Adding Second Clownfish & New Sand

[\Clownfish/]

So I recently purchased two clowns from a Craigslist ad which they came in a 10 Gal Tank. The sand was crushed coral and just some basic Aquarium decor. I have since then purchased some cured live rock from my LFS and it has been in their tank for half of the month of June. I was wondering what is the best way to replace the sand as I notice that nitrates are always high and I'm having a bit of trouble keeping them down, not to mention the diatoms and slave all over the sand. Is their a safe way to replace the sand?

Do I need to take it all out and replace little by little? Will this harm my clown?

Second question: the male clownfish passed away last week no sign of why but female is doing great. I have been thinking about adding a second clownfish. I know it has to be smaller than the female as she is quite large (almost 3 inches) so my idea is to get an acclimation box and place the new clown in the tank and have the female get comforatable with him for a period of one week. Would that be safe for the new clown?

Thank you for any info provided everyone.

 

[thegrun]

I would siphon it out in thirds, waiting a week between replacements. Use new DRY sand washed well to remove the fines, not "live" sand.

There is never a guarantee when pairing up clownfish, but your methodology is sound (after quarantining the new clownfish).

 

[Stolireef]

Is this a reef tank or fish only? If it's fish only, the somewhat elevated nitrates will not cause health problems for the fish. It can, as you may have noticed, cause an increase in nuisance algae. The best way to handle that, other than good water change habits, would be to add some nice (as opposed to nuisance algae). Lots of cool ones out there.

BTW, your clown may have died due to a small cycle when you moved the tank to your house. I'd check your ammonia levels for a few days.

 

[\Clownfish/]

Ammonia was 0.

There are some corals in the tank. There is some GSP. 1 frogspawn head, 2 green hammer heads, and a small colony of zoas. I do weekly water changes. When I first got them I left them in the water they were in and changed it that weekend.


Here they both are (before the male clown croaked) the airstone is gone and I have since added a powerhead and still has a HOB filter.

 

[davocean]

The new clown will not just have to be smaller than your existing female, but small enough to assure it is still male, so I'd say about an inch and a quarter max, and just as you described is a good intro, and observe, female should be curious and not thrashing at it, some peckering may happen to establish dominance, as long as there is not excessive fin tearing it usually works out, but sometimes a female will just refuse some males, so watch, maybe a day or 2 even.

 

[\Clownfish/]

Any sand that you guys recommend?

 

[davocean]

I prefer caribsea seaflor special grade, heavy enough it does not blow around w/ good flow, and I prefer dry to live.

 

[thegrun]

i prefer caribsea seaflor special grade, heavy enough it does not blow around w/ good flow, and i prefer dry to live.

+1

 

[\Clownfish/]

Does this sand have a white look to it?

So replace little by little is the key right.