help me select my first fish

[chufa]

I am undecided. My 12 g eclipse tank is cycled now, and I may add a fish next week or so. I have the following options I am debating:

 

Ocellaris clown

Yellow-tail damsel

Green Chromis

Royal Gramma

 

I am wary on spending $$$ for the clowns or grandma, and them being my first fish, but I like them better. The damsels are cheaper and reportedly hardier, but I don't like to return fish once I have accomodated them. Also, later I may have a second fish, so I would appreciate your comments on what combination of the above you like best.

 

Thanks!

[MKramer]

My vote was for the clown. Granted, a tank-raised ocellaris will run you $14-$20 dollars (PetCo has them on sale for $11 in the LA area now, surprisingly), but they are just as ahrdy as the rest of the fish, and fully personallity-packed.

 

Since you're going one fish at a time, I'd advise against the second clown, and pick the gramma as the second fish. While the gramma might make for a cheaper first fish, it's better off added after the aggressive fish.

[NaNO ReeFiN]

I currently have a clown in my 7 gal. tank and when I upgrade to a 10gal. with a 4gal. refugium, I'd like to add a 2nd fish as well... I'm guessing another clown wouldn't be a good idea then? If not, I really like to have a firefish as a 2nd fish, would this be okay?

 

And to answer your question chufa, I'd pick the clown.

[MKramer]

Adding a clown to an existing entrenched clown's home can be a little risky. Probably not as risky as some would lead you to believe, epsecially with the more docile clowns (ocellaris, percula, clarkii, etc.). If you can find a clown that's noticibly smaller than your current one, that'w rok best. If you find one that's the same size, prepare for a long power struggle. If you buy one that's more dominant, prepare to be fishing out a dead clown in the next couple weeks. Once a clown has decided he/she is king of its roost, it's very unlikely to give up control to any other clown, no matter how superior the new clown might actually be. So it winds up being a fight to the death. A smaller clown will be more likely to submit to the old homeowner, and then courting will begin.

[enzo]

Hi,

I have no experiance with qccerleris but I have some with sebae and a percula because I currently house the two of them in my 29 gallon. I believe clowns are the best choice because clowns gennerally keep to themselves unless there is a same species, sex clown in the tank. With any damsel they will get really terriorial because I have heard that in the wild they have terrrotories of over 35 square feet. Although yellowtails are semi aggresive they are still aggresive enough.(trust me). Clowns in the long run are better.

John

[harbingerofthefish]

I personally would stay away from the green chromis. Although they are my second favorite damsel, they are naturally schooling fish. Being so, I would feel bad not giving them enough room to have 5-6 in the same tank.

[chufa]

Weeeh! I had to try that poll thing . Harbringerofthefish, what is your first favorite damsel then?

[harbingerofthefish]

The Talbot's Damsel comes as a front runner. I like plain fish. And although he doesn't apply, I guess it's just the color patterns. Recently I seen at my LFS's some real beatiful brown and cream colored one's that just keep catching my eye. I do know they get really small (1-1 1/2").

[Brianc_4]

I would go with the false percula, its not as aggresive as the other damsels, its just as hardy, their fun to watch, and they won't present a problem if you add another fish. A lot of people make the mistake of adding damsels to a newly cycled tank because they are cheap and strong, and then regret it later when they can't add more docile fish without it getting beat up by the territorial damsel. Of course this is kind of a generalization, some damsels are less aggressive than others, a blue or yellow tail would tend not to be as territorial as a black or dominoe.

You can safely add a second false perc to an already existing one in your tank, as long as they are both juvenile you won't have any problems. False percs are far far less aggressive than some of the other clowns(i.e. tomato, clarki). But all of the choices on the poll are perfectly fine. JMO

[gobies]

I just added my first sw fish to my 10g a few weeks ago. I went with the ocellaris -- tank-raised, from a good Petco (there's a good one and a bad one hereabouts), and about $11 w/ coupon. I have NO regrets. He's just SO cute...he's got an "earmuffs" stripe. :-)

[printerdown01]

My vote for the gramma assumes that your tank has finished cycle!

[chufa]

Thanks all!

 

Although the Ocellaris clown was the unanimous favorite, I purchased a yellow-tail damsel. I could not find inexpensive clowns in my area. All were $20 or more. The yellow-tail was $3.99.

 

My choice was actually more than an economic one. Even though my tank finished cycling, it is a very young tank (2 weeks) and by no means stable. I didn't want to put a nice expensive fish at risk of having another cycle.

 

I'll keep just the damsel for a good while, and I will focus in increasing my clean up crew next. I started with three hermits, and will add a few more critters spaced between 1-2 weeks each. I'll discuss that in another topic.

 

Thanks again!

[chufa]

Oh, BTW, I forgot to tell you about my damsel. His name is "Shaq" (Lakers colors). First couple of days very shy, would not come out from behind the rocks, but now he's all over the tank, eating fine, and frequently attacking his reflection on the back of the tank.

[MKramer]

In my opinion, you're being overcautious about the re-cycling... Heck, an ocellaris clown can handle bad tank conditions almost as well as a lot of damsels.

 

But there's no crime in being overcautious. Hell, it's rather refreshing in this hobby. Too many people go too fast. Kudos on your patience.

[Mnesarchus]

Go with the Ocellaris Clown or Gramma, both are beautiful but clowns are a little funnier if you ask me.

[NaNO ReeFiN]

Petco's currently having a sale on tank raised percs if anyones looking for a clownfish... Just make sure all the other fishes look healthy and fine before purchasing, or else just go to a different Petco.

[MKramer]

And for the record, when Petco says they have "Perculas," they actually mean ocellaris.

 

The misuse of Percula is rampant, and oh how I hate it.