Advice on clown fish

Kiera20

Hi guys, Just want to state from the get go that I'm only looking for advice, I'm not actually buying any fish/tank until I have a lot of research done but I just wanted to enquire about clown fish. I was wondering what type of a tank is needed to keep clown fish? Are they expensive and also what other fish could you have in a tank with them? Also could anyone recommend a good pet/fish shop in the midlands (Longford/Westmeath/Offaly)? Sorry for all the questions guys, but any advice would be really appreciated.

Rory123

I suppose that you would be looking for the nemo type clownfish?... They are called percula or common clownfish (Amphiprion percula). They cost €25 to 30 each and must be kept in pairs. They are quite easy to keep for marine fish but remember that marine fish are a huge challenge, about as much as keeping a racehorse I'm afraid!

I run a small marine fish tank setup of 70 litres, I haven't got a protein skimmer or uv filter so I need to do big water changes every 2 weeks. The water needs to be very pure so I buy reverse-osmosis water from my fish-shop.

The clowns are quite communal so can be kept with fish such as wrasses, firefish, damselfish, and other small non-aggressive fish.

It cost me about e500 to convert to marine from tropical freshwater, including a few fish, so it's not cheap.

You can do what you like but I wouldn't dream of keeping marines without getting to grips with freshwater trops for at least a few years first, otherwise you will keep having to restock with these very expensive pets!!!

I don't know about your area, but I doubt there are many, if any marine fish stockists around that area. My local shop is Aquarium Solutions in Ashbourne, Co. Meath.

Hope this helps!

Rory.

PS This book is the bible...
http://www.borders.co.uk/book/an-essential-guide-to-choosing-your-marine-tropical-fish-a-detailed-survey-of-over-60-marine-fish-suitable-for-a-first-collection-(tankmaster-s)/206037/

IrishWhite

I concur completely, I would not start with a marine set up as a beginner I would definitely look at freshwater tropical. I have had both over the years and now just keep freshwater fish which can be just as fascinating as their marine counterparts. Keep doing the research and remember everything to do with keeping fish takes time and commitment. Be wary of some fish suppliers I have been in shops were sales people have sold people a tank and fish in the same transaction. Most guys involved in the business though are very knowledgeable and will be more than happy to help.

Kiera20

Thanks guys. yeah I think that the freshwater tank would probably be a better option for me alright. I have read up a bit about freshwater tanks and know that you need to cycle your tank before adding any fish but I was just wondering if anyone could tell me exactly how to do this - different websites have different information. Does cycling you tank just involve setting it up with the filter, heater, etc. and leaving it running for a couple of weeks and then testing the water with a testing kit or do I have to add something to the water?

Rory123

That's all you should need to do really. After ten or twelve days you can add a few neons or something, once your water has been tested and is ok (this is best left to a good petshop member of staff for free if you buy your tank and fish there).

You will need to add a dechlorinator such as "Nutrafin Aquaplus or "API Stress Coat" and a biological filter booster such as "Nutrafin Cycle" or "API Stress Zyme as directed right from the setup stage.

Watch this video, it may help...
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-set-up-a-tropical-fish-tank

Kiera20

That's great. Thanks a million for all the info Rory. One last question :rolleyes: - I am hoping to get a 100/120 litre tank. I know that I have to build the stock up gradually, a few fish at a time, but I was just wondering how many fish could I hope to have/keep in a mature tank and what would be good fish to go for - I'd like a colourful tank, with fish of varying sizes (not fussy am I?!:p).

IrishWhite

personally I try not to go down the route of adding lots of off the shelf chemicals into my tank unless absolutely necessary. I would let the tank run for a couple of weeks ask the shop for some of the gravel out of one of their established tanks. Add a couple of flakes of food every day for the 2 weeks combined with the bacteria in the gravel this will help build up bacteria in your filter. After the 2 weeks I would introduce some danios 5 would be enoughfor the tank you are intending to buy. Now you will see changes in the water ie it will get cloudy etc do a 20% water change every other day until the water is clear. Give your tank between 10-12 hours of light a day to avoid brown algae building up when your water is crystal clear you can start adding fish a couple at a time.

