marblesab Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 I am brand new to saltwater, lol very green around the gills I guess. I have been doing freshwater for over 20 years and I decided to venture into the salt world. So being new and all I have a ton of questions! I have been doing research for several months and I found a nice established tank online last week and purchased it. I took every drop of water I could when I picked it up, and it needed just a gallon to "top it up" when I got it home. (Tank is 26 gal) It's recovering nicely, crystal clear and ammonia, PH, nitrate and nitrites are all very close to normal. I'm gaining some information on the first few fish and corals I'd like to add (once tank it good to go). I understand anemones are difficult to care for but the family has decided they would like to see a pair of nice clownfish in the tank, is it true that you need an anemone if you have clownfish?? A friend of mine told me that if I have a clown without an anemone that the clown will rub, aggravate and stress my corals to the point of killing them. Now I haven't found anything on any of the sites I've been reading to see if there is any truth to this, but since I don't know these fish yet, I figured I'd turn to all the experts here! Thank you in advance for any info! Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Thats false I have 2 clowns and they dont host or bother anything. I even have nems in my tank. Most clowns are captive bred and have never seen an anemone anyway so dont worry about it. Buy your clowns and in a year or so when you can keep that tank stable then buy your anemone. A tank that size about your only option is a Bubbletip, the rest fet far too large. Even a BTA can reach 10" in diameter! But there is alot of options other than anemones. Clowns will host in Fuzzy Mushrooms, Elegance Corals, Hammer Coral, Frogspawn, Green Star Polyps, my Wyoming Whit even hosted my acans! Those are all much easier to keep than anemones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aysha Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Have you checked out canreef? www.canreef.com a forum for salt keepers. My clowns like to try and host in my yellow star polyps.Some clowns won't host at all.Many times they can be kept quite easily without an anemone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marblesab Posted July 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Thank you SO much for your info!! It's helped a great deal! I am on the Canreef site as well (I found that one last night as well but haven't had as much time to check it out) Ryan: thank you for adding the photos! They're beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 No problem! Give that tank another week to settle out and by next weekend you should easily be able to buy uour 2 clowns. Any idea what species your going to add? In a 26 gallon tank you can probably add another 2-3 fish in that 2-3 inch range any idea what else you like? I have a blue assessor in with my clowns but am looking for a nice little wrasse and a goby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitaminz Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Most clown fish that you buy in the stores are usually captive breed, usually the $24 mark and don't need a anemone to host it. You can also get Hybrid clowns that may require something to host, in order to keep their aggression down. But if you buy true clown fish from the ocean, then I would highly recommend an anemone, or usually the store selling it, will sell it with it's host anemone. Over the years, mine have hosted everything from mushrooms to frog-spawns, to hammers to Feather dusters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marblesab Posted July 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 I tested my tank tonight and all my levels have settled and are all where they should be! Another week or two, it should be ready (I hope!) for its first fishy addition! Woo!! I'm still looking around at the different species available, and haven't quite made up my mind yet on which one would be a good addition yet. I love them all! I do like the common Ocellaris or the Maroons the best I think. Though the contrast of the black and white Ocellaris is cool too. I don't find the snowflakes to be on the top of my list (don't throw anything at me! LOL I just haven't found that I like the pattern or what colouring they do have to be all that appealing, JMO) and well the only other one I probably wouldn't go looking for is the Tomato. Hmm... I guess I am more picky then I thought! As for what else I'd like to have in there.... well I have a long list of "Likes"! I know not all can be kept in a tank this small, so they are easier to cross off the list I guess. I love the Scooter Blenny's but I think my tank may just be a tad small for one to really be happy (they say they shouldn't be in a tank smaller then 30 gal) I like some gobies, the firefish and I really like the yellowhead jawfish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Maroons get way too big for your tank. If you want more than clowns look at ocellaris and Perculas. If you only want clowns you could look into skunks but other wise the clarkii complex and maroons get far too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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