Light or not to light

[hitekfreak]

Hello everyone,

Im just found this forum a few days ago and have been reading, reading and reading but I have a few question to ask.

My friend gave me his saltwater fishtank with 50g, have a pair of clown, 1 yellow tang and 1 yellow tale damsels, about 10lbs of live rock and 1 inch live sand. His set up has been established about 2 years. Here is my question?

1) About the lightning, should I turn it on the whole day or what? He turned them on from 10AM to 10PM with 1 blue and 1 white.

2) I want to add a few fish if possible suchas:
1 Powder blue tang
1 Yellow tail damsels
1 or 2 Angel fish

Please advise and thanks ahead.

 

[OrionGirl]

Welcome to AC!

On lighting--I use a timer to control my lighting. Knowing the wattage, and if you have any photosynthetic critters, will determine an appropriate photo period and lighting type. For now, if you do not have any corals, running the lights 8-10 hours a day, or only when you are home, will be fine as long as there is some ambient light in the room.

For additions: You don't list any that I would endorse. Mixing tangs is seldom a good idea, especially in a smaller tank. Powder Blue tangs are tough fish to keep--not one I would recommend for a newbie, or a tank that hasn't been established for a while. Damsels tend to be very hardy, but are aggressive buggers, well known for beating up other fish. Angels come in 2 groups; large ones are too big for you tank, small ones can be tough to fed, need a mature system, and don't mix well in a small tank. With the fish you have now, I would consider your tank pretty well maxed out. I would probably find a new home for the tang--they do not fare well in small tanks. Then you could get a single dwarf angel with no problem.

 

[benjen]

hitekfreak,

It is a VERY good idea to find out about fish and whether they'll be compatible with your tank before adding them, so you're already ahead of many people. Good job!

Lighting:
Ideal for corals, clams, coralline algea, and various other photosynthetics is to have a 12 hour schedule, like the sun in the tropics. It doesn't have to match actual sunrise and sunset, though. The blue light, if on by itself, can be used to simulate sunrise and sunset periods. Both should be on for most of the "day." If you just have fish and nothing growing on the live rock, duration of lighting is much less important.


Now the fish:

1) Powder Blue tangs need at least 100 gallons of swimming room to stay healthy and will usually try to kill any other tangs you have.

2) Damsels tend to be highly aggressive towards other damselfish, especially those that do not enter the tank at the same time. Clownfish are actually a variety of damselfish, so the danger here is that the two yellowtails (which are at least less aggressive than many damsels) will get along and declare war on the clownfish or that the clownfish and the other damsel will both harry the new one to death.

3) I would be very careful adding more than one angelfish to a tank unless it is a huge tank. Many varieties of dwarf angelfish could possibly be added to that tank. Just be aware that you have a fairly aggressive tank, that might tear apart any really peaceful fish you add.

Live Aquaria has minimum tank sizes for all the fish they sell. Look at those as a guideline, but keep in mind that those values are actually sometimes on the low side and the fish might need even more space than that to stay healthy. They also have a compatibility chart that can help minimize the chances of putting a fish in that will kill another one of your fish. It's a good starting point, but I'd recommend getting additional info before adding a fish.


Now... Before you add any fish, you need to make certain your filtration system can take the extra fish. Is the live rock and sand all the filtration you've got? If so, you should probably add a fair bit more. You will also want to set up a tank to quarantine any new fish before you add them, or you risk killing all your existing fish with whatever diseases the new fish bring with them.

 

[hitekfreak]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I understand the lightning parts and fishy part. I will hold off on adding fish. I just called my friend and asked him about the fish. he told me that the pair percula clown has been in the tank for around 7months, yellow tang is about 1 yr and yellow tail damsel is around 2 yrs. I have been watching them for the last few days since I have them. They get along very well and lot of empty space since the live rock is very small placed at the middle of the tank that is why I was planning on adding a few more fish.

One more thing, my co-working told me to add a small puffer to the tank. Any take on that?

The set up has the wet/dry filter, is this posible that I can take it out and clean it? I asked my friend but he told me that there is certain bateria in the box to keep the fish alive but the box look and smell a little filthy. Please help.

 

[OrionGirl]

Depends onthe type of puffer--but I really would not add any more fish. While the fish that are there may get along now, all bets are off with a new addition. Changing the players means changing the game, and with 4 fish known for aggression, you could be setting up WWIII.

On puffers specifically--there are different types. Many will not stay small and will not be appropriate for your tank. Tobies, or sharp nosed puffers, might work out if there was space. The porcupine and most dog-face puffers will all get to large, and have specific dietary needs that must be met.