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No, but you do need some kind of biofiltration. Undergravel filters are generally considered obsolete, as they tend to trap detritus and over time contribute to nitrate buildups. They have to be "vacuumed" regularly with a siphon as well. Large amounts (1-2 lb per gallon) of live rock will...

I'm a big fan of my two serpent stars & red brittle. Can't speak to their hardiness yet, but they're cool :)

My wife's nanocube has an aiptasia that needs to be dealt with...she's considering transferring one of the peppermints from our family-room tank to her cube in case there are any others she can't see. She already has a nice-sized scarlet cleaner in there, and I think I've read here before that...

IMHO you'd be better off to get some live rock, a bunch of it, before adding any other fish. That volitans is a pretty heavy bioload by itself and I'd want to have as much biofiltration as I could if I was thinking about putting in anything else.

If your ammonia keeps spiking, I'd be looking for the source. Did you find anything dead in the tank or anything like that? I had some zoos that died on me a while ago...I wasn't sure they were dead until I found an emerald picking at them. It's kinda hard to tell, but I'm told the best way is...

Once the tank gets itself well along into the cycle, bacterial growth on the fine particles will weigh them down. Do you have live rock in the tank? You might as well put it in now and use it to cycle with, instead of cycling first and then causing a mini-cycle when you add the rock.

Avast ye scurvy lubbers, what be the odds a salty dog like meself would be slingin' his hammock w' the Dons in Santo Domingo on Talk Like a Pirate Day? Arr, the Caribbean be a right stormy sea nowabouts, but the grog'n'grub be first rate! Arr!

Let us know how it goes. I'd like to put a pair of maroons in my 100g (don't even have 1 yet) and it'll be interesting to see how the introductions go.

My LMB is starving to death in a tank filled with hair algae...he looks like Kablamo's did and I'm afraid he isn't going to make it either. Don't count on them eating hair algae. I've had good success with a combination of reduced lighting, reduced feeding, and manual removal. Also, what...

What kind of nudibranch? There are many, many different kinds, with different requirements. I've had unfortunate experiences with lettuce nudis (actually not nudibranchs at all according to what I've read). They're beautiful, but are way too prone to getting sucked into powerheads or getting...

Peppermints won't always eat them - especially if they're big. Another method is to use kalkwasser paste. Mix pickling lime (careful - this stuff is kind of nasty) with hot water into a toothpaste-consistency paste and shoot some into the mouth of the anemone with a turkey baster or syringe...

I don't see any hypocrisy whatsoever in this thread. Cycling with damsels is unnecessary and hard on the fish. Whether you're a vegan or a hard-core carnivore, it's still a true statement.

Sorry to hear this...but you may have saved my own LMB if I can act in time. After reading your thread I took a good hard look at my own, and he's definitely looking very emaciated. I frequently see him working away on the tank walls, and there are lots of scrapemarks on the rock, but I never...

Whoa there, killer. Why don't you dial the hostility down a notch or two and let's discuss things like civil adults? Nobody's trying to say you're evil, cruel, stupid, or any of the other things you apparently read into this thread. It was just pointed out that cycling a tank with live fish...

Don't drill the U-tube! I'm talking about the line that returns water into the tank from the sump. In most tanks the outlet is below the surface and you need to drill a hole right below surface level to stop the water from going "backwards" down into the sump. I've got a badly out-of-date page...

You can use a turkey baster if you don't have a syringe. Mix up some really thick kalkwasser paste (mix pickling lime into hot water until it's about toothpaste consistency) and then use the turkey baster to squirt a blob of this right into the mouth of the anemone. Kills 'em real dead.

Think about it this way - the total system contains enough water to fill the tank, sump, and the plumbing between them. Water is pumped into the main tank from the sump, overflows into the overflow, and then runs through the U-tube into the outer box from which it drains into the sump. If the...

Just because aquarium keeping involves keeping wild creatures in captivity doesn't mean we should throw all concern for our animals' welfare out the window. Just a thought.

Definitely looks like a lemonpeel angel to me as well. Not that I know much of anything, but... I also don't see the scalpel on the caudal peduncle. 100% sure it's not a tang, but only about 95% sure it's a lemonpeel angel.

Don't red generals have venomous spines? Not sure I'd want to pick that up. For that matter, I really try not to stick my hands in the tank unless I have to.