malx
Active member
Got it, quarantine tank sounds like a good idea even if they are the first fish in
Livestock Questions
- Thread starter malx
- Start date
Got it, quarantine tank sounds like a good idea even if they are the first fish in
malx
Active member
What do you think of this as a little quarantine tank?
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/10-nuvo-fusion-aquarium-innovative-marine.html For 100 bucks, it seems to have everything I need in terms of filtration. I can use cycled water from my main system (I'm not connecting them don't worry) and a little of the sand and cycled live rock in it? Maybe put in a small piece of coral? I may consider up-keeping it in my office and just moving the fish home once I know it's good.
I understand that any fish you put in here that's sick, you run the risk of having to tear down the tank.
Also would be a good tank in case a fish in my main tank decides he wants to be aggressive.
Let me know your thoughts!
malx
Active member
Alright everyone, so here's what I decided to do after much research.
I've decided to get that little 10g tank off of BRS with a 50w heater and use that as my QT tank but keep it in my office (which I'm at 6 days a week). I understand that anything I put in this small tank has a risk of dying, so I'm going to keep probably some live rock (that I will cycle myself) as well as a Cleaner Shrimp and a Hermit Crab.
Here's the list of Livestock that I am looking to add to the main tank and in the order it will go. Let me know what you guys would change from this! Note, I'm going to get every fish as small as possible! I'll let them grow on their own in the tank.
After the tank is cycled (using the Red Sea kit to cycle)... Each fish will spend 30 days in the QT tank, then after, move to the main tank. Inverts will go directly into the main tank:
1x Percula Clown and 1x Blood Shrimp
30 days later.. 1x Watchman Goby, 5x Hermit Crabs
30 days after that... 1x Yellow & Black Heraldi Angelfish, 5x Cleaner Snails
30 days after that... 1x Royal Gramma and 1x Pom Pom Crab
30 days after that... 1x Flame Hawk
30 days after that... 1x Lyretail Anthias
30 days after that... 3x Blue Damselfish (semi-aggressive so adding last)
Once all of the fish are added and I am confident nutrients are low, I will start adding corals.
In the QT tank I will keep 1x Cleaner Hermit Crab and 1x Cleaner Shrimp.
What do you guys think?
Cheers,
Joey
I've decided to get that little 10g tank off of BRS with a 50w heater and use that as my QT tank but keep it in my office (which I'm at 6 days a week). I understand that anything I put in this small tank has a risk of dying, so I'm going to keep probably some live rock (that I will cycle myself) as well as a Cleaner Shrimp and a Hermit Crab.
Here's the list of Livestock that I am looking to add to the main tank and in the order it will go. Let me know what you guys would change from this! Note, I'm going to get every fish as small as possible! I'll let them grow on their own in the tank.
After the tank is cycled (using the Red Sea kit to cycle)... Each fish will spend 30 days in the QT tank, then after, move to the main tank. Inverts will go directly into the main tank:
1x Percula Clown and 1x Blood Shrimp
30 days later.. 1x Watchman Goby, 5x Hermit Crabs
30 days after that... 1x Yellow & Black Heraldi Angelfish, 5x Cleaner Snails
30 days after that... 1x Royal Gramma and 1x Pom Pom Crab
30 days after that... 1x Flame Hawk
30 days after that... 1x Lyretail Anthias
30 days after that... 3x Blue Damselfish (semi-aggressive so adding last)
Once all of the fish are added and I am confident nutrients are low, I will start adding corals.
In the QT tank I will keep 1x Cleaner Hermit Crab and 1x Cleaner Shrimp.
What do you guys think?
Cheers,
Joey
bat21
New member
Suggestions, in no particular order:
- the angel will be the boss of that tank most likely. I'd add it last, or before the damsels.
- only get the anthias if you can feed at least 3 times a day
- that's not much of a clean up crew. Also, scarlet hermits will not murder your snails. Other hermits might.
