What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

beginner salty

hi i am going to be keeping saltwater fish in about 5-6 months (need to get ready)and i wanted what fish are good to keep for beginners in a 5 gallon nano tank . i need to know what to get and how much. also i am planning to get some dwarf puffers, butterfly gobies, halfbeaks,and small flounder. are these good to keep? what inverts are hardy and easy for a beginner? what kind of plants? i am going to need a lot of help.also i want to keep indian mudskippers and blue stripped cleaner pipefish. help is greatly appreciated. also what about dwarf seahorses?

here is what i found http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com
 
thanks thats relly good help the other half is keeping them alive!
 
Visit here for everything you need to know about saltwater tanks. www.fishlore.com
I'm a member of the forums there.

All I can say is consider getting a larger tank. You are EXTREMELY limited with 5 gallons; you would only be able to keep 1 or two fish MAX.
Larger tanks are way easier to care for too.

Some good beginner fish are Percula or Ocelaris clowns, some gobies, firefish (really good in small tanks), royal grammas, and some blennies. Stay away from seahorses, they are incredibly difficult to care for.

I'll say it again, try to get a bigger tank. The larger the tank, the more fish you can keep and the easier it is to take care of.

Do your research!
-Matt
 
You shouldn't get any of those fish and especially not for five gallons... I hope you didn't mean you want to put all of them in there... IMO 5 gallons is too small for any fish of any kind, let alone SEVEN different kinds (and you used the plural form on almost all!) That's a recipe for disaster. You could keep a couple of Percula clowns in a 10 gallon. Keep in mind of physical space. Just because an aquarium has enough water to support a fish, doesn't mean you should put one in there. You could live your entire life in an 8 x 10 room, but you wouldn't be happy.


Oh. Sorry if I sounded mean. I looked at your profile and didn't realize you were ten. I started at twelve or thirteen, so I wasn't too far ahead of you! I managed to take care of a 75 gallon reef (until the expense became too great for a 7th grader) and if I can do it, anyone can. I think you should stick with freshwater for a couple more years, to build experience and partly because of the things you said (no offense, but it looked like you decided you just want what you like without regard to size, chemistry, difficulty, etc) Saltwater is more complicated and (a lot) more expensive. On the other hand, you would do very well to keep a five gallon freshwater aquarium with a few guppies and a couple Amano shrimp if you want invertebrates. Stick a couple compact fluorescents over it and you could keep basic plants! I think you'd be happier with 10-20 gallons. A five gallon bucket looks big, but once you put that water ina glass box it becomes very small :p

BUT, I don't want to discourage you, and I'm no expert (I'm very much so a newb when it comes to saltwater) but I do know that what you want to do won't work at all. If you decide that, after a LOT of research (once you think you're done, research some more.) that you can A: afford this, B: dedicate the time, C: get a larger aquarium than five gallons (unless you want to only have invert) and choose some easy starter fish, then go for it! You can totally have a brackish/saltwater (I really suggest saltwater. Very few people do brackish and the colors and variety of saltwater can't be had at all in brackish. I'd say that it's twice as boring as freshwater.) if you do LOTS of research and dedicate yourself.

Clint
 
Alright here is what I did for much less than a protein skimmer is worth :)
It's a nice 10 gallon planted tank with 2 cories,a guppy and 2 danios....
Here is a breakdown of what I bought :
Whisper 10(shoulda gotten the 20 my mom bought it for me ) $20
Airpump (had it for hydroponics) like $10
Airstone 12 inches long in the back of the tank $4
Gravel $10 but don't buy the gravel if you want more than 10 pounds buy Ph inert pebble sized river rock works good for me buffers the Ph well from my 6.2 Ph water :eek:
Air tubing $2
Lighting 2 under the cabenit lights like $10 or so for both from wallmart CFLs are better
The hood material I bought this flourscent grid for my 55 gallon had some left used it for the hood placed the lights ontop . $10 for alot of the grid material
Plants were in a trade I say $20 or so maybe for a well planted tank but very/well planted tanks are messy when not cleaned alot.
Nitrite,Nitrate,Ph and Hardness test like a 4 in one from ebay by jungle labs for $10
Doy the tank a 10 gallon from wallmart for $10 or a 20 for like $25. (I had an extra one)
So say $100-$110 for a very nice 10 to 20 gallon setup you could shave money by buying river rock for 10 cents a pound.not buying a test kit and ya I spent less than listed with some stuff I had on hand. Now a reef setup is like expensive mondo expensive but if you have enough initial funds then your set and some funds for monthly things.
Here is a very very basic list of the chilling costs that have been keeping me at bay for a reef :
Protein skimmer $100-120
Canestir Filter $60 to $100
Lighting $150 to $250
Tank $30 or so for a 20 gallon
Power head $15 to $20
Salt like Instant Ocean $30 to $40
Some way for Specific Gravity (Salinity) $8 (Hygrometer) to $40 (refractometer)
Test kit $30 or so to like $40
Live Sand $20 for a 20 pound bag
LR the butt clencher in costs :) Like $120 for 40 pounds 1 to 1.5 pounds a gallon
HEater $30 or so there other things but thats the money important stuff..
 
