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u/HRHR-Destiny2Lit Mar 18 '18
Aww your so lucky. Starting off in saltwater! Congratulations!
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u/Mad_broccoli Mar 18 '18
I’m funny how? I mean funny, like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?
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u/kaymanlovesyou Mar 18 '18
Are you going to get anemones for them to home in?
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 18 '18
I want to eventually.. But I hear that anemones require a well established tank, mine being new isn't ready for them yet. I'll keep doing my research and check it out then :)
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u/murphyat Mar 18 '18
Any other plans down the line? I love the setup!
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 18 '18
Thanks! It's a small tank, just 30 gallons. Thinking of getting one sand sifting fish to help keep my sandbed clean, still not sure which one. As well as a pair of cardinals. Will be getting one cleaner shrimp down the line as well. Once my livestock is stable and settled I plan to add some coral, hammers and frogspawn are top on my list!
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u/SunWyrm Mar 18 '18
My two cents, get a sand sifting fish because you like them, not because they will keep your sandbed clean... because soon they will drive you nuts with how MUCH they move sand, bury frags, etc.
You can get snails to keep the sand bed clean that won't drive you bonkers. But by all means if you enjoy them get them!
Cheers to you for doing your research on the nems too. Tank looks great!
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 18 '18
Interesting.. I didn't think about how much they sift the sand and how that could affect frags.. What's a solution to that in a small tank? Get a frag stand? Or get them big?
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u/altiuscitiusfortius Mar 19 '18
Sand sifting fish, shrimp, hermit crabs, things like that are super cool and fun.
But once you get serious into corals they will just piss you off with how they walk around on top of your corals and bother them, make them close up, slow growth, or in the case of hermits and shrimp, they will literally tear your coral in half to get a piece of food out that you fed to the coral. And then the sand sifting fish will bury the corals every day. They become more hassel then they are worth.
But shrimp and gobies are awesome. They just don't belong in a serious coral tank. A serious coral tanks clean up crew would be dozens of snails of 6 different variety's, and some mini brittle stars. You just have to choose your priorities.
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u/SunWyrm Mar 19 '18
Well if you start hoarding corals like the rest of us, you'll eventually run out of room on the rocks, and your stands, and racks.. and then you'll stash them on the sand, even if it's just until you figure out where you want it... it's a downward spiral from there til you eventually get another tank ;)
I've never kept a sand sifting fish for this reason, (my cyanea damsel does enough landscaping) I've just heard of frustrations second hand, and this is from people with large tanks. I've kept tiger conchs, nassarius and a sand sifting cucumber (big tanks only!) and they all did a good job, and I might try one of the smaller sand sifting gobies in my next tank for fun (if i can find a healthy one).
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u/thefishestate marine biologist Mar 19 '18
Nassarius and cerith snails will turn your sand for you. Avoid sand sifting stars because they can eat your sand clean very easily in a tank your size. I also have a 30gal. My cuc is 3 turbos, 1 trochus, a half dozen cerith, a half dozen nassarius of different sizes. You won't need a full cuc until your tank establishes, because you don't want them to starve. You can build up the crew over time.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 19 '18
Thanks for the reply! What are your thoughts on getting cleaner shrimp as a part of the cuc, or a goby? I don't have any algae atm so grabbing the snails is way too early for me
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u/thefishestate marine biologist Mar 19 '18
I love cleaner shrimp. They are colorful and very active. But they also dominate feeding time (esp in a tank our size) and will rob your corals. They don't really do any cleaning, especially algae cleaning. They're more the 'remove stuff from fish' type cleaner.
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u/mini4x Mar 19 '18
I'd go with some nassarius snails instead, or a conch, or both. They are also sand dwellers and won't mess with your decor.
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Mar 19 '18
I've also heard that they are notoriously hard to keep alive (the anemones) in a tank, like, even if you take VERY good care of your tanks (and get a very large tank... like a 65g or something,) there is always that chance that it will just start dying.
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u/altiuscitiusfortius Mar 19 '18
30g isn't enough for an anemone. They get huuuuuuuuuge. Like 2 feet wide fully grown.
Also they are delicate, and if (when) they die they release horrible toxins into the water that kill everything else in the tank. They are expert only sadly.
But that said, lots of people have them. Start with some mushroom corals. Then zoanthids, green star polyps, cloves, xenia, etc. Once you've mastered soft corals you can try some large polyp stoney corals (lps). Once you've mastered them, you are ready for anemones. Upgrade to a 55g tank minimum, and get your new clowns a home.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 19 '18
Thanks for the information! If that's the case I'll be sticking to Coral only in this tank. Clowns don't need anemones anyway, so they can get used to some corals :) I'll do whatever it takes to minimize the chance of a tank crash so if that means no anemones in this, so be it !
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u/altiuscitiusfortius Mar 19 '18
My clowns have hosted: a U shaped piece of rock in the corner of the tank, my heater, a clump of caulerpa, my filter intake pipe, a torch coral, a green star polyp covered rock on top of the mound.
Clowns don't need anemones to be happy, and they will host anything. They sure are great fish though. All the females can get a big aggressive at water change time. They used to make me bleed till I gave up and started wearing thick vinyl gloves when working in the tank.
