FIRST SALTWATER TANK, NEED HELP

[Lionfish hunter]

Any live animal you add in a week is almost certainly going to die. Your tank needs months to cycle. And you need a plan to deal with parasites because anything you buy from a local pet store will likely come with parasites that will likely kill them quickly without a thought out plan. Remember these are living creatures that were stolen from their home for your enjoyment, it is your responsibility to give to put them in a situation they can survive at the very least.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Update

Fish plans:
2x Ocellarus clownfish
Yasha hase goby
Yellow clown goby


Invertebrate plans:
2x Blue leg hermit crab
1x Pistol shrimp
1x Peppermint shrimp
5x Sexy shrimp
5x Nassarius snail
1x Cheeky hitchhiker porcelain crab

And i still plan on getting the bubble tip anemone

(17 gallon tank)



Any problems?

coral banded shrimp not peppermint shrimp*

 

[Lionfish hunter]

The hermit crabs will be fine together. If you don’t believe me(hard to know what advice is correct!) I’m pretty sure 99.99999% of people on here that have hermit crabs, have more than 1. Never heard such a thing before.

Oh ok thanks

 

[1epauletteshark]

The hermit crabs will be fine together. If you don’t believe me(hard to know what advice is correct!) I’m pretty sure 99.99999% of people on here that have hermit crabs, have more than 1. Never heard such a thing before.

Oh, ok ill just add one anyways to be sure because i am already adding lots of inverts and its better to be safe than sorry

 

[1epauletteshark]

Any live animal you add in a week is almost certainly going to die. Your tank needs months to cycle. And you need a plan to deal with parasites because anything you buy from a local pet store will likely come with parasites that will likely kill them quickly without a thought out plan. Remember these are living creatures that were stolen from their home for your enjoyment, it is your responsibility to give to put them in a situation they can survive at the very least.

Alright thanks ill keep that in mind

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I don’t see why this couldn’t work in a 17 gallon. But there is something you should know about gobies. If there is any hole for them to find to jump out the top, you will likely find them on the floor.

Update

Fish plans:
2x Ocellarus clownfish
Yasha hase goby
Yellow clown goby


Invertebrate plans:
2x Blue leg hermit crab
1x Pistol shrimp
1x Peppermint shrimp
5x Sexy shrimp
5x Nassarius snail
1x Cheeky hitchhiker porcelain crab

And i still plan on getting the bubble tip anemone

(17 gallon tank)



Any problems?

 

[1epauletteshark]

I don’t see why this couldn’t work in a 17 gallon. But there is something you should know about gobies. If there is any hole for them to find to jump out the top, you will likely find them on the floor.

Ah ok thats going to be a challenge, I'll try to see if my LFS makes custom ones? Either way i have plenty of time before i add them

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Your local fish store likely has fritz turbostart bacteria. It will help a lot with keeping the ammonia down and from killing your fish. Gives your tank a headstart.

So what happens with a new tank is as follows and is called the nitrogen cycle, do some research on it. Your tank is starting with no bacteria to breakdown fish waste into less toxic nitrate. So your fish produce waste, food rots, etc. This turns into ammonia. Bacteria eat this ammonia and poop out nitrite, then a different bacteria will eat the nitrite and poop out less toxic nitrate. It takes about 2 months give or take for these bacteria to build up in numbers enough for a fish or 2. Without the bacteria the ammonia builds up and kills your fish. The turbostart will dramatically reduce that 2 month wait because it is seeding the bacteria in your tank to start. You actually might be able to add fish a week after adding the turbostart, but it is wise to still wait longer.

Either way, before you add fish, add small amounts of fish food to your system. This will add ammonia to your water for the bacteria to eat. Buy a sechem ammonia badge and stick it in your tank. This will let you monitor your ammonia level without having to test.

Have seachem prime on hand before you buy fish. This will temporarily neutralize the ammonia if you notice there is ammonia in the water so it doesn’t kill your fish. Keep the ammonia badge in the water when you add fish so you can see if the water is being poisoned, this will allow you to act possibly before your fish die.

And to answer one of your other questions, everything on the list you decided on will eat frozen food.

 

[jabberwock]

Do your self a favor and skip the clownfish. They will eventually become aggressive and likely kill all the other fish in your small tank.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Do not underestimate parasites such as ich and velvet. They come with so many fish. Put ich in the system you described and your fish will either die or you have to treat the water with copper. It is an enormous pain it the ***, time consuming, bad for your fish, leaves copper in your rocks, and will absolutely kill all your crabs and shrimp and the anemone. It is also expensive for the whole process. Many expenses you might not think about go with treating ich properly

Consider buying from drreefsqtfish. It is a little more expensive and you have to pay for 50$ for shipping. But it will be cheaper than treating ich, your fish won’t die from parasites, and you just don’t have to spend the enormous amount of time and effort treating ich. This is the biggest thing I wish I knew when I started.

A example how to do this is as follows. you could buy the inverts from your local fish store first at first, start slow to build up the bacteria you need. Wait 52 days after you add the last invert. (The time it takes parasites that come on the inverts to die out in a fish less system) Then get quarantined fish.

