What to ad to my aquarium??

Gaines69 · Mar 6, 2017

OK. Well, aquarium is still doing good. Water is crystal clear and no ammonia. I did add a few CUC to the tank last week and all are doing great. I have a short spine urchin, a couple of small snails and a couple of hermit crabs. My question is can I have a starfish or will the hermits eat him? I also want to know if I can add a few lettuce slugs or will the hermits kill them. I am a little worried because the peppermint shrimp in the class tank were eating out blue starfish and I saw a small hermit crab on my urchin. If need be I will take the hermits to the classroom tank and just have the snails. Also, how many new fish/inverts can I add at a time and how long should I wait in between. I don't want to stress out the fish nor do I want to over crowd the tank. (A 30 gallon cube FOWLR tank) Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Oscar47f · Mar 6, 2017

First off you need to figure out what type of fish our sea star or anything that you want to put in there. Research the care requirements and make sure you can care for it. Don't add to much at one time, one or two fish then wait a couple weeks. If you don't have a lot of algae the nudibranchs (lettuce slug) might not survive. Hermit crabs should not really be messing with anything depending on the type you have. The sea star you should get maybe later on as they are sensitive but if you must have one a servant star or brittle star are very hardy and or a tile star . As for your first fish maybe some clownfish?

Gaines69 · Mar 6, 2017

Oscar47f said:
First off you need to figure out what type of fish our sea star or anything that you want to put in there. Research the care requirements and make sure you can care for it. Don't add to much at one time, one or two fish then wait a couple weeks. If you don't have a lot of algae the nudibranchs (lettuce slug) might not survive. Hermit crabs should not really be messing with anything depending on the type you have. The sea star you should get maybe later on as they are sensitive but if you must have one a servant star or brittle star are very hardy and or a tile star . As for your first fish maybe some clownfish?

I am not set on a sea star at this time. Can I supplement with algae or seaweed for the nudibrnchs or should I wait until I get good algae growth? Clownfish sound great. Can I put them in with other small fish, like a firefish or a goby ? Will clownfish be ok in a live rock only tank? I promise I will do lots of research before I purchase anything. I just want some suggestions from those that have more experience than me.

sbash · Mar 6, 2017

Clowns will be fine in a rock only tank. Other fish you could add would be a goby or two (Firefish and clown goby, or those ones that bond with the pistol shrimp for example), as well as a bangaii cardinal (maybe two???). That would easily give you five or six fish in a small tank... Not bad!

Aside from small brittle stars, it may not be wise to house a starfish - at least for a long time while your tank mature. 'Sea Stars' need a lot of food, and unless you can figure out what to supplement, they have a high risk of starving in a 30 gallon tank.

Other shrimps or crabs would work well though. The porcelain crab is pretty neat, an emerald crab would work as well (maybe both?).

That is all I can think of off the top of my head...

Oscar47f · Mar 6, 2017

Gaines69 said:
I am not set on a sea star at this time. Can I supplement with algae or seaweed for the nudibrnchs or should I wait until I get good algae growth? Clownfish sound great. Can I put them in with other small fish, like a firefish or a goby ? Will clownfish be ok in a live rock only tank? I promise I will do lots of research before I purchase anything. I just want some suggestions from those that have more experience than me.

lol yes clown fish will be more than ok in the tank they don't need anything special to thrive in it. As stated above there are a large variety of fish you can also consider gobies, blennies ect. clown fish are also safe to put in with most other marine fish. And as for the nudibranchs im not sure i don't want to misinform you haha

Gaines69 · Mar 8, 2017

sbash said:
Clowns will be fine in a rock only tank. Other fish you could add would be a goby or two (Firefish and clown goby, or those ones that bond with the pistol shrimp for example), as well as a bangaii cardinal (maybe two???). That would easily give you five or six fish in a small tank... Not bad!

Aside from small brittle stars, it may not be wise to house a starfish - at least for a long time while your tank mature. 'Sea Stars' need a lot of food, and unless you can figure out what to supplement, they have a high risk of starving in a 30 gallon tank.

Other shrimps or crabs would work well though. The porcelain crab is pretty neat, an emerald crab would work as well (maybe both?).

That is all I can think of off the top of my head...

What about a Green Mandarin? I have always wanted one because they are so beautiful.. I also like the idea of a having a pistol shrimp and a goby that can hang out together. I guess with the addition of shrimp and/or a porcelain crab I should give up on the idea of a sea slug... Oh will these all be ok with my urchin?

sbash · Mar 9, 2017

Gaines69 said:
What about a Green Mandarin? I have always wanted one because they are so beautiful.. I also like the idea of a having a pistol shrimp and a goby that can hang out together. I guess with the addition of shrimp and/or a porcelain crab I should give up on the idea of a sea slug... Oh will these all be ok with my urchin?

Most will recommend against a Mandarin in a small tank. Mandarins, sea slugs, and urchins all have fairly specific diets. So the challenge you will have keeping these creatures alive is not starving them to death. For example, Mandarins need a large population of pods in a large established tank to survive without being 'fed'.

With every sized tank, each creature requires a lot of research to ensure viability and compatibility. This doubly applies to small tanks...

Gaines69 · Mar 9, 2017

sbash said:
Most will recommend against a Mandarin in a small tank. Mandarins, sea slugs, and urchins all have fairly specific diets. So the challenge you will have keeping these creatures alive is not starving them to death. For example, Mandarins need a large population of pods in a large established tank to survive without being 'fed'.

With every sized tank, each creature requires a lot of research to ensure viability and compatibility. This doubly applies to small tanks...

