Does Anyone Have A Fish Only System Here?

[Betta5]

Hey. Im thinking about going marine .... Again. I had a 60litre fish only tank about a year back and had a tomato clown and firefish in it. I had it for about 6 months but because it was so tiny and was fish only it was pretty boring. So now I want to do a marine 4x2x2 fish only tank. Run off of filters and a skimmer, some nice ocean rock and a few fish (just keeping it simple) but have some questions reguarding fish. Also I will have a mix of algeas.

What am I going to be able to keep in here? Obv I would like 2 clowns but what are my other options when it comes to fish? to make a nice display?

Ahhh I will comeback with more info later, I just have to pop out

 

[-Nemo-]

Am I correct in thinking it will be around 450L?

 

[Betta5]

Yep, around 100 UK gallons or 120 "us" gallons

again got to go but will be back later with more info.

 

[-Nemo-]

You really have too many choices to name then. I suggest just looking at some fish (like on liveaquaria.com) and seeing what you like and going from there; especially if it's going to be FO.

 

[Betta5]

The only things I know I want are 2 clowns and a yellow/regal tang, With the tangs Im just wondering if they would be OK without Live rock, but still plenty of base rock to hide in.

Would any of the large angelfish be to big for this tank? I like Emperor Angelfish but cant remember how large they get.

How about a Picasso Triggerfish or a Niger trigger?

Im just not sure if these large fish would be OK with smaller fish (alot of the fish i like are smaller) and even eachother lol

Lots of research ahead for me lol

 

[Betta5]

Also does anyone know an aquarium maker in the UK who delivers? The cheapest I have found is £500 for a 4x2x2 tank, wood cabinet and hood.

 

[nano_reef_ubergeek]

trigger fish are known to be some of the meanest fish ... period ... just so you know. The clown fish may need to hide in rock if there is no anemome in the tank (I've been told that a tank should be well established -- six months or longer -- before adding an anenome)


also: the order that you add the fish is very important --- the most aggressive fish should be added after the other fish have had time to become comfortable and know the hiding places that they may need to use.

Dead rock will become live over time if you just add a little (20 percent) live rock -- it takes about 6 weeks or longer though.

 

[AK77]

Hi. There are a lot of manufacturers that advertise on the aquarist-classifieds website. You may also find someone locally selling a complete setup, so its worth looking on there and indeed on eBay. For £500 you could get the tank, live rock, coral.. the whole shebang.

Also, with a tank that size you could keep some of the larger clownfish. Last time I was at my LFS they had Maroons with gold stripes and some with white. Beautiful fish!

 

[nano_reef_ubergeek]

so many people want small clownfish that you should be able to get a bigger one for not too much money --- already full grown. I saw a maroon clownfish with white stripes for only 20 dollars(12 pounds) here at the LFS.

But can they really protect themselves with a comparable sized trigger fish in the tank with them?

 

[-Nemo-]

Yes, definitely have to be careful with triggers.
I agree with AK, try looking at some larger species of clownfish, they are beautiful. Cinnamons and tomatoes and maroons are favorites for me when it comes to larger clownfish.

@ nano, anemones are definitely not necessary for clownfish. Most captive bred clownfish will host just about anything. I've seen plenty host heaters and various other random items and corals. You could even stick a fake anemone in there and i'm sure they'd stick to it as if it were real.

 

[nano_reef_ubergeek]

I can believe that ... as a matter of fact I have a juvenile clown fish and he stays close to the heater or his cave for hours at a time. (He's best buddies with the sixline and does escort the sixline from time to time when he wanders in to his area)

I mentioned the anenome if part because of the question of the clown fish being in the tank with a trigger fish. I would imagine a small clown could hide in the anenome. Do bigger clowns even need an anenome?

 

[AK77]

so many people want small clownfish that you should be able to get a bigger one for not too much money --- already full grown. I saw a maroon clownfish with white stripes for only 20 dollars(12 pounds) here at the LFS.

But can they really protect themselves with a comparable sized trigger fish in the tank with them?

Unfortunately everything marine related tends to be much more expensive here in the UK. Actually, everythings more expensive in the UK lol. My girlfriend is Canadian and she was amazed at how expensive the prices of things are here, that and the houses are really small and close together.

My clowns used to host a leather toadstool in my old 180L tank. I now have a nano and the host the bottom left hand corner lol.

 

[bollands]

id go for maroon clowns, or something a bit bigger like AK said, personally with that setup i would go for a predator set up and get two volitan lionfish too :

 

[Betta5]

Thanks for all of the great info guys. I am very flexable at the moment with reguards to fish so I dont even have to have any clowns at all.

Can you mix triggerfish? I like both the picasso and the Niger Triggers but If they cant be mixed then I would go for the Picasso, thats If it would fit.

Are tangs OK with triggers? Can you mix tangs? I like both the yellow and the regal.

Maybe one of the larger wrasse species? Saddleback Butterflyfish?

So many choices.

 

[Betta5]

My other option is turn one of my jewel 120s (its only about 27 gallons) saltwater but I wouldn't be able to have liverock as I really only have tap water to work with. Would that be pointless? Maybe I could do a smaller tank for now and Move bigger? Sooooo many ways to go about it lol

What sort of stocking could I have in the jewel 120? I think its 40"x12"x18"(15" without the hood i think), 4 or 5 smaller fish?