- keeping other animals in the QT prevents you from being able to quickly match the salinity of the bag water of a new fish. Some medications will kill inverts as well. I'd skip this idea as it limits the effectiveness of the QT.
- the damsels are a very risky proposition for a tank that size. I know they're beautiful. But you can pretty much forget ever adding a peaceful fish once those guys have their place in the tank. And I'm guessing you will rarely see your royal gramma for the same reason.
- the angel will be the boss of that tank most likely. I'd add it last, or before the damsels.
- only get the anthias if you can feed at least 3 times a day
- that's not much of a clean up crew. Also, scarlet hermits will not murder your snails. Other hermits might.
- keeping other animals in the QT prevents you from being able to quickly match the salinity of the bag water of a new fish. Some medications will kill inverts as well. I'd skip this idea as it limits the effectiveness of the QT.
- the damsels are a very risky proposition for a tank that size. I know they're beautiful. But you can pretty much forget ever adding a peaceful fish once those guys have their place in the tank. And I'm guessing you will rarely see your royal gramma for the same reason.
jeff240gallon
New member
I've had a flame hawk and two shrimp (coral bandit and blood) for around two years now. Not a single issue except when I first introduced my bandit. Hawk killed him, so I got another and haven't had an issue since.
malx
Active member
Thanks for the tips. I don't mind ditching the inverts in the QT. Also don't mind ditching the Lyretail because I won't be able to feed 3x day. I could feed twice, and then I planned on clipping some seaweed to the wall of the tank for some grazing. Maybe this counts, let me know.
For the clean up crew? Would you add more over time? If so, what would you try to max out at?
Finally, what would you prefer other than the Damsels? I was entertaining Chromis but people say they eventually kill each other. I want three or five small schooling fish. Open to ideas here that will work with the other fish I have selected. I'm not partial to cardinals so, any other suggestion would be fine!
Let me know,
Joey
malx
Active member
Really would prefer 3-5 blue/green chromis http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1634+115&pcatid=115 says they are peaceful so not sure why people say they kill each other.
DopeCantWin
Active member
They're peaceful with other fish, but eventually kill conspecifics. Just the experience of 99.9% of the people out there.
bat21
New member
Your idea of schooling is not really attainable in a 60 gallon tank. Chromis are not actually schooling fish. They shoal. Which means they group together in the presence of a threat. They also get bigger than you think. I originally came into the hobby wanting a group of them also, but after tons and tons of research, and reading people's experience with them, I abandoned the idea. The fact that they are so commonly diseased was the icing on the cake.
You can get 15-20 snails easy, depending on what kinds you get. Turbos and trochus and massive eaters. Ceriths are much smaller, dwarf ceriths even tinier. But I have about a dozen turbos, I had about 10 trochus until my hermits killed all but 1 of them. A few dozen dwarf ceriths, a handful of nessarius in the sandbed. And about a dozen hermits.
Hermits in my experience are not terribly effective cleaners at all. And I regret getting any blue leg hermits because they have killed so many of my big helpful snails.
Don't worry about the damsel/chromis right now. Get the other fish you want. Get the angel last. This will take many months. Who knows how you will feel by that time and how the tank community will form. I changed my stock list 487 times in the 16 months I spent deciding on fish.
You can get 15-20 snails easy, depending on what kinds you get. Turbos and trochus and massive eaters. Ceriths are much smaller, dwarf ceriths even tinier. But I have about a dozen turbos, I had about 10 trochus until my hermits killed all but 1 of them. A few dozen dwarf ceriths, a handful of nessarius in the sandbed. And about a dozen hermits.
Hermits in my experience are not terribly effective cleaners at all. And I regret getting any blue leg hermits because they have killed so many of my big helpful snails.
Don't worry about the damsel/chromis right now. Get the other fish you want. Get the angel last. This will take many months. Who knows how you will feel by that time and how the tank community will form. I changed my stock list 487 times in the 16 months I spent deciding on fish.
malx
Active member
All good tips. I'm not sold on the hermits either so maybe I'll just do the snails. I'll revise my fish list too so the Angel is put in last them after that decide what else. Maybe I'll find some Lyretails or Firefish will do well.
