Nano Tank Diary

[Dragonscales]

Just thought I'd add that there are seahorses other than dwarfs which can be kept in nanos, most of the time they won't breed though.

Also, if you are going to go with hermits, make sure they are very small species, especially with smaller seahorses.

 

[Flumpus]

Ah, good to know about the pistol shrimp, I'll avoid that.

My wife is pretty set on the Zulu Lulu seahorses, which may or may not breed, not really sure. I've seen some sites that say they will in a tank as small as a 10g, some say they won't. I think my wife might like it if they do, but will just be happy to have them if they don't

As for crabs, I think my wife definitely wants a shrimp. She doesn't like crabs at all, so we probably won't be getting any.

And as far as the jawfish, how deep does the sand need to be? Would it be possible to build up the sand on one side, or in a corner, and have it make it's hole there? If so, I know that'd be the fish my wife wants. Thanks for your input dragonscales!

 

[Dragonscales]

I'd steer clear of the jawfish in a 10 Gal. The amount of sand they need isn't really practical in a tank that size and will decrease your water volume. They need at least 4 inches of sand to fully feel comfortable.

 

[bunjiweb]

We have pistol shrimps in with seahorses where i work without problems. As long as the pistol gets some scraps of food it is unlikely to target seahorses.

I would however reccomend a Cleaner shrimp or Sexy shrimps instead, they would be far better suited.

Ben

 

[Flumpus]

First water test results are in...

Ammonia - somewhere in between .25 and 0
Nitrites - .25
Nitrates - 0

 

[Flumpus]

Well, I was looking in the tank tonight and found a few signs of little life... Here are the pics... Sorry for the quality.

This is the clearest picture I could get of this one, or any of them really.

And this one is kind of in between two rocks, with just the top sticking out like this.

 

[Flumpus]

Quick update... My wife just tested this morning, and ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all at zero.

So now we wait for the diatoms and then add the cleanup crew?

 

[bunjiweb]

As soon as the algae blooms, Go for it!

 

[Flumpus]

Still waiting for the algae, but have a question about some hitchhikers...

I've found two snails. They're small, maybe a quarter of an inch (if that). Are they ok? Do they effect what I get with my cleanup crew at all?

Also, I've seen these tiny bug looking things. They're kind of long, an eighth of an inch long, almost look like larvae of some sort. There's no way I could get a picture of them, but I've seen them on a few rocks, so there are definitely more than one in there. Are they actual little bugs or something? Baby shrimp? Are they bad?

Thanks.

 

[Flumpus]

Just a quick update... The cleanup crew has been added!

I got three turbo snails, two sand sifter snails, and three tiny little crabs. Here's a pic of a crab and of a turbo snail...

 

[Aquascaper]

Those 'little life' things in your pictures look suspiciously like aptasia anenomes, these are more commonly known as 'Pest Anenomes'. If they are I recommend getting a peppermint shrimp (maybe on loan from the lfs if you don't want to keep it) to try and eat them all before they go wild in your tank. Make sure you get a true peppermint shrimp though and not a dancing shrimp as these don't eat aptasia.

 

[Clownfish11790]

I have a yellowheaded jawfish in my tank. He is very peaceful and does not harass any other fish, except the damsel that keeps bothering him. He lives in an area by my live rock. At first I put four inches of aragonite gravel all around the tank thinking that he would need it, but I think that that isn't true. He lives next to a piece of live rock with a sea shell set against the live rock with about 2-3 inches of gravel just in that little area. He is fine and shows no signs of illness. Here are some pictures

Looking for Food

Builing his Burrow


Look at my nano diary for more pics

-CF

 

[Flumpus]

Here are some updated pics... For now, this tank will just be a standard nano reef, no seahorses.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Looking great mate! Liking that clownfish and the tank looks nice and clean
Seahorses in the future or sticking with the standard nano? (Can't go wrong either way )

Dan

 

[Flumpus]

We'll have seahorses eventually. We weren't really comfortable with them being our first SW fish. Our options were extremely limited with the common beginner SW fish because the seahorses we wanted need a temp of around 70. So we'll stick with a conventional nano reef for now, get a couple other small fish, some corals, and see where it goes from there.