First nano tank

[jmay33]

I got an established 10 gallon nano tank. I will probably have a lot of questions! My first one is, ID this fish?

http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums...4B-BD7B-BB8AD7131BD9-448-0000003D208AF3BD.jpg

 

[Psychocircus91]

Purple stripe dottyback

 

[jmay33]

Purple stripe dottyback

Thank you! I have heard dotty backs are very aggressive. I want peaceful fish. He will probably get to go to my lfs. :fish:

I will upload pics of my nano later! I'm thrilled. It's my first saltwater.

 

[Psychocircus91]

Thank you! I have heard dotty backs are very aggressive. I want peaceful fish. He will probably get to go to my lfs. :fish:

I will upload pics of my nano later! I'm thrilled. It's my first saltwater.

Unfortunately, with a tank of that size you're only looking at one fish that size, or two very small fish. so aggression shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

[jmay33]

Unfortunately, with a tank of that size you're only looking at one fish that size, or two very small fish. so aggression shouldn't be much of an issue.

Alright. Thanks!

 

[jmay33]

How do I get rid of this kind of outbreak? The water is cloudy because I just had to move it. I also think the outbreak is from the sand being stirred up. I added 2 ocellaris clowns that will be going into my 55 gallon reef when it is cycled and they grow a little.

 

[jmay33]

After hours hermit crab fun.

My clowns and my condy

Full tank shot pretty bare right now. I used to have a star fish but my anemone killed it. :'(

There is 10 lbs of really small rocks. I want to get a couple of bigger rocks to stack it higher and so the corals I want have a place to live happy lives.

Also, can all other soft corals live with these? I don't know much about aggression in corals.

Thanks!

 

[Psychocircus91]

Anemones can be a problem when you mix them with coral. If your anemone moves, your coral are at risk. That being said, people do it all the time.

I recommend painting the back of your tank. Most people do black or blue. It's preference, but IMO everything will stand out much more. Plus you see less wires.

What lights are you using? Anemones need some pretty good lighting.

 

[obscurereef]

Cool that you got a SW tank. I was also going to ask what lighting you have. That would determine what corals you could get. From just looking that light doesn't look like it can support an anemone. Mushrooms and zoas are good beginner corals and don't require a lot of light. In the ocean, various types of corals are never put as close as we put them in our aquariums. They can sting one another so it's best to spread corals apart and make sure they have room to grow.

 

[jmay33]

Anemones can be a problem when you mix them with coral. If your anemone moves, your coral are at risk. That being said, people do it all the time.

I recommend painting the back of your tank. Most people do black or blue. It's preference, but IMO everything will stand out much more. Plus you see less wires.

What lights are you using? Anemones need some pretty good lighting.

He's been living in there for about 2 months, but he stays close to the top of the tank, which leads me to believe that my lighting really isn't good enough for him. I've already been considering taking him to my lfs for some store credit.

I actually don't know a whole lot about my lights since I bought the tank already established (they're a little ghetto for the time being.) I know I have 1 coralife 10w compact fluorescent and another 18" coralife fluorescent light, I believe it's T8, not sure. (not sure on wattage)

I do have backgrounds for all of my tanks. They've been misplaced somehow during moving. I don't even know how that could have happened. Lol.

Cool that you got a SW tank. I was also going to ask what lighting you have. That would determine what corals you could get. From just looking that light doesn't look like it can support an anemone. Mushrooms and zoas are good beginner corals and don't require a lot of light. In the ocean, various types of corals are never put as close as we put them in our aquariums. They can sting one another so it's best to spread corals apart and make sure they have room to grow.

Thank you. I'm really enjoying it. I'm thinking all I can have in this tank are softer corals(which is alright because I got really cool lights for my 55 gallon ) would you agree? Do you know if my lights could support trumpet corals?

 

[Psychocircus91]

many people prefer to paint their background because salt creep can get in between the paper and the glass. plus it looks pretty natural. if you don't want the paint there anymore in the future you can just scrape it off with a razor blade.

the anemone will probably not fair well for long. i know two months seems like a long time, but its not really in the grand scheme of things.

