What kind of plants should I put in my aquarium?

Hello,

I just got a 13 gallon saltwater aquarium this past weekend and I have a young clownfish. As of right now, I have 10 lbs of live sand, and about 13 lbs of live rock. I wanted to add some plants in there just to add some more places for my fish to swim around in as well as for scenery. Are there any plants that the clownfish prefers? Also, are there certain plants that help with the "ecosystem" at all?

 

Welcome mlong to 3reef.

While there are many marine algae a clown does not need an algae environment. Most desirable algae will not do well in such as young tank, the same can be said for other fish and inverts. Providing your clown with excellent water quality will be more important then providing algae. Once the tank is fully cycled you can think about adding a coral that the clown may reside in.

Your tank is extremely young so make sure to test for ammonia and nitrites, do not over feed the clown.

Keep reading and researching.

 

Thank you Corailline.

For water quality, I had my water tested before I bought the fish, and it tested 0 for ammonia and nitrates. I bought some test strips to test for levels at home, but they don't seem to be extremely accurate. Is there a better way to test? I am trying to prevent algae, but was just curious if there was any greenery they like.

As far as feeding goes, I dropped a few pellets in and it seemed like he missed them, so I kept dropping more in because the employee I bought him from told me that once the pellets hit the sand, the clown won't eat them. I now have a bunch of pellets just sitting on the sand. He finally ate 3 pellets last night, so I think he is finally acclimating. How much is too much? How will I know if I am over feeding him?

Thank you again for the advice, this forum has been very helpful so far!!

 

You can try flakes as well it's easier to control amount, the clown will eat at the surface or in the water column. Have SW made up for water changes, the tank will experiences issues with water quality secondary to the tanks young age. Feed very small amounts twice a day for a young clown in a new system. Some smaller type hermits should be able to consume any left over food.

You're Welcome.

 

Try reading a few of these threads that were made to help those new to the hobby...

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-to-the-hobby.235/