Moving

[KurtR]

ummm, I'm moving in the next few months, and i want to start all over again. Currently i have a 110 FW tank with 4 koi's in it. I plan to donate the Koi's to the local High School in my neighborhood they have a wonderful courtyard with a pond !

I'm planning on starting a SW tank, in my new house. Does anyone have any suggestions on what type of SW fish i should get?

 

[ccCapt]

It all depends on what you are setting up. Fish only or a reef with coral?

 

[KurtR]

Maybe, fish only with some aquatic plants

 

[melosu58]

I agree with Larry that we need to know what type SW tank are you going to be doing? Here is a good article on equipment you`ll need for starting a SW tank which is just as important.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-tips-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

 

[roka64]

I would look at liveaquaria.com and some other sites to see what tickles your fancy. Get a list together and post what you like and we can go from there.
One thing, did you use copper in your FW tank or other meds?

 

[Jimbo7]

Look for what you enjoy the most, but since you have never done SW i would start with some neutral fish that wont bother anything. A year ago when i started i didnt really think i wanted to deal with all that coral nonsense, one year later i cant walk into my LFS without walking out with a 5 or 10 dollar frag. All im saying is since your not exactly sure on what you want yet, leave your initial stock list flexible.

 

[KurtR]

I didn't use copper in my FW tank. And meds, nothing out of the usual just some water conditioner and bio-support.

I went to liveaquaria.com and i did find some fish that "tickled my fancy" which are:
Clownfish
Tang
Cardinal
Butterfly, Basselets and Damsel

I;m thinking maybe one of each :S (i'm i overstocked?)
I haven't really done a planted aquarium(FW talk) lol
I mean coral/reef, but what type of coral/reef would be compatible with those fishes ?

 

[melosu58]

I;m thinking maybe one of each :S (i'm i overstocked?)

You are not overstocked if you are talking about the 110 gallon tank. That`s quite a selection.

 

[Jimbo7]

Youll have to narrow that a little more, many tangs for instance are not compatable with eachother. So there are a few combinations that you may be able to do if your looking for multiple. Other then that the list seems pretty compatible at the moment, only thing i would watch out for is the damsels. They can be mean little buggers and since the are cheaper people tend to add them in packs and they can harrass fish like butterflies. A lot of butterflies are really sensitive to stress and wont tolerate things like that.
Most corals are compatable with most fishes, on liveaquaria, you need to look to the right and see if they are "reef safe" some fish like the Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel have been known to nip at certain soft corals. Although i have one and he has never gone near any of my stuff (yet) so sometimes it all depends on the fish, you should always assume the worst though.
Remeber to stock really slow, and when you get a final list you should post it here because the order you add the fish can matter more then normal.

 

[fishcrack]

If I can add my 2 cents . . . as the Mom of Jimbo!! We didn't really consider cost enough when we started. I bought Brian (Jimbo) the tank as a birthday present from Mom and Dad and thought I was aware of the cost differences between fresh and sw. We had done fw for years. Wrong!! I also didn't have any idea of how addictive sw can be! A year later, as Brian said, we all are into tanks and corals. But, consider your starting budget realistically. Listen to the guys here. Read the posts carefully. Use the internet to research costs. One unexpected cost for us was live rock. Also, we ended up upgrading lights pretty quickly and buying a better protein skimmer. If I were to do it all over again, I'd join this forum first (you've got that part right), buy the better skimmer to start, consider better lights (corals are very cool) and multiply what you think you will spend times two! Then, be very nice to your mommy! Financing at reasonable rates (slave labor) is always good.

 

[KurtR]

ahh man, did you have to bring chores into the picture.
i just planned to make a mini business plan, and like ask for $300 dollars (not very likely)
but im good at begging

I think we may be in the same picture as you, we've done, well i;ve done FW for about 8 years(off an on)

I'll probably just need to buy a skimmer, live stock, and corals/reef. When we bough the tank from the LFS ( how i love that acronym) the tank was originally for SW, but we made it so it would be FW.

 

[fishcrack]

All kids are good at begging - it's programmed into you at birth! What I should have added to my note was, despite the costs, I really enjoy the sw hobby. I personally find it fascinating, I've used it as an incredible learning resource in my classroom (I'm immediately "cool" because I have a SW tank), and most importantly, it's something I share with my guys. OK, I may grumble a bit about them but I'll finance a hobby like this any day over less productive habits that guys their age can have. They really have worked hard to learn about this hobby. What parent could complain about that? Take the plunge - set up your tank with what is reasonably affordable so you can take care of your fish properly and most of all, have fun. Everyone here will help you figure out all of the rest of it.

On a side note: to my kids - these comments are non binding and may not be used to get free fish or corals.

 

[MommaFishels]

I started off with damsels and returned them quickly. Although they are nice looking fish, they tend to be aggressive. I had the tough decision of what fish to stock in my tank. Right now I have 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Orange Diamond Watchman Goby, 2 Pajama Cardinals, 1 Bangai Cardinal, 2 Firefish, 2 O. Clowns. Oh and 1 Potter's Angel Fish (well of course he loves Corals so I had to set up another 75 gallon tank reef ready)

I absolutely love my tank and find the Tang, firefish, and clowns are not shy and love to show off in the tank. I hope this helps with selection for you.