First Fish... need little advise

O

Old_Moe

Reefing newb
ok, so it looks like my new tank ( 75g ) is ready for fish :Cheers:

After going through an insane amount of hours of reading and planning, things are working out great! many thanks to all the posters here!!!

My oldest son really wants to have Nemo as his fish, he is 3. So its off to the LFS tomorrow for our first fish :D

I read through many threads here and other info elsewhere.

please let me know if I am ok here:




adding 2 Clown Fish ( Ocellaris ), consensus seems to be that adding 2 clowns at same time is ok
  • what is the benefit of choosing ( not sure if I will even have the choice ) of getting a Tank-Bred vs ... not sure what else to call it ( not tank-bred )
  • Should I worry about size ( should one be bigger than the other? )
  • Looks like the best food is mysis frozen ( about 1/4 cube per day ) rinsed with RO/DI water placed in a small net
  • Alternate mysis with flakes and pellets
  • do I get sinking or floating pellets? any brand that you like ( I have a Petco close by )
  • what brand/type of flakes do you like?
  • I know to stay away from the Brine trap
When I am at the LFS, is there anything I should be looking for to make sure I am getting a healthy fish? this is a very clean LFS ( Absolutely Fish on Rt. 46 in Jersey)

anything to ask the LFS while I am there?


thank you!!!
 
Old_Moe said:
adding 2 Clown Fish ( Ocellaris ), consensus seems to be that adding 2 clowns at same time is ok
  • what is the benefit of choosing ( not sure if I will even have the choice ) of getting a Tank-Bred vs ... not sure what else to call it ( not tank-bred )
  • The benefit of tank-bred is that there is less chance of you bringing in a parasite from the ocean into your tank. Also, buying tank-bred fish means it's less fish being taken from the ocean and affecting the reefs.
  • Should I worry about size ( should one be bigger than the other? )
  • You'll either want one bigger then the other, or if they're small enough (less then 1.5 inches) you can get both the same size.
  • Looks like the best food is mysis frozen ( about 1/4 cube per day ) rinsed with RO/DI water placed in a small net
  • Alternate mysis with flakes and pellets
  • I prefer to mix different types of frozen food; mysis, krill, marine cuisine, emerald entree, etc.
  • do I get sinking or floating pellets? any brand that you like ( I have a Petco close by )
  • I don't use pellets but if I did the only kind I'd use would be New Life Spectrum pellets
  • what brand/type of flakes do you like?
  • I know to stay away from the Brine trap
When I am at the LFS, is there anything I should be looking for to make sure I am getting a healthy fish? this is a very clean LFS ( Absolutely Fish on Rt. 46 in Jersey)
Make sure the eyes are clear and not cloudy, the fins are intact (no tears or nipping), no skin infections or ich
anything to ask the LFS while I am there?
Make sure to have the LFS feed the fish so you know it is eating when you buy it.


thank you!!!
Click to expand...
Check out the red highlights in the quote. :)
 
+1 BL1...He's got you covered.

I've never had an LFS refuse to feed a fish in front of me :) That's a sign of a good LFS.

If I had to do it over again, I'd have gotten 1 large, one small clownfish. When I first started, I got 2 small ones. Waiting for them to get bigger is no fun LOL Plus eventually, the more dominant one chased the other one to death :shock: Make sure, also, they're the same breed of clownfish. Good luck!!
 
BL1 has you covered.

I also want to mention that another advantage of tank raised fish (other than the good ones already mentioned by BL1) is that tank raised fish tend to be hardier than wild caught ones, as they have spent their whole life in captive settings - and they also are used to eating the foods we feed captive fed fish

I would also say that mixing up the diet is the best for the fish. I feed a variety of different frozen foods, New Life Spectrum Pellets (a very good quality pellet food IMO) and Formula I and II flakes

If your Petco carries saltwater (I believe that some do not) they should have all of the foods I metioned
 
thank you all!

I think I am going to bring a little cheat sheet with me to the LFS so I dont forget things. Trying real hard to put off the "Fishy Heaven" explaination to my son.

thanks again.
 
A good idea when evaluating a LFS is to ask them questions you already know the answers to. Based on their answers you can get a good idea about that stores policies and the employees. I like to get super nosy and ask if they have a tank, how long they have had it, and if I can see a picture of it. I always get very concerned when an employee doesnt have a tank (or has only had freshwater) and is trying to advise me on saltwater stuff.
 
Clowns are pretty tough. Look for ones that are alert and aware of there surroundings, as well as you. I make a habit of standing there and watching the fish for at least a good half hour, sometimes more with the more expensive fish. I would also advise asking to see the tank be fed. You want to select fish that are showing a good feeding response.
 
You seem to have some good information to start with, which is great! About time we had someone come and ask smart questions after doing their research! I applaud you :)

But BL1 is right, generally though, we will avoid pellets because they pollute the water and can negatively impact our tank.
 
Thank you everyone for the great advise!!!

Added 2 clown fish to our 75g very successfully. They both seem very happy.

Thanks to reading other peoples post, I was able to keep a couple of heart attacks from happening this weekend.

1st - When we put the Fish in the tank, 1 clown swam around like nothing happened and the other one just about sank to the bottom and just sat on the sand breathing heavy... my wife was very very nervous that it would not make it. I told her that it is normal and the fish is probably stressed. In about 10 minutes the 2 clowns were swimming around together.

The clowns are great fish, they are spending 99% of the time right out in front of the tank for everyone to see. Just swimming and playing around with the powerheads.

2nd heart attack: my wife found a "dead shrimp", quickly difused the situation when I told her that the shrimp just molted and everything was fine.

Clean up Crew from Reefs2Go are working awesome!

all in all, a great weekend!

thanks again!!

hard to tell from the pic, but one clown is slightly larger than the other. so far, so good.. no bullying at all.

IMG_8154.jpg
 

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