Hi, I am planning on starting...

Question
Hi, I am planning  on starting a saltwater aquarium, and i have a book on starting them.  However, it doesn't tell if i should use liverock, or recommend any certain fish, corals, or invertabrates.  It is going to to be a mini-reef.  Probably a 30 gallon tank is what I'll use.  If you can recommend any certain types of coral, fish, or invertabrates that would agree with an annemone, a clownfish, and a coral beauty, it would be appreciated.  

Answer
Alex,
For any reef type aquarium I will recommend the use of live rock and sand to ease the cycling period of the aquarium and to create the more natural environment and food sources that will be necessary for the reef.

It sounds like you already have a good idea as to what types of fish that you like... so inverts are going to be dependent on what you need to accomplish in the tank.  I will always recommend the use of turbo snails and Blue Legged Hermit Crabs as general scavengers and maintenance.  Beyond that you will be selecting inverts based on need.  For example, Emerald Crabs are know to eat bubble types of algae.  If you have bubble algae forming in your tank and it's becoming invasive, then an Emerald Crab or two might not be a terrible idea.

As for corals... that will be dependent on the type and quantity of light that you end up with on your aquarium as well as what you find interesting, etc.

For more in-depth information regarding the varieties of corals available as well as the specific varieties of inverts and what they do, I recommend Julian Sprung's Quick Reference Guides.  This series of books are some of the best out there and are a great value.  Additional information regarding these books can be found via our online catalog at www.aquariumcrazyfish.com

Best of luck with your tank!

Regards,
Scott Johnson
Aquarium Crazy Fish
www.aquariumcrazyfish.com