I have fish...now what else???

Phil · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

I've recently set up my first saltwater tank. It's a 37 gallon with
about 15 pounds of live rock. Right now I have four small fish in it.
They are a Domino Damsel, a Valentini puffer, a Neon blue Spotted
puffer, and a Scribbled boxfish. All the fish are doing fine and get
along. I wanted to know what other kind of "animals" I could put in
the tank. Things like shrimp, crabs, urchins, anenomes, feather
dusters, starfish, etc... I understand that the puffers eat certain
crustations...Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Phil

Archived from group: rec>aquaria>marine>misc

Rick · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

With the two puffers you won't be able to do shrimp, crabs, snails,
etc. They eat these guys.

Personally, I would get about 25 more pounds of live rock to account
for the existing bioload.

Domino Damsel - 4"
Valentini Puffer - 4"
Spotted Puffer - 5"
Boxfish - 6"

Right now, your fish will grow to account for 19 inches of fish in a
37 gallon aquarium. That is a little over 1 inch per 2 gallons. A good
rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons of water. You are
running over twice that ratio. So I wouldn't get anymore inhabitants.
You really should get more live rock. Your existing will not be able
to handle the bioload that is in there. Also, a deep sand bed is a
good idea too.

Best Regards,

Rick

goaty76@aol.com (Phil) wrote in message news:...
> I've recently set up my first saltwater tank. It's a 37 gallon with
> about 15 pounds of live rock. Right now I have four small fish in it.
> They are a Domino Damsel, a Valentini puffer, a Neon blue Spotted
> puffer, and a Scribbled boxfish. All the fish are doing fine and get
> along. I wanted to know what other kind of "animals" I could put in
> the tank. Things like shrimp, crabs, urchins, anenomes, feather
> dusters, starfish, etc... I understand that the puffers eat certain
> crustations...Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Phil

OCS · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 3

That's it. You filled it up to its limit. Have fun. Puffer will eat all
crustations. Also when box fish dies it will poison your tank and kill
everything also. Only kidding about filling your tank up but your getting
close. Do some research on your fish before you buy, plan ahead and think
of what you would like for your tank to have when your done adding
livestock.

"Phil" wrote in message@posting.google.com...
> I've recently set up my first saltwater tank. It's a 37 gallon with
> about 15 pounds of live rock. Right now I have four small fish in it.
> They are a Domino Damsel, a Valentini puffer, a Neon blue Spotted
> puffer, and a Scribbled boxfish. All the fish are doing fine and get
> along. I wanted to know what other kind of "animals" I could put in
> the tank. Things like shrimp, crabs, urchins, anenomes, feather
> dusters, starfish, etc... I understand that the puffers eat certain
> crustations...Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Phil

Mike D · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

get a bigger tank, especially if you want more marine animals in there. In
my opinion, no tank should be less than sixty or seventy gallons. Anything
less is basically the equivalent of a jail cell. Remember the size of these
animals' natural habitat. Mike.
"Phil" wrote in message @posting.google.com...
> I've recently set up my first saltwater tank. It's a 37 gallon with
> about 15 pounds of live rock. Right now I have four small fish in it.
> They are a Domino Damsel, a Valentini puffer, a Neon blue Spotted
> puffer, and a Scribbled boxfish. All the fish are doing fine and get
> along. I wanted to know what other kind of "animals" I could put in
> the tank. Things like shrimp, crabs, urchins, anenomes, feather
> dusters, starfish, etc... I understand that the puffers eat certain
> crustations...Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
> Phil

Marksfish · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 55

"Mike D" wrote in message @comcast.com...
> get a bigger tank, especially if you want more marine animals in there. In
> my opinion, no tank should be less than sixty or seventy gallons. Anything
> less is basically the equivalent of a jail cell. Remember the size of
> these animals' natural habitat. Mike.
> "Phil" wrote in message
> @posting.google.com...
>> I've recently set up my first saltwater tank. It's a 37 gallon with
>> about 15 pounds of live rock. Right now I have four small fish in it.
>> They are a Domino Damsel, a Valentini puffer, a Neon blue Spotted
>> puffer, and a Scribbled boxfish. All the fish are doing fine and get
>> along. I wanted to know what other kind of "animals" I could put in
>> the tank. Things like shrimp, crabs, urchins, anenomes, feather
>> dusters, starfish, etc... I understand that the puffers eat certain
>> crustations...Does anyone have any suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks,
>
Missed this thread starting, so cannot add to OP.

You have puffers. The puffers will eat any shrimps, crabs, snails and
feather dusters you may wish to put in and as such are not reef safe. If you
put these in, you are just providing a luxuriously expensive diet. The tank
is also too small for the fish you have really as they will grow to quite a
large size, you really need to be looking at a five footer, better still six
Puffers are also messy feeders, so you need to make sure that you have
filtration that will cope with the waster they produce, the liverock isn't
enough IMO.

Mark