Questions on Care for Clownfish

[jordyt123]

Im new to this forum and recently I was researching the care and supplies needed for clownfish. I only have the essentials like a tank, filter, and heater. However I used the tank and filter on a freshwater aquarium that house an aquatic turtle...if I cleaned the tank and filter well enough could I switch it to a saltwater tank that could house clownfish? It is a 30 [acronym:b80cb04c16="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:b80cb04c16] tank and it has a fluval 304 filter. Would this filter be too much power for the tank? I needed a stronger filter for turtles because they are alot messier and dirtier then fish. Also are there any websites that you recommend that tell me all the supplies I need to care for a clownfish? If you have any pictures of your clownfish habitat it would be cool to see them. And lastly, what other kind of marine animals or fish could I put with clownfish? I heard that they were compatible with shrimp and crabs but what kinds? Thanks for all the help that I hope will come!
Paco

[foma2000]

hey. you could defenalty swich to saltwater. just make shure to clean out everything really well with fresh water befor you start over again. im pritty shure that your filter should be fine. the more flow the better. you should be set with the supplies that you have (its all i have for my 10 [acronym:0df419a266="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:0df419a266] tank) but because yours is larger you may also want to get a small protien skimmer. you'll be happy that you made the investment later on. your also going to want to get a air pump and air stone.
once you have your tank set up with salt water, just through in some live rock ( alittle more then 1 lb per gall) and let it scycle for a month and youll be all set.
as for your last question. clown fish work well with alot of diffrent animals. they are a bit agressive so if you want to get two of them you should get them at the same time. buble anenomies are great for clownfish also becuase then you can see their symbeotic relationship. as for shrimp and crabs, peperment shrimp, and cleaner shrimp work well, and hermet crabs and emrald crabs also work well.
hope that helps you

[jordyt123]

Do you have a picture of your 10 [acronym:ee1a902245="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ee1a902245] tank? What do you keep in it? What do an air pump, air stone, and protein skimmer do? Also what type of clownfish should I get? Could I put a starfish in the aquarium too?

[foma2000]

i dont have a picture of my tank sory. no didgital camara. in my tank i have just the live rock and a clown fish. but there is lots of stuff comming out of the live rock. and in a day or to im going to add some snails and hermits, later one down the road im going to get some shrimp and enenomies.
an air pump just pumps air into the tank. the air stone difuses the air into tiny bubles that defuse oxygen into the water. it also looks kinda cool to see bubles in the tank. a protien skimmer is a device that usaly hangs over the side of the aquariums and makes a fine foam that rises into a colection cup that you empty every once in a while. the protien skimmer will take out all sorts of stuff and make your tank much healthier. you might not need one to start out with if you keep your tank relitivly simple but there defenatly good to have later down the road when you get more advanced.
any kind of clown fish is good. it just depends on your personal preferance. the two main types are percula clown fish and clarki clownfish(i think that im missing one type?). they just have diffrent looks. you could defenatly have some star fish. infact, i would suggest it. try to get a few small ones. like the ones that would come with a clean up crew. you would also want to get some hermit crabs and snails.
thomas

[jordyt123]

OK so all I would need to have clownfish is:
30 [acronym:7d95c8a17b="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:7d95c8a17b] aquarium
Protein Skimmer
Live Rock
Filter
Air Stone
Air Pump
Some Inverts that Clean
Anenomies

[foma2000]

not even all that. you could narrow the list down to:

the aquarium
filter
air pump
air stone
heater
inverts that clean
and the clownfish.

the clownfish just look really cool with the anenome because the clownfish will try to hide in it. the protien skimmer isn't compleatly nessasary if you do very regular water changes and keep up with the tank, but it is a very good thing to have. but like i said befor, its not nessasary and i dont have one.

[jordyt123]

Dont the clownfish need live rock though? Also do the clownfish require any lighting?

[foma2000]

yes and an indirect yes. you should defenatly have some live rock. a little bit more then 1 lb per [acronym:037cef3e97="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:037cef3e97] of water. you also defenatly need lighting to keep things alive. i suggest getting at least 2 power compact lights. one of them should be atinic and the other should be full spectrum.

[MarkW19]

The clownfish doesn't need liverock, but it will benefit your tank if you've got it.

They don't require lighting as such - if you're not keeping corals etc., the lighting is mainly there for your viewing pleasure...so intensity isnt so important.

Just make sure you mimic nature as much as you can - ie. 12 hours daylight at the same time each day, on a timer, etc.

[seafan]

If you get a powerhead you will not need the air pump and airstone. Air stones tend to cause more salt creep which is a nuisance. I definitely recommend a protein skimmer like a CPR Bak-Pak, or Remora. And remember to cycle your tank until ammonia and nitrite are down to zero. Look at >this< article to learn more.