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Get Tanked Tips

Fish Love

1/24/2013

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Beginner Saltwater Fish

The three following rules  usually apply to any aquatic enviroment:

  1. Any fish that will
    fit into another fish's mouth usually ends up there.
  2. The less related  any two fish are, the more likely they will get along
  3. The less two fish  resemble one another, the more likely they will get  along

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Which fish should I get?
  It  is easy to make mistakes when  setting up  your first saltwater tank. Both for the sake of the fish and your  wallet. Start  with only a few hardy inexpensive fish. Most marine fish are  collected in the
wild rather than captive raised, so your mistakes impact  the world's oceans!

Damsels

The best  beginner fish for a marine tank are Damsels. These fish are very  hardy, being  able to withstand worse water conditions than most other marine fish, they are  not picky eaters, and they are fairly inexpensive. The down-side is that they  are fairly aggressive. One or two will co-exist  in a tank. There will be a lot  of fighting if you put more in. Dealers get  away with a lot in their tanks by  keeping the tanks so crowded that none of  the fish can establish a territory.  This is not acceptable for long periods  of time. It is best to use damsels to  break in a new tank. If you are then  going to add other aggressive fish, you can
keep the Damsels. If you want  to keep shy or delicate fish, you should take the  Damsels back to the pet store once you and your tank are ready for more fish. Some Damsels, such as  the Blue Damsel and  Yellow Tailed Damsels, are not as aggressive as others,  such as the Three Striped and Domino Damsels. In any case, Damsels are certainly the best fish to  start with.

Clownfish

Clownfish  are related to damsels, and are fairly hardy. However, they are  more difficult  to acclimate to a new tank. Clowns, in general, are very territorial, but are  not otherwise aggressive except to other clowns. They will do fine without an  anemone, which is good since anemones are much more difficult to keep. Anemones  require very clean water and high quality lighting. Also, each species of clown likes particular species of anemones, and none of them will regularly inhabit the inexpensive and easier to maintain Caribbean Anemones. Some Clowns are captive raised.

Blennies/Gobies

These small fish are somewhat hardy and are unlikely to cause trouble for the other fish in your tank. Some of them show a lot of personality, though they will get lost in a large tank. Many of these fish are excellent additions to a tank to  help control algae. However, some feed by sifting through the substrate and will  be very hard to keep fed in a fish-only tank  (e.g., the mandarin fish).



Tangs (Surgeonfish)

Tangs are fairly hardy, though they are very susceptible to marine ich.
Being algae eaters, they are useful to introduce when your tank starts
growing algae. They must be fed leafy greens if there is no suitable algae
growing in the tank (green algae). Many different Tangs are commonly seen for reasonable prices.



Triggerfish/Lionfish

If you are setting up a tank for large aggressive fish, you can start with Triggers and/or Lionfish, as they are hardy. However, mistakes with them  can be very costly, so you may want to practice on less expensive and easier fish. Also, carnivorous fish such as Triggers and Lions should be fed plenty of shell fish and other marine life. Specifically, many people  feed Lions feeder Goldfish. This is really a bad practice because Goldfish are freshwater fish and do not provide the same nutrition that a saltwater fish would. Specifically, feeding saltwater fish freshwater food can cause  premature liver failure and the early demise of  your fish.



Others

Some other saltwater fish which can be attempted once you get good at
controlling the fish's environment are Hawk Fish, Grammas, Dottybacks, Basslets, and Wrasses. Some are more difficult to keep than others, but not  nearly as difficult as  angles and butterflies.
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Selecting a Saltwater Fish

