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Thanks FerretFish! Though now I have to go look up all of those abbreviations lol, the only one I managed to work out was local fish store lol....I was looking at some of the damsels and tangs but they seem to be more aggressive with other species, and that's what I like, a mix of different kinds of fish...I have never heard of blennys or the 6-line Wrasse, but I will definately research them.

*giggles*

Marc I think that helped me just as much

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Now that you mention it, that would kind of suck.

Dan

Woah!!! That's a long list *gets pen and paper to take notes* Thanks for helping though

Hmmmm, I think I will just watch the octopus on animal planet then I wouldn't want to come home one day and see an octopus laying on the floor cause he escaped after eating all of my fish, haha...

If you are thinking of getting into the coral, there are a few more abbriveations you will need to know, lol

LPS=Large Polyp Stoney

SPS=Small Polyp Stoney

BTA=Bubble Tip Anemone
RBTA=Rose Bubble Tip Anemone

LTA=Long Tenticle Anemone

sp=Specific Gravity

LR=Live Rock
LS=Live Sand

fuge=short for refugium

OF=Over Flow
BIOF=Built In Over Flow

NO=Normal Output as in lighting

PC=Power Compacts as in lighting
CF=Compact fluorescents as in lighting, is the same as PCs

VHO=Very High Output fluorescents lighting

MH=metal Halide lighting

Turbos=short for Turbo Snails

Hermies=short for Hermit Crabs

zoos=short for zoanthids (type of coral)

RO=Reverse Osmosis water purifying system

DI=DeIonized as in deionized water

Kalk=short for Kalkwasser

Frag(s)=Fragmented parts of a coral, used in propigating corals

And there are many I can't remember right now, lol.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

If your considering a octopus, think again. They generally only live about 2 years, and that's on the high side. They can escape nearly any tank with ease, they can eat your fish, and you may never even see it because they are VERY shy. If your thinking about a dedicated tank, then it should be OK.



Dan

Woah! You can by an octopus for your tank? Why is it only $45? That's cool thought...I liked the fish you were pointing out, looks like I'm gonna need a few aquariums for all that I want from that site

Alright cool, thanks for catching me up with things lol...I would like to have a reef tank, I think, I'm gonna do more research and see what's best...now I'm gonna go check out the site you gave me

hehe, wow sorry, which abbreviations do you need help with?

FOWLR- Fish Only with Live Rock

IMO- In My Opinion

HTH- Hope This Helped

Thats what I used off the top of my head

Try looking at this site for information about the fish I recommended.

EDIT:

BTW- By The Way

IME- In My Experience

LFS- Local Fish Store

LPS- Local Pet Store

LCS- Local Chain Store

If you need any help don't be afraid to ask. Took me awhile to catch onto the lingo.

Last edited by Ferretfish at 16-Jan-2005 17:20

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Would it be better to start with like a 10 gallon tank, so I could work with a smaller area to learn what I'm doing? Also, what are some good sturdy fish to put in a beginner tank?....thanks

Welcome to FishProfiles

I'm starting on a similar SW journey (72 RR SW bowfront ) and have done a lot of research on some basic beginner fish that I'll share. I recieved lots of help from the people here too.

Blue-Green Reef Chromis- hardy, has the potential for ver nice colors, but needs to be kept in groups of 3+

Clownfish- the ever famous "Nemo" fish Adorable, *pretty* hardy, and comes in lots of color variations, tomato, saddleback, maroon, etc.

Damsels- probably the most hardy SW fish, makes a good cycler but gets bigger and aggressive with age, you might have trouble netting these guys out again. Like the clownfish they also come in several colors, like the classic blue ones, dominoe (sp.) etc.

A little more challenging, but still fairly hardy fish:

Firefish- come in purple and red, and should be introduced at the same time

BiColor Blenny- loves to hide out in the cracks of live rock, and IMO has an adorable face

Lawnmower Blenny- will put your algae problems to a stop

Slightly larger:

Hippo tang- the "Dori" fish Gets to be of decent size, not the most active fish IMO

Yellow tang- also has the potential to grow over 6" and is mainly a vegetarian I believe Gorgeous yellow colors guarantee it to become a focal point in your tank

Those fish are the most common SW ones that I see at the LFS where I work, so you'll prolly find them easy to get too. Good Luck with your tank HTH

EDIT: Just forgot that I also wanted to add to the "bigger is better" thing, your water will be much more stable and there is less room for error with a bigger tank. In addition, go for surface area, not gallonage (did I make that word up ) and make sure you have good test kits for this adventure.

BTW...is this going to be reef or FOWLR?

And one last fish...my favorite, the 6-line Wrasse. Needs to be added once the tank is well developed though, so I won't ramble about amazing they are at this point in time. For some more tips on beginners fish, etc. click this thread I started awhile ago.

Last edited by Ferretfish at 16-Jan-2005 10:22

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Thanks everyone, I think I'll get the clown fish and Blue-Green Chromis to start out with, and once I know what I'm doing get another tank for a flame angelfish, cause I think those are cool lookin. lol


Last edited by MidnightMermaid at 15-Jan-2005 18:13

For my first saltwater tank I setup a 15g tank. It's more work than freshwater but in my opinion it's worth it. You get a lot more out of saltwater than freshwater, I think. So far the 15g has worked well with me. I have a mated pair of clownfish and they're doing great so I'd recommend them.

Nemo

Clowns are a good choice. Nice and hardy and very active.



Dan

any thing realy as long as you keep away from the big fish and stay away from the manerin goby's!

Ok, so lets say I got a 50 gallon, what would be a good "beginner" fish...I want something sturdy cause I'm so afraid of killing them.

Bigger is better in SW. A 10gal tank will be a lot of work.



Dan

NO, the bigger the better! Always! Keeping the water paramaters stable will be extremely difficult in a 10 gallon tank. I would go with at least 30 gallons but 50-60 gallons would be best. If you keep a 10 gallon tank you will probably need to perfrom water changes around 2 times a week. And also you might be able to keep 1 small fish and thats it. I would highly recommend on not getting on such a small tank. But I'm no expert thats just from personal experiance.