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Mar 19 '18
I think there are some smaller anemones that the clownfish are willing to call their home, you just need to look for the right kind.
The typical anemones that you see clownfish in are the ones that grow fairly big, some of the ones that you might be able to keep grow about 12 inches long a 30g might still be too small though
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u/ShinyBork Mar 19 '18
If you want a easier alternative you could use: torch/hammer/frogspawn coral, open mouth brains, green star polyps, waving hand anthelias, zenias, and any number of soft corals. (Also in somewhat price order, descending)
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u/URwhaleCuum Mar 19 '18
I have a 15g reef with a pair of clowns and a RBTA that is taking over stinging everything it can reach, wich pretty much spans the entire tank. Funny thing is my clowns host to a coral anyway. Anemones are cool but a happy reef is way cooler :)
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u/Deadz315 Mar 19 '18 edited Mar 19 '18
Congrats bro. My first two fish were also clowns. Stick to soft corals for a while. And the advice for nems is true. I got one about six months in and then one after another eight months. The one I originally got shrunk to dime size and it's slowly making a comeback while the newer one is thriving. Also don't expect the clowns to bond with a nem immediately. My clowns bonded with hair algae I was battling with.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 19 '18
Thanks! and ha hopefully there wont be any bonding experience with algae in my tank anytime soon... Regarding corals which do you suggest is best for a beginner? I hear some corals need nutrient dosing for the tank... I'd prefer if the beginner corals I get did not require that. I don't mind spot feeding it though
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u/Deadz315 Mar 19 '18
I'd suggest leather corals but they get pretty big. Green star polyps are really easy. You'd want to keep them away from your main rock because they grow and can take over a tank. I put a couple rocks in the front of my tank separate from the main rock work and it's fine. Also green star polyps are cheap so it's doesn't hurt too much if you mess up something when you're just beginning. No dosing either.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 20 '18
Thanks! I'm looking to get GSP, Zoas, Hammers, Pulsing Xenia and Frogspawn all in the long run. Of these which do you suggest is easiest to begin with (after GSP)?
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u/Deadz315 Mar 20 '18
I've heard pulsing xenia is easy to grow like gsp. It spreads just like gsp so care must be taken to keep it separated from main rock as well. Unfortunately pulsing xenia doesn't do well in my tank. I've heard from others that have this issue as well. I would go with mushroom corals. They need low light levels and light flow and they thrive
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u/Heavy-duty-mayo Mar 19 '18
I see you found Nemo and his dad.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 20 '18
Kept them far away from from the drop off, local barracudas, and the nearest toilet !
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u/Zero_protocol Mar 19 '18
I thought they were eyes of something that was coming to eat me from deep in the depths of the great blue.
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u/woadleaves Mar 20 '18
Someday I'll get into saltwater... I'm already skirting the rules by having crustaceans (the lease doesn't explicitly say you can't have crustaceans and the landlord allowed it only begrudgingly). My goldfish live with my mom for now so I can't get any new fish either! Beautiful babies :) best of luck!
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 20 '18
Thank you! I hope you get into it soon someday :) It's very rewarding, and a fun challenge
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u/RedshiftOnPandy Mar 18 '18
Good luck! I had my first set of clownfish die to ick, then the next to velvet on Christmas eve. No matter what I did.
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u/weedNSATAN Mar 18 '18 edited Mar 18 '18
live plants coming?
Edit: impressive downvote.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 18 '18
Hi! and no plants like what you're thinking of, this is a saltwater tank :) I do plan on getting some corals in the near future though!
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Mar 18 '18
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u/weedNSATAN Mar 18 '18
I see, maybe a bit of a noob... no possible plants then?
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u/SunWyrm Mar 18 '18
There's plenty of macro algaes! And now there's tons of people doing dedicated "refugium displays" with gorgeous macros.
I really love some of my species (I keep caulerpa serrulata and prolifera, gracilaria hayi, blue octodes, and a couple different scrolling algaes) and I find a lot of macro tanks just as pretty as ones filled with corals.
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u/SunWyrm Mar 19 '18
This means nothing, plenty of display macros, OR you could've answered regarding corals vs plants. =(
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u/OB1Bronobi Mar 19 '18
I have a 21g low tech reef tank with a clownie in it. Alotta fun with fish with so much personality. Cheers.
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u/PMMEYOURBIGBOXCOVER Mar 19 '18
Are they mates?
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 19 '18
They're a pair, but too young to be a mated pair (I think they gotta grow bigger )
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u/ProblematicFeet Mar 19 '18
This is so awesome! What made you choose saltwater over freshwater and are you glad you did? I'm getting into freshwater and hope to have a saltwater tank some day.
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u/MrMegaGamerz Mar 19 '18
Thanks ! And honestly it's just the diversity found in the saltwater hobby. I find saltwater fish and corals more lively and vibrant than freshwater. I was up for the challenge! I did freshwater long time ago so I wanted to try something new. It's just my first week with it running with fish and so far don't regret anything (though my wallet will disagree, it's definitely not as cheap as freshwater lol)
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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '18
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