Questions about my 12g

[blankminded]

I was told i would get better responces from this section. Im new tot he saltwater world but im learning so much from forums like this one. I have a eclipse 12 set with some damsels.
Spec:
Eclipse 12
Standard eclipse Filter
Powersweep 214 powerhead
Heater
Fish:
3 Stripe Damsel
Yellowtail Blue Damsel
Inverts:
Tiny Scarlet Hermit Crab

I would like to add some live rock and maybe a new fish or 2 but dont wanna over do it. Its been running so well without any troubles. I had the tank for about 6 months and have had the fish in there for about 4 or 5 months.
I would love to add a small clown but im scared the damsels would kill him. Also w/ the light the eclipse comes with i wouldnt be able to house an type of anemoni. Any thoughts of other fish i could put in here without runing into any problems?

 

[rykna]

If you add LR you'd have to cycle the tank again.
Yes, you would have to trade the damsels for a clown.
Most anemones do not do well in nano tanks, although it has been done. If it were me I'd get a hairy mushroom. They get to 3-4 inches in diameter, and your clown may host it, you just never know with clowns.

 

[alix2.0]

BTW you dont even have to have ANYTHING for the clowns to host, so yes you could keep clowns (1 or 2 of 1 species) in your tank as long as you 86 the damsels.
edit// if you added fully cured live rock to the tank a little at a time it wouldnt re-cycle. as long as theres no die off creating ammonia your good.

 

[blankminded]

OK what if i wanted to go with 1 or 2 more types of damsels? Would that be ok. I know they can be agressive so would they be ok if i was to add more like them? just different ypes that stay small.

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by blankminded
OK what if i wanted to go with 1 or 2 more types of damsels? Would that be ok. I know they can be agressive so would they be ok if i was to add more like them? just different ypes that stay small.
thats too much for your tank. sorry. damsels are verry territorial, if they didnt bully the new arrival now, once they got older you would probably see a lot of fighting. also, thats a lot of fish for a 14 gallon tank.

 

[blankminded]

ok so fish are out. Im happy with my 2 little guys. I was wondering if adding small amounts of live rock would be ok? Would adding 2 or so pounds of live rock a month be ok? I was also thinking a snail or small cleaner shrimp?

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by blankminded
ok so fish are out. Im happy with my 2 little guys. I was wondering if adding small amounts of live rock would be ok? Would adding 2 or so pounds of live rock a month be ok? I was also thinking a snail or small cleaner shrimp?
yes, yes, yes. actually the "rule" for snails is one or two per gallon, there are grazers such as ceriths and turbos, and sifters such as nassarius. i have amixture of the three in my tank and find they keep everything very clean.

 

[paintballer768]

Yea everything thats been said already seems gold to me. If youre adding the LR, you might want to remove the fake stuff you have in there, or a little bit at least.
People might say not to use this or not, but this is my general rule for bioload, I use it as a guideline so just consider it, it might help. 5 gallons per 1 inch of fish. 5 coral = small but decent sized fish. Hope that gives you some kind of idea of what can be contained in there confortably.
And it might be ok this time because the tank isnt exactly heavy duty but for your next tank, you may want to consider the following. I know the Eclipse tanks are made for freshwater, and what they give you might not be enough for saltwater use. If you would like to stay in the nano-sized gallonage, might I recommend buying an Aquapod or Biocube. Everything is inclusive in the tank and theyre quite too.
Hope everything turns out good and you enjoy your tank! Damsels can be pretty despite their ability, or lack of, to play nice

 

[oceansidefish]

Adding live rock will help your tank to filter naturally, I would also add a couple of snails....More if you have LR.