Thanks for the advice. Well, dang. Seems like everything I want is a no go. I have a shortspine urchin which I was told ate algae etc. and could be supplemented with the dry seaweed and he has been doing good. Always roaming around and eats the dry seaweed. Was I told wrong about this little guy? Is my tank big enough for a goby and pistol shrimp? (30 gal cube) I know clown fish were recommended but I like fish that are not so common. I just want to put fish etc. that can thrive in my tank. I am willing to put in the work for the upkeep and care of what I decide to get. Heck I put in a lot of time and money to get this tank up and going for a lionfish I rescued. ( Scar ended up not making it). I have tested the tank every day and ammonia levels are still at zero and salt levels are right where they should be. I just want to be able to enjoy my tank and make sure that I have happy and healthy fish etc.

Mako_SnowflakeEel · Mar 9, 2017

You can have a 6 line wrasse at the end
(Warning may bully other fish but mine didn't)

sbash · Mar 10, 2017

Gaines69 said:
Thanks for the advice. Well, dang. Seems like everything I want is a no go. I have a shortspine urchin which I was told ate algae etc. and could be supplemented with the dry seaweed and he has been doing good. Always roaming around and eats the dry seaweed. Was I told wrong about this little guy? Is my tank big enough for a goby and pistol shrimp? (30 gal cube) I know clown fish were recommended but I like fish that are not so common. I just want to put fish etc. that can thrive in my tank. I am willing to put in the work for the upkeep and care of what I decide to get. Heck I put in a lot of time and money to get this tank up and going for a lionfish I rescued. ( Scar ended up not making it). I have tested the tank every day and ammonia levels are still at zero and salt levels are right where they should be. I just want to be able to enjoy my tank and make sure that I have happy and healthy fish etc.

Well, it depends, some people are really into the higher level of maintenance to feed the fish they want. Not my cup of tea, I am too lazy so I avoid higher maintenance fish.

I would start the urchin on supplements right away. If the tank is new, there is unlikely enough algae to sustain it. The last urchin I had caused too much damage in my main tank, so it lived in my sump off chaeto and coraline for about a year. After moving it to a newer tank (65 gallon) it only survived a couple months. It was pretty old, but I fear I might have starved the poor little guy.

Start slowly with easier fish, like the goby/pistol combo. Some LFS's will sell them as pairs already, but there is some amusement in watching them start to get along as well... It is dangerous to add a bunch of fish at once, so you have time to do some research, ask more questions about specific requirements and make some decisions.

Best Fish-Jake · Mar 10, 2017

I would hold off on the starfish until the tank is a bit more mature.. for fish you have a pretty good variety available: clownfish, gobies, blennies, cardinals, chromis, basslets, dragonets, small wrasse

Best Fish-Jake · Mar 10, 2017

Something like: 2 clowns, 1 goby, 1 blenny, 1 wrasse would be a good combo for a decently stocked tank

Best Fish-Jake · Mar 10, 2017

With clowns, you have so much more variety than just the generic occelaris widely found.. I myself have 2 beautiful Wyoming whites and they're the main spectacle in my tank!

Gaines69 · Mar 21, 2017

I am in the process of acclimating a Black-Ray goby ( to pair with a pistol shrimp when LFS gets more in) and a Coral Banded shrimp. I hope two is not too many to add at once. My hermits, snails, and urchin have been in the tank for three weeks and are doing great. I plan on adding a pistol shrimp whenever these two get settled. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Gaines69 · Mar 21, 2017

sbash said:
Well, it depends, some people are really into the higher level of maintenance to feed the fish they want. Not my cup of tea, I am too lazy so I avoid higher maintenance fish.

I would start the urchin on supplements right away. If the tank is new, there is unlikely enough algae to sustain it. The last urchin I had caused too much damage in my main tank, so it lived in my sump off chaeto and coraline for about a year. After moving it to a newer tank (65 gallon) it only survived a couple months. It was pretty old, but I fear I might have starved the poor little guy.

Start slowly with easier fish, like the goby/pistol combo. Some LFS's will sell them as pairs already, but there is some amusement in watching them start to get along as well... It is dangerous to add a bunch of fish at once, so you have time to do some research, ask more questions about specific requirements and make some decisions.

I have been supplementing the urchin with dried seaweed. Is that good or do I need to add something else? I picked up frozen brine shrimp today to feed the goby and coral banded shrimp. What else should I feed these guys? I want my babies to be healthy...

sbash · Mar 22, 2017

Gaines69 said:
I have been supplementing the urchin with dried seaweed. Is that good or do I need to add something else? I picked up frozen brine shrimp today to feed the goby and coral banded shrimp. What else should I feed these guys? I want my babies to be healthy...

If you feed brine, go with 'spirulina' brine. It is enriched and theoretically better for the fish. Some folks say that brine shrimp alone is like feeding them potato chips, as they may have very little nutritional value. For frozen, I mix one cube of spirulina brine and one cube of mysis shrimp together and keep it in the fridge for a week or so until it is gone. For your needs, you would want to only bring small amounts out of the freezer at a time...

Otherwise, I use Life Spectrum Marine pellets for the carnivores.

Dried seaweed should be fine for the urchin, I imagine. If you can find some nice looking marco algae for it to eat, that would be even better...

Gaines69 · Mar 25, 2017

Is there a way to collect copepods in the wild so that I can start a culture? I would like to culture them at home.

sbash · Mar 26, 2017

There should be no need to 'catch' them. If you have a good seed rock (i.e. live rock) when you start the tank, eventually they grow in numbers. A refugium helps speed things up too...

Gaines69 · Mar 26, 2017

sbash said:
There should be no need to 'catch' them. If you have a good seed rock (i.e. live rock) when you start the tank, eventually they grow in numbers. A refugium helps speed things up too...

So my next question is... how difficult is it to make a refugium?