Nano questions

[Rudy]

Hi! I have had my 10 gallon wannabe nano set-up for 18 months now. I have played it safe and conservative the whole way.

The tank consists of about 12 lbs of LR, 3 red-tip hermit crabs, 1 turbo grazer snail, 1 astrea snail, 1 scissor tail Goby, and 1 percula clown. I have no plans to add any additional fish, but will add snails and crabs if/when needed.

I ahve been doing 30% H2O changes religiously every 2 weeks. The tank has been stable with no problems since it's set-up. I would like to begin intorducing a few select invertebraes. The only inverts in the tank are the ones that tagged along with the LR, e.g small feather dusters and small tube worms. They have all done well, but not grown or spread.

Thus I basically wish to add a few hardy inverts without jeapordizing the tank stability as well as help the ones that piggy backed on LR to grow and spread.

My questions are as follows:

1, What, if any, is a good supplement to increase the size and number of small (minute) tube worms and feather dusters that piggy backed on the LR.

2, What would you recommend I add for my first invert, an anemone, coral, etc? Anemone may be a good choice with the percula an established already an inhabitant. Please give me the hardiest choices as I hate to waste money and sea life.

3, Based on your recommendation for #2, what is the best feeding material?

 

[Anonymous]

Rudy,

You could easily go with mushrooms, ricordias, or zoas (you don't state what kind of lights are on the tank) Or if you have stronger lights, you could go withs some different softies or even lps. Leathers, a tree coral or colt coral, even some frogspawns or candycanes.

For the feather dusters, I wouldnt' worry about them. They'll grow and spread on their own.

So the deciding factor is your lights. What do you have on your setup?

HTH
B

 

[fishfanatic2]

What kind of lighting do you have? I do not reccomend you get an anemone for your first invert, as they ship poorly and are not very hardy. That is something you will want to acquire when you have more experience.

As for other inverts, it really depends on lighting.

I don't really know of a way to increase the tube worm population, mine just spread on their own to the point where they are everywhere.

HTH

 

[Oceans Ferevh]

I agree with Bingo, mushrooms and zoas are good choices and are hard to kill. This would be good for a nano.

 

[Tackett]

keep in mind that that shrooms will overtake the tank eventually.

 

[Rudy]

Thanks to all for their advice. WHile I am new to the reef world I have had marine fish with LR for 10+ years and planted freshwater for 10 years prior to that. Having said that I realize delving into the invertebrae world is the next Big step.

I have basic flourecent lighting with a 10,000 K bulb. it has provided nice lighting, but now that you mention it I imagine it is quite inadequate for any inverts, even the hardiest, right?

 

[Anonymous]

Nope. Standard flourescents shouls be just fine for mushrooms and zoanthids. You could even do green star polyps with NO flourescents. Further down the line look into low light stony corals, such as Nemenzophyllia and Plerogyra.

I would skip any anemone for the time being.

 

[Rudy]

Matt,

Thanks for the heads-up. Nice to know I can step into the deep end a little bit, so to speak, with my current lighting. I like to take things slow ands learned that is the best way at times in this hobby.

 

[Rudy]

Nope. Standard flourescents shouls be just fine for mushrooms and zoanthids. You could even do green star polyps with NO flourescents. Further down the line look into low light stony corals, such as Nemenzophyllia and Plerogyra.

Any advice on what to feed these specimens you recommend?

 

[Anonymous]

I just realized something...hehe...NO means (Normal-Output), not the opposite of YES. Just thought I'd clear that up for certain in case you misunderstood.

Ya know I've never fed mushrooms, zoanthids, or green star polyps and they've done fine without it. I just feed the fish. But some people put pieces of chopped shrimp or squid on their crown if they will eat it.

Another thing you can keep under NO flourescents, yellow polyps...Parazoanthus sp.

 

[brandon4291]

I agree totally, never fed mine either as a requirement for success. I've had frogspawns and rhodactis anemones eat some kinds of meat or feed pellets placed on them, but when I suspended the process out of laziness they never declined. They (zoanthids, mushrooms, and 75% of all available LFS corals) feed on various suspended compounds and proteins in the water column along with various sugars/starches/energy items gained through the photosynthetic processes found in their tissues. I recall several coral scientists writing about compensatory mechanisms in many of these corals that can lean heavier to one side of these feeding options, to make up for minor deficits in the others... I think the general consensus is multiple feeding modes can and do occur simultaneously.

Concerning the smaller calcareous tube worms on the glass and rocks, just like the guys said they tend to have population bursts on their own, as any place able to support corals tends to be an environment selected for smaller filter-feeders as well. Can't wait to see some pics of your well-cycled setup.

Great snapshot of polyps Matt!

 

[Rudy]

I just realized something...hehe...NO means (Normal-Output), not the opposite of YES. Just thought I'd clear that up for certain in case you misunderstood.

Rats, I thought I was going to be able to grow it without any lighting at all Just kidding I understood your acronym, but thanks for caring enough to be sure.

I'll post a pic of the tank later tonight. Thanks for the interst. I am going to try to obtain 1-2 of the specimens you mentioned within the next two weeks. When I do I'll keep you up to date on their progress.

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

 

[Rudy]

It is probably baron and sparce compared to your tanks, but it is teaming with life from the goby in the bottom left of pic and the percula to the right down to the seemingly endless amount of tiny shrimp like creatures I constantly see scurrying from one LR crevace to another. I am starting to get some good coralize growth, but it sure is a pain to get off the front glass. Everywhere else is fine with me.

Just a note I am in the process of a DIY 200 gal set-up. I will use some of the microlife in the sand bed from this 10 gal tank to seed the larger one when it is ready to go. Right now all I have done is the stand, which took a while, but is a real beauty. Will begin plumbing project in late spring or early summer.

 

[Anonymous]

Rome wasnt built in a day...the key is patience so dont worry if you think it looks bland or sparce...It'll come along and before you know it, people will be in awe! Pretty much any polyp or zoanthid or mushroom(discoma) will do find under NO flourescents....Ive had trouble with Green star polyps under NO but I think Matt has had success..You'd have to give it a try.. They are some of the prettiest polyps IMO. Good Luck and keep us posted

 

[Rudy]

BTW, what are the common names of all those possible corals you mentioned or are those the common names, e.g. zoas? That seems to be a rference to a species or genus :?:

Thanks

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Zoa = Zoanthids. Mushrooms are Corallimorpharians with many genus under that....discosoma, rhodactis, ricordea. green star polyps are Pachyclavularia. HTH

 

[Anonymous]

That is some nice looking LR!

Nemenzophyllia= Fox Coral
Pleroygyra= Bubble Coral

 

[Rudy]

That is some nice looking LR!

I am not sure if that was stated in jest or not, but thanks anyway.

Based on all of your recommendations I picked up 4 small mushroom corals the other day. There is one, colