noob from sc

C

clemsontiger

Reefing newb
hey everyone! im from Clemson, SC and just bought a 20 gallon tank today and put everything together tonite. im excited about this! i had a few questions, my first one is i would like a clown fish which from what a website told me is fairly easy to maintain but would also like a host anenome also and the site said that it was an intermediate type of care. also, im not looking for a whole lot of fish but would like suggestions as to a few "cool looking fish" but is easy to maintain also. i would like to eventually upgrade everything to bigger and better but for rite now just want like a few shrimp, a star fish, and a few fish and maybe a anenome. any suggestions on maitenance and fish? thanks in advance!
 
First off,welcome to the site.Your in the right place to learn about this hobby.
Clowns are an easy fish to keep and are great to start with.Anemones on the other hand are a whole different ball game.
To keep an anemone,you need a mature tank(at least 10 to 12 months old).High quality lights with no less than 8 watts per gallon(not really accurate but you get the idea).And prestine water conditions.
With your tank,your pretty limited on fish.But I think a small clown and a couple of firefish or small gobies would be fine.SO would a couple of shrimp.
 
I wish fish stores quit saying that clowns need anemones.They do perfectly fine without a host anemone.You will need the proper lighting and a very mature tank to maintain an anemone.

Some species of clowns,dartfish,pseudochromis,blennies and gobies make good nano candidates.Welcome!
 
Welcome!
Yote and reeffreak have you well covered. My advice would be to avoid any starfish, most species would starve to death real fast in a new 20 gallon tank, so I'd wait, do some research, wait some more lol, and give it a shot. Remember, sand sifting stars and choc chip stars don't last long, and they have specific diets. Plus the sand sifter would eat everything in your live sand and then starve within a few weeks. Good luck and have lots of fun with your tank! We all like pictures here, too, so post some up when you can!
 
reeffreak said:
I wish fish stores quit saying that clowns need anemones.They do perfectly fine without a host anemone.You will need the proper lighting and a very mature tank to maintain an anemone.

Some species of clowns,dartfish,pseudochromis,blennies and gobies make good nano candidates.Welcome!
Click to expand...

Welcome~~:regular_w

I agree reeffreak....i have seen a clown host a toadstool leather.
 
thanks you guys for the replys! kind of funny story, so i go to the fish store yesterday to buy a thermometer and some live rock. i bet 3 1lb rocks and bring them back to my place to put in teh aquarium. so i wake up this morning and to my amazement the lady at the fish store didnt check to make sure that everything was out of the nooks and crannies in the rock so i had a small lobster and a hermit crab walking around the tank. so im kind of happy but also freaking out because my tank has not fully cycled yet but the salt water was rite(and i didnt want my first thing in the tank to die) . so i call the fish store and tell her thanks for the lobster and if luckly she said that it was ok for me to have it in there, i just needed to feed them! ok, there is my excitedness for the day! my question is, what do the little critters need to eat?
 
you will need to do water changes to keep the nitrite and ammonia down. it will prolong the cycle but if you dont that lobster will shurlly die
 
Hi and welcome!

First thing first, go buy yourself the basic test kits if you haven't already: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and alkalinity. You will need to check your water parameters often in the beginning to keep your live rock hitch hikers alive.

For food, I recommend feeding only frozen food -- no flakes or pellets! Flakes and pellets contain preservatives which lead to algae problems. You can get frozen food at any of the chain pet stores (Petco, Petsmart) or your fish store. Mysis shrimp, Emerald Entree, Marine Cuisine, krill, bloodworms and fortified brine shrimp are all good foods. Just put a tiny tiny pinch in the tank for your hitch hikers -- they don't need much.

Like others have said, I would not recommend an anemone until you've had your tank up and running for nearly a year. They are very difficult animals to keep alive, and your clown will be perfectly happy and healthy without one.

And feel free to ask any other questions you have!
 
yote said:
Are you 100% sure its a lobster?
Click to expand...

yea, im 110% sure, I was on sunpet.com and its a purple lobster, looks exactly the same! i also had/have a hermit crab but i havent seen that critter since i got the live rocks in. so, should i be feeding this lobster "specific" food or just any kind?
 

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