- Today in the 5 Minute Saltwater Aquarium Guide,
we answer,
"What kind of fish are best for a new tank or reefer?"
Hey, I'm Ryan,
your host of BRStv.
The goal of the 5 Minute Guide
is providing a solid recipe and technique
that produces reproducible, high percentage paths
to a successful tank
that you can be proud of.
Today we're talking best saltwater fish
for a new tank owner.
Today I'm gonna give some very direct guidance.
Everyone has their own way of approaching this.
This is just the way
that I believe is going to produce
the highest percentage results
for most reefers.
The goal here being an awesome
easy to manage tank you can be proud of.
In that spirit the core
of this is just what's referred
to as utilitarian fish,
meaning fish that work for a living
and serve a purpose in the tank.
I got five of them
that I personally recommend
to every new tank owner
and I strongly believe
a new reefer will be more successful
with them than without.
Then add your own other favorite fish
on top of that as desired.
First is just a pair of Clownfish.
Your standard Ocellaris-type of Clownfish
are not only colorful, cool,
and come a variety of patterns,
but serve a utilitarian purpose
of hardy initial fish
that helps get the tank ready
for the rest of the fish.
No matter how you cycle the tank
there always has to be a first fish,
and a Clownfish is just the best fish for that.
So while the tank stabilizes around
the entry of the new Clowns in supporting food,
it's essentially getting ready for
the next fish and additional food.
So Clownfish serving the utility
of tank stability in a brand new tank
and protecting those to come.
Next is a Yellow Tang.
These guys simply eat algae for a living.
You'll see them all day, everyday,
pecking at the rocks,
cleaning your tank for you.
It's my belief that Yellow Tang is
the most beneficial fish
you could add to any tank.
The utility here is obvious.
They keep the tank clean and attractive.
Next up, very similar to that,
is a Yellow Eye Kole Tang,
or a Tomini Tang.
Both are known as Bristletooth Tangs,
which have mouths specialized for other types of algae,
and they also spend their entire day eating algae.
Both of these are smaller types of Bristletooth Tangs
that do well in most common tank sizes as well.
Again, utility of eating algae for a living
and they'll earn their keep.
Staying with the trend
the Lawnmower Blenny spends
the entire day earning their keep by scouring
the rock surfaces for algae as well.
You of course notice a trend here
and that's fighting algae.
That's because algae's the number one cause
of tank failures in the first year.
An ugly tank filled with algae
just gets shut down rapidly.
Our goal here is a pristine, easy to manage tank,
and there's no way around it,
putting the fish in
that does this for you
as part of their natural behavior
is just the easiest and most effective way to do it.
The last utilitarian fish of the day
I call Six Line Wrasse,
or Coris Wrasse, or those
from the Halichoeres family,
all of which spend their entire day searching
the tank for small pests
that many of your tanks may actually end up
with fairly common coral pests
like Zoanthid or Monti-Eating Nudibranchs.
But you'd never know had a single one
because these fish are so effective at keeping
the population so low,
they never cause a noticeable issue.
So utilitarian predator of common reef tank pests
hunting down and eating mainly
the most common coral pests in our tanks.
Simply put, if you're starting your new tank
with these five plus fish
and the mentality of solving issues
by never encountering them in the first place,
the success rates skyrocket.
After that, add all of your favorites
that I'm sure you've been eyeing
since you first starting thinking about your tank.
As to where to get these fish from,
there are many online shops,
but my best advice is make this an excuse
to look up all the fish stores
within 30 minutes of you
and take a tour of all
the local shops in your area,
and buy from the one who looks the best.
Many of these will actually have these fish already
or you can share the list
and they'll order them for you.
As you identify in which store in your area
is really the best,
it might take a few trips
to really get a grasp on
that but I look for three things.
First, clean is synonymous with well-cared for.
If the tanks in store are clean
it dramatically increases the chance
the fish are well-cared for
and in turn, healthy.
Second, look around for a display tank
that's well-cared for with
well-established fish.
There's no way around it.
The best sign of competence
is demonstrating not just success,
but the passion for the hobby and animals,
a well-established display tank
is the proof in the pudding.
Lastly, just ask them what their quarantine
or guarantee process is.
There isn't a right or wrong answer here.
But it's just a good opening conversation
to get a feel for how helpful
or considerate the store is.
By the end of the day
I'm pretty confident you'll have had a good time
visiting all the stores in your area
and have a pretty clear winner
as to who you wanna get your new pets from.
Okay, so the next obvious question is,
"What type of corals
are appropriate for a new reef tank?"
The entire Saltwater Aquarium Guide
is always available here
in this playlist for binge-watching.
But knowing what type of corals
for a new tank will save a ton of cash
and make it a lot easier
to produce the dream, so check it out.