Am I ready for Clowns and Tangs?

[jimmy08]

In my tank now I have a green brittle star fish, 5 hermit crabs, 5 snails, and 5 damsels. My amonia level is at 0, my nitrite is at o, nitrate is at 2, and ph is at 8.2. Thanks

Jimmy

[Saltwaterstart]

You should be ready for clowns.

I'd hold off on tangs for a bit, because they are a bit harder to keep.

Getting experience with clowns is probably the easiest thing I've done.

[ahullsb]

I would wait on the Tangs as well. If you have a fairly new tank, or are new to the hobby, I wouldn't want the hassle right now. I agree with the above posted. Try the clowns for awhile. Then look at the huge variety of fish out there. Tangs are cool but they can be a pain to keep healthy.

[jimmy08]

will the nitrate level of 2 bother the clowns? I am doing a water change which will hopfully bring down the nitrate level. I do not have a QT tank at the moment, what would you recommend me doing when I buy the clown fish? Thanks

Jimmy

[Capt_Cully]

how long has the tank been up?

agree with above, clowns are hardy and should tolerate any fluctuations a young tank may still experience. tangs are more succeptable to ich and could make things messy.

what kind of tang were you thinking about? some are fairly hardy while others can be very difficult to keep.

here's a good link with lots of info about tangs:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=739380

[Saltwaterstart]

Nitrate levels of 2 won't bother anything I don't think.

My nitrates were 40 for a period of time (2 days), didn't loose a fish or coral head at all.

You should probably get a QT tank, fill it up with tank water, and put your clowns in it for a month to make sure they don't have any diseases.

[Capt_Cully]

If you have a good LFS, you should also place deposits on the fish you want. Then leave them at the store for a week or so. Most places won't give you any problems with this if they're legit. They know that you're being an informed saltwater fish buyer.

Watch them to make sure they're eating and thriving. QT them at home if you can like SWS said.

also check out the clownfish forum about what kind you might want and what to look out for with those species.

Good Luck!

[Saltwaterstart]

It's always a good idea to have a reliable LFS by your home. I have to drive an hour and a half to get to the store I go to, but it is worth it, just because they only sell quarantined and fish that are eating and disease free!

[HABS#1]

We are putting a small sailfin tang into our 31 after we get home from Florida and plan to keep it for 6 months to a year tops then trade it in on something else.

[jimmy08]

what would be a good size QT tank? How many clowns would you recommend buying? The type of Tang I was looking to get is a blue hippo tang.

[Capt_Cully]

10 or 20 gallons is good. I'd lean towards 20, they're pretty cheap too.

I would get 2 young clowns. They have the ability to morph into different sexes. If you start young they will hopefully become a mated pair. 3's a crowd with clowns usually.

hippo's are nice, but they are particularly succeptable to ich. I'd wait on that for a while. but once your tank has become established and more stable you should be ok with one. the tang police might say your tank is a little small for one, but I know plenty of people that have them in 90's.

[Saltwaterstart]

I don't think a blue hippo tang in a 90 gallon is a good idea. I've read multiple times that your tank has to at least be 6" long to support a hippo tang (they ain't called hippo for nuthin').

If you were to get a tang, I'd try a yellow for a bit. They are a bit more territorial, but they are easier to keep than blue hippos.

I'd plan ahead for quarantine. If you want to get a tang when it's large, at least a 30 gallon tank for quarantine. If you want to get everything when it is as small as it can be, a 10-20 gallon will probably be okay.

For clownfish, I definitely recommend getting 2, no more, no less. It doesn't matter what type you get, I'd just suggest you stay away from maroon clowns, as they get huge.

I started off with true percula clowns. Best decision I ever made because of how easy they were to keep.

[jimmy08]

One more question about the QT tank..

Is that (QT) the tank I use when I do water changes as well? If so, do you refill it after and repeat getting the salt ready for the next water change or is it just a tank to store new fish at first?

Thanks

Jimmy

[Capt_Cully]

tank for new fish. it should be emptied and cleaned in between new fish. When I run mine, I put 10 gal of water from tank and 10 gal of new salt water.

[jimmy08]

so what do you do when it come time for water changes? Do you have another tank or bucket set up for that? Also when tank water gets low do you use regular tap water to get the level back up?

[hugodboss]

Im pretty new at this but tap but i wouldnt recomend tap water..either get an ro/di , zehp hills,or you can get water at your nearest shop and they even sell it with saltwater for water changes.