Why cant i keep clowns alive?

[jmrugo]

Thank you for that advice. Someday I am going to post a "Confessions of a New Saltwater Aquarium Hobbyist" with everything I have learned after the fact for the benefit of newbies.

This is where I have a problem with LFS', their advice on stocking is simply wrong most of the time I am finding, which makes no sense to me. It seems their attitude is sell all you can right now because in 12 months he wont be in the hobby anymore. Maybe thats right from a business sense based on experience, but better advice might make it easier for people to stay in the hobby longer.

Since the Foxface and Sailfin spend a great deal of time facing each other down, I am going to look into getting rid of the Sailfin. I will also reduce the school of chromis.

Question: will a yellow tang get along decently with a yellow foxface or will they constantly threaten each other as is happening now with the sailfin?

 

[jmrugo]

Thank you for that advice. Someday I am going to post a "Confessions of a New Saltwater Aquarium Hobbyist" with everything I have learned after the fact for the benefit of newbies.

This is where I have a problem with LFS', their advice on stocking is simply wrong most of the time I am finding, which makes no sense to me. It seems their attitude is sell all you can right now because in 12 months he wont be in the hobby anymore. Maybe thats right from a business sense based on experience, but better advice might make it easier for people to stay in the hobby longer.

Since the Foxface and Sailfin spend a great deal of time facing each other down, I am going to look into getting rid of the Sailfin. I will also reduce the school of chromis.

Question: will a yellow tang get along decently with a yellow foxface or will they constantly threaten each other as is happening now with the sailfin?

 

[jmrugo]

Sorry for the repetition. Something must have been wrong with the server temporarily.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the repetition. Something must have been wrong with the server temporarily.

No problem, it seems to have the hiccups today!

 

[Jolieve]

I'm sorry if there was a misunderstanding here. jm, you really need a foxface, or a yellow tang. NOT both.

These fish get big, grow pretty fast, and the bigger they get, the more waste (bigger fish go to the bathroom more often than smaller fish which means a higher ammonia concentration for your tank to cope with) they are going to produce. That means that the delicate balance you are trying to get in your tank will always be at risk of being thrown off.

If you like the foxface, keep it. Don't try to put another large fish in this system. You've got enough critters going on to keep you busy.

J.

 

[Jolieve]

Oh... one thing to remember.

I got grief from my husband about understocking my tank. I had a long talk with him about the difference between freshwater and saltwater.

The majority of freshwater fish that are available are raised for keeping in a tank. They are not wild caught. The majority of marine fish available to the hobby are not captive raised (though ORA and many other groups and companies are doing their damndest to change this). They are still caught from the ocean by various means. You can, generally speaking, pack more freshwater fish into a 75 gallon tank.

So if you get crap about not having as many fish as other people think you should, tell them about how marine fish typically live in vast territories in the wild and that many of your fish came from the ocean, and that you wouldn't be a good fishkeeper if you tried to cram the tank full of fish.

J.