Adding My First Fish

[Mizu]

Good Morning everyone!

My tank cycle is going very well and I am going to be adding my first fish soon, and just have a few final questions: (This is a fish-only tank and I won't be quarantining the first 2-3 fish I add)

1. What supplies do you need when adding your first fish? I know we obviously need fish food. I also bought some of the Seachem products like Prime, Pristine and Clarity just in case, I haven't really sued them yet though.

2. I have a return pump in my tank (30 gallon) does that provide enough flow or should I install some powerheads as well?

3. Most likely I'm going to be getting my fish from a local fish store, I've been reading up on the acclimation process and it seems like the general consensus used to be that drip acclimating is good, but over the last year I've noticed a lot of people and websites like Live aquaria and Drreefs are straying away from drip acclimating? Should I just do whatever my LFS recommends? (I haven't spoken to them yet so no idea what their stance is)

4. I know after I add my fish, the lights should remain off (I haven't turned them on yet) for the first 12~ hours. After the fish are more comfortable, can I put any light setting I find attractive or do the fish prefer certain light levels? I have the fluval light that has 5 colors you can mix (White, purple, blue, pink and cyan). Is going full blast white too much for the fish?

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

Hello! Glad everything is going well with your cycle!

Some good, hardy fish that are beginner friendly (in my option) are clowns, firefish, and watchman gobies. That's what I started with in both of my tanks, and they were always perfect. Be warned, no matter what fish you decide on, you will likely need a lid to they don't go carpet surfing. This is especially important if you decide to add a firefish. They are jumpers for sure. You have already have one, but if not you can DIY them pretty easily/cheaply.

As far as acclimation, the float acclimation method is what I go with. I float the bag with the lights off for 20-30 minutes. Then I take the bag out of the water and over to the sink where we drain approximately 50-60% of the water. Then I roll the bags and fasten them to the inside edge of the tank with sandwich clips. The, I add our water little by little over about 30 minutes until the salinity in the bag matches the salinity in the tank. I'm very careful not to let the LFS water get into my tank. Some may think this is overkill, but it's always worked well for me.

It's worth nothing that I have a nano and haven't QT any of the fish that I've added. When I upgrade, I certainly will. Right now, I don't have the space for something like that. Hope this helps!

 

[Mizu]

Thank you so much! yeah that's really helpful, I also have a nano and setting up a second tank just isn't feasible. My first few fish will probably be dartfish or gobies.

I like your float acclimation method! I definitely agree with not letting LFS water in my tank, I really want to avoid that

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

1. Only need fish food, don't need any of that other stuff. If you ever sense anything is wrong, do a water change, thats always the correct solution, not chemicals.

2.Personally I would definitely suggest a powerhead, 2 is always better. Should have one pointed at the water surface to create agitation to help oxygenate the water. If you don't have a skimmer, then surface agitation is the only way you have to provide oxygen to the fish. Flow in the water also helps against algae, and helps keep food and detritus in the water column so your filters can filter it out.

3. Always ask the LFS what salinity the water is, and if they have copper. The salinity is usually lower at the LFS, thus the reason we drip acclimate, which is to change the salinity slowly. So the amount of time to drip acclimate depends on how much difference is in the salinity, so test often. Never add LFS water to your tank since many LFS add copper to the water, so add the fish with a net or with your hand.

3. I don't mess with my lights when I add fish, the fish will get used to the schedule. Some people prefer to add them in the dark, and if you want to do that then you should wait till lights off at night to add the fish, don't change the light schedule.

 

[Mizu]

Oh awesome! Yeah I see a lot of people saying its not the fish that are sensitive to light, rather its the corals. I dont plan on adding any coral so I guess I have more flexibility.

 

[Mizu]

Oh I have a few other questions, I took my filters out of the tank before adding in the bacteria, should I start adding them back in?

Also can I start cleaning the tank a little? The glass is dirty with sand stains/smudges and whatnot

 

[kevgib67]

Oh awesome! Yeah I see a lot of people saying its not the fish that are sensitive to light, rather its the corals. I dont plan on adding any coral so I guess I have more flexibility.

A lot of us said that at the beginning, now look at our tanks. Eventually the coral bug is going to bite you.

 

[PharmrJohn]

A lot of us said that at the beginning, now look at our tanks. Eventually the coral bug is going to bite you.

Yep. Agree 100%. Happened to me. I happened to luck out in that my first few fish were reef safe.

Concerning the lack of QT, I would either invest in one or consider purchasing livestock that has already been QT'd. There are plenty of online sites that offer this service. Unless you know the QT method at your LFS, don't trust it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Oh I have a few other questions, I took my filters out of the tank before adding in the bacteria, should I start adding them back in?

Also can I start cleaning the tank a little? The glass is dirty with sand stains/smudges and whatnot

What kind of filter? Like a hob or canister filter? They can be added back or not. They are useful to provide mechanical and chemical filtration and provide water movement, but lots of tanks run without these filters. Do a little more reading on the pro's and con's, there are lots of threads here and on the internet.

And yes you can clean your tank, keep it looking nice. Enjoy

 

[Mizu]

My filters are two of these sponges that go into the back chamber (it's built in AIO)

 

[Mizu]

Yep. Agree 100%. Happened to me. I happened to luck out in that my first few fish were reef safe.

Concerning the lack of QT, I would either invest in one or consider purchasing livestock that has already been QT'd. There are plenty of online sites that offer this service. Unless you know the QT method at your LFS, don't trust it.

Noted - Is Drreefs the main online service that everyone goes to for quarantined fish?