 

[jmay33]

many people prefer to paint their background because salt creep can get in between the paper and the glass. plus it looks pretty natural. if you don't want the paint there anymore in the future you can just scrape it off with a razor blade.

the anemone will probably not fair well for long. i know two months seems like a long time, but its not really in the grand scheme of things.

Thanks!
I've been thinking about painting it. I couldn't decide between blue or black, though. Opinions?

I will return the anemone as soon as I have time. Probably tomorrow. What is the best way to transfer the anemone? Can I move it with a net? He came with my tank and so I've never seen him moved.

 

[Psychocircus91]

I'm not sure on netting the anemone. my first thought is no, but could be wrong. you can entice it to move by gently poking it with a blunt object, or by point a powerhead at it. Then you can just use a container to scoop him out. I know you should never force one off of a rock, but that doesn't really apply here.

As for painting, it's truely preference. You'll have to find some photos or videos. I have "carribean sea blue" and I love it. Makes me feel like I'm actually looking in the ocean. Many people choose black saying that it makes colors pop more.

 

[jmay33]

I'm not sure on netting the anemone. my first thought is no, but could be wrong. you can entice it to move by gently poking it with a blunt object, or by point a powerhead at it. Then you can just use a container to scoop him out. I know you should never force one off of a rock, but that doesn't really apply here.

As for painting, it's truely preference. You'll have to find some photos or videos. I have "carribean sea blue" and I love it. Makes me feel like I'm actually looking in the ocean. Many people choose black saying that it makes colors pop more.

Love it. Thanks. I'm working on the painting.

Took your advice and took the anemone to the lfs and they gave me a whopping $3.99 store credit(it'll probably go towards a $5 frag or some lr for my up and coming 55.)

Look what I found in my tank today! It's a brittle star! I was so sad about my star fish and when I found this little guy, the anemone needed to go now. Lol. He's been kind of active now that the nem is gone.

I visited my brother after the lfs and he gave me some of his corals and a couple of pieces of lr!! some of them aren't opened yet. I'm really really excited about the mushrooms and Kenya tree!

I'm excited. I'm getting a hammer coral for my clowns (i've heard they'll host in one) and some more lr tomorrow. Maybe some emerald crabs if the guy can catch them.

 

[jmay33]

Do any of these corals need to be closer to the light than others?

Edit: I also rearranged my live rock!

 

[Psychocircus91]

not sure about your corals considering I don't know enough about your lights. You'll just have to do trial and error depending on how their opening. You can typically get away with less powerful lights to an extent in nanos since they are shallow. But looking good. keep us updated.

 

[obscurereef]

I doubt the candy canes would have enough light so based off of that your lights seem to be T8s, mushrooms would probably be the best option. Love the green, blue and purple colors! Oh and good job on turning in the nem. At least it didn't nuke your tank and kill your 2 clownfish (which are a lot more than the $4 you got).

 

[jmay33]

not sure about your corals considering I don't know enough about your lights. You'll just have to do trial and error depending on how their opening. You can typically get away with less powerful lights to an extent in nanos since they are shallow. But looking good. keep us updated.

Thank you! I will! I also have a plan for more lights. I'll let you know what happens. then I'll have more info on my lights.

I doubt the candy canes would have enough light so based off of that your lights seem to be T8s, mushrooms would probably be the best option. Love the green, blue and purple colors! Oh and good job on turning in the nem. At least it didn't nuke your tank and kill your 2 clownfish (which are a lot more than the $4 you got).

Thanks. that was my thinking exactly. I would NOT have been happy if one of my clownish had disappeared. I guess it would have been my fault though. Lol. I LOVE mushrooms. I only have 3 of them, but I want more and more colors. My lfs has a tank where 2 clowns have hosted in some huge mushrooms. That's my goal. Lol. If they don't host in the hammer coral, of course. I just want them to host in something. I think it would be really cool. I'll save the candy canes for a tank with better lights.

 

[jmay33]

Here are my lights.

Wanting to add another of these along with the others. (the coralife 50/50 10w)

 

[MBliss81]

Yeah, those lights aren't going to support any anemones or SPS corals, just some of the easier softies. I would upgrade to T5 HO's if you get a chance. You still won't be farming SPS or anything, but you'll be able to keep any LPS or soft corals you want. Until then there are lots of zoas and mushrooms and other soft corals you can have fun with.