5.5 gallon sexy reef

[jman2u]

Ignore the mess in the back, but this is what I have put together for my aquascape! There will be a good-sized island to the right, and maybe some other rocks on the sandbed. I have a group of 12 sexy shrimp at the aquaculture lab that will inhabit this tank until it is ready for 1 fish (red head goby or tailspot blenny). I will begin cycling the tank Easter Weekend and stock it mid May (only shrimp & corals), with 2x water changes a week. I am graduating so it isn't the perfect scenario sadly.

As for corals, this is the current haul.
I have a hammer frag (still deciding if I am up to the challenge of taking care of it), toadstool leather, branching GSP (briareum sp), GSP, orange Riccordia florida, neon green fuzzy rhodactis mushroom, firework clove polyps, VERY UNHAPPY green clove polyps, and Ding Dang Zoanthids.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

There are multiple ways to cycle, so what is your current plan? You can add coral right off the bat if it is attached to rock or has skeleton structure or add live rock with it. Also fritz is great. There is also doctor Tim's and the good old add a dead shrimp or other reef appropriate food method. Most corals can be great to cycle as well, but increase livestock slowly with fish (your not adding so not much issue). I do 100 percent once a week water changes. If all you have is softies you can get away with less.

What else do you plan to stock?

 

[jman2u]

There are multiple ways to cycle, so what is your current plan? You can add coral right off the bat if it is attached to rock or has skeleton structure or add live rock with it. Also fritz is great. There is also doctor Tim's and the good old add a dead shrimp or other reef appropriate food method. Most corals can be great to cycle as well, but increase livestock slowly with fish (your not adding so not much issue). I do 100 percent once a week water changes. If all you have is softies you can get away with less.

What else do you plan to stock?

I am currently at college, so the tank will be running at my parent's house with lights off to cycle, so I don't want my corals to chill at home when I'm not there to take care of em. (I just imagine coming back to a tank full of algae and dead corals:eek:). I am leaning towards bacteria in a bottle along with a piece of cycled rock I will bring from the lab (maybe even some water from the lab too).
These are likely the only corals I plan to stock, definitely only really softies (cept for the hammer).
This summer the tank will have my full attention because I'll be graduated, but I'll def be holding off on fish for a bit until I get the basics down. I have thought about the shrimp method, would that be okay for the time frame I am planning? I've heard it takes a while....

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Dont worry about adding water from a lab. Bacteria is mainly on surface area.
What you could do is just through your rock if it will fit in a 5 gallon bucket with either air pump or circulation pump. Add a small amount of ammonia source. Then when you get back you can put the rock in tank, add water and corals.

You will want a lid either way unless someone will be topping off with fresh ro/di water to make sure salinity doesn't go up to much

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Dont worry about adding water from a lab. Bacteria is mainly on surface area.
What you could do is just through your rock if it will fit in a 5 gallon bucket with either air pump or circulation pump. Add a small amount of ammonia source. Then when you get back you can put the rock in tank, add water and corals.

You will want a lid either way unless someone will be topping off with fresh ro/di water to make sure salinity doesn't go up to much

To followup, shrimp method works but for this you could just skip and add bottle of bacteria when you get back. You will still have some bacteria even without direct nutrients. But it will be very little. So adding bottle bacteria would be fine when you get back. You won't want to leave the shrimp in there that whole time.

 

[jman2u]

Dont worry about adding water from a lab. Bacteria is mainly on surface area.
What you could do is just through your rock if it will fit in a 5 gallon bucket with either air pump or circulation pump. Add a small amount of ammonia source. Then when you get back you can put the rock in tank, add water and corals.

You will want a lid either way unless someone will be topping off with fresh ro/di water to make sure salinity doesn't go up to much

This isn't a bad option! Thank you!

 

[jman2u]

The scape is put into the tank! Copepods have spread, and I hooked up an old aqua clear HOB with rocks and poly fill in it. Shrimp and corals go in next weekend (the 24th)!

 

[Hunna’s Stunnas]

Keep an eye on any lps and zoas you put in with sexy shrimp. I lost a few heads of hammers and some zoas to my group of 6 sexy shrimp constantly hanging on them and picking at them. My bedroom tank now is primarily mushrooms, with a Kenya tree, finger leather, sunset monti, an rfa, and 3 RBTA. Those seem to be “sexy shrimp proof” for me so far. Although, one of the sexy shrimp stole a bit of RBTA the other day

 

[jman2u]

Keep an eye on any lps and zoas you put in with sexy shrimp. I lost a few heads of hammers and some zoas to my group of 6 sexy shrimp constantly hanging on them and picking at them. My bedroom tank now is primarily mushrooms, with a Kenya tree, finger leather, sunset monti, an rfa, and 3 RBTA. Those seem to be “sexy shrimp proof” for me so far. Although, one of the sexy shrimp stole a bit of RBTA the other day

Yikes!! Yeah I decided against the hammer for that reason. I’m hoping they leave the zoas alone and hang out on the leather and fuzzy mushroom. I will be feeding mysis so hopefully they are too full to eat my zoas!!!
I love your tank!!

 

[jman2u]

The tank is set up! sexy shrimp have been added along with the corals! There are an insane amount of copepods in here as well.
Last week I built the bacteria up in the tank using some Seachem Stability and two nassarius snails.

Currently in the tank is 14 sexies, 2 nassarius snails and 2 cerith snails!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The tank is set up! sexy shrimp have been added along with the corals! There are an insane amount of copepods in here as well.
Last week I built the bacteria up in the tank using some Seachem Stability and two nassarius snails.

Currently in the tank is 14 sexies, 2 nassarius snails and 2 cerith snails!

Glad to see. your tank is set up and looking good!

 

[jman2u]

Update: 9/28/25
Tank is doing well! Been having consistent sexy shrimp spawns for the past month or so.
Dealing with digitate hydroids, but they don’t seem to be the ones with a potent sting so just got a peppermint shrimp to keep em hopefully in check.
Blenny is doing very well and enjoys being the tank boss.
Also added a Japanese weeping willow toadstool that I am just in love with!!

 

[jman2u]

Update 11/14/25:

Tank continues to thrive after the Dino outbreak was defeated. 3 rock flower anemones and a blue symposium were added.
Peppermint shrimp was removed for nibbling on the anemones. That little bugger.
Added a teeny tiny emerald crab in hopes he will eat some digitate hydroids, which yes I am still dealing with them. I removed the wave maker because it seemed to help them spread.
Otherwise my shrimp and blenny are doing well! I have consistent sexy shrimp spawns, 2 on one week (Thursday & Friday) and then 1 on the next week (Thursday). One of the males turned into a female so now I have 3!
I have been raising a batch of larvae for about a month now, they should be settling soon!

Anyways, that’s all!

 

[jman2u]

Love when it triple posts a photo, silly Reef2Reef