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SMALL BEGINNER SW fish?????

6K views 47 replies 7 participants last post by  veganchick 
#1 ·
PLEASE READ AND REPLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, I have been keeping freshwater fish for a while, and have done pretty well with them. I would really like to start a nano reef or something with some small, easy, beginner Saltwater fish. What do you think about Blue damsels??? Any other fish reccomended? If all goes well, in the future I would like to start a 5 gallon Dwarf Seahorse tank (I read that Dwarf seahorses NEED tanks between 2 and ten gallons, anything bigger is 2 big) , but I realize now that I will need a bit more experience first. Please help! I don't really know much about Saltwater, reefs, and live rocks, but I am doing some research. Please help! Suggestions? Advice???
 
#39 ·
Inverts: Run-of-the-mill CUC. 1 Shrimp of your choice. Maybe a Flower Anemone if you feed it and if you can find one.

Fish:
-1 Firefish
-1 Shrimp Goby of some sort
-1 or a pair of Nano Gobies of some sort
-1 Blackcap Basslet
-1 Royal Gramma

From your list. Not all of this, though. One, or maybe two if your tank has matured.
 
#40 ·
ok, how is this for a 20g tank setup?
dry sand
not sure about lighting yet, how much do i need?
heater and filter
fake plants
caves and hiding places
10-15 pounds of live rock
1 neon goby
2 percula clownfish
Flower Anemone
royal grandma what do you think?? ok?
 
#41 ·
Ok, are you doing reef or FOWLR?

dry sand - Yep. 10 to 20lbs is good if you just want it for looks as I do. 3-4" is better to acheive a DSB.
not sure about lighting yet, how much do i need? - All depends.
heater and filter - 50W heater. Filter is not needed. You need powerheads with water changes. Your LR is your main filtration.
fake plants - EEEEEEWWWWW!!! Not needed at all.
caves and hiding places - See above. LR provides all of this.
10-15 pounds of live rock - More like 20-40lbs for idea filtration.
1 neon goby - Good.
2 percula clownfish - Good.
Flower Anemone - If you can find one. They are *extremely* hard to come by in LFS's. I got mine as a hitchiker, and love it.
royal grandma - Gramma, not Grandma. Lol.

If it was me, I would add fish like this:
-Wait 1-2 months for cycle.
-Right after, CUC. Gradual increase of that over 1.5 months.
-Corals, if you will get some.
-Fish at at least 3-4 months. I would get either the Neon or the Clowns first.
-Third fish at month 8, if everything is fine.
-Fourth fish at a year, if everything is fine.
 
#42 ·
lol.... errrr sorr about that! I feel like a huge retard! Thanks for the advice, I think I'll get the clowns first, then neon, then gramma.... is it bad if I use a filter and live rocks?
 
#43 ·
It isn't really bad. It just isn't needed, and can make your tank worse. Unless you make a HOB into a fuge, then don't do it. Bio-wheels and the like are nitrate factories, and sponges need to be changed/rinsed daily if you do that. Two powerheads, LR and LS is all your filtration along with weekly water changes.
 
#46 ·
That's an interesting premis Pasfur... i like it. Perhaps you could vent this pet peve in a Thread about LR and where to get and not to get it from start as well as density and potential preditors that may come with the LR as well as a removal of certan(of course not all) pests that are common. That would be extremly benifecial and i know nothing about this area, so it'll be a good thing for you to do for even the more experianced hobbiest.
 
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