landlord, I was going to warn you about the sponges when I saw your photo earlier on in the thread but I guess you found out anyway. IME most, if not all of the finger type sponges didn't make it long term. I still have a few lingering at about three months but even they seem to be on their way out. The sponges that seem to be doing fine are the yellow/orange ball sponges, the viscous sponges (sort of flesh colored with little lumps on them) and the orange encrusting sponges (although these don't appear to fare very well in even moderate light). There are also some black sponges that seem to be doing ok.
I'd give the tank at least two weeks before starting to worry about it being cycled. I'm sure someone already mentioned it but your ammonia and nitrites should not register on the test kit. You may want to try a couple kinds of different test kits if you're paranoid like me. My ammonia test was not very easy to read (Salifert) so I borrowed a kit from a friend to get a baseline.
On the surprises, I don't want to sound lecturing or anything, but please, please get a copy of Bob Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and share it with your BH. I understand the urge to buy all the new and beautiful creatures we see at the LFS. However, as Bob's book explains, unfortunately many of these creatures are ill suited for captivity in general and many others have very special care requirements. Also unfortunately, you'll find by perusing these boards that most LFs's are not very good at providing information on the livestock which they sell. I know my stocking list changed pretty significantly after reading a few books.
Good luck with the mantis. Just remember, they're smarter than we are. You might want to post on the Mantis forum to see if you can find someone local to take it off your hands if you don't want it. I'd personally recommend setting up a small tank for it, they're incredibly interesting creatures.
The other (nastier, IMO) hitchhiker to watch out for is the Hairy Crab (there's a blurry picture in my gallery). They'll eat your snails and hermits when they get big enough. The clinging crabs don't seem too bad, but I have caught them harassing my rose coral. The Porcelain Crabs are filter feeders and won't bother anything.
Overall, best advice I can offer is sit back and enjoy. Patience is probably one of the most important aspects of this hobby. I've had my TBS LR for over three months now and I'm still discovering new creatures almost daily.
Paul
I'd give the tank at least two weeks before starting to worry about it being cycled. I'm sure someone already mentioned it but your ammonia and nitrites should not register on the test kit. You may want to try a couple kinds of different test kits if you're paranoid like me. My ammonia test was not very easy to read (Salifert) so I borrowed a kit from a friend to get a baseline.
On the surprises, I don't want to sound lecturing or anything, but please, please get a copy of Bob Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and share it with your BH. I understand the urge to buy all the new and beautiful creatures we see at the LFS. However, as Bob's book explains, unfortunately many of these creatures are ill suited for captivity in general and many others have very special care requirements. Also unfortunately, you'll find by perusing these boards that most LFs's are not very good at providing information on the livestock which they sell. I know my stocking list changed pretty significantly after reading a few books.
Good luck with the mantis. Just remember, they're smarter than we are. You might want to post on the Mantis forum to see if you can find someone local to take it off your hands if you don't want it. I'd personally recommend setting up a small tank for it, they're incredibly interesting creatures.
The other (nastier, IMO) hitchhiker to watch out for is the Hairy Crab (there's a blurry picture in my gallery). They'll eat your snails and hermits when they get big enough. The clinging crabs don't seem too bad, but I have caught them harassing my rose coral. The Porcelain Crabs are filter feeders and won't bother anything.
Overall, best advice I can offer is sit back and enjoy. Patience is probably one of the most important aspects of this hobby. I've had my TBS LR for over three months now and I'm still discovering new creatures almost daily.
Paul
