What should be my first fish??

[OctoRob]

Good morning my fellow fishy friends. I have a couple of questions. First, how long should I let my tank cycle before placing the first fish in it. I bought the instant cycle sand. Not sure if that works. Second, what should be the first fish. I am thinking of a clown but will like to hear different opinions. Also my lfs guy told me that a clown will be a great decision because they are pretty strong. Also, can I place two clowns in at once. My wife is giving me kinda a guilt trip about just getting one. She says it will be lonely lol. Should I consider getting an anemone with the clown. I don't want to overwhelm the tank like I have done in the past getting to many fishes at once. How long should I wait in between getting fish. All opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Dav3]

You need to test your water and monitor the nitrogen cycle. That is the only way to tell it is cycled and ready for livestock.

What are you using for an ammonia source?
No the "instant" cycle sand doesn't do what it says. Still takes time and requires an ammonia source.

How large is the tank and how much live rock do you have?
Tank size will dictate what and how many fish you can have. As for the anemone you need to wait at minimum 10 months after starting cycle to add one. The tank needs to settle.

[Dav3]

One last thing. Don't trust your lfs. They are there to make money and will often sell you stuff you can't have or don't need. If you have questions ask here.

[OctoRob]

Great thanks for the input. I have a 29g biocube. And about 17lbs of live rock.

[Dav3]

You should get another 10 lbs of live rock. What are you using for an ammonia source?

[OctoRob]

We'll they told me to just put feed in the tank and let it deteriorate for ammonia. But I am not sure what I should do. Either that or ammonia concentrate. I just started it yesterday. What you think.

[Dav3]

Get a raw shrimp/prawn from the grocery store, toss it in a filter/mesh bag and toss that in the tank. Then test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Once your tests read zero ammonia and zero nitrite and a lot of nitrates your tank has completed cycle. This should take 3-4+ weeks. A that time pull the filter bag out with the remaining shrimp, do a water change and you're set to add fish.

And you should be fine to add two clowns at the same time. Being only 29 gallons you will be very limited in number of fish after that as well as the type of fish. When adding fish it is a good idea to wait 2-4 weeks between each fish unless adding a pair. This allows time for your biological filtration to grow to handle the larger bioload.

[OctoRob]

Great advice, I will try that out.

[jwh0818]

I think you missed something Dav3, or OctoRob is mistaken.

OctoRob, are you using live rock or was the rock cured or dry when you added it?

If it was cured or dried, you can go pick up 10lbs of actual live rock and add it to speed that cycle up significantly

[OctoRob]

The rock was dried. It has coraline on it.

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by jwh0818

I think you missed something Dav3, or OctoRob is mistaken. OctoRob, are you using live rock or was the rock cured or dry when you added it? If it was cured or dried, you can go pick up 10lbs of actual live rock and add it to speed that cycle up significantly

Either way he needs an ammonia source and to test water periodically to make sure tank cycles fully with enough bacteria to handle bioload of fish.

[54seaweed]

this should help explain the cycle process
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice