FishProfiles.com Message Forums

i've had a few fresh water tanks. that did really good. i just want more of a challenge. i'm new to these forums and i'm looking for advise and some help getting started.i am using a 29g tank and i want to have live rock in the tank along with fish and some crustaceans. thanks

You may want to also post in the marine forum. Sorry I can't help more than that.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Not sure what your question is here, but maybe I'll give you an idea or something.

If I were doing a 29 I think I'd get around 30 or so lbs of LR, a few powerheads and a nice deep mixed substrate sand bed for my 3 resident jawfish, maybe something different like the blue spots. I'd also get a 150 halide or so and get it chock full of corals. I think I'd be inclined to do something easy like shrooms and zoos in my next tank. Maybe just zoos. High color, low demands.

As always when starting out, make sure to do all the good research. read up and down the forum a bit. There's lots of good info tucked away here.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

In a tank as small as a 29 gallon, I would be VERY wary of putting in more than two fishes unless [1] they're small, [2] they're compatible as a group (e.g., Matty's Jawfishes), and [3] you've done a fair amount of basic research before spending a penny on the fishes.

One possibility if you're looking for a setup with lots of colour, and one that will provide you with flexibility as regards invertebrate companions, is a Goby or Blenny species (chosen with care) followed by a Royal Gramma. Something such as one of the Gobiodon species among the Gobies, or if you wish, one of the Stonogobiops Gobies that lives symbiotically with various excavating shrimps (plan your decor for this choice accordingly if you run with it), though be prepared to pay a LOT of money for something like Stonogobiops yasha, which is sky high desirable because of its outlandish colour scheme! Among your Blenny choices, Lipophrys nigriceps at just 5.5. cm is a good one, as is Parablennius zvonimiri. Blennies you should AVOID AT ALL COSTS include the Aspidontus species, the False Cleaner Blennies, as these take bites out of other fishes, and similarly I would steer clear of Plagiotremus blennies that are likely to possess the same unpleasant habits. Most of all, AVOID the Meiacanthus blennies as these are venomous!

Another possibility for something to pair wth a Royal Gramma if you're looking for colour is one of the Fairy Wrasses, Cirrhilabrus species (several are small and VERY colourful, one of the best being the Social Fairy Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis) or one of the Flasher Wrasses (Paracheilinus cyaneus is a particularly spectacular one, if somewhat expensive). Again, Fairy Wrasses and Flasher Wrasses tend to be regarded as reasonably reef safe, thus allowing you some options with invertebrates. However, I'd make sure that any ornamental shrimp are too large to be eaten!

Do further research on these choices - here is a good place to start - and then see if any of the above options appeals to you. Remember that I've chosen fishes that are likely to give you flexibility with respect to invertebrate keeping as well as likely to exhibit relatively few problems from their own maintenance standpoint in a reasonably maintained marine aquarium, but be advised that you should be prepared to be pretty much 'hands on' with your first marine aquarium and devote a fair amount of time to keeping it in good condition, not least because if you get into the habit of doing this now with fishes that possess relatively modest demands, you will be well equipped for the future when you move on to demanding fishes such as certain Butterfly Fishes, that strictly speaking need an aquarium set up like an intensive care ward if they are to stand a chance of long term survival.

Oh, and when you finally launch your marine aquarium, good luck!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002