Livestock for 25g

[ReefDreamin']

Hello everyone,

I'm researching for a 25g I hope to set up in a few months, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the livestock I want to add to the tank.

LR & LS:
I have thought about getting some CaribSea dry reef rock and seeding it with some good live stuff. Has anyone tried this? I have read mixed opinions on whether this works or not.

How many inches thick should my live sand layer be?

Clean-up Crew:
I definitely want to get some blue-legged hermits, a sand sifter, a feather duster, and a couple of peppermint shrimp. As far as snails go, I have heard that turbos can knock corals over, but that astreas and nassarius are good as a substitute. Which would you recommend? I also have thought about getting a tiger tail cuke...is that too much for a 25g?

Fishies:
Right now the only fish I'm interested in getting are a mated pair of tank-raised true percs. Is there a good online vendor to get these from? I am kinda skeptical of online places advertising mated pairs...how do I really know they are a mated pair? Of course the best thing would be to see the fish in person before buying, but unfortunately the LFSs in my area are pretty slim pickin's.

Corals
As far as corals go, I was thinking about a purple clove polyp, a blue mushroom, an orange cup coral, and a bubble tip anemone. I have read that the last two can be difficult to take care of. Any advice?

I wanted the BT because I figured it could be a host for the percs. I know they like ritteri and carpet anemones, but those seem a little too hard to take care of, and their size is too large for a 25g, IMO. Would there be any other host anemone reccomendations for a true perc?

Thanks in advance...I look forward to reading your advice!!!

 

[Anonymous]

OK, here goes...
LR&LS
Your idea is a good one. I've done this before, and eventually you can't tell live rock from dead rock! As for the thickness of live sand...lots of opinions out there. I think the simplest answer is about 1" or so.

Cleaners
The snails and =hermits sound like a safe bet to me. I like getting as many different snail species as possible.
I want to very strongly advise you from getting a sandsifting star. Here is a little info on the biology of these guys:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... stropecten
A tiger tail cuke will probably not be able to get enough to eat long term in a tank as small as yours. Here's some more info:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... invert.htm

You may have more luck finding a mated pair of Amphiprion ocellaris, or ocellaris clowns. These guys are nearly identical in size, behavior, and appearance as percula clowns. Also, they are captively raised by ORA ( www.orafarm.com ). Your local fish store should be able to obtain a truly mated pair of these, but expect a hefty price. It is also possible to pair two clowns yourself for cheaper. I recommend Joyce Wilkerson's book "Clownfishes" for any add'l info. If your LFS can get livestock from ORA, they also sell dottybacks and gobies that would fit in well in your tank.

Corals
My only advice here is to go slow when adding corals. I wouldn't add any stony corals in the first 6 months. You will need to dose and test for calcium, alkalinity, and pH to have success with stony corals. I'll try and answer your other questions in this post. If you want to keep LPS corals, you're going to need a lot of light. I would get at least 2 55W PC bulbs. Ideally, you could get a Metal halide bulb.

Two MJ 1200s should be sufficient.

A mechanical filter or biowheel is not necessary to keep a reef tank.

There are tons of good skimmers out there...I recommend BakPaks by CPR, and AquaC Remoras.

EboJager makes good heaters, and you have more than enough wattage.

A chiller? Only if your tank gets too hot. Most times they aren't necessary.

 

[ReefDreamin']

Wow, thank you for all the great advice, especially about the sand star and cuke...I really appreciate it.