Gymnothorax moringa...very common locally. Gets large and one of the most aggressive morays(especially of the regularly seen species). Don't have it anymore, but truly a great eel. Very outgoing, not reclusive, but certainly too big for the OP's propsed tank. picking tankmates for this species is tricky as they are both highly aggressive and highly predatory. Most of the common west atlantic eels "don't play well with others"
Never had a salt tank before! Advice PLEASE!
- Thread starter alexou812
- Start date
That's exactly how my fimbriated moray is. The only thing it hasn't killed yet is the green spotted puffer I have with it but everything else, it's attacked and killed including a copperband butterfly that was like 5x taller than the moray was.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Would it be more economical to purchase a protein skimmer and live rock from a second hand source? (ie. craigs list)? or would using already-used equipment be bad? I just looked up the prices and the ones i saw averaged 200$. yikes!
Live rock is essential - is a protein skimmer absolutely required? No, but it does help. I have yet to run a skimmer on any of my Saltwater Setups (5 currently, had to cut back). With that said, as long as the skimmer seems to be in good condition you should be fine with a second hand source.
As long as you have live rock in the aquarium that hasn't sat out of a water source for very long (in order to still contain the beneficial bacteria you need) you should be fine to get it from where ever seems cheapest. The more live rock, the easier the maintenance in the long run. Live rock contains all that good bacteria in order to fully switch Ammonia to Nitrite and finally Nitrate; just like an aquarium filter. This is why it's recommended to get as much as possible to help maintain the fish in the tank, and future additions with enough bacteria to support the levels of ammonia being released into the aquarium by the fish. "Dead Rock" or Live rock that has been sitting out for a long period of time will take longer to grow this bacteria back (Once again, just like a new filter) and the cycling process will take longer.
Example: My 20-Gallon took forever to cycle even after adding bottled bacteria (1 month+) to the tank with 15lbs of Dead Rock, however after adding one 8lb piece of live rock (freshly moved from another system that has been running for quite some time) the tank finished cycling within hours of it being added. 3.0ppm Nitrite to 0ppm in just a matter of hours with a little help from some fresh bacteria.
Get the live rock from craigslist or a local board. In the store you will pay $5-8 dollars a pound. If you find somebody selling their rocks you can get it for $2-3 dollars a pound. Plus if it comes from an established aquarium you can get some good hitchhikers such as coralline algae, feather dusters, coral and sponges. Protein skimmers are expensive and I can't figure out way. There is not much to them.
If you are going to get a protein skimmer get a Remora. They are slim and hang on the back of the tank. I love them.
