thanks for the replies guys, they are really helpful
yeap i am looking into corals not too far from now, though only soft corals since i'm only using T5s. haven't got a blow torch for the aiptasia
but i do use boiling water when i'm dealing with them. problem is i've to take out every single piece of rock just to do that. if the peppermints work then the aiptasia won't have such an ugly death.
tank's going to go without a skimmer so the stocking list is going to be shortened.
1x Yellow Watchman Goby
2x Ocellaris Clownfish
1x Firefish
1x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (already present)
2 or 3x Peppermint Shrimp
3x Turbo (or Trochus) Snails (already present)
would it work this time?
i've decided to go away with the Scooter Dragonet with xxBarneyxx's advise. does sound like something that i shouldn't be trying out as a beginner. searching online gave me many conflicting issues about the Longnose Hawkfish. some said they could get away with the shrimp eating problem as long as the fish is well feed. but another guy lost quite a large number of peppermint shrimps to one. wouldn't risk it since peppermints here are kinda rare, and not to mention my knights against the monster aiptasia
nitrates and phosphates would surely be a problem. many forums and reviews have stated Seachem Purigen to be an effective way of dealing with nitrates which i would definitely be trying out. would PhosGuard work for phosphate problems?
thanks again everyone
EDIT: cleaner shrimp just molted. it's a good sign right?