New to the hobby, this forum has been really useful in both directly answering my questions and also for reading through past threads to gain knowledge. I started cycling my tank in early December. Thirty-six gallon bowfront tank with a canister filter (I know, I know...I'll get to this in a minute). Cycled with live rock and sand for about 8 weeks and then introduced a clean-up crew. Water changes (~20%) every two weeks since the cycle ended, clean the filter every week. My stock currently includes:
1 Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Peppermint Shrimp
~10-12 hermit crabs of assorted species
I have a royal gramma in a quarantine tank right now, going to introduce to the tank about 1 week from now. Going to add 2 emerald crabs next week as well.
A couple of things I've learned/noticed/observed...
1.) Cleaning the filter matters! I know canister filters are nitrate traps because of how they collect uneaten food, etc. At the time of purchase, it was what I went with. At the end of the cycling time my nitrates, nitrites and ammonium were all at or very near 0. But within a week with continued ghost feeding and a clean up crew, my nitrates slowly crept back up over the next few weeks. I lost a cleaner shrimp when they hit 60ppm. At that point, I began cleaning the filter every week. Since then, my nitrates have steadily dropped and now are consistently below 20ppm. Second cleaner shrimp has thrived for weeks. It takes all of 10 minutes to clean the filter. Very worth it. Plus, I imagine regular cleaning will extend its life.
2.) Clownfish are fun! They may be simple and relatively easy. But they're fun to watch, very active and interesting. Mine likes to swim in the current from the spray bar coming off my filter. And he gets visibly excited at feeding time (he seems to react when you show him the food container at the front of the tank haha). Hoping the royal gramma is a nice addition.
3.) Add stock slowly! I'm a relative rookie, but it's clear to me that fish, invertebrates...basically everything by hermit crabs take time to acclimate to their new surroundings. Adding one thing at a time (beyond the initial clean up crew) is the way to go, at least for a tank as small as mine. I haven't had any disease issues yet, but I've been using a quarantine tank as well for fish (about 3 weeks observation in there before adding to my tank).
Now for some questions...
1.) Why can't I keep snails alive?? I thought they were supposed to be easy/hardy. And I'd really like some inverts to clean the glass. I added about 10 with my first clean up crew (assorted species) and they all died within 2 days. I tried another batch of 8 Nassarius and they all died within 1 day! (and led to a nitrite spike that luckily happened with only hermit crabs in the tank). Is there some trick to snails? I keep the temp at 77 degrees, is that a problem for them? Salinity is 1.024, I don't think that's the issue. Hermit crabs thrive. Snails die. And quickly. Any advice there?
2.) Any tips on drawing my peppermint shrimp out? I've assumed he's dead about 4 times because I don't see him for 5+ days...and then he pops out at some point. It's probably been 8 or 9 days since I've seen him now. He may be dead, but I have no idea. Any thoughts on how to check? I feed the clown mostly flakes, with occasional pellets and brine shrimp mixed in. I assume if the peppermint shrimp is alive, he's getting some of what falls to the floor. Algae buildup has been pretty under control for weeks, and I imagine he and the cleaner shrimp are part of this (hermits too of course) as well.
3.) Any advice on one or two more fish to add after the gramma settles in? I'm new enough to this that I want to focus on hardy, relatively easy species. But would love to add some uniqueness too. Any thoughts/advice?
Thanks, you guys are great!
1 Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Peppermint Shrimp
~10-12 hermit crabs of assorted species
I have a royal gramma in a quarantine tank right now, going to introduce to the tank about 1 week from now. Going to add 2 emerald crabs next week as well.
A couple of things I've learned/noticed/observed...
1.) Cleaning the filter matters! I know canister filters are nitrate traps because of how they collect uneaten food, etc. At the time of purchase, it was what I went with. At the end of the cycling time my nitrates, nitrites and ammonium were all at or very near 0. But within a week with continued ghost feeding and a clean up crew, my nitrates slowly crept back up over the next few weeks. I lost a cleaner shrimp when they hit 60ppm. At that point, I began cleaning the filter every week. Since then, my nitrates have steadily dropped and now are consistently below 20ppm. Second cleaner shrimp has thrived for weeks. It takes all of 10 minutes to clean the filter. Very worth it. Plus, I imagine regular cleaning will extend its life.
2.) Clownfish are fun! They may be simple and relatively easy. But they're fun to watch, very active and interesting. Mine likes to swim in the current from the spray bar coming off my filter. And he gets visibly excited at feeding time (he seems to react when you show him the food container at the front of the tank haha). Hoping the royal gramma is a nice addition.
3.) Add stock slowly! I'm a relative rookie, but it's clear to me that fish, invertebrates...basically everything by hermit crabs take time to acclimate to their new surroundings. Adding one thing at a time (beyond the initial clean up crew) is the way to go, at least for a tank as small as mine. I haven't had any disease issues yet, but I've been using a quarantine tank as well for fish (about 3 weeks observation in there before adding to my tank).
Now for some questions...
1.) Why can't I keep snails alive?? I thought they were supposed to be easy/hardy. And I'd really like some inverts to clean the glass. I added about 10 with my first clean up crew (assorted species) and they all died within 2 days. I tried another batch of 8 Nassarius and they all died within 1 day! (and led to a nitrite spike that luckily happened with only hermit crabs in the tank). Is there some trick to snails? I keep the temp at 77 degrees, is that a problem for them? Salinity is 1.024, I don't think that's the issue. Hermit crabs thrive. Snails die. And quickly. Any advice there?
2.) Any tips on drawing my peppermint shrimp out? I've assumed he's dead about 4 times because I don't see him for 5+ days...and then he pops out at some point. It's probably been 8 or 9 days since I've seen him now. He may be dead, but I have no idea. Any thoughts on how to check? I feed the clown mostly flakes, with occasional pellets and brine shrimp mixed in. I assume if the peppermint shrimp is alive, he's getting some of what falls to the floor. Algae buildup has been pretty under control for weeks, and I imagine he and the cleaner shrimp are part of this (hermits too of course) as well.
3.) Any advice on one or two more fish to add after the gramma settles in? I'm new enough to this that I want to focus on hardy, relatively easy species. But would love to add some uniqueness too. Any thoughts/advice?
Thanks, you guys are great!
