I am SO lost!

Anthony8858

Hey, fish-face!
Jan 4, 2004
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Staten Island, NY
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About a month ago, I crashed my 36 gallon SW tank by overstocking before the completed cycle.

Taking advantage of the situation, I decided to replace the 36 gallon with a 90 gallon tank. (This is in my basement, so I wanted to fill an empty corner).

I feel very intimidated by this tank. My intentions are Fish only with rock. Maybe I'd add some "easy stuff" like leather coral, etc..

My filtration is a wet/dry with 900gph pump, a skimmer, UV ster,.
I started the tank with all my "old" water and sand, plus new live sand and rock.

I have 4 children, and would love the tank to be interesting, and captivating.

The family voted on fish only.

I don't know what to put in this tank.

BTW: That's not a deer in my tank. It's a
freebie" from the lfs. (my wife thinks it gives it "character")
I'll take it out as soon she turns her back. ;)

Open to ALL suggestions and stocking tips.


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Hard to say it's going to really depend on what you want. You could either go with 1 or a few larger fish or small groups of other fish etc.. I would strongly encourage you to so your homework and make sure whatever you get will get along with everyone else. Also order of addition is very important to a peacefull tank. Sorry to be vague but everyone's taste is different and there are different fish avaiiablie in different parts of the country at different times of the year.
 
maxilaria is right. You have a lot of options with a tank that size. Is there any specific fish you want? You could pick out your favorite fish and find others that will mix with it. You mentioned you have children? If they have seen Finding Nemo, then they might appreciate the tank if you put in some clownfish.

Not sure what you like, but here are some possible combinations:

Caribbean Tank:
1 Cherub Angel
2 Royal Grammas
2 Flamefish
1 or 2 Blackbar Soldier Fish
3 Chalk Bass
1 Spotfin Hogfish
1 Swissguard Basslet

Mixed Community Tank:
2 Yellowtail Blue (hippo) tangs
5 to 7 Blue Green Chromis
1 Coral Beauty Angel
1 Longnose Hawkfish
2 to 3 Banggai Cardinals

HTH
 
Anthony8858,
I'm at the same place as you are. I have the tank pretty much planned and will start my cycle on Monday, but can't decide which fish and all. I'm new to salt and trying to figure out the fish selection part now. So many sources and not enough time to read them all.:D I'm going to follow this thread since I'm in the same boat.

Dave
 
I really like Ben's second group!
Stock slowly and quarantine!

I would just say that a 90 gives you a lot more room for error than a 36 does. When I say error I mean water conditions. There is less likely to be a huge swing in Ph or specific gravity which would not be good for your fish. I'd be less inclined to be intimidated by a large tank than a small one. My wife is thinking about a 30-40 sw and I want to push her to 75 or 90.
 
So many sources and not enough time to read them all.

Well tyler, theres really no need to have too many books. I find that the best two available (based on my experience) are:

"The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists" by Robert Fenner

and

"Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species" by Scott Michaels

The first is the saltwater bible, and the second is the fish encyclopedia (pocket sized of course)
 
The other book is a great book. I think everyone should have a copy.

But for deciding fish - "Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species" by Scott Michaels is one of the best sources I know of. I give a copy to my customers before we decide how to set up their tank. They take it and make a list of the One fish they have to have, and other they would like. We then pick the ones that will go together. As a newbie you must have fish should be rated a 4 or 5.

Ray
 
Originally posted by Ray Pollett
The other book is a great book. I think everyone should have a copy.

But for deciding fish - "Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species" by Scott Michaels is one of the best sources I know of. I give a copy to my customers before we decide how to set up their tank. They take it and make a list of the One fish they have to have, and other they would like. We then pick the ones that will go together. As a newbie you must have fish should be rated a 4 or 5.

Ray

I'm going to pick up this book tomorrow morning. From all the reading I've done I understand the initial setup of the tank, but having a hard time in the decision of what fish to keep. So before I purchase I just want to be well informed in my decesion of the types I'll keep.

Thanks,
Dave
 
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