ILuvMyGoldBarb
04-05-2008, 03:37 PM
There are some fish in the marine hobby that simply should not be kept and there are others that are great for the beginner. Determining which ones you should start with can be somewhat difficult. What is a good one and what is a bad one. Hopefully this will help clear things up.
Probably the easiest and best beginner fish for the aspiring marine hobbyist is the Ocellaris Clownfish. They are great little fish and are suitable for tanks 10gal or larger. If being kept in a 10gal then only one should be kept however if 2 are to be kept then a 20gal is the minimum. The misconception that seems to exist about these fish is that they need an anemone, and this is just not the case. The symbiotic relationship between an clown and an anemone is certainly a fascinating one but is not an essential one for survival of either one.
Chromis are another great choice for beginners however there are some very important things to understand about them. Chromis that are under an inch in length are still juveniles. Juvenile Chromis have a very high demand for food and thus should be fed 3 times a day. A group of 6 juvenile Chromis will consume an entire cube of Mysis shrimp by themselves and they will do it 3 times a day. An equivalent amount of food should be provided for them.
For something a little more on the aggressive side, any of the Grammas make a great choice. The Royal Gramma is probably one of the most popular of these. They make a beautiful addition to almost any reef tank. For the beginner, Grammas need to be kept as single specimens, only the more advanced marine hobbyist should attempt to keep more than one in a large system.
There are also a number of Wrasses available in the hobby and many of them do make great beginner fish. They key to owning any wrasse is to be sure to leave no room for them to jump out. Wrasses are prolific jumpers and are notorious for jumping out of tanks.
Many people want to get into keeping a predator tank or some of the larger fish right off the bat, however none of the predators are really good beginner fish and most of the larger fish are not either. Lionfish and Moray's are not really good beginner fish at all. None of the large angels make good beginner fish at all, and this is mainly because of their tank size requirements. Not one member of the Pomacanthus genus should be kept in a tank under 180gal. A 180gal marine tank is a very large investment to make and making that large of in investment is probably not a great idea for the beginner, couple that with the fact that most of the large angels need to be converted to feeding on aquarium prepared foods. In the wild they are primarily sponge eaters and need to be transitioned to aquarium foods.
Puffers, and predators are high bioload fish and thus they create a lot more work for the hobbyist. Weekly %30 water changes are a necessity for such large waste producers. Again, probably not such a great idea for the beginner marine hobbyist.
In general, the beginning marine hobbyist should seek fish that adapt quickly and well to aquarium life. Be sure to choose ones that will be somewhat forgiving of a missed water change and also ones that are not picky eaters with very specific diets. For the beginner that eliminates some of the more popular fish in the hobby (ie, Mandarins and all tangs but the Yellow) but not to worry, in a short time enough can be learned so that these other fish can be kept.
Probably the easiest and best beginner fish for the aspiring marine hobbyist is the Ocellaris Clownfish. They are great little fish and are suitable for tanks 10gal or larger. If being kept in a 10gal then only one should be kept however if 2 are to be kept then a 20gal is the minimum. The misconception that seems to exist about these fish is that they need an anemone, and this is just not the case. The symbiotic relationship between an clown and an anemone is certainly a fascinating one but is not an essential one for survival of either one.
Chromis are another great choice for beginners however there are some very important things to understand about them. Chromis that are under an inch in length are still juveniles. Juvenile Chromis have a very high demand for food and thus should be fed 3 times a day. A group of 6 juvenile Chromis will consume an entire cube of Mysis shrimp by themselves and they will do it 3 times a day. An equivalent amount of food should be provided for them.
For something a little more on the aggressive side, any of the Grammas make a great choice. The Royal Gramma is probably one of the most popular of these. They make a beautiful addition to almost any reef tank. For the beginner, Grammas need to be kept as single specimens, only the more advanced marine hobbyist should attempt to keep more than one in a large system.
There are also a number of Wrasses available in the hobby and many of them do make great beginner fish. They key to owning any wrasse is to be sure to leave no room for them to jump out. Wrasses are prolific jumpers and are notorious for jumping out of tanks.
Many people want to get into keeping a predator tank or some of the larger fish right off the bat, however none of the predators are really good beginner fish and most of the larger fish are not either. Lionfish and Moray's are not really good beginner fish at all. None of the large angels make good beginner fish at all, and this is mainly because of their tank size requirements. Not one member of the Pomacanthus genus should be kept in a tank under 180gal. A 180gal marine tank is a very large investment to make and making that large of in investment is probably not a great idea for the beginner, couple that with the fact that most of the large angels need to be converted to feeding on aquarium prepared foods. In the wild they are primarily sponge eaters and need to be transitioned to aquarium foods.
Puffers, and predators are high bioload fish and thus they create a lot more work for the hobbyist. Weekly %30 water changes are a necessity for such large waste producers. Again, probably not such a great idea for the beginner marine hobbyist.
In general, the beginning marine hobbyist should seek fish that adapt quickly and well to aquarium life. Be sure to choose ones that will be somewhat forgiving of a missed water change and also ones that are not picky eaters with very specific diets. For the beginner that eliminates some of the more popular fish in the hobby (ie, Mandarins and all tangs but the Yellow) but not to worry, in a short time enough can be learned so that these other fish can be kept.