Total noob looking for A LOT of guidance!

[megisawesome06]

Hello! My name is Meg. I live in Alabama and have recently acquired a large established reef tank. I believe it's 150 gallons. We did NOT do near enough research before we got it, but I'm making up for it now.

We have the following fish:
- 2 Ocellaris (Nemo and Marlin)
- 1 Cinnamon Clown (?) (Blemo)
- 1 pink spotted Watchman goby (Olaf)
- 1 melanurus Wrasse (yet unnamed)
- 1 blue hippo Tang (Dory)
- 1 Lawnmower Blenny (Tommy Lee Jones)
- 1 Coral Catfish (Snape)
- 1 2 Chromis (Chromii?) (Chromeo and Shark Bait)
- a few snails and hermits, unsure of specific breed names.

We lost a Chromis, a scarlet cleaning shrimp, and a starfish in the move. After I get somewhat of a routine down, I plan to add a few more fish if I can. I've already learned that my Wrasse is a male and is not reef safe. He has been picking at some stuff growing on the rocks...I think it's an anemone but I'm not sure. And he ate a snail today. (BTW, should I remove the snail? I don't want the apparent ammonia issues. I also can't find the Chromis. He landed behind some rocks and I haven't seen him.)

Sorry. I'm off topic. Did I just hijack my own thread? Oopsy daisy.

Anyway, I have TONS of questions and a growing obsession with these beautiful creatures. I will be posting a lot and stalking these boards in a totally non creepy way.

I'm an open book. Ask me anything you need to know!

Thanks ahead of time for everything!

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[Oscaror]

Hello! My name is Meg. I live in Alabama and have recently acquired a large established reef tank. I believe it's 150 gallons. We did NOT do near enough research before we got it, but I'm making up for it now.

We have the following fish:
- 2 Ocellaris (Nemo and Marlin)
- 1 Cinnamon Clown (?) (Blemo)
- 1 pink spotted Watchman goby (Olaf)
- 1 melanurus Wrasse (yet unnamed)
- 1 blue hippo Tang (Dory)
- 1 Lawnmower Blenny (Tommy Lee Jones)
- 1 Coral Catfish (Snape)
- 1 2 Chromis (Chromii?) (Chromeo and Shark Bait)
- a few snails and hermits, unsure of specific breed names.

We lost a Chromis, a scarlet cleaning shrimp, and a starfish in the move. After I get somewhat of a routine down, I plan to add a few more fish if I can. I've already learned that my Wrasse is a male and is not reef safe. He has been picking at some stuff growing on the rocks...I think it's an anemone but I'm not sure. And he ate a snail today. (BTW, should I remove the snail? I don't want the apparent ammonia issues. I also can't find the Chromis. He landed behind some rocks and I haven't seen him.)

Sorry. I'm off topic. Did I just hijack my own thread? Oopsy daisy.

Anyway, I have TONS of questions and a growing obsession with these beautiful creatures. I will be posting a lot and stalking these boards in a totally non creepy way.

I'm an open book. Ask me anything you need to know!

Thanks ahead of time for everything!

Naming a clownfish pair Nemo and Marlin is all fun until they start making babies together lol.
Anyway welcome to the forum!

 

[megisawesome06]

Lol. I'm assuming Nemo (the smaller one) is a juvenile as his third white stripe is not complete. Marlin is slightly bigger and every once in a while, will pick on Nemo. Nothing serious though.

Any easy way to sex a clown fish? I'd LOVE if I could breed them, but that wouldn't be for a long time after I figure out what I'm doing!

Then name changes would definitely be in order. [emoji23]

 

[Tahoe61]

Welcome, sounds like you have been officially bitten by the saltwater bug.

 

[Oscaror]

Lol. I'm assuming Nemo (the smaller one) is a juvenile as his third white stripe is not complete. Marlin is slightly bigger and every once in a while, will pick on Nemo. Nothing serious though.

Any easy way to sex a clown fish? I'd LOVE if I could breed them, but that wouldn't be for a long time after I figure out what I'm doing!

Then name changes would definitely be in order. [emoji23]

All clownfish are born male. When two of them pair up the larger more aggressive one becomes the female
So marlin is gonna become nemo's girlfriend

my childhood, DOWN THE RAIN (it's okay, that leads to the ocean)

 

[megisawesome06]

Are the females usually larger in a breeding pair?

 

[Oscaror]

Are the females usually larger in a breeding pair?

Always larger in a breeding pair

 

[megisawesome06]

Guess nemos moms name is out too. Darn. Now I guess I'll have to research how they act when they breed and whatnot. I swear, I'm starting a bucket list of fish and such that I eventually want to have.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R!!! Post up some pictures when you can. We love seeing new tanks!

 

[Oscaror]

Guess nemos moms name is out too. Darn. Now I guess I'll have to research how they act when they breed and whatnot. I swear, I'm starting a bucket list of fish and such that I eventually want to have.

I named mine Marlin and Coral

 

[kevinsmixed90]

Welcome to R2R! 150 gallon tank is a great tank to have as a saltwater/reef tank so enjoy!

 

[CoralClark]

Welcome and enjoy the wonderful community we have here on R2R!

 

[saltyphish]

While compiling your list of fish think about if you want coral or not and what kind....some fish do not go well with coral.

 

[AsphaltPays]

Welcome to R2R! There is a ton of amazing info here

 

[luxauterna]

Welcome! You will find tons of answers on this forum and incredibly helpful people. Don't hesitate to ask questions and since you have already jumped in the water, try and see if you can stabilize things in your tank for a bit before adding anything. Monitor for now and do tests. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[megisawesome06]

Thanks! I'm already learning a lot!

To clarify, we bought the tank already established. I haven't added anything to it and I won't until I'm more confident in my fish rearing abilities!

The guy who we got the tank from didn't take good care of them. Only provided us with flakes with instructions to feed every 2 or 3 days. After researching, I found I should be feeding every day and it should be a varied diet.

So today I stopped by the pet store (the fish store was closed. [emoji53]) and bought some Hikari sinking algae wafers. I figured it was one of the best things I could get right now because I'd like to keep ich away, and it will make Dory happier.

What else eats the wafers? Hermits and inverts, but what else?

Guess I'm about to find out! [emoji38]

 

[megisawesome06]

I LOVE FEEDING TIME!!!

I have been worried about my Watchman Goby, but he gobbled up those wafers with a quickness! I heard it's not uncommon for them to starve, so I've been super paranoid lately.

My Lawnmower Blenny and Coral Catfish liked them too! And my Wrasse! The clowns grabbed them but didn't eat them.

I already feel better. I can't wait til I can get down to the store to get frozen food! Any suggestions?

 

[megisawesome06]

The one I thought was a Cinnamon Clown is a Clarkii. Yay! I officially know my fish. Just need the corals and whatnot now!