I'm new to the saltwater aquarium hobby

I have had two successful fresh water aquariums, and I would like to start a new salt water aquarium. I've seen them in hotels, restraints, and offices, and they are absolutely beutiful! I would like to stick to smaller fish, and I have chosen a few fish. I have not done if depth research on these fish yet, but I will shortly. What I have heard about the selected fish is they are peaceful to semi agresive, and do well in reef setups. Please correct me, as I may have been mislead. Please give me good advice on the fish, such as what the eat, and a minimum tank size for these fish. Any other advice for starting this hobby would make me very happy, thank you. Here is the list of fish......

6 fire fish

1 dwarf/zebra lionfish

4 royal gramma

3 scooter blenneys

4 ocelaris clownfish

2 green mandarin

2 Clown goby green

4 yellowtail damselfish

4 blue/green reef chromis

 

I hope this is not your stock list. I would say no more than 6 fish in a 48g. No mandarians for that size of tank, even 1. They eat copepods and need way more live rock then what a 48g can provide. These fish are for experienced hobbists. To be very honest....... Please do a little more research, freshwater/saltwater are way different. Welcome aboard

 

Hello and welcome to the site, glad to have you aboard.

 

Woah, that's a little too many fish, buddy. +1 Mario.

You need to know the compatibility of those fish and the limit. Like Mario said, the difference between the two is significant, especially when it comes down to how many you can keep.

Before even getting to the fish, educate yourself on what you need and how they run, if you don't already know. It's not as simple as putting a canister filter and a pump, like you do for FW tanks. There's a whole lot more that goes into it.

If you need to know, or have any questions, feel free to throw 'em here. We're glad to have you aboard.

 

Welcome aboard! Unfortunately stocking limits are way different than in freshwater tanks. I'd stick to 4-5 fish until your tank is established and then add a sixth if your readings are doing well. Remember your main sources of filtration for saltwater tanks is your live rock and protein skimmer. The more live rock you have, the more surface area for the nitrifying bacteria to grow on. Unless you are able to have a large sump with a total of 100+ lbs. of live rock total in your system, I'd stay away from the mandarins. Scooter blennies need similar care to a mandarin, as they are in the same family of dragonettes. The lionfish may not be a great option either as they will devour any fish it can fit into it's mouth. Damsels get quite mean and most reefers leave them to the aggressive fish only tanks. I'd go with a pair of clowns, a green goby and a pair of firefish. Be sure to have a good top on the tank, as some fish are jumpers. Firefish are notorious for jumping. Hope this info helps you. Good luck with your new tank

 

(Somewhat aggressive, but do better in odd numbers. Also, they develop a feeding hierarchy and the low one on the totem pole will end up starving to death or bullied to death. Do-able, but, be prepared to re-stock every so often.)


A good rule of thumb for saltwater tanks is one fish per ten gallons. Once the tank is cycled and mature (6 months to a year) then you can overstock it without too much concern. If you do end up over stocking, be prepared to do water changes religiously and monitor all your parameters. Welcome too the hobby, and, best of luck! Great group of people here who know quite a bit (Waaayyyy more then me ). So, don't be afraid to ask any other questions or for help!


Also, instead of the clown goby, I would recommend getting a sand sifting goby for those times when you accidently over-feed (It happens to everyone at some point lol). But, if you do a sand sifting goby, make sure the sand you get is fine sand, or only SLIGHTLY more coarse.

 

30 fish in a 48g is a lot...I myself would only feel comfortable wth 3 small fish in that size tank

if you want peaceful fish then skip the damsels, also the mandarin fish is by far one of the hardest fish to keep in a marine tank and only for experienced hobbyist

 

I've had 3 small fish in a 6g nano. :lol:

+1 to the others, that is too many fish. But no worries, you have plenty of time to learn and you are in the right place.

From that list I would start with one clown and one blue/green chromis. Both are very hardy and easy for beginners. The chromis tend to be aggressive towards each other and will very often kill each other off until there is only one left, just FYI.

I definitely agree about the mandarin. I was even worried about putting one in my 200g and i look for him daily. Also, the lionfish will eat anything it can get in its mouth.

 

Thank you everyone for the great advice, and I will come back with more knowledge, and better fish options. Thank you and sorry for the misconception that I only have 48 gallons to work with, I actually have an 80 gallon off to the side.

 

That's good b/c bigger is even better. That gives you more fish options. Most of the advice given still applies. You definitely have a lot of compatabilty issues with your first list as well as quantity issues. Glad to read you are going to jump on some more research. There are a lot of knowledgable people here so ask questions. Good luck!

 

Great idea on doing more research! And 80 gallons is a much better size, it's easier to maintain good water parameters with a tank that size. Keep us updated on your progress and decisions!

 

But even with 80 gallons, it's still not enough to house all those fish. Maybe just choose a few of those fish. In an 80 gallon I would probably be comfortable with 10 small fish.

 

1 fish per 10 gallons = good rule of thumb for saltwater (I over-stocked mine, but I have about 100lbs of LR in a 55g. That's pretty good filtration on top of 2 HOB filters that I set up as mini refugiums until I set up my sump/refug (real one). I also dosed my tank with copepods and amphipods and the micro stars (the reef safe ones).

 

I have 5 fish in mine, and im well established. +1 reef knob. You never support that much of a bioload

 

Please dont. Putting more lr in your tank does not mean you can overstock. Overstocking creates stress on the fish, which leads to fish disease, which leads to improper dosing, which leads to fish death. This is not a safe practice on saltwater reef/fish keeping. Slow and smooth. Famous quote on this fourm, "nothing good happens fast in saltwater" keeping this in mind, youll be good to go

 

I think you mistook what I meant. I have my tank over-stocked, but, I didn't mean to add all at once. Nor anywhere NEAR what this person was planning to put in. In my 55, I have 9 fish right now. Which is very over-stocked. And they are all doing just fine. Only death I've had in a long time was the clownfish I bought off of craigslist that was in a QT tank. So, it is do-able, just not advise to do it very fast. I've also seen people with 3-4 fish in a 10g tank. That is easily 4 times what should be in there, but once again, do-able. Take it slow, and don't over-load your bioload fast, and things will work out fine.

 

Nope, i understood what you said. It is still overstocked. They were inquiring about that many fish, you have a huge bioload. I read your other posts, your dry rock is still to young to support that bioload. 6 months is the key, rushing and killing fish is what were tring to prevent. This will cost more money in the long run, you will find out. Having overstock right now may work, but the long run will not