Since saltwater fish are usually more expensive than freshwater fish, you  have a great  stake in getting them home alive and keeping them alive for  the long term. You must realize that most fish you see in stores were
swimming around the vast  ocean a mere week ago. As such, the stress of  capture and transportation can
wreak havoc with the biological processes of  the animal. 
    The  most important thing when buying a fish is to not be  overcome by the buying  impulse. Before  buying any animal, you should ask `Can I keep it
happy'. Merely keeping the  fish or invertebrate alive doesn't mean it is happy.  Fifty goldfish may
live in a 10 gallon tank, but they certainly won't be happy  or healthy.  Buying a fish you know nothing about and then asking if you can keep  this  fish happy is a very bad practice. Also, as hard as it is to say this, 
  don't feel like you are doing a sick fish any favors by taking it home. If you  have the room and time to nurture the sick fish, then I suggest you help out the environment and care for the sick fish rather than letting it die. However, if  you are just going to place the fish into your main tank  because you don't have
the time or inclination to set a up a quarantine  tank, then don't bother. It  will only result in the death of the fish and  the lightening of your wallet. 
     Once you decide on a particular fish, don't be afraid to ask the store to hold it for you. A good store will always  hold a fish for you (don't patronize stores that won't!). Also, ask to see  the  fish eat. If the fish is healthy and eating, then it most likely is a  good specimen. Finally, check the fish closely for spots, irregular  patches, missing  scales, and wounds. Torn fins will usually heal and are  not much of a problem. 
 


Bringing the Fish Home

Once you
get the fish home you should set the bag in the destination tank,  thus allowing  the temperature to equalize. After about a half hour or so,  add a 1/4 cup of  tank water to the bag. Repeat this process once every 15
minutes for an hour,  removing any water if the bag gets too full. Any water  you remove from the bag
should be disposed of. It will most likely contain  parasites and other bad  things. After you have the fish acclimated  to  your tank's water chemistry, there are a couple of things you can do. 
    You can place the fish directly into the main tank and hope for the best, you can  give  the fish a freshwater dip and then place it into the tank, or you  could place  the fish into a quarantine tank. The best  scenario is to  give the fish a freshwater dip and place it into a quarantine  tank. Keep the fish in the quarantine tank for 2 weeks and watch for signs of  disease.  If the fish gets sick, you can medicate the quarantine tank without  affecting the chemistry of the main tank. If you are going to quarantine the  fish, you should acclimate the fish to the quarantine tank's chemistry, not the  main tank. If you don't use a quarantine tank, then it is a very  good idea to give the fish a freshwater bath before  placing it into your  main tank. The freshwater bath will cause any parasites  attached onto the  fish to let go and remain in the freshwater (to die a lonely  death).  Otherwise, parasites left to their own will reproduce very rapidly in  captivity and usually infect all the fish in the tank. 
    To  give a marine  fish a freshwater dip, prepare a container of dechlorinated  freshwater with
a similar chemistry of the destination tank. That is, make sure the pH and  temperature are as close as possible to the destination tank (this is   critical!) . Remove the fish from the bag and place the fish into the container  for 3 to 5 minutes. Watch the fish closely for signs of stress. If the fish  stops moving or begins to float, remove it immediately and place it in the  destination tank (either the main or quarantine tank). In
placing the  fish into the freshwater bath, never pour the fish into the  container. Use a tupperware container or a net to capture the fish and place it  into the  dip. The store water should never be introduced to the  freshwater  bath, or any of your tanks. This water usually contains all sorts of  nasty  diseases and organisms. If you put  the fish into the main tank and it comes  down with an illness, it should be  removed to a quarantine tank  immediately. Do not risk spreading the  illness to the other fish  in the tank (although it may already be too late). 

Angels and Butterflies

 Both of these fish are delicate and can be difficult to keep. Many butterflies have specialized
diets which make them hard to maintain in captivity. Batfish are also other fish that should be avoided.

The information in this guide is based on aquarium literature,  personal experience  and customer feedback. Exceptions are always  possible, but these guidelines should give a basic understanding of  the normal behavior of aquarium  specimens. Many factors,  including  tank size, water quality, available  hiding places, and  even the order  in which specimens are added, can affect  compatibility.
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