 

[jabberwock]

Do not underestimate parasites such as ich and velvet. They come with so many fish. Put ich in the system you described and your fish will either die or you have to treat the water with copper. It is an enormous pain it the ***, time consuming, bad for your fish, leaves copper in your rocks, and will absolutely kill all your crabs and shrimp and the anemone. It is also expensive for the whole process. Many expenses you might not think about go with treating ich properly

Consider buying from drreefsqtfish. It is a little more expensive and you have to pay for 50$ for shipping. But it will be cheaper than treating ich, your fish won’t die from parasites, and you just don’t have to spend the enormous amount of time and effort treating ich. This is the biggest thing I wish I knew when I started.

A example how to do this is as follows. you could buy the inverts from your local fish store first at first, start slow to build up the bacteria you need. Wait 52 days after you add the last invert. (The time it takes parasites that come on the inverts to die out in a fish less system) Then get quarantined fish.

Does drreefsqtfish ship to Jakarta?

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Does drreefsqtfish ship to Jakarta?

Lol I missed that

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Definitely not

 

[Lionfish hunter]

If that’s the case just jump into the ocean there in Indo and net you some shrimp and fish.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

If there is anything you are unsure about or if I discouraged you in a certain way. Let me know and we will try and walk you through it. It takes some work to set things up for success, but it is very rewarding.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Do not underestimate parasites such as ich and velvet. They come with so many fish. Put ich in the system you described and your fish will either die or you have to treat the water with copper. It is an enormous pain it the ***, time consuming, bad for your fish, leaves copper in your rocks, and will absolutely kill all your crabs and shrimp and the anemone. It is also expensive for the whole process. Many expenses you might not think about go with treating ich properly

Consider buying from drreefsqtfish. It is a little more expensive and you have to pay for 50$ for shipping. But it will be cheaper than treating ich, your fish won’t die from parasites, and you just don’t have to spend the enormous amount of time and effort treating ich. This is the biggest thing I wish I knew when I started.

A example how to do this is as follows. you could buy the inverts from your local fish store first at first, start slow to build up the bacteria you need. Wait 52 days after you add the last invert. (The time it takes parasites that come on the inverts to die out in a fish less system) Then get quarantined fish.

Trust me I know, the freshwater aquarium I had running in the tank before this all my fish died from ich but it is a big issue for me living in Jakarta to get the right equipment so I try to improvise and do the best I can

 

[1epauletteshark]

If there is anything you are unsure about or if I discouraged you in a certain way. Let me know and we will try and walk you through it. It takes some work to set things up for success, but it is very rewarding.

Thank you so much for all you help

 

[1epauletteshark]

Do your self a favor and skip the clownfish. They will eventually become aggressive and likely kill all the other fish in your small tank

Your local fish store likely has fritz turbostart bacteria. It will help a lot with keeping the ammonia down and from killing your fish. Gives your tank a headstart.

So what happens with a new tank is as follows and is called the nitrogen cycle, do some research on it. Your tank is starting with no bacteria to breakdown fish waste into less toxic nitrate. So your fish produce waste, food rots, etc. This turns into ammonia. Bacteria eat this ammonia and poop out nitrite, then a different bacteria will eat the nitrite and poop out less toxic nitrate. It takes about 2 months give or take for these bacteria to build up in numbers enough for a fish or 2. Without the bacteria the ammonia builds up and kills your fish. The turbostart will dramatically reduce that 2 month wait because it is seeding the bacteria in your tank to start. You actually might be able to add fish a week after adding the turbostart, but it is wise to still wait longer.

Either way, before you add fish, add small amounts of fish food to your system. This will add ammonia to your water for the bacteria to eat. Buy a sechem ammonia badge and stick it in your tank. This will let you monitor your ammonia level without having to test.

Have seachem prime on hand before you buy fish. This will temporarily neutralize the ammonia if you notice there is ammonia in the water so it doesn’t kill your fish. Keep the ammonia badge in the water when you add fish so you can see if the water is being poisoned, this will allow you to act possibly before your fish die.

And to answer one of your other questions, everything on the list you decided on will eat frozen food.

oh ok that’s interesting I’ll try to get all that fingers crossed the have it. When you say small amounts of fish food, I am planning on only using frozen mysis shrimp would I just add a cure or do I need pellets

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Trust me I know, the freshwater aquarium I had running in the tank before this all my fish died from ich but it is a big issue for me living in Jakarta to get the right equipment so I try to improvise and do the best I can

If you suspect the fish could have ich. Look into the tank transfer method. It can be done with 2 5 gallon buckets, a bubbler, and a heater. Very effective at erraticating ich and velvet if it is done before ich is introduced to the tank.

 

[1epauletteshark]

If you suspect the fish could have ich. Look into the tank transfer method. It can be done with 2 5 gallon buckets, a bubbler, and a heater. Very effective at erraticating ich and velvet if it is done before ich is introduced to the tank.

Ok I’ll 100% make sure to remember that