Help!

I'm thinking of buying a 40-50gal saltwater aquarium in a couple of months, but I don't know where to start. I know I want some live rock (duh), a bubble tip anemone, 2-3 true percula clownfish, and a blue puffer. I may want more, but I'm not sure how many fish you can have per tank. I talked to some lady at the Reef, and she said one gallon per inch of fish. But she also said my sister couldn't have more than 4 fish in her 12 gallon freshwater aquarium, and she can have 8. So could I have more in the tank than the fish/inverts I mentioned? And if so, what? I know pufferfish nip at inverts, but I don't know what is safe to have in the same tank with them. Can someone help me?!?!

 

Well, I can tell you that the bigger tank you start with the better. It is much easier to maintain water parameters in a bigger system. Now, for the rock I buy DRY rock as I know there won't be any unwanted sea critters (ie Aiptasia) on dry rock. I had fought Aiptasia for months in my old tank and lost. It took over my whole 125 system and even started to grow in my filters on my glass and it wasn't pretty. Now for fish the puffers will mostly like not just "nip" but eat inverts. I think (not sure) most puffers eat snails as part of their diet even in the wild. As for the anemone they are very pretty and very neat to watch but, they are very picky the smallest accident will often led the their death. They have no tolerance for water parameter swings.

This is the compatibility chart I go by I got it from liveaquaria.com

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/ultimate-newbie-guide-86462.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/mistakes-i-made-newbie-83502.html
http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/whats-important-successful-tank-108699.html

Hello and welcome! Since you said you have a few months before purchase, this is what i'd suggest! Stop listening to that lady at the REEF! The 1" per gallon rule doen't even come close to being able to be applied for saltwater tanks! There are way too many variables, filters, fish compatibility, amount of liverock, other live stock etc!

I would read the above threads to get a start! Then look at some of the build threads to get an idea of how you want your tanks to look and what you want in it!

Next create a wish list and post it on here so the pro's can help tweak it for you! Lights are one of the bigger investments so read up on them too!

Creating your wish list will give you an idea of teh costs and work a saltwater tank requires! They are awesome, but require a level of care and $ most freshwater tanks don't!

As always don't be afraid to ask!

BTW 2 clowns not 3! and the 2 clowns if introduced together will prob mate up and limit the amount of other fish you can have! Love puffers too, just read up on them!

 

I'm pretty sure the Reef lady said 1 inch per gallon, but I'm not the best at listening (or remembering) so I could be wrong. But is there anyway a blue puffer could eat or harm a bubble tip anemone? I guessed not because the anemone is bigger than the puffer (i think) and it can sting (though I'm not sure how much, only that it doesn't harm humans other than to give us a rash). But I'm not entirely sure.

 

I'm sure the lady did say 1" per gallon, but it does not apply to saltwater. People who don't know much about the needs of saltwater fish tend to say that to people who know nothing about saltwater fish...especially if the person saying it is in the business of selling fish LOL.

For clowns, just get a pair. A 3rd will be killed by the other two. The puffer will not eat the anemone but it will eat shrimp, snails, and crabs. Also, it's best to have a mature tank (6 months or more) for an anemone, as the are very sensitive to water parameter swings and water parameters tend to not be stable for the first 6 months to a year in a tank.

 

Thanks!;D