My 20g Journal "Pic Warning" (now a 29g!)

[Lotus]

It all sounds like reasonable first fish/inverts/corals. Looking nice so far

If most of that rock was dead, you'll need to stock very slowly. Start with the snails/hermits, and go from there. I have a few blue-legged hermits, and they're fairly mellow. I did end up with a "contaminant" hermit that's not a blue leg that eats snails, so check the hermits carefully when you get them.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks Lotus!

I'd say about 1/2 of the rock was "dead".

I was thinking about starting with the hermits/snails first too, so It's nice to know you'd suggest that plan also.

The tank isn't ready for anything yet, the cycle is moving along, but it's got a bit left to go, I had originally planned to start stocking by mid October, I'm still hoping that's do-able.

You have any suggestions on numbers? Like how many hermits/snails total, and do you add all hermits at one time or a couple every other week or so?

 

[TRe]

i dont see any reason why that time line isnt doable...actually it should be ready sooner but youll just have to wait and keep testing...as far as the CUC i personally this last time went with an all snail CUC since the crabs didnt seem to have any respect for the corals btw id say start out with like 10 snails maybe half turbo, half nassauris and about 10 hemits.... ive kept emerald crabs in my CUC in the past until i caught one chomping on some gsp so that was the end of that (though they did a good job when i had the bubble algea problem) for shrimp ive kept peppermint and they did a good job when i had aptasia but again just like the hermits they would steal all the food right out of the corals mouths so id suggest maybe a cleaner? also ive had brittle stars as part of the CUC in the past and ther pretty cool just make sure he isnt green hope that helps for now

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks TRe!

Those were the exact answers I was looking for (Quantities).

What do you think of my fish ideas?

The Clown (False Perc, I think is the correct name yes?) is a must, But I've read that both the clown & 6-line can be aggressive towards more timid tankmates? You have any experience with that?

I've also read that the Firefish may get bullied around, and spend most of the time hiding, that's not what I'm looking for

I found a few really cool pics of the Clown Goby, you think one of those, with a Clownfish & Maybe the Firefish would work? (Along with the CUC mentioned)

 

[Lotus]

I know a lot of people seem to regret getting a sixline wrasse. They can be very mean, apparently. They're probably better suited to a larger tank with aggressive tankmates.

I have a tank-bred orchid dottyback, and I'd recommend them to anyone. They're hardy, really pretty, not aggressive (and stay small). I think they're reasonably priced, too. I'd consider it as a substitute for a wrass or firefish.

 

[TRe]

I found a few really cool pics of the Clown Goby, you think one of those, with a Clownfish & Maybe the Firefish would work? (Along with the CUC mentioned)

that would definitly work id just say add the false perc last... im not a big fan of the clown goby id actualy suggest a type of shrimp goby that way you could add a pistol shrimp for it to pair up with ...just a thought

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks TRe! Do you have any type of Shrimp Goby you'd suggest?



OK on a totally different note.......

I took a close look at my LR today, and low and behold I have Pods (I believe) There are hundreds & hundreds of them, they are so small it's hard to say for sure what they are, but based on pics I've seen I believe they are indeed pods. I understand that as soon as I introduce fish/inverts, they'll probably get eaten, but at least I have something to watch in the meantime.

I guess that 2 cups of live sand I got from a fellow reefer was indeed loaded with pods.

Now here's a question, are "Pods" omnivorous? Because I have 1 large one in the tank, it's maybe 1/4" big, and today I saw it grab another one and eat it

Now I can't say for sure whether or not the large creature is just a large pod or something else entirely, how big do pods get? It's difficult to photograph the thing, cuz it's damn quick, and hides every time I approach the tank now.

Based on a comparison to the other "pods" it appears to be one, just much, much larger. I don't know how it's been able to hide this long, and not be seen until today.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

9/8/07 Worms!?!?!

OK, forgive me for not posting a pic, but this lil' thing isn't being cooperative about having it's picture taken.

Let me describe it....