Do a bit of research on compatible tank mates. The general rule is one inch of fish per gallon or 5 litres of water. I would not put in neons after 2 weeks why it may work for some people I would be surprised if they survived the Danios will survive the cycle.

This is a great site for advice www.aquariumfish.net

Kiera20

Great thanks Irish White. Any other advice about what type/how many fish I could hope to keep in a mature also appreciated. or any other words of wisdom in relation to keep a freshwater tropical aquarium welcome also. Thanks again guys.

Rory123

I was once told that a good rule to follow is that you can keep one inch in length of fish per ten litres of water. So in a 100l tank the total length of all the fish could be ten inches.

Now this is a very very rough guide and maybe others have different rules to decide how much to stock. Some fish are totally passive and some are very aggressive. Also some fish are fat and short and some are skinny and long. But I've followed it quite loosely and it seems to work well enough!

Kiera20

Well have been checking out freshwater tropical fish and the following are the ones I particulary like (and from which I would like to choose when
stocking my tank):
danios
mollies
tetras
tiger barbs
rosy barbs
clown loaches
dwarf gourami
gold tiger datnoids
mono silver moony
cardinal fish
rainbow fish
angelfish(big maybe!)
Now obviously I know that couldn't have all those in a 100 litre tank - they're just the fish that I like and I know I would be building the stock up gradually. My question is are there any of those fish which would be a big no no or which would not get along with some of the other fish mentioned or which of the above would do particularly well together (by the way the angelfish would probably be way down the line if ever). Or if anyone has any other suggestions of nice colourful fish?

IvySlayer

I hope you stick with the clown fish, because if you don't the other fish will have big shoes to fill :pac:

I'll get my coat.

*leaves*

IrishWhite

Tiger barbs are very aggressive and need to be kept in groups of around six or more to keep each other occupied otherwise they will attack other fish in the tank they are one of my favourite fish though. Keep them with other fish of a similar size like gouramis and other types of barbs and larger tetras or a redtail shark there are plenty of colour variations in the above species to give you an interesting setup. Clown loaches are a no no for me as they tend to escape they will jump out of the tank when you are cleaning etc.

Lauragoesmad

I know this is a bit off topic but why do clown loach do that? One of mine jumped into the filter a couple of months ago and scared the life out of me! I thought he'd dissapeared!:eek:

Rory123

My brother's bala shark used to always jump out of the tank! :rolleyes:

ValerieR

Kiera20,
Glad you are doing some research before you take the plunge.
Some people say 1cm of fish length (adult size) per liter of water. This is an indication and as mentioned in a post above, it depends on the fish as some are dirtier than others. Filtration is the important factor there too.
For a community tank set up, I wouldn't consider the tiger barbs as they are reputedly aggressive. I personally am not keen on the gouramis (even the dwarf ones) as they are no saints. I had 2 once upon a time and they created havoc in my tank.
Clown Loaches are nice. They need to be kept in a group of 5 or 6. Though they grow quite big, it's a very slow process. Mine never jump - they prefer to hide under decorations.
I am not sure about Datnoids. I read they grow quite large and are quite agressive. Same for the Moony.
You maybe need to determine your water pH and try to get fish that are compatible with it. Then, you need to choose fish that are compatible with each other.
Before you start populating the tank, you need to make sure that the nitrogen cycle has completed. In order to speed up the process, you can try and get some media from another fish keeper. It will hold the necessary beneficial bacteria and give your tank a kick-start.
Along with the purchase of a tank, you need to get a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. One with re-agents are better than the paper test kits.
There is a lot of information on the web too. You can check the www.irishfishkeepers.com discussion forum. Most of the members are based in Ireland and the site contains a lot of information re. setting up a new tank.
I hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com
connaught.fishkeeping.society[at]gmail.com