D&D Tank

[theredcenter]

Starting a thread for me and my daughter's tank build.

Equipment

Tank
31 gallon Tideline AIO
Homemade Stand

Maintenance
10 gallon Simplicity ATO container with FZone ATO system
10 gallon Simplicity ATO container hooked up to DOS for AWC clean water.
5 gallon Red Sea ATO container hooked up to DOS for AWC dirty water.
DOS set up to dose AFR daily.

Lighting
Kessil A360 Tuna Blue
Apex Lunar Lights on homemade mount and Apex LCM

Upkeep
200w Hygger Heater and Inkbird Controller
Tunze Comline 9001 Skimmer
15w Aqua Ultraviolet Classic UV sterilizer
Red Sea Nanomat
Tunze MAR 3181

PUMPS
Siicce Syncra 1.0 discharging into main tank (return)
Axis 20 for UV
Nero 3 powerhead x 2

Feeding
Avast Marine Plank currently using Reef Jerky

Control
Apex and Energy bar 832 with salinity, ph, and temperature probes.
Neptune Trident

Livestock
Mocha Storm Clown (Mutt)
Ice Mocha Clown (Jeff)
Exquisite Firefish (Captain Caveman)
Cleaner Shrimp (Bubba Gump)
4 Trochus Snails
2 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
5 Nassarius Snails
7 Cerith (?) Snails

Rock
Dry rock (not sure on lbs)
Carib Sea Arag Alive Reef Sand (20 lbs)

 

[theredcenter]

Just added the clowns yesterday. Was worried about them being territorial. We bought them from two different locations but they bonded up almost immediately so we were pretty excited about that.

 

[theredcenter]

Just some updates.
Added a DOS for automatic water changes. It is working pretty awesome.
Added 3 different types of snails (13 in total), and two hermits.
Added an Exquisite Firefish

 

[JumboShrimp]

Such a lovely thing to see; great bonding experience, I'm sure. Keep the updates and photos coming.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[theredcenter]

Picked up a RODI unit on marketplace. Rigged up a little DIY stand for it so we can roll it around the kitchen. Need to get some new filters for it still.

 

[theredcenter]

Mutt, Jeff, and Captain Caveman.

 

[theredcenter]

Well, first bit of bad news. the clownfish were getting along just fine for almost a month now. Now it seems like the bigger one is picking on the smaller one to where the smaller one is swimming funny. Not real sure what to do. Don't really have a way to separate them. I turned the lights off to see if that helped calm them down.

 

[JumboShrimp]

That's a bit odd; and troubling. So sorry-- keep us posted.

 

[theredcenter]

It kind of looks like the smaller one is having a seizure. Google says this is normal submissive behavior. The larger clownfish isn't bothering the firefish at all and they are next to each other. This sure doesn't help with my anxiety...

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yeah... let's hope it's a typical 'dominance' phase that they work through without any physical damage; then back to best-buddies.

 

[theredcenter]

Yeah... let's hope it's a typical 'dominance' phase that they work through without any physical damage; then back to best-buddies.

I hope so. The little one still keeps trying to go over by the big one and zooms off real fast and starts shaking around. I don't see any damage so far. I am hoping the little guy doesn't get exhausted. I don't know if fish even get tired though...

 

[JumboShrimp]

... I'm still wondering how fish take a bath...

 

[TJ42]

Nice Tank!! I love the shape of the aquascape. The names of the fish cracked me up. I hope everything is ok with your clown...

 

[theredcenter]

Well, it seems like everything is back to normal. It sure looked like Mutt was trying to kill Jeff, but with all the stuff I read last night it seems like this is normal behavior for them. Found some videos on youtube of other people's clowns doing the same thing. Got my magnifying glass out and I can't see any damage to Jeff and he looks to be fine today. Jeff swims much faster than Mutt so he outruns Mutt for the most part. The seizures are part of their bonding it seems. Here is what google says:

In most cases, what looks like a seizure in clownfish is actually
normal social behavior used to establish dominance or show submission. This "seizure dance" or twitching is a key part of their pairing and mating ritual.

Normal Behavioral "Seizures"
If you have two clownfish, these spasms are usually harmless and serve specific purposes:

• Submission: The smaller fish (the future male) will often twitch or "vibrate" near the larger fish to signal that it is not a threat and accepts the other as the dominant female.
• Dominance Challenge: Occasionally, the larger female will twitch back as a "challenge" to assert her authority.
• Pair Bonding: These movements are a sign that the fish are bonding and may eventually breed.

Thanks for everybody's concern and help!

 

[theredcenter]

Added a Neptune Trident today. Got a good deal on a used one and used their replacement program to get it updated. Got it all calibrated and up and running. The numbers are matching my tests, so that should make my other test kits last a bit longer.

 

[theredcenter]

Added a cleaner shrimp. Meet Bubba Gump.

 

[theredcenter]

Updates for now:

The clownfish (Mutt and Jeff) must have figured out who is boss because I haven't seen any crazy behavior in a while.

I guess neither clownfish nor exquisite firefish eat pods? I have a pod explosion. They are crawling all over the glass. If I sweep them off with the algae magnet, it seems like maybe the fish may eat a couple if they are floating in the water column? It is hard to tell, once the pods get there, we have a hard time seeing them.

We are on the hunt for a possum wrasse but are having no luck. They are supposed to be peaceful. Not sure what our other options are. We just have 31 gallons and dont want any bullies. If anybody else has any suggestions, that would be awesome.

 

[Daniel Doherty]

Updates for now:

The clownfish (Mutt and Jeff) must have figured out who is boss because I haven't seen any crazy behavior in a while.

I guess neither clownfish nor exquisite firefish eat pods? I have a pod explosion. They are crawling all over the glass. If I sweep them off with the algae magnet, it seems like maybe the fish may eat a couple if they are floating in the water column? It is hard to tell, once the pods get there, we have a hard time seeing them.

We are on the hunt for a possum wrasse but are having no luck. They are supposed to be peaceful. Not sure what our other options are. We just have 31 gallons and dont want any bullies. If anybody else has any suggestions, that would be awesome.

Peak streak wrasse also a good option. Very like the possum. Shrimp and goby pair would also be cool

 

[Aquadude1]

Enjoyed reading your thread. You may already know this, but as a heads up the twitching can happen off and on, especially around egg laying periods. The aggression shouldn't usually pick back up intensely.