Clowns and Damsels are good beginner fish. After that then some of the Centropyge angels and Chaetadon butterflies.
 
Now since your into mostly getting fish not corals and those more complex inverts you have some savings...
Now there are people who do not use a protein skimmer on smaller tanks just a good amount of water changes like 2X a week thats save $100,then the refractometer is not needed a hygrometer is not as accurate but will work that saves $32,The the salt if you do a 10 gallon 50 gallons worth of salt will work so that saves $25(at first),Then LR you don't need a crapload in a nano $50 or so for a 10 gallon if you got it from your LFS very cheaply would work,for the lighting well some for the LR's coralline algae but not alot so you'd only spend $30 or $40 ... The filter I'm not sure I think a HOT magnum(I may be wrong) maybe not sure but thats some saving by getting a lesser filter since there are no super sensitive inverts. With a FO(fish only) setup you don't need a very big test kit just for nitrite,nitrates,ammonia(maybe maybe not) and PH(correct me if I'm wrong please JLAP)
That saves $20. Now my dad who worked at an LFS like 2 decades ago says damsels are easy very hardy fish I saw some online for say $5 a fish...
Not trying to hack you down(I'm a newbie at fish in general ) but gobies from what I remember from a month or 2 ago from reading is they need alot of pods and copods for them to eat/sift sand for so you could starve them if your pod and copod population is low.
 
soory trying to keep it small so i can keep them in my room without stress; how about a 6 or 7 gallon? i wasn't going to put all of them, but they are all small and have some if the same needs.i saw at petsloutions.com that they had a filter & protien skimmer in 1.
 
  • #10
If you insist on having a small tank, go with 10 gallons minimum. I'm saying that for your own good... please trust me.

If you want a good filter and protein skimmer in one package go with the tunze nano reefpack 200. http://www.petstore.com/ps_ViewItem-SearchStr--action-view-idProduct-TZ9511-idCategory-FIFRIS-category-Tunze_Nano_Reefpack_200_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Filters_Inline__Specialty-vendor-.html
With that small of a tank though, all you need is the protein skimmer. No filter is needed if you keep up with you weekly water changes.

-Matt
 
  • #11
okay, anybody know if there are 10 gallon "tall" tanks anywhere?
 
  • #12
Check your local pet store, they are usually a bit hard to find though.
Why not just get a wide 10 gallon though? They are easier to find and are a lot beter for the fish, especially saltwater.

I strongly suggest joining the www.fishlore.com forums. They will tell you everything you need to know and more about saltwater tanks. You should check out the front page articles too.

Good luck and have fun! Remember to keep researching!
-Matt
 
  • #13
Clint: i live in a 8 x 10 room and am fine and happy. but need a bigger room!! ( make brother skip 3 grades):)
 
  • #14
I was thinking about taking a 30 gallon and using a whisper 50 with a trimmed impeller it would be a mini sump full of biological media and some polishing floss.
Maybe a 50 gallon whisper that slowed on a 10 that would help with such a small tank maybe :)
My suggestion for a forum for smaller tanks is here http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?
 
  • #15
I didn't realize you have never left your 8 x 10 room a single time in your whole life. I guess I was wrong.
 
  • #16
i also want to add that most people dont take into consideration, ESPECIALLY with smaller saltwater tanks is that you have to load that sucka up with some live rock. i believe it was somewhere along the lines of 2-3 lbs/gal. if you think about the water the rock displaces in a 5 gal. tank, this leaves you with VERY little water overall, with that comes the chances of sickness and diseases spreading much faster than say a 50gal..

~b
 
  • #17
okay 10 gal it is!!! at least the fish would be happy!!
 
  • #18
personally i would start out with tropical and if i can take care of them i would start on salt
but thats just my opinion...
matt
 
  • #19
If you insist on having a small tank, go with 29 gallons minimum. I'm saying that for your own good... please trust me.

10 gallon is WAYYYYY too small to be practical.

To do it right, you should really start with a 55 gallon tank.
but 29 gallons is "doable"..although still really small.

anything smaller than 29 gallons should not even be considered IMO..

see recent thread:
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112660&page=3

Scot
 
  • #20
and just in case you dont believe me! ;)
the "salt-water comminity" generally considers a 40 or 55 gallon tank the absolute minimum, and the "starter size" for a saltwater aquarium:

http://www.qeok.com/fish/458-qeok.html

http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterAquariumSetup.htm

http://faq.thekrib.com/sbegin-setup.html

http://aquarium.union.rpi.edu/articles/setup.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080325183303AAEfNFB

yes, people do keep smaller saltwater tanks, even down to 10-gallon.
but you will find that sucessful 10-gallon tanks are built by people who are already very experienced in the hobby and know what they are doing! ;)

the "nano tank" (a very small saltwater tank, 10-20 gallons or smaller) is considered the realm of the VERY experienced and skilled hobbiest.

in the aquarium world, fresh and saltwater, bigger is better.

Scot
 
Back
Top