inverts

[jonesy99]

Hi im hopefully getting a new saltwater tank, t would be my first but im eager so i just wanted to know some of the best starter fish aside from damsels and i really want some hard esay to keep corals and inverts like starfish crabs etc. Could you recommend some, and also the best lighting and what kinds i need i know they need specific lighting for corals. And what other equiptment ? About 100 litres btw
Thanks

 

[Chrisc0930]

Getting started with a saltwater tank takes a while, you'll have to wait for your tank to cycle before you can add any other kind of fish other than damsels. And even then, you don't want to add too many at one time. When I started mine, my fish dealer gave me a brackish fish that was supposed to die in the tank, after it died he told me to bury it in the gravel. After that I used two damsels until my tank was cycled. If you want corals already cured I would recommend waiting about a year before adding any, alternatively I heard you can start your tank with coral during your tanks cycle if no other fish were added. As far as lighting I have a switchable LED lamp from regular light to a blue light, not sure the wattage but it seems to work good with my anemone. Hope this helps

 

[Chrisc0930]

To add to my previous comment if using coral in your tank while it's cycling it shouldn't be cured

 

[Convict2161]

I still think you should make "build thread" the members will be helpful but it's hard to skim through all your posts with a different question. Trust me I did it at first then made one thread. It was easier for everyone.

Good luck.

 

[jonesy99]

Ok, so any beginner starfish and crabs that you could recommend and other inverts for a 100 litre tank. And any other info abou them

 

[Chrisc0930]

I personally like the chocolate chip star and I haven't had anything but scarlet shrimp in my tank.. To me they seem to be the most beneficial.

 

[jonesy99]

What is the min tank size, diet, lighting etc for the choc chip star

 

[Chrisc0930]

They are scavengers, they'll eat food the drops to the bottom of ur tank, you can feed them enriched brine pour it anywhere and it will just eat it on its own. Also you'll see it climb to the top of your tank from time to time and kind of hang part of its body over just below your water line. If you want you can drop some food right on it.. Gently. If you plan on having any corals or snails be careful, it will eat those as well

 

[Chrisc0930]

They don't need a very big tank at all, I think you can get away with as low as a 10gal

 

[Rutrag]

If you want corals, then you don't want a chocolate chip starfish as they are pretty likely to eat them. Sepent or brittle stars are the best "starter" sea stars, but they hide a lot.

As far as crabs, "reef safe" hermots like blue legs, red legs, and scarlets are easy. Make sure you have extra shells so they have room to grow and don't fight with each other. Emerald or red mithrax crabs are decent, but may hide a lot.

You might look at shrimp like the skunk cleaner, scarlet cleaner, or peppermints. I'd avoid coral banded shrimp unless he'll be the only shrimp in the tank.

I'd also avoid damselfish. They are very mean for their size and you don't have a lot of room in that size tank. A royal gramma or cardinal fish could work. There are also a lot of gobies and blennies that would work. Check out liveaquaria.com and filter their marine fish selection by tank size or just jump to the nano fish category.

 

[Chrisc0930]

I agree with the chocolate chip and the corals, but the chocolate chip is a great starter, I had one since the beginning, I also had two damsels and after my tank cycled I added clowns, an algae blenny, a scarlet/skunk cleaner shrimp, the choc star, and a coral banded shrimp which they all did just fine. I had to get rid of my star because I got an anemone though. Some damsels are really bad but others are pretty good. The damsels I have are the yellow tail and the three stripe.