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I set up a salt water aquarium...i currently have live rock and sand, i have checked my water for ph and alkalinity both which are pretty good. Does anyone have any suggestions on when i can start putting fish in? My plan is to put two clown fish in along with a sea anemonie...thanks....

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. After ammonia and nitrites have gone up and back down to zero wait at least another couple weeks before beginning stocking. For anemones or any corals I'd wait awhile longer(months even) and nitrates should reach zero as well as ammonia and nitrites. Saltwater tanks are slow to establish and mine is still going through changes after being setup for a year.

I really need to wait that long for just a 12 gallon tank? I already have crabs in the tank...and they seem to be thriveing...Thanks for the suggestions...

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

The smaller the tank the longer you'd be better off waiting. It's hard enough to keep a nano stable when it's established. Trying to rush it in the beginning is just going to result in dead critters. I didn't have anything but rock in my 20g until it had been running for about 2months and no fish until 3-4months. Since I don't keep anemones I asked a few other people that do and they actually suggested waiting 6months before adding one.

Hi there,
while I have not yet ventured into Saltwater,
I have been very interested, and I have heard that
often many people set up a tank with live rock
and leave it for well over a year before adding
any livestock of any kind, and even then, often start
by stocking the inverts only, so it can take up to
2 years to fully stock a salt water tank.

My only other comment,is you have mentioned an anemone
in a 12g tank, and in my knowledge, there is no anemones that will stay small enough to reside in such a tiny tank for very long. When cramped, they become stressed, and if the anemone dies in your tank, the sheer amount of ammonia released upon its death can wipe out everything in the tank. Most anemones reach 1 foot to even 3 foot across.
You may want to consider a fake anemone for this tank.



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Hm. Firstly, the only clowns that really should be kept in such small quarters are ocellaris or perculas. Their natural hosts are haddonis, giganteas, and magnificas. None of those will fit into a 12 gallon tank. That isn't to say you couldn't get one to host in a bubble tip(the "easiest" desirable anemone, and one of the few that would "fit" in a tank that small) but it would be harder than getting one to host in their natural choice. Plus a lot of tank raised clownfish won't host in an anemone, even if it is one they would host in in the wild. They don't feel the need to since they don't have the same predators hunting after them. And the wild caught clowns have a bad survival rate, so buying tank bred is best.

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um this may help or not but this is what my local lfs have put on when to add things to your tank. Also if u click on the link u can see in the top corner a well set up coral reef tank but this has been going for many years. see wat you think

http://www.waterzoo.co.uk/Marine/Marine%20basics.htm

Ok, let me offer my two cents here. First of all, I would like to say that I do not understand why people are so paraniod about saltwater tanks. Yes, due to the high ph ammonia/nitrites at any level are very deadly things but you would have the same situation if you were keeping african cichlids.

That being said, getting back on topic, As mentioned in the posts before testing is the key. If you are only getting nitrates and have no ammonia or nitrites then you can start adding small fish very slowly. Every tank is diffrent as far as time goes, but honestly I don't know where people get these ridiculous figures like 1 to 2 years to wait for fish. Now, I like to add about 2 to 1.5 pounds of live rock per gallon and that live sand of yours is a big plus. Fiji is best to start with because its very porous as you add to your collect of rock you can add decorative pieces of tonga branch or other species depending on your taste. A good clean up crew of 1 to 2 red/blue leg hermits/snails mix per gallon is the way to go.

Now, let me talk about the anemone idea. If you don't have the proper lighting or the patience to monitor your water parameters then think twice before getting one. Anemones are unforgiving when it comes to improper housing and make an awful toxic mess when they die, which is usually in some hidden place in your rock.

In summary, start small,test water often during these first few months and in between fish additions, and most importantly have fun.

It's not the high ph. My freshwater tanks often test higher than my saltwater tank becuase of the tapwater around here and I usually add fish within a few weeks without issues. It's that for one a saltwater tank takes longer to become stable. The bacteria multiply slower and ammonia and nitrites hang around longer. 2nd thing is that oceans are huge and extremely stable. They experience much fewer changes than a typical body of freshwater. For that reason the fish and other marine critters are not as adaptable. They require a more stable tank with better water parameters than a typical freshwater tank. Combine those 2 problems together with a small tank and a sensitive animal like anemones or most corals and your looking at a disaster in the making unless you give the tank plenty of time to establish or are a very experienced saltwater aquarists with lots of time on your hands to do frequent water changes and tank maintenance.

Stuff gnome,
I think the hesitation of people to ensure a sw tank
is stable prior to adding fish is that salt water fish
cost a small fortune.
If youre a person who doesnt make 50,000 a year,
who cant just afford to go replace a 50 or 100 dollar
fish every time it dies, then you go slow and ensure
stability fish.
Saltwater is very expensive, I cant blame people I know for taking it slow one step at a time.
Its not like a freshwater tank where if it crashes and you lose everything that you might lose a couple hundred dollars worth of livestock, I know people who if that happened would lose over 10,000 dollars in livestock.


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Perhaps I was a bit to harsh in my comments; I just think that we inadvertently scare people away from saltwater with these "urban legends" of tanks taking years to setup. True, you spend years stocking a tank but to spend years to begin stocking is just being too careful.

I agree that saltwater hard ware (lighting, sump, protein skimmer etc) is not cheap but live stock prices can be pretty comparable. For example a tank raised ocellaris clown may cost between $15-$20 considering you only buy one or a pair for a single tank the price is pretty comparable to buying a school of 5-10 tetras that cost between $2-$3 dollars each, which is about the average price for things. Now yes there are exceptions(green chromis for example), but for the most part there are not alot of schooling saltwater fish that a person with an average size tank can keep. Normally you only keep one or a pair of a particular species in salt water and most popular freshwater fish(tetras,barbs,corys,loaches) need at least a school of 3 to 5 to feel secure.

I am not a rich person but my 58 gallon salt tank has had the same maroon clown, 6 green chromis, and engineer goby for years now and the most expensive purchase was the clown for $29.99. I know I can't afford the lighting for a reef tank so I simply do not try, but a fish only tank is complete reasonable.

In conclusion, if you take your time(but not to much time) to setup correctly, add fish slow, keep on top of your water parameters and regular duties then anyone who can keep and afford a simple fresh water tank can keep and afford a simple salt tank. Thats my opinion anyway, take it or leave it

I think it really depends where you live.
Clown fish in the town I live range from 59.99 for
captive bred perculas to well over 100.00 for some of
the fancier clowns.
Even things like shrimps run upwards of 20.00 here for
most varieties, and things like turbo snails, which should be cheap, are still in the 12-15 dollar range.


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