I've never done more than a betta fish before. Any suggestions?

[Samhain]

+1 LilFish. For the most part, I don't take any of the advice of my LFS. They recommend cycling with damsels, will recommend large fish for tanks waaaaay to small for them, and recommend many more fish than a tank can adequately support. For instance, they told me I could put pretty much any tang I wanted in my 50 gallon, offered me 3 trade-in damsels that I could upgrade after my cycle, and said I could reasonably expect to keep 15-20 fish in my tank. Now I understand that not all fish stores are this way, but many are. And the guys working there are really nice, but I wouldn't trust any of their advice.

I do see why you might want to get your first fish locally. Shipping does get a tad expensive, and what can be a $15 fish in the store becomes a $50 fish when you factor in shipping. I did get lily, my firefish, at the LFS, but from here on out it's LA or BlueZoo for me. You know you're getting a healthy fish, and if something does happen, they make it right. With my LFS, they offer no guarantee whatsoever. If your fish goes tango uniform in the parking lot, you're out that money. Too bad, so sad.

 

[Star_Sapphire22]

15-20 fish in a 50 gallon?! C'mon now, even I know that's not right.

 

[R3verb]

lol I guess I'm spoiled at my LFS. These guys know their stuff! I have never gotten any advice from them that hasn't been backed up in my research or by this forum (except for maybe a DSB which honestly is personal preference). BUT that being said, make sure with anything you do that you know your stuff.

 

[Star_Sapphire22]

how many snails, etc. should I get? We are really digging the spiny star astreas.

 

[little_fish]

I would look at reefcleaners.org and look into getting a package rated for half your tank size. That will be a great CUC and you get a discount for being a member on here

 

[Nimboli12]

Unfortunatley, the saltwater fish stores here are not honest. One guy toldl me that the cow fish I wanted would do finew/my other fish & not to worry about the venom thing. He also toldl me to feed my fish 3xs a day becuse "in the ocean fish eat all the time so 2xs daily wasn't enough"

Another place that seems to have a good reputation told me it would be ok to get a Copperband Butterfly fish as one of my first fish even though he new my tank had only been running for 2 months.

All I can say is do your research here or email LA and between the two yiu'll get the right info.

 

[ErinCahir]

Look at all the info!!!

Welcome to the site!

 

[Northstar24]

Our LFS (other than Petco and Petsmart, neither of which seem to take very good care of their fish), doesn't have a ton of selection usually. I've been going there for my dog and kitten needs as well (while by boyfriend spends hours by the fish, lol) for a few years now. They tend to have a lot of the same things. With our stocking list as it is right now, the only things we would be able to buy from them are the firefish and maybe the mandarin (they have them once in a while). They have never had ANY type of chromis that I can remember, and typically only carry maroon, tomato, and black clowns. I think I saw the Royal Gramma once. I'll definitely be getting live rock and things from them though. A couple parts I will be ordering online, but most of my mechanical working things and all the live rock/sand, and decorations and all that jazz will be from them. I know they are very helpful and they know you by name when you come in. Plus, they recently expanded their saltwater area!!! :)

Instead of buying the overpriced mostly dead rock from Petco (if its like the stuff at my Petco) do yourself a favor. By a bunch of dry rock from Marco's Rocks or Bulk Reef Supply, and then use craigslist to find live rock from local people getting out of the hobby. You'll end up spending a LOT less, and you'll get better quality live rock

 

[Star_Sapphire22]

Our LFS is just a locally owned small business who actually has pretty good live rock. It's priced at about $7 a pound. But I have a couple friends with saltwater tanks who will only get their live rock from them and they said they've gotten some pretty cool surprises in them...even a starfish. But then again, I have no idea how that pricing compares to the rest of the markets'. I do like being able to see what pieces I can pick out though instead of just ordering on line and getting who knows what shapes and sizes.

 

[little_fish]

You can call marco rocks and tell him what you want and he he will do his best. He is a great guy to work with.

Trust me on this, save your money on the rock. You will kick yourself latter when you realize how much you spent on rocks when you could have spent it on cool fish or corals. Save your pennies when you can!

 

[NatsFish]

I agree with the reef octopus skimmer. They are a tad bit inexpensive and work wonderfully. Easy to put together aswell.