My 1st Saltwater - 29 Gallon Bio Cube..

[blubunny2005]

Hi everyone! I just signed up for this site like 2 minutes ago since it looks so helpful!

I am a 1st time saltwater owner and I have a 29 Gallon Bio Cube (that's still in it's cycling stage).. I have maybe 20 pounds of live sand and about 20 pounds of live rock in it. I also have 2 black mollies in it right now to help cycle it. I just recently added 3 Blue Legged Crabs, 1 Turbo Snail, & 1 hermit crab as a cleaning crew. Here is a picture of my tank at the moment (no corals or anemones yet - still cycling):

[FONT=&quot]Notice all of the space in it still.. My question is: I plan on only 3 fish for it - 1 orange false clownfish, 1 black clownfish & 1 small yellow tang.. Will this tank (even with it's vast amount of space still in it) hold these 3 fish? I know that it will hold the clownfish but I am wondering about the Yellow Tang..

If not, do you have any recommendations on websites that I can look at to see the fish for my tank?[/FONT]

 

[pat8you]

I would if you can take the fish, crabs, and turbo snail out and try to return them to the local fish store. They will most likely die during the cycle if you don't. Go to the articles section and look for an article on how to properly cycle a tank. You can do it with fish food or a raw shrimp instead of fish.

As a general rule of thumb people shoot for 1.5-2 lbs or rock per gallon for proper filtration.

In general having more then one kind of clownfish in a tank will cause them to fight. Especially one that small. I'm not sure bit i thin the black ones are just a color variation of the false perc so you may be ok on this one. Someone else will have to help you out there. 1 small yellow tang will turn into one big yellow tang and requires a tank of at least 90 gallons. You will not be able to get any kind of tang. If you go on liveaquaria.com they have a section called "nano fish" that will give you an idea about what kinds of fish you can keep. All thier fish have a kind of brief facts section up in the top right that will give you an idea about what size tank and what general requirements you need.

 

[pat8you]

by the way welcome to the site : )

 

[blubunny2005]

Thanks!

Sorry, Petco told me that it was a turbo snail and I just realized that it's a Astrea Conehead Snail.

Thanks for the info I had been talking to several people in petsmart and petco and they told me mollies to cycle the tank and that a cleanup crew was fine even during tank cycle. I will return all fish and inverts 1st thing tomorrow.

Any other advice for me?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

try not to rely on the fish stores cuz they just want money. this is not to say that no fish store is helpful but always ask every question on here even if you've read it somewhere else or something like that. and if i were u i'd at least double the pounds of rock u got in there. Welcome to the site!

 

[blubunny2005]

Thanks again!!!!

 

[roka64]

Definitely check out:
Nano Fish
This will give you some decent ideas.
Check out my sig block and read up on the fishless cycle.
Welcome to the site!

 

[austinsdad]

I agree with taking the livestock back while the ammonia and nitrite go up. Mollies was another Petco mistake too IMO. Pleeeze don't listen to them any more. After the cycle is complete, then add the crabs but just a couple IMO. Snails too.

Have you been watching the ammonia and nitrite levels?

 

[Caige]

Welcome to this site and the saltwater world! I'm a 5mth newbie Learning every hour.

You will find this is the best site for help.. I'm a regular on 3 different sites but this one is the consistant one!

 

[theyoungaquariest]

Yes I would have to say that you shouldnt listen to petco or petsmart again DO NOT LISTEN TO PETCO OR PETSMART!!! I would reccomend looking for a local fish store (LFS) Petco and petsmart are only trying to get you to buy stuff. I would say that byour best recources would be: This site, evceryone here is very welcoming and very very helpful and two this book calle The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paleta. It is a very good and very informative book. I trust it 100% I also used it before i discovered aquarium advice and I i only discovered aquarium advice a few monthes ago. (Ive been in the hobby since I was twelve) so there you go and good luck!

 

[blubunny2005]

I got rid of the mollies.. I have algae all over the place now and I have 3 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs, 1 regular Hermit Crab, 1 Astrea Conehead Snail, & 1 Coral Banded Shrimp in my 29 Gallon PLUS I added another 7 pounds of Live Rock for a total of about 25 pounds of live rock. I need more cleaner crew - WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST STAYING WITH BASICALLY SHRIMP & CRABS? I am not found of snails that much..
Also, My future list of fish include: 1 Black & White Clownfish, 1 False Orange Clownfish, 1 Blue Velvet Damselfish, 1 3-Spot Damselfish, 1 4-Stripe Damselfish (or 3-Stripe depending on what my fish store has) & 1 Yellowtail Damselfish. HOW Does this list sound and would I be able to add 1 or 2 more damsels to it?

 

[blubunny2005]

Also, what kind of Anenome for my Clownfish(es) will be okay? I like the Condy Anemone and it's the cheapest..

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

clownfish very rarely host condy anemones. as for your fish, i dont know if all of those damsels would be ok together, damsels are usually very territorial and will fight. you'd be better off with a few damsels of the same species. but you should w8 for the masters to confirm as usual.

 

[blubunny2005]

LOL.. it's kinda funny that I work for Petsmart (Dog Groomer Though), I have a Fish shop here in Reno, Nv called Ofishal Aquarium and they did all fish but at the moment the are trasitioning to an all saltwater store! The guy there has been extremely helpful!!
What about my 2 lists of cleaner crews & fish??

 

[austinsdad]

I'd stay away from anenomes until after 10-12 months to ensure you got this thing down and the water is stable. Things can go south for a new tank - and such a small one, real fast. Far too early for one of those IMO.

 

[blasterx]

Not to mention petco/petsmart is often more expensive than your LFS. BTW mollies are freshwater fish

 

[blubunny2005]

I know mollies are freshwater but they are raised to be saltwater as well.. and actually my lfs is a bit more expensive.. I have about 13 hermit crabs ans 1 snail.. HOW Many more do you think I should get? Algae growth is still too fast for them!

 

[mr86mister]

Mollies are both freshwater and saltwater. They can be raised through Brackish waters and slowly acclimated into the marine environment.

Blubunny, once everything is all set and the tank is cycled. I would estimate roughly 5 more hermit and about 5-8 more snails and let that be the max.

 

[shadow14725]

Not to mention petco/petsmart is often more expensive than your LFS. BTW mollies are freshwater fish

That is not so.....I have had saltwater mollies since i can remember owning an aquarium.

 

[melosu58]

Mollies can be acclimated to brackish or SW.