Fretfreak13
I am not a boy!
Hi, welcome to the hobby!
I also agree that unless you literally SEE that dragonet eating frozen foods (not taking it into its mouth and then spitting it out, but SWALLOWING it), you need to take him back to the store. Finding one that DOES eat prepared foods is very hard to do, and though they can be trained to do so it is not really a task for someone who has their first tank and this being their first fish. Do a search on Mandarin Dragonets (they are related, yours is commonly called a scooter dragonet) and you will see the hundreds and thousands of people who are wanting to keep them but are finding that they are biting off more than they can chew. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm being realistic.
I would also suggest that you check out other sources for your live rock. With my first tank I had rock like that in it, but it is really not "reef rock". In fact, I don't know what kind of rock it is or where it comes from. Here is a picture of my old tank, the rock I'm talking about is on the bottom of the island on the left.
Anyways, the neat thing about live rock for us is that it isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but it is beneficial for filtration. It needs to be porous like a sponge, kind of like this right here:
See how many holes are in this rock? There are much smaller ones as well that the camera doesn't focus on. The reason for the need for porous rock is a layer of beneficial bacteria grows on the surface area of our rock. It helps to break down unwanted organic materials like fish waste, dead material, and uneaten fish food and is what you are trying to grow and balance out through the nitrogen cycle. If the rock is porous, it has more surface area for that bacteria to grow.
From selling you the dragonet and carrying rock like that, I am easily led to believe that your LFS is NOT a good one. There are many places, sadly, that are not interested in your tank, abilities, or helping with this hobby but instead just want to make money. Hell, there is one by my house that tried to sell my friend who has a 55 gallon tank a nurse shark (they get over 9 FEET long). You have found a great place in reef central where people will help you and offer advice without asking for money.
The coral you have so far are zoanthids and Galaxia coral. Both are easy to care for, but be aware that galaxia coral sends out long feeder tentacles that can sting other corals around them. Also, the brown algae you saw on your sandbed is called diatoms and a normal part of a reef tank.
Please read the topics marked "sticky" in this forum, they will really help you.
I also agree that unless you literally SEE that dragonet eating frozen foods (not taking it into its mouth and then spitting it out, but SWALLOWING it), you need to take him back to the store. Finding one that DOES eat prepared foods is very hard to do, and though they can be trained to do so it is not really a task for someone who has their first tank and this being their first fish. Do a search on Mandarin Dragonets (they are related, yours is commonly called a scooter dragonet) and you will see the hundreds and thousands of people who are wanting to keep them but are finding that they are biting off more than they can chew. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm being realistic.
I would also suggest that you check out other sources for your live rock. With my first tank I had rock like that in it, but it is really not "reef rock". In fact, I don't know what kind of rock it is or where it comes from. Here is a picture of my old tank, the rock I'm talking about is on the bottom of the island on the left.
Anyways, the neat thing about live rock for us is that it isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but it is beneficial for filtration. It needs to be porous like a sponge, kind of like this right here:
See how many holes are in this rock? There are much smaller ones as well that the camera doesn't focus on. The reason for the need for porous rock is a layer of beneficial bacteria grows on the surface area of our rock. It helps to break down unwanted organic materials like fish waste, dead material, and uneaten fish food and is what you are trying to grow and balance out through the nitrogen cycle. If the rock is porous, it has more surface area for that bacteria to grow.
From selling you the dragonet and carrying rock like that, I am easily led to believe that your LFS is NOT a good one. There are many places, sadly, that are not interested in your tank, abilities, or helping with this hobby but instead just want to make money. Hell, there is one by my house that tried to sell my friend who has a 55 gallon tank a nurse shark (they get over 9 FEET long). You have found a great place in reef central where people will help you and offer advice without asking for money.
The coral you have so far are zoanthids and Galaxia coral. Both are easy to care for, but be aware that galaxia coral sends out long feeder tentacles that can sting other corals around them. Also, the brown algae you saw on your sandbed is called diatoms and a normal part of a reef tank.
Please read the topics marked "sticky" in this forum, they will really help you.
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