Black clownfish setup

[crazychristian]

Do you guys have any suggestions on a setup for black clown fish? I am thinking of possibly breeding them, but I am a little apprehensive, because even though I have researched some stuff, I have not done this before, and I have only kept a few fish before.

So...here is what I had in mind:

1 x 20 gallon tank (40g maybe)
1 x 10 gallon tank (rearing tank)
1 x 100 watt heater
1 x 50 watt heater
1 x Anemone? (any suggestions on what type?)
1 x Air pump

and I have no idea on any sort of filtration. I know I need a basic filter to remove particles from the water, but this book also mentions two other types of filtration. Biological and Chemical. Could someone please explain this to me and tell me why/why not I need it?

[cocoa_pleco]

many anemones need a 55g+

however, if you get good cured LR you dont need a filter, a nano skimmer would be good though. a 20g high with 30lbs LR, skimmer, heater, 20lbs aragonite, 100-150w 50/50 lighting, and some corals would be awesome

[spudbuds]

Also, I'd skip the air pump and put in a small powerhead or two to help with circulation and aeration of the water.

[crazychristian]

many anemones need a 55g+

however, if you get good cured LR you dont need a filter, a nano skimmer would be good though. a 20g high with 30lbs LR, skimmer, heater, 20lbs aragonite, 100-150w 50/50 lighting, and some corals would be awesome

could you please translate into newbie speak?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Clown fish don't need an anemone. If fact, in a tank that small you would be far better off not having one at all. Clowns will breed just fine without them. They lay their eggs in caves and on the substrate. That tank is very small and it needs to be established before you add an anemone of any kind. If you add an anemone to a tank and it doesn't do well, it will foul your water very quickly and badly when it starts to die. In a tank that small, a dieing anemone could foul the water enough to kill the clowns.

[crazychristian]

I am actually thinking of enlarging the large tank. Maybe to something like a 40g tank.

P.S what is a cured LR, nano skimmer, and what is aragonite? (I know I have so many questions)
P.P.S could one of the mods move this to the tank setup part of the forum please?

[cocoa_pleco]

cured LR is full of life that can take away ammonia

a nano skimmer is a protein skimmer that takes impurities out of the tank

aragonite is a sandy substrate good for reefs

i dont think this can be moved to tank setup since theres only one saltwater section


if you did get a 40g and you let the tank mature for at least 5 months and at least 250w of lighting you could try a green bubble tip anemone

[Tigerbarb]

For a type of anemone, you should ask sandupmynose for a good kind of anemone for a clown to host.
I once asked on AC about good clownfish anemones, and she pm'd me, telling me which kinds of clowns host what kinds of anemones.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Have you ever had a Saltwater aquarium before?

[coachfraley]

I could be wrong, but I would assume that if you were breeding clowns, you would want a species only tank. Once they lay their eggs, you would not want any predators around around at all.

If that is the case, then I think a 40g tank might actually be overkill for a pair of clowns. If you can afford a large tank, then go for it, but even a basic 40G SW setup is going to cost you around $1000 to set up right.

If it were me, I would get a 24g all-in-one tank (like the nanocube, aquapod, or the Red Sea Max (which is around 30g)). All you would need to get is around 25-30 lbs. of live rock, 25 lbs. of aragonite, a heater, hydrometer, and your salt mixing supplies (salt, extra bucket, extra heater, extra powerhead, and a supply of Reverse Osmosis H2O).

An all-in-one tank is the closest you can come to a "shake and bake" setup for SW.

BTW, keep asking questions. There are a lot of cool people on this forum who can help you out:c3:

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

One of the best "Shake and bake" tanks available on the market right now is actually the Red Sea Max. I've seen some reviews on it and I've spoken to someone who was asked by Red Sea to test it and I've heard lots of praise for it. The guy I spoke to about it said that when it arrived, he actually had his wife, who had never setup a tank before, take it out of the box and set it up. She got it right on the first try and it took her less than 15min to get it out of the box and ready for water. He's had it running for 2 months now and it is doing extremely well.

[cocoa_pleco]

good point, for breeding i would be worried about a anemone and babies

ive heard good things about red sea max too, i guess theyre for people who dont want to worry about the technical aspect and just wanna add LR, corals, fish, inverts, and boom. personally i like starting from scratch and getting my own equipment

[cocoa_pleco]

im actually really bored so i can link you to examples of good equipment for a 20g

lighting (i bought the 48" 260w model from the seller, its awesome)
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Powerhead (ive got 2 Koralia 2 and a Koralia 1 on my 55g, reliable)
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Skimmer (optional but drastically improves water quality)
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[spudbuds]

It sounds like you are relatively new to SW, so I have a few suggestions. First, please research a lot prior to starting. SW is a whole different world from freshwater. You are off to a great start by asking questions and taking advice. Second, I just got through reading Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms by John H. Tullock. It's a great book that covers everything from equipment to filtration to environments for various species. There is even a section on anemone and anemonefish. It's a great read for any new SW hobbyist. I highly recommend it. Here's a link ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) to it for more information.

Keep the questions coming and don't be afraid to ask anything.

- Bill

[cocoa_pleco]

i cant stress enough what spud is saying, research, research, research!

my first SW tank was terror and i dont want you to go through the same thing as me,

8 years ago
10g
4, yes, 4 damsels
1 starfish
1 clownfish
3lbs LR
30w Incandescent lighting
1 condy anemone
no powerheads

first of all, i didnt know how to read a hydrometer, and i had like 1.040 salinity. the tank ran smooth for a few weeks then it crashed, all but the anomone died, i gave the anemone away.

general advice, reasearch for a couple of weeks, take it slow, reefs take time, and ask tons of questions here

[crazychristian]

Have you ever had a Saltwater aquarium before?

NO I have not, but I have had 2 fresh water aquariums, one was a beta fish. And my first was a goldfish.

I could be wrong, but I would assume that if you were breeding clowns, you would want a species only tank. Once they lay their eggs, you would not want any predators around around at all.

If that is the case, then I think a 40g tank might actually be overkill for a pair of clowns. If you can afford a large tank, then go for it, but even a basic 40G SW setup is going to cost you around $1000 to set up right.

If it were me, I would get a 24g all-in-one tank (like the nanocube, aquapod, or the Red Sea Max (which is around 30g)). All you would need to get is around 25-30 lbs. of live rock, 25 lbs. of aragonite, a heater, hydrometer, and your salt mixing supplies (salt, extra bucket, extra heater, extra powerhead, and a supply of Reverse Osmosis H2O).

An all-in-one tank is the closest you can come to a "shake and bake" setup for SW.

BTW, keep asking questions. There are a lot of cool people on this forum who can help you out

I was thinking of having more pairs in the 40 gallon, but you are probably right, it is overkill I guess.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Not to be mean or anything, but you really should worry about learning how to keep a SW tank before you go jumping into trying to breed clowns. Breeding clowns and raising their fry is not a project for the beginner marine aquarist.

[cocoa_pleco]

breeding clownfish is tough, few members here would attempt it, its not like raising guppies. i wouldnt even try it.

it would be best to setup a basic tank til you get the feel of things

[crazychristian]

breeding clownfish is tough, few members here would attempt it, its not like raising guppies. i wouldnt even try it.

it would be best to setup a basic tank til you get the feel of things

ok. I guess it would be best so there is less of a chance of a complete failure. Bit I still want to ask questions and learn about breeding. I just want to try it, and it sounds really hard, but still I think it is awesome.