I just got my first fish tank and I'm completely new to this hobby, but I am extremely excited to get into it! I just installed a 40 gallon saltwater tank and I had the protein skimmer, fan and heater running for about 24 hours. I measured the salinity and its just about perfect for a reef tank. I'm so anxious to get some fish in the tank, but the light has not come in yet and won't until next Wednesday. I was wondering what kind of fish and how many I could get for the tank? I think I would want the most I could get, and I was wondering if there is a problem with adding to much coral to the tank? Thanks for any feedback!
40 gallon saltwater reef: Fish suggestions
- Thread starter Lukewattenberg
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- reef tanks saltwater fish
Hi Luke,
Before you can add fish you need to cycle the tank which can take 4 to 6 weeks you will also need a good test kit so you can monitor the cycle. Please read through this thread about cycling http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/cycling-methods-procedures.91273/
As for fish you have lots of options, what fish do you like?
In my 65g i have
a pair of ocellaris clowns,
a pair of banggai cardinalfish,
a royal gramma
an algae blenny
i also plan on adding
a sleeper gold head goby
a coral beauty angel
And possibly a pair of flasher wrasse.
Just rember you cant have as many saltwater fish as you could freshwater fish in the same size tank.
Before you can add fish you need to cycle the tank which can take 4 to 6 weeks you will also need a good test kit so you can monitor the cycle. Please read through this thread about cycling http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/cycling-methods-procedures.91273/
As for fish you have lots of options, what fish do you like?
In my 65g i have
a pair of ocellaris clowns,
a pair of banggai cardinalfish,
a royal gramma
an algae blenny
i also plan on adding
a sleeper gold head goby
a coral beauty angel
And possibly a pair of flasher wrasse.
Just rember you cant have as many saltwater fish as you could freshwater fish in the same size tank.
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Yes, you can have too much coral. Coral do add to the bioload of the tank as well. If you start with frags then it may not matter until they grow out. Placement is key so that the coral doesn't fight. Yes, sure, they are innocent looking, but still they are mean little animals. Some coral can be quite aggressive towards others.
krytan
: how are the pair of cardinals working for you? I thought they don't get along with more than one - or is that only if you happen to get two males?
krytan
: how are the pair of cardinals working for you? I thought they don't get along with more than one - or is that only if you happen to get two males?
From all of my research i should be ok with a pair i made sure to get a male and female but have only had them since yesterday so time will tell. At the moment they hang out together all the time.
I'm sorry I forgot to mention that I also put live sand and live rock in the tank as well
The live rock, sand, and (hob?) skimmer is all you have for filtration? If you are looking for a big bioload from fish ("want the most I could get"), then you need to think about some extra nitrate export - the live rock won't be able to keep up with it by itself. And you do want coral which is even more sensitive to nitrate than fish. What kind of coral are you planning on having? Softies tolerate the highest amount of nitrate, followed by LPS and then SPS that don't do well with nitrate or phosphate. Go into a lot of the stony kind (LPS and SPS) you will also be looking at keeping a close eye on replenishing calcium and magnesium at the very least. Since you already ordered the light, you should already know what coral you want, right? Not all fish are reef safe, either. There is quite a few variables open that will allow or limit the choice of fish.
From tank size alone I would already suggest to eliminate any angels (even dwarf) and tangs right from the start. Wouldn't suggest no more than a pair of damsels or smaller clownfish. E.g. no maroon, tomato, or clarkii as they become rather large. And I wouldn't mix damsel and clownfish (same thing clowns are part of the damsel family). Be careful which damsel you pick - need one that stays little. Don't accidentally pick up a sergeant major - they become huge pretty fast (even bigger than the big clowns). The easiest way is to pick one fish you really want and go from there - as you go with planning out the stocking a lot of other fish will eliminate themselves due to incompatibility.
Do a lot of research and try out different options (on paper, not in tank) to find a compromise that suits you. It usually always is a compromise, no matter how you look at it. Got multiple fish that you would like to have, even if they may not be compatible? List them - chances are your list can be adjusted to find a compromise.
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
You mentioned fish, then coral. In a 40gal, it would be kind of tight to have both, but 1-2 fish with some coral is very doable. You have LR, is it cured? Maybe add one fish and then measure for ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.