a goby inhabiting the same hole in a rock

How about a symbiotic goby & shrimp pair?

probably the main reaon I want a salt tank one day.

....sorry, I've strayed into salt waters. I'll immediately head somewhere where I know what I'm talking about!

Awwwwww, you are always welcome here.

Always welcome as your opinion has swayed me