I guess this is where I say 'hi'

Also...in a fresh water aquarium you can have approximately one inch of fish per gallon...I read nothing to the contrary about saltwater so I had no clue...I don't want to kill anything, I PROMISE...I just need to know the parameters...which no one will bother to tell me...is there some kind of measure like this for saltwater??

 

Ok well I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like an attack, if that's how it came off. :-/ I'm just expressing concern not only for your wallet and sanity, but the health of these fishes as well. Like I said, when done right, this hobby is EXTREMELY rewarding. Some of my favorite times are just sitting in front of the tank and simply watching its beauty.

You definitely don't have to take this advise, but allow me to make a suggestion. You currently have 7 fish in a 1 month old tank. 3 Damsels, 2 Clowns, the Lion, and the Goby. In a 30 gallon I wouldn't think you'd want any more than 3, MAYBE 4 fish (with an established tank). As far as your snails are concerned, they're fine. I don't see an issue there.

Frankly, I hate Damsels and have no use for them. Some of them are pretty, yes, but usually the older they get the more aggressive they get. I had a Velvet Damsel for something like 2 years. That thing got huge and was VERY peaceful with the other fish I had in the tank. However the MINUTE I added something new to the tank (a Mandarin Dragonet in this case) that Damsel was ALL OVER that fish. Literally attacking the s@$% out of it!! So I would say you get rid of those, but again that's a totally personal decision that you need to make on your own.

The Clowns - perfect fish, and also extremely popular. It seems like no saltwater tank is complete without one of these guys running around. It's like borderline illegal to own a salty tank without some form of a clown! ;D

The Lion...keep him if you must. I can tell you will be hard pressed to take that guy back. You'll want to make sure that none of your other fish can fit in his mouth. If they can, they're lunch. Do a little more research on him, too. I can't offer too much advise on Lions because I've never had one.

The Goby - again, a great addition, however at this point you are just too overstocked. Plus if I remember right you said he's the sand sifting kind? Your sand bed hasn't had much of a chance to build up anything in it, and so this guy is just gonna strip it of everything and it will be kind of pointless.

Also what kind of equipment do you have for this tank? Filter? Powerheads? Heater? Protein skimmer (kind of only for reef tanks)? Lights (not important with Fish Only aquariums)? Anything else?

 

In saltwater the "rule" is 1 inch of fish per 10 gallons of water Keep asking questions.

And I know you're not trying to kill anything. It's clear that you are already hooked and that's great!

 

Welcome to 3Reef>>>>>>>

 

I too am sorry if I came off as pushy as it was certainly not my intent

 

i too kept a lion fish in a 29. i had a fu man chu. all i can say is i hope you got a big goby because my tongoan goby that i thought was to big for the fu man chu was an expensive snack. also just curious what are you feeding the lion? mine wasn't on frozens and had to get live food for him all the time... so tiresome. that is why i gave him up. good luck on the tank be sure to test for nitrates and phosphates. are you skimming at all?

 

Hi volleygirlie2414 and welcome.

I'm fairly new to 3reef also but not new to SW. Everyone I've met so far on this site is a great help and very knowledgeable. This is a great site and people here love to help, me included. Sometimes it's hard to type what you want to say and it sounds like critisizm but in most cases people are just trying to help.
Anyways, welcome to 3reef and SW.....ask lots of questions.....best of luck!!

 

Big bioload yes...difficult to manage yes, but not impossible.

Imperative you do once a day or once every other day checking nitrate and ammonia levels....I expect you will need to do at least a 5 gallon water change every couple of days, or even more. Tests over time, will let you know about how much and how frequently.

Hopefully you have the biggest skimmer you can afford on tank. A very large sump will help also.

Lots of fish are pretty in a small tank, but they are going to make you work to keep them there and healthy. And unfortunatly they tend to grow. (I always wanted kittens to stay little and not grow up into cats. No way of stopping it I ever heard of. :-/ )

Lots of good advice to chew on here. "Grist for the mill"

Wishing you the best...good luck!

Scott ;D

 

I guess this is where I say hello and welcome to 3reef! Glad you found us and hope you enjoy it here and get alot of good, helpful advice to help make you successful as you venture into the undersea world.
Read and research and go slow! Take in as much info as you can to help you as you will have alot of advancements but will unfortunately encounter some set backs as well.
The key to these set backs is to learn from them and not get depressed or decide to get out of the hobby due to some of these failures.
Best of luck and we are here for you!

 

Thank you everyone...you are being nicer (lol) I am working on making my tank as nice as possible for my lil pets...I guess I am lucky because my lion ate frozen mysis shrimp the very first time I tried to feed him! He loves it and I love to watch him eat it, he is cuuute!! But yeah, I heard that guppies and feeder fish are high in fat andd bad for lions...is there anything else super good for them...one more question...how often should I feed him...the pet store said 3 times a day, but everything I have read online says every other day and thats what I have been doing...