Help a new saltwater guy

[wayne]

Clowns, small wrasse, the less snappy dottybacks. There are non aggressive damsels, but research before you buy. Maybe once you've runing for 6 months one of the tougher dwarf angels. GIve it time before you get these in so your live rock gets some algae and critturs growing, else they might starve to death. Get down the lfs and see what you like the look of, then research max size and snappiness, ease of keeping and so on.

 

[Ass Mullet]

I would get a book and do some reading if you're just starting into this. Especially seeing that you wanted to start off with anenome and thought your 40 gallon tank was large. I have a 55 and it's small for saltwater. I made the plunge and went saltwater earlier this year and it takes much patience/$$$$$. To start your tank, make sure you have a good filter, protein skimmer, crushed coral and a marine test kit. Oh yeah, and a good lighting system. 3 to 5 watts per gallon of water as a rule of thumb. If you want a fish to help cycle the tank, make sure it's one you're going to keep when the cycle is done or you're ok with trading it when you're done with it. I used a domino damsel in mine and got a clown about the same size when the cycle was done and they get along fine. Hold off on the live rock a couple weeks if you can just to be safe. I know I wanted to rush in and just have it all right away too, but you have to go about it smartly and have patience with it for best results. I'm just about to the point where I can think about adding an anenome but that's after a 250 dollar lighting upgrade. The ones that come with the hoods with the single flourescent bulb = junk for saltwater. Now I might MIGHT have enough light to sustain an anenome for the clown with my 4 65W power compact bulbs. Don't rush it or you'll most likely end up killing something that costs a lot more than a 99 cent tetra. A cheap/good book to begin with is A Beginners guide to Saltwater Aquariums if you canf ind it. Best of luck.

 

[lowzone]

or start with a few damsels then upgrade to an angel or butterfly then when your tank is established, get a snowflake eel and watch him get bigger as your fish population gets smaller......sigh. I have a 125 that im moving into its final spot i build in my living room, so it will look like a tank in the wall. get yourself some live rock after a few weeks with the damsels (say 3-4 damsels) then once its established, figure out what type of fish you want, Lionfish and damsels will work if you dont want the damsels anymore. my 125 once i move it and i re-establish everything im going with a bunch of damsels or dominos, cheap little fish. Im going more for the colors and quantity then larger fish. a larger tank with 250 lbs of live rock and good lighting, im not concerned with aggression, since there is alot of room for territories. good luck and be patient with the saltwater set ups, they take time but once established, they will give years of enjoyment

 

[jiminy_crime]

If you like lion fish you could go with a dwarf fuzzy. They look pretty cool and they do not get very big.