Ideal size to buy your fish?

[Zionas]

As I am preparing to start my tank, I would like suggestions on the ideal size to buy fish. I heard it’s harder to get adults to start eating and another reason why I don’t want to buy fully grown adults is because I want to have my fish longer. However, I’ve read that I should also not buy my fish too small (not below 1”) because they’ll also need a lot of time to start taking prepared foods.

What I have in mind is to buy fish that are at around 50%, give or take 1 inch, their maximum size. For example, if an Ocellaris clown gets up to 3 inches, I will buy them 1”-2” because 1.5” is around half their maximum size. For a Flame Hawk, I’ll get them 1.5”-2.5” because their maximum size is 4”. For a bigger fish that I will get, like the Marine Betta, which gets up to 8”, I want to get the at 6-8cm, or 7-9cm.

 

[Albertan22]

Unless you buy everything online you often don't get a choice and get what the LFS has. I try not to buy them too big as I find smaller fish acclimate well, but as you've said tiny fish are also hard to get to eat. When I bought my clown fish they were too small to eat mysis and I had to buy some cubes of frozen brine shrimp to feed them for a few months which was a pain.

 

[Dempsey941]

For the clownfish by the time they are at the LFS they can eat just about anything you give them. What I did for my pair was buy the largest one in the holding tank and then a smaller one, because that way the fight for dominance was going to be short and it was.

But I agree with most of what you’re saying, especially with fish like flasher wrasses which only live like 5 years. You don’t know how old that terminal phase male was when it was collected so you may only have it for a year before it keels over.

 

[Zionas]

It’s lifespan issues that have totally put me off from fish like cardinals and Fairy / Flasher Wrasses. If I get a wrasse it will be a Halichoeres or a lined wrasse (those get really aggressive though) because I heard they live longer.

I’m selecting species for longevity, species that can do 10 years or more. This means clownfish, my Marine Betta, Flame Hawk, some basslets (Royal Gramma, Swissguard, Assessors even better because they are related to the Marine Betta), and dwarf angels.

 

[Albertan22]

I don't know how big your tank is, but my foxface lo has been with me for about 6 years and is going strong. He's been with the family as long as my youngest son which is strange to say. My scopas tang has also been with me for many years. I had a pair of ocellaris clowns for 10 years at one point. I find the bigger fish stick around the longest.

 

[Zionas]

My tank is 48”x24”x22”.


What happened to the clowns? I heard clowns can easily do 15-20 years or more.

 

[Albertan22]

They seemed to die of natural causes. Both were fat and healthy but turned up dead a month or so apart. No new additions to the tank in a few years, stable tank. I think they just ran their course.

 

[Zionas]

Still from what I know that’s not a long lifespan for a clown.

 

[Albertan22]

Nothing lives as long in captivity as it does in nature. If your numbers are from captivity, I’m guessing they are from pretty large tanks. The aquarium those clowns lived in was a 48x24x24 120 gallon. I have a 6 foot 180 gallon now, maybe my current pair will outlive the last ones.

 

[Zionas]

My tank will be a bit smaller, at 48”x24”x22”. That’s 105 gallons. Yes, I got those numbers from what I’ve read on this forum and other forums. I didn’t look into how big the tanks were.

Were your clowns wild caught or captive bred? Were they designer clowns or the original?

Wish I had your tank size, that way I’d have a lot more options in terms of stocking.

 

[Albertan22]

I honestly don’t remember if that pair were wild or captive bred. They were regular ocellaris clowns though, not designer.

 

[Zionas]

How big were they when you got them? If they were wild caught they may have already been fairly old.

 

[Albertan22]

They were tiny, maybe the size of a quarter? I had trouble finding food small enough to feed them at first. That probably answers your question, I bet they were captive bred.