The reason I avoided such a large clean up crew was because, in my past experience, they slowly die off and create more trouble than it's worth. You're able to keep a large clean up crew alive? If so, got any tips for that?
bat21
New member
Not really. I gradually got more and more. And I have never had trouble with them dying off, besides the hermit murders. If you plan to keep your tank spotless, and ultra low nutrient, completely algae free, then yeah maybe some snails might starve. Most people don't do that though and have no problem keeping lots of snails fed with the natural algae film that grows on most surfaces, the stuff you scrape off the glass every few days.
malx
Active member
Thanks for the tip. One last question. Is it OK to add the inverts directly to the main display or should they go through the QT process first?
If I decided on Anthias, OK to do that after the Angel?
I scratched the Damsles.
bat21
New member
Angels can be big a-holes. It's tough to know if yours will be one or not.
Most people just put cleanup crew right into the tank. I always have. But I also think that one time I added snails one brought in a parasite that killed one of my filefish. Everything you put into the tank is a risk unfortunately.
Now that I'm done adding fish, I let my QT, which is cycled, get pretty dirty. Lots of algae. So I plan on quarantining my next shipment of snails in there. And then after I add them to the DT, I'm removing my blue leg hermits and tossing them into the QT where they can't murder anyone.
Most people just put cleanup crew right into the tank. I always have. But I also think that one time I added snails one brought in a parasite that killed one of my filefish. Everything you put into the tank is a risk unfortunately.
Now that I'm done adding fish, I let my QT, which is cycled, get pretty dirty. Lots of algae. So I plan on quarantining my next shipment of snails in there. And then after I add them to the DT, I'm removing my blue leg hermits and tossing them into the QT where they can't murder anyone.
oseymour
Euphyllia Addict
I think your on the right track with the fish.
I love the angelfish, I have a flame angel in my tank. I've had a coral beauty in a 50 gallon before. I know they could pick at corals at anytime and I accept that. I can always re-home him or bring him to my LFS for credit.
I would agree with the advice to add the cleanup crew slowly and as needed. In my last tank I bought one of those "cleaner packages" that include a bunch of snails and they mostly ended up dying not long after. This time I added snails slowly as needed. My clean-up crew also wasn't my primary means of algae control - I started biopellets when I started the tank - low nitrates = little to no nuisance algae = less need for a large cleanup crew. I also keep snails and hermits together but I leave some seaweed on a rock 2 days a week at night form them to consume. I think this lessens the need for the crabs to go after the snails. There is also empty shells of different sizes.
I haven't heard much about people QT'ing snails and hermits - just drip acclimate and go.
I love the angelfish, I have a flame angel in my tank. I've had a coral beauty in a 50 gallon before. I know they could pick at corals at anytime and I accept that. I can always re-home him or bring him to my LFS for credit.
I would agree with the advice to add the cleanup crew slowly and as needed. In my last tank I bought one of those "cleaner packages" that include a bunch of snails and they mostly ended up dying not long after. This time I added snails slowly as needed. My clean-up crew also wasn't my primary means of algae control - I started biopellets when I started the tank - low nitrates = little to no nuisance algae = less need for a large cleanup crew. I also keep snails and hermits together but I leave some seaweed on a rock 2 days a week at night form them to consume. I think this lessens the need for the crabs to go after the snails. There is also empty shells of different sizes.
I haven't heard much about people QT'ing snails and hermits - just drip acclimate and go.
malx
Active member
malx
Active member
Do you put the shells in for them? Also, I imagine if you drip acclimate them, you don't put the water back in the tank? How long does that process usually take you? I have a drip acclimator.
oseymour
Euphyllia Addict
For snails and crabs I do it for about an hour or hour and a half. I do slow drips. I discard the water when I'm done acclimating. Make sure you have freshly mixed saltwater ready to replace what you take out of the tank.
malx
Active member
Thanks for the tip! I'll do that.
