My little trip to a place called aquamain's....

[d9hp]

Well ive been wanting a nice freshwater tank for about a month now, eels and plecos, but my dad and I went to the LFS tonight and they had multipl s/w tanks which immediately made me and my dad drool... I am "in love" with a Half-Banded Shark which i believe next to the clowns is the most beautiful fish in the world. I also love lions and any eel. I am here because i am wondering about compatability with a Lion, a shark, a trigger, and mainly the eel? Please tell soon!

PS i understand that the 55 gal i want can only hold the 4 fish i have stated above, if im wrong tell me. I take constructive critism extremely well

 

[fishfreek]

HEHE the saltwater bug has bitten another with its posion.



Ok. now back to the post. First thing I have to say is please in the best interest of both your wallet and the shark forget about the shark. Upon a quick search on the net i found this

They are fairly passive and usually fairly small in the aquarium trade (less than 1 foot).

A 55 gal tank will give ya 11 inches of fish max. So the shark will take up all if not most of that.

I do not suggest a lion fish for a beginner for two reasons. 1. Lion fish are posinous. A sting from a lion is comparitbale to several bee stings. If your alergic to bee stings then a lion sting could kill you. 2. Lion fish eat a specialized diet and are messy eaters. This will make your tank 'dirtyer' than it needs to be so you run the risk of having higher levels of ammonia and nitrite.

Sorry to break the bad news to you.

But there are still lots of great things you can do with saltwater. Take a look at our photo gallery section to get ideas.

 

[Jacob Morgan]

PS i understand that the 55 gal i want can only hold the 4 fish i have stated above

Its not the number of your fish persay but lentgh of them. We go by the length of the adult fish (not current size) minus the tail. As Aarron said you can have up to 11" of fish.. This does not mean you can have 4 lion fishs..


With that said sharks are one of those creatures we all would like to have.. Many of us do not cause we know and understadn the size of tank you really need to take care of one. There also extremely messy eaters and are not reef safe..


Lions are gorgeous fish I would Love to have one but my tank does not allow it. Also Lions are not Reef-safe fish and since I have a reef its out the question any way.


A trigger.. They are not Reef safe either. They have very powerful jaws and like to eat inverts. If you get triggers you hve just bout limited yourself to a Fish only tank. Many are very cool looking but they can be a massive hazard to your inverts.



I did the same thing you did I walked into my LFS and saw the S/W with all the great colors and just fell in love. Sadly my dad would not allow me to get one at the time "there too hard" "they cost to much" etc. So i waitd and well one day I was in there (when i was 14) and the owner was there.. Well I talked my dad into it. and today (almost a yr later) I have a reef tank with my favorite coral/invert a anemone. Thats my short history on getting into S/W and I plan never to leave and go back to F/W the colors and variety of fish is just not there.


A 55 gallon would be a execlent start for Saltwater. If you plan to start please do post back before you do and I and many others will help you get everything you need goin from cyclying the tank to getting your first fish to your first coral we will be here to help ya.


Welcome to the world of Saltwater!



Jacob

 

[loganj]

Eels and lions

I have to agree with fishfreek 100%...wait until you have been in the hobby for a while before you get a lion. They can hurt you and the volitans gets fairly large. The eels are messy and VERY carnivorus, but less dangerous IMO. They will eat tankmates in some cases...like if it will fit in their mouth. We have a 14" Moray in a 55 with a 4-5" Picasso Trigger and they are doing well so far. Bear in mind that this tank is on a central filtration system and not just a stand alone 55 gal tank. The eel is very well fed but, I have noticed that this tank needs attention more frequently than the others. Also, a side note on the feeding of marine carnivores. Don't feed them guppies and goldfish. One, they don't need live food. Two, it has been theorized, and I tend to agree, that feeding live food will make them more agressive. Three, freshwater feeder fish are lacking in HUFA (high unsaturated fatty acids) and your salt critters need this in their diet. Failure to get it will eventually result in liver failure and death. Triggers are relatively undemanding fish. They will eat almost anything and I have yet to see one who wouldn't eat. Ours especially like the freeze dried krill. Triggers can bite you although I have never sustained any real damage from one. If I may suggest; get a Trigger and see how that goes. Then, if all is well, maybe add a small eel. I realize the feeding lecture was not really part of the question, but better to hear it now than after the fish is dead I think.
Logan J

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

i just LOVE aquamain's!

 

[d9hp]

glad to hear someone else has been there! its a great store and the people are very helpful. Regardless of the fish im getting, im looking at a large sump, and a skimmer. Does this sound good to you guys.

I think i am going to have to go back to aquamains tonight, just fell in love with the place!

Can someone give me more info on sharks?

 

[Jacob Morgan]

I am going to have to advise against getting a Shark. I think many others will agree.



Sharks as Aaron said are very messy eaters. This means more for your bio filtratiopn to have to compensate for. Since this wil be a new tank I am afraid you wil be dooming the shark to death. If he does survive he will not be happy in a small 55 gallon tank.



These are my thoughts but if you insist please do lots of reasearch before you invest and please let your tank run atleast a month or so.. This will allow the bio filter to get going.




good lukc with what ever you fish you get.



Also Sharks are not reef safe so your kissing a reef good bye.



Jacob

 

[d9hp]

Tired of me yet? I talked to a freind of my dad who REALLY REALLY knows what he is doing, with about 1400 gallons thorughout his house. He told me against the shark, for now... I am going to buy some fake coral, some rocks, and here is for the question...

can a school of clowns live together or will they get tired and jealous of each other, if so

2 clowns

angelfish (are these good or bad)

small fish

 

[d9hp]

The mechanics

Besides fish im getting a 55 gal tank, sump, skimmer, and a protein skimmer.