Yikes! Just about time for first fish . . .

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blorkiemom

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
309
Location
Sacramento, CA
and I could use some long-range fish-pickin' advice. My QT has finally cycled (took a month with 5 lbs of LR) and if my readings stay at zero for a few more days I'm ready to add my first fishie. The excitement is palpable. Anyway, if anyone has comments or suggestions on this fish list, I would really appreciate it. It's very tentative; I'm not even sure of the availability of some of these.

75 gallon AGA with 30 gallon sump/'fuge.

Goals: start easy with FOWLR, move into easy reefy stuff later. With that in mind, would like to get all reef-friendly fish who ideally will not eat or torture each other.

How does this sound?

1 royal gramma
1 coral beauty
1 or a pair of tank-raised percs, false or true (is one better than the other?)
1 fairy wrasse or flasher wrasse
1 midas blenny or blackray shrimp goby
1 regal tang (maybe, if things are going well much later)

The coral beauty and tang would go in last, but what first? Anything on this list asking for trouble? I've looked at a bunch of books, but they don't always agree on how aggressive, reef-compatible, etc, the various fish are. And would this max out my load, do you think? I know questions like this get dull for those of you who've been at it a while and I sure do appreciate that so many of you take the time to offer your experience.
 
I would start with the pair of clowns. I have seen more percs as tank raised, and most of the time they are better suited for aquarium life. good luck
 
I'd also start with the clowns. I'm not sure whether the false or trues are more advisable (someone will be I'm sure and offer help choosing). But having a few different ones, I found that the tank raised are a lot friendlier. They come to the front of the tank everytime I'm near - even swim around my hand when it's in the tank. I did 2 blue/green chromis to start. Kinda glad I got both now though. I'd also go with the shrimp goby, but you might get him a pistol shrimp to watch over. I got my pair the same day from differnt tanks, nut they found each other and have been an interesting pair. Be sure to put your rock all the way down as opposed to on top of the sand since the pistol will tunnel and could topple them. I got the watchman goby.

Glad to see the QT in use!
 
go with the false percs (occellaris), but def. try to get tank raised. they have a much better survival rate in the home aquarium than wild caught. false are better than true because a) they are less expensive b) they are more outgoing- true percs are very shy, ive seen a pair that never strayed more than 5 inches from their home base. not very exciting in a 75G tank :) like austinsdad said, tank raised are friendlyer, and false percs are friendlier than true percs. def. go with false.

i also agree that the shrimp goby and his shrimp friend would be a fascinating addition to the tank, but beware of avalanches as these guys love to dig.

just fyi, pygmy angels can be pretty tough to keep. they are known for developing a dropsy-like condition and dying very quickly. every one ive ever had has come down with either that or marine velvet. but as long as your using QT, you might as well give it a try.

oh and royal grammas are fantastic fish, they are probably one of my favorites. easy, firendly, and fun to watch.

good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice! Tank raised, false percs it is, and I'll go for the goby. I can't believe how nervous I am about buying fish! I never worried about bringing home FW fish. I guess I don't feel too confident despite hours and hours of research. Learn by doing, I guess!
 
Heh.. you'll do fine.. try to remember to enjoy it under all that nervousness, lol.
 
Thanks, Atari! You know, I don't know how people who are totally new to fish are able to go straight into SW. I started looking into this with a basic understanding of the tank cycle, common water problems, yadda yadda, but as I reaseach and learn the depth of my ignorance continually overwhelms me. I can't imagine how I would feel if I started brand new and didn't know nitrites from nitrates.

ETA that after visiting several stores, I couldn't find tank-raised false percs so I went for a pair of tank-raised true black percs. They had been at the store for "a while" and I think they are pairing--they won't leave each other's side. I lowered the SG in my tank to come closer to their water (1.017) and switched water for an hour. They look good so far--swimming actively, ate a little, not hiding at all. They are sticking close to the glass for some reason. And they are cute as buttons.

Okay, I know that no one really cares about my 2 clownfish but I'm kinda excited so I'm sharing anyway. :)
 
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