-Primary coloring is white/cream.
-Has a red stripe running the length of it's body (as much body as I can see anyway)
-Appears to have many legs (Think centipede). I can't say if they're legs or "feelers"
-Likes to hide in/around the rock work, never really comes all the way out into the open.
-Current length is maybe 3/4" (But again I can't really see all of it.)
-Seems to have a fascination with the old white "tubes" on my LR.

What the heck is that thing???

 

[Lotus]

It sounds like a mini brittle star to me. Pics here: Melevsreef.com - Brittle Starfish

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Hmmm, tough to say, because if it indeed does have those additional appendages, I can't see them.

 

[Lotus]

Maybe I misunderstood your description

There's a worm photo ID site here with a ton of worms: Worm Hitch Hikers

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks Lotus!

Wow, that site has piles of worms LOL

I'll surf through and see if I can't figure out what this thing is, but from just looking at a few pics, I believe it's definitely a worm of some sort

 

[Lotus]

Yep ... who knew there were so many worms!

 

[IDunnoWhy]

9/11/07 Update w/ Pics, And More Questions LOL

OK, so I'm off work today, and I need to run to the LFS for supplies (Salt, food, filters etc.)

I have a few questions:

1. I've been using Oceanic Salt Mix, do you guys like that stuff, or is there a better quality product I could try?

2. I've been running over my stock list, starting to scrape together $ to start buying stuff (Next Month).

I intend to start stocking with my CUC first, do I start with Hermits, then snails then shrimp etc.?

Lets say I start with hermits, do I stock the whole batch at once (say 4-6 hermits) or do I start with 1 or 2 then add more as the tank matures? Same question for the snails.

Once I put the hermits in, aside from the algae etc. what will they eat? Is there a specific "Marine Hermit" food supplement I should purchase, so the lil' guys don't starve? (I have a pile of "pods" in there now, I assume they'll eat them as well?)

3. If you look at the pics below, you'll see the filter tube hangs way down in the tank, I was thinking about shortening it, so it's maybe 1" below the surface, that way I can put 1 more piece of LR in there (where the current tube strainer is now). Do any of you see a problem with having the pickup tube so short (as long as the tank water doesn't drop below it, it should be fine right?)

Here's a couple pics, the hair algae has subsided, mostly due to diligent cleaning & a slight change in my lighting timers (10 hours daylight down to 8 hours). I still have some green "staining" on the LR, but I assume that will go away eventually. The Kenya tree seems to still be hanging in there, and growing, those things grow mad fast! My Chaeto algae has a mind of it's own, I've already torn off several baseball sized clumps to give to friends, so apparently I can grow Chaeto pretty well LOL....anyway here's the pics

 

[Lorna]

my opinion.......I wouldn't do hermits.....all can be mean devils if they see a shell they want....many a poor snail is shell jacked. I would do snails, some nassarius, ceriths and a couple turbos. Yes shorten the intake tube no problem with that......and you are good to go.

 

[TRe]

im with lorna but if you really want hermits id only get a few 1-2 ...the tank is looking great tho and just a few snails will clean it right up

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks guys!!

Yea, my wife is pretty into hermits (Non-Marine Varieties), so she'd like to try a few marine ones, and I don't care either way.

I'll tell her it will be 2 max. Right?

How many snails? (How many of each species).

 

[Lorna]

I don't know.....figure on about 2/g of nassarius and ceriths and maybe 3 or so turbos. If you can't get the ceriths settle for nerites but don't do margaritas or astreas as the margaritas will eventually sucumb to the high reef temps and astreas can't turn themselve over if they fall onto their backs

 

[Lotus]

I'd say two hermits, too. I've read that if you get one per 10 gallons or less, they're not as much of a menace. I have 6 in my 125g (at least that's what I started with). One turned out not to be a blue legged hermit, but something that gets much larger and eats snails. I haven't had problems with my real blue-legs and corals, because the shrimp get there before the hermits can.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

9/12/07 Pics of pods.....Maybe?

Hi everyone!

I have put a couple pics below of what I believe to be a Pod....maybe. These guys come out right after "lights out" and I've seen probably 10-15 of these larger variety, there are probably hundreds of the small ones (to small for me to photograph, but you can seen them with a magnifying glass).

Can some one give me a positive ID please?