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Smallest Salt water beginner fish

8K views 69 replies 7 participants last post by  Pearl2011 
#1 ·
What is the smallest salt water fish for ten gallon or less? And which ones could be kept without a heater?
 
#2 ·
I would look at LiveAquaria for fish and coral information. They have a really nice lay out and a credible resource. A ten gallon is quite small for SW but is very much possible. If you a beginner I would recommend something a bit larger if space allows for it. That makes it easier to keep water chemistry on balance. A heater is a must unless you live in a warm tropical place all year round (78F +). I would also recommend a controller on the heater in case of failure for such a small rank.

Nano Fish
 
#6 ·
Are any of these I should avoid?

Blennies:
Harptail
Tail Spot
Two Spot
Barnacle
White

Cardinal Fish:
Orange lined
Long Spined

Dartfish:
Firefish
Helfrichi Fire fish
Purple fire fish

Jawfish:
Yellow head

Gobies:
Neon Blue
Green clown
Brown Clown (+1 for rhymes!)
Yellow Clown
Green Banded
Citrinis Clown
Cave Transparent
Red Striped
Black Clown
Neon
Red Spotted
Orange Stripe Pawn
Orange Spotted
Wheelers Shrimp
Jaguar
Court Jester
Hectors
Red Head
Catalina <3
Hi fin red banded
Swales Swiss Guard


Wrasses:
Yellow Banded Possum
Tanakas Pygmy Wrasse
White Banded Possum

Inverts: (I <3 Starfish!)
Banded Coral Shrimp
Gold Banded Coral Shrimp
Blood Red Fire shrimp
Nerite Snails
Blue and Pink Seastar
Blue Texedo Urchin
Brittle Star. Fancy
Bumble Bee Snail
Camel Shrimp
Electric Blue Hermit Crab
Electric Orange Hermit Crab
Feather Duster
Hawaiian Feather Duster
Peppermint Shrimp
Pin Cushion Urchin
Pom Pom Crab
Sand Sifting Sea Star
Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Serpent Sea Star
Sexy Anemone Shrimp
Spiny Star Astrea
Tank Bred Aspista Eating Shrimp
Tank bred Aspista Eating Shrimp Candy Cane
Turban Snail
Zebra Turbo Snail

Yikes!!! That is long!! Sorry peeps! *blush*
 
#7 ·
Couple of watch outs.
Firefish are known to be jumpers, so a lid would be advisable.
In a 10g, if you plan on getting a Coral Banded Shrimp, that will be the only shrimp in that tank, as they will probably go after other shrimp.
Stay away from Camel Shrimp as they are unpredictable with corals.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Watch your temp with the Catalina, they prefer chillier waters. If you live somewhere that gets warm in the summer and don't want to invest in a chilller, I would skip this fish.

Also, if you want the sexy shrimp, he will eat any starfish you put in the tank. Same thing with the camel shrimp. I had a camel shrimp completely devour a sandsifting starfish in a week. He then devoured my serpent starfish.
 
#10 ·
are you sure your not thinking of a harlequin shrimp?

def. need cool waters for the catalina goby, and i think i would also avoid all blennies and starfish. i dont think either will find enough food in this size tank and slowly starve out.

your going to want a heater and/or chiller ( depending your location ) to keep your temps steady. temps usually drop at night and in only say 8 gallons of water ( live rock displaces water ) thats going to be a large temp swing on a daily basis.
 
#11 ·
Then I'll use a heater, just wondering if I could skip it. Our summers can be pretty warm and aren't chillers expensive? Are inverts or fish easier to take care of? Are there any starfish I could keep? I post a new updated list once I'm done writing it out.
 
#12 ·
Most Star Fish get rather big. Red Star Fish, Marble Star Fish, yoiu may be ok with those as they don't get that big.. You won't need a chiller, just a heater. If in summer your tank gets warmer, run a cooling fan across the surface of the water, this will keep the tank much cooler. Inverts are just as tough to keep as fish, if not tougher. The fish don't mind Nitrates, Inverts don't like them high, say over 40, which would be on the high side. And you have to watch Calcium a bit more than if you were just keeping fish.
 
#13 ·
If I do open top aquarium, will gobies jump out and will the sea star climb out?
Had a bad experience with a betta jumping out. And the lid was duct taped on. Stupid fish.
 
#15 ·
Good, that saves me 20$ on a lid :)
I'm so getting a goby, there are gorgeous. What other types of fish could I get? Nerite snails because I can get them at most LFS. I think. Hernit crabs?
 
