The haves and have-nots...

[Kin Corvida]

I've a small SW cycled for about 2 to 3 months now, have been adding small creatures in from time to time whenever i get to go down to the beach. Here's what's inside right now, they're all pretty small so they all have a lot of space to run around and do their own thing.


Picked up from the beach:
Live rock covered with barnacles
Floating seaweed with Feather duster worm attached
3 Oysters
1 large flat clam (palm sized but less than 0.5cm thick)
2 dozen hermit crabs (1 to 3cm across)
4 snails (2 to 3cm across)
4 or 5 crabs (1cm across)
4 shrimp that resemble FW ghost shrimp except they got small dots all over.
1 tiny Brittle starfish

From the shop:
Live rock with miscellaneous lifeforms like anemones
Live rock with purple fan coral growing on it
2 Nudibranchs
2 Brittle starfish

On the shopping list:
More live rock with good algae growth
1 large feather duster worm
1 Mandarin Goby
1 Banded Pipefish
1 Banded Coral Shrimp
1 pair Royal Gramma fish (the half purple, half yellow one)
1 small Giant Clam



Kin

 

[BIGgourami]

I've a small <how small is small>
SW cycled for about 2 to 3 months now, have been adding small creatures in from time to time whenever i get to go down to the beach. Here's what's inside right now, they're all pretty small so they all have a lot of space to run around and do their own thing.


Picked up from the beach:
Live rock covered with barnacles
Floating seaweed with Feather duster worm attached
3 Oysters
1 large flat clam (palm sized but less than 0.5cm thick)
2 dozen hermit crabs (1 to 3cm across)
4 snails (2 to 3cm across)
4 or 5 crabs (1cm across)
4 shrimp that resemble FW ghost shrimp except they got small dots all over.
1 tiny Brittle starfish

From the shop:
Live rock with miscellaneous lifeforms like anemones
Live rock with purple fan coral growing on it <good water and strong lights>
2 Nudibranchs <i dont like nudis for various reasons, and i think you shouldn't too>
2 Brittle starfish <watch out when these and the other get bigger they may starve eachother out>

On the shopping list:
More live rock with good algae growth
1 large feather duster worm
1 Mandarin Goby <not in small tanks>
1 Banded Pipefish <not in general>
1 Banded Coral Shrimp
1 pair Royal Gramma fish (the half purple, half yellow one) <again not in small tanks unless proven pair>
1 small Giant Clam <good lighting, and maybe spot feeding>



Kin

added stuff in <...>

 

[sprayin70]

well for a Mandrin Dragonet you will need lots and lots of matured live rock at least a year for it to be able to have proper nourishment. Or find one that will eat frozen food. They eat mainly "pods"

I don't condone any harvesting for personal aquariums. Please take good care of those critters.

 

[Kin Corvida]

Have heeded most of the advice, not to worry. The tank's about 7 gallons, not big enough i know for a SW so am keeping everything small.

Bought more rock the last visit and going to stock up more again this weekend. Fell for a pink and yellow DottyBack, misnamed as a Royal Gramma. Seemed really aggressive to the same species (why else did the shop keep them separated in little containers?) so only got one.

Got a medium sized brown-white feather duster worm, its taken nicely to the current in there and doesn't seem to like having its back end buried in the substrate, keeps popping back up onto the surface. I have not ever seen it move around so i can only assume it's doing all the moving by itself. Really doubt the wee hermits in there could move the worm about...

Also took home one wrasse and a coral shrimp. The wrasse got to picking the mini 'pods off the walls and rocks after a while in the tank, he's still good in there after more than 3 weeks, so he should be ok. The coral shrimp lost one of its main arms cos it got stuck in some seaweed and panicked i think, prob thought it was trying to eat him. The most amazing thing? It grew right back immediately after the next moult. I have absolutely no idea how it did it as i didn't see any buds growing at all.

The last addition was a Peppermint shrimp, that guy only comes out after the lights have gone down which is kinda sad cos its got such nice patterns...

I think i'll only get more rock the next visit. Any nice looking, long-lasting algae recommendations?


Kin

 

[BIGgourami]

um a wrasse (of any kind) shouldn't really be kept in an 8 gallon. they get at least 4" long ang should be kpt in at least a 30 gal.
for algeas i assume you mean macro algea. so i would suggest caulerpa of pretty much any kind, i like grape myself, i don't know what they are called but these things that look like little pinecones are good, kelps are good to but have to be trimmed regularly.

 

[chrisdef15]

Some wrasses stay slightly smaller (six line) do you know what species is it??
Are you sure seaweed dmaged the shrimp?? Most wrasses love shrimp and some of the tougher ones will happily snatch a leg of a shrimp they have no chance of eating in one go.
And with the growing back you didnt notice because it grows back under the old shell and so when it moults its like brand new again and it appears to have magically grow back again.