Newbie

[bootz]

Hey Guys i am new to the forum but i was hoping i could get some advice. I use to raise African cichlids a few years back but i am looking to get into the salt water game. I was hoping you guys could help me with my fish selection. I have a 30 gallon tank with a bowed front. I know i want like 2 clown fish, some sort of puffer fish, some sort of tropical angel fish, and some kind of live sw animal that does some cleaning. Any suggestions? i hope most of these guys are compatible with eachother. thanks in advance for any help.

 

[pat8you]

Welcome to the forums. Do you already have this tank set up?

Clown fish will do well in that sized tank but i would stick with one of the smaller species. Like ocellaris or percula. Puffer fish can be a bit more difficult in that sized tank. Almost all of them are going to need a minimum of around 50 gallons and many of them get extreemly large and would require upwards of 180 gallons. The angels will be ok but you will have to stick with dwarf angels. Keep in mind dwarf angels are generally not considered reef safe so you won't be able to keep coral with them. There are plenty of things to keep in your tank that clean and it is standard to get a clean up crew of snails and hermit crabs. There are also cleaner shrimp that i find very entertaining that will pick parasites off your fish.

If you have not set up your tank yet keep in mind that it will need to cycle and you should check the articles section of the forum for a write up on how to do it properly. Keep us in the loop as you set up your tank. We are here to help.

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

Forget the puffer idea, unless you talking about a valentine puffer (4 inch puffer). Make sure whatever puffer you get max size is 4 inches. Also, you probably need to forget about larger angels and stick to a cool smal angel fish like a flame angel that only grows to 4 inches or so. The two clowns are fine.

 

[bootz]

yeah i really wanted smaller fish. (just a community of some cool looking ones.) i went to the fish store the other day and saw a lion fish upfront for the first time and wow they are awesome looking up close is there any dwarf ones i could build a tank around at my tank size. I know they are venomous and will eat anything that they can get there mouth around but i would really like to build a small community around one. is there anyone smaller one out there? and thanks for being so helpful


Edit: i have not set up my tank yet, because i have to buy some crushed coral and a new filter.

 

[eatsomepopcorn]

Most lionfish that you see in the store are the volitans lionfish also known as a turkey fish or common lionfish or spotless lionfish or russel's lion fish. This fish is cool looking, however, he grows up to 15 inches and needs a tanks size of 55 gallons minimum. There are a few lion fish that can fit in your size tank that are also cool. They are: clearfin lionfish, deepwater lion fish, spot fin lionfish, zebra lionfish, short fin lionfish, and twin spot lionfish.

Hope this helps.