#16 ·
Blennies:
Harptail
Tail Spot
Two Spot
Barnacle
White

Cardinal Fish:
Orange lined
Long Spined

Dartfish:
Firefish
Helfrichi Fire fish
Purple fire fish

Jawfish:
Yellow head

Gobies:
Neon Blue
Green clown
Brown Clown (+1 for rhymes!)
Yellow Clown
Green Banded
Citrinis Clown
Cave Transparent
Red Striped
Black Clown
Neon
Red Spotted
Orange Stripe Pawn
Orange Spotted
Wheelers Shrimp
Jaguar
Court Jester
Hectors
Red Head
Catalina <3
Hi fin red banded
Swales Swiss Guard


Wrasses:
Yellow Banded Possum
Tanakas Pygmy Wrasse
White Banded Possum

Inverts: (I <3 Starfish!)
Banded Coral Shrimp
Gold Banded Coral Shrimp
Blood Red Fire shrimp
Nerite Snails
Blue and Pink Seastar
Blue Texedo Urchin
Brittle Star. Fancy
Bumble Bee Snail
Camel Shrimp
Electric Blue Hermit Crab
Electric Orange Hermit Crab
Feather Duster
Hawaiian Feather Duster
Peppermint Shrimp
Pin Cushion Urchin
Pom Pom Crab
Sand Sifting Sea Star
Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Serpent Sea Star
Sexy Anemone Shrimp
Spiny Star Astrea
Tank Bred Aspista Eating Shrimp
Tank bred Aspista Eating Shrimp Candy Cane
Turban Snail
Zebra Turbo Snail

Yikes!!! That is long!! Sorry peeps! *blush*[/quote]
Quote from first page from Pearl2011
 
#17 ·
Here is the updated list (let me know if any of these jump)
Cardinal Fish:
Orange lined

Gobies:
Neon Blue
Green clown
Yellow Clown
Green Banded
Citrinis Clown
Cave Transparent
Red Striped
Neon
Red Spotted
Orange Stripe Pawn
Orange Spotted
Wheelers Shrimp
Court Jester
Hectors

Inverts: (I <3 Starfish!)
Banded Coral Shrimp
Gold Banded Coral Shrimp
Blood Red Fire shrimp
Nerite Snails
Blue and Pink Seastar
Blue Texedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail
Electric Blue Hermit Crab
Electric Orange Hermit Crab
Feather Duster
Hawaiian Feather Duster
Peppermint Shrimp
Pom Pom Crab
Sand Sifting Sea Star
Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Serpent Sea Star
Spiny Star Astrea
Tank Bred Aspista Eating Shrimp
Tank bred Aspista Eating Shrimp Candy Cane
Turban Snail
Zebra Turbo Snail

Do cardinal fish need schools? I thought I read that once.
 
#19 · (Edited)
YES!! No jumping fish!! No more duct tape on fish tank lids!! <--- Looks worse then you would think.
For the hermit crabs are those the same ones under the light in a pet store? I guessing there different, but thought I might as well ask. And if they get algae on there shells that is okay, right?
For the light is a 20w desk lamp enough? It is pretty bright for a 20w.

EDIT: Is it better to start off with fish only then add live rock? Or start with FOWLR? And what the heck is live sand? Is it just sand that has been sitting in the day and has bacteria on it do I have to buy it live live rock?
 
#20 ·
Orange Spot Goby is a jumper, my bad.
Hermits crabs, there are so many different kinds to get. But, what do yoiu mean by under the light at the LFS? The hermits yoiu should get are the ones that are in the SW tanks with the SW fish. ?
20w light will be fine for a FOWLR, little low on light, but it will work.
 
#21 ·
Never mind the hermit question, just realized that it doesn't make sense at all. *facepalm*
What kind of filter should I get? Would an Aquaclear, say, 15 be enough? Doesn't take up swimming space like a canister does.
 
#23 ·
Do I even need a filter with live rock? And what does GFO stand for? Are there any live rock that are better then others? I heard Fiji is more porous so would you need less?
 
#25 ·
Really? Sweet!! One less thing I need! Should I have a bubbler so there water movement? And would playsand work? Although I dont know how that would look in a reef tank . . . white IMO would prob look the best.
I like how the neon blue is bred in captivity, but there all so gorgeous! Is a 75w heater too much? That the smallest I have, not counting the 25w. And I have a 150w which is too big.
Well, B-Day is in 2 months, but last year my mom wasn't too big on the idea of a 20 gallon long. And now I have a 25 o_O
 
#27 ·
So the only plug in is a light? One cord? That is less then I have on my betta tank o.o No complaints.
Would 20lbs of sand be enough? Its natures ocean #1 Atlantic coral sand.
And how would I control salinity? If it evaporates the salinity will increase and could that harm fish? Should I just top off, then change the water? And what type of salt? (heard table salt is good :p)
 
#28 ·
#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.
 
#29 ·
1) Does the kind of rock matter?
2) Is a power head the same as a filter?
3) Why do you need gloves?
4) How long would a package of salt last for a 10g doing 30% water changes?
5) Is the kind of thermometers really important?

Sorry for all the quetions!
 
#30 ·
1) Does the kind of rock matter?
2) Is a power head the same as a filter?
No, a filter returns water at the surface. A powerhead moves water all around.
3) Why do you need gloves?
Some do'nt like getting body oils in the water.
4) How long would a package of salt last for a 10g doing 30% water changes?
30% water every month? Or every week? Either way, a 50 gallon bag of Instant Ocean would last a long time for you.
5) Is the kind of thermometers really important?
Well, yes and no. Some of the crappy digitals are 2-3 degrees off. The mercury ones are the most accurate. I don't like the mercury ones, if one of my fish wacked it, it would be very messy in there.

Sorry for all the quetions!
:-D
 
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