My New Bio Cube 29

[ggk1988]

Check out some mushrooms, zoanthids, xenia, or star polyps for easy beginner corals.

 

[cjscott]

So I got home from work today and saw something in the corner of my tank. Upon closer inspection it was the body of one of my hermit crabs. I don't know where his shell went but the other 4 hermits seem to be doing fine. Should I be worried?

 

[kingfisher62]

He probably just molted and is hiding till his new shell hardens.
Do you have empty snail shells of assorted sizes in the tank in case they have out grown there old home?

 

[cjscott]

So I finally got my test kit today. I checked the tracking and it was stuck in Utah for like 3 days!
PH 8.4
Amonia in between 0 and .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate was in between 0 and 5

 

[cjscott]

Hitch Hiker?

Hitch Hiker?

Can anyone tell me what this is? Is it harmful? How do I get it out if need be?

 

[kingfisher62]

Looks like an amphipod to me . sign of a healthy tank. good fish food!

 

[melanotaenia]

do not add anymore livestock at this point, let the tank do its thing, no matter how much of a cleanup crew you throw in there, the tank will have to go through its algae blooms on its own.

No water changes at this point, I would give it at least three weeks or more before performing a water change; changing the water will actual slow the cycling process.

Stay away from Petco/PetSmart etc. if you can, go to a store dedicated to fish, you might pay more, but it is worth it.

Good luck!

 

[cjscott]

My tank has been up for 3 weeks now so do I need to let it cycle more? I thought the test readings looked pretty good from the other day. I agree that driving the extra time to the fish store farther away is definetely worth it.

 

[vwwanksta69]

Pretty good? If your tests show any signs of ammonia or nitrite I would not add anything. Test your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH and salinity, and if everything is in line I would start by adding a hardy fish, personally I added a blue/green chromis...I see that you have had an algae bloom so this is good news, add the fish and feed it for one week, testing your water about an hour after each feeding, if your bacterial colony can manage it, I would start adding another hardy fish about one week later...Currently my tank is a month old, I have on clown, chromis, and a skunk cleaner shrimp all have been fine...

 

[cjscott]

So I did my first water change and everything is looking good. My one question though is that I feel like one of my hermit crabs will not leave my astrea snails alone! He will pull them off the glass and knock them upside down on the sand. Does he need to go?

 

[ggk1988]

I would pull him or find him a bigger shell. He is probably trying to steal the snails shell.

 

[vwwanksta69]

^^I agree, I just put some larger shells in my tank and the crabs went crazy over them...

 

[cjscott]

So the algea on the sand in my tank is getting kind of out of control. What do you guys recommend? Should I just get more hermit crabs and astrea snails?

 

[cjscott]

So I have been thinking about what I want to stock in my tank lately and I wanted to put it up on the board for criticism. I was thinking of getting a second clownfish, a flame angel, and a green or spotted mandarin. I would like to keep lots of colorful zoas and some other hardy corals.

 

[smilby36]

mandarins need an established tank...not yet

I would honestly wait a little bit longer...do not want to rush

 

[MSU Fan]

I understand that you already have a false perc in the tank - in that case, I would probably not add the flame angel - too much chance for territoriality. If you add another false perc, make sure there is a pretty good discrepancy in size so they'll be more likely to form a pair and not war with each other.

ABSOLUTELY do not get a Mandarin for your tank. They are one of the hardest fish to keep alive in captivity. And a 29g is just too small. If you are deadset to keep one, you would at least have to wait a year before adding it.

What kind of algae is on your sand? Diatoms? You can stir them up using some CUC like you have been, or you can let them go. Diatoms don't hurt anything, and eventually, with age, go away.

 

[cjscott]

MSU Fan thanks for the help. What fish would you suggest for a 29g bc? Also I was not going to add the Mandarin for a long time. I have some copepods in the tank but wanted to get them more established and try to figure out how to propogate them. The algae on the sand does not look like diatoms but more green and like hair algae. Thanks for the help.

 

[cjscott]

So I went to the LFS today and picked up another false perc, a couple more snails, and a rock with a couple ricordia. I will try and post a pic of the tank soon but I had a question. I hadn't really expected to buy a ric( I went there looking for some zoas) and the guy recommended Kent Marine phytoplex. I got it but now that I am reading online it doesn't say anything about rics needing it.

 

[vwwanksta69]

BTW...I have a pair of ocellaris clowns, a sixline and a flame angel and they all get along....

 

[cjscott]

Here is a picture of my new rics. I have them in the middle of the tank but am wondering if I should move them down lower? Any suggestions?