Top 5 starter marine fish

Choosing your first tropical saltwater fish can be very confusing if you're not familiar with the different types of fish and their specific needs. Hopefully I can guide you in the right direction with this blog. Lets get straight to it !


5 - Bangaii Cardinal fish

Common Name: Bangaii Cardinal (Kaudern's Cardinal)
Latin Name: Terapogon Kauderni
Family: Apogonidae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Natural Range: Indonesia
Minimum Tank Size: 10g (38l)
pH: 8.0-8.4
Specific Gravity: 1.020-1.026  

Temperature: 23°c-26°c

Feeding: Carnivore. Readily accepts most frozen foods. Wild specimens tend to reject flake and pellet foods.
  Additional info: Reef safe. Regarded as the easiest marine fish to breed. They require a long spined urchin to breed. Avoid wild specimens as they are not suitable for new fish keepers and are generally much more difficult to keep.

4 - Royal Gramma

Common Name: Royal Gramma (Fairy Basslet)
Latin Name: Gramma loreto
Family: Grammatidae
Maximum Size: 12cm
Natural Range: Caribbean and Tropical Western Atlantic
Minimum Tank Size: 15g (55l)
pH: 8.0-8.4
Specific Gravity: 1.019-1.026

 Temperature: 23°c-26°c
Feeding: Tend to pick on liverock for animals such as Bristleworms and Copepods. Will accept most frozen foods and should eventually accept flakes and pellets.
  Additional info: Aggressive towards other basslets. Only keep 1 per tank. They are known to often 'fake death' when stressed, especially during transportation.

3 - Blue/Green Chromis

Common Name: Blue Chromis/Green Chromis (Reef Chromis)
Latin Name: Chromis viridis
Family: Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 10cm
Natural Range: Indonesia
Minimum Tank Size: 10g (38l)
pH: 8.0-8.4
Specific Gravity: 1.020-1.024

Temperature: 24°c-26°c

Feeding: Omnivore. Will accept almost all fish foods. Avoid overfeeding.

Additional info: Reef safe. Best kept in groups/shoals of 3+. Avoid keeping with larger fish that may eat them. Both colour variants will shoal together.

2 - Watchman Goby

Common Name: Watchman Goby

 Latin Name: Cryptocentrus cinctus
Family: Gobiidae
Maximum Size: 12cm

 Natural Range: Sri Lanka, Maldive Islands, Red Sea

 Minimum Tank Size: 10g (38l)
pH: 8.1-8.4
Specific Gravity: 1.020-1.024

Temperature: 24°c-26°c

Feeding: Carnivore. Accepts most meaty foods. Slow feeder and can struggle if it has to compete with numerous faster fish for food. Will sift a live sandbed for food particles.

Additional info: Reef safe. Tends to sit on the sandbed and sift. Will form a symbiotic relationship with a pistol shrimp and assist each other. May quarrel with other Gobies and Blennies.

1 - Ocellaris Clownfish

Common Name: Ocellaris Clownfish (Anemone fish)

 Latin Name: Amphiprion ocellaris
Family: Pomacentridae
Maximum Size: 7cm

 Natural Range: Indonesia, Maldives

 Minimum Tank Size: 10g (38l)
pH: 8.1-8.4
Specific Gravity: 1.020-1.024

Temperature: 24°c-26°c

Feeding: Omnivore. Tank bred specimens will accept almost any type of fish food. Take care not to overfeed. Best to feed a variety of foods.

Additional info: Reef safe. Tank bred species are extremely hardy and forgiving, making them the perfect starter fish. All clownfish are born males until they are separated from the group, The larger fish will take the role as the female and pair with the smaller fish. Forms a symbiotic relationship with many sea anemones though they are not required to keep these fish. Cannot be mixed with other clownfish.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below and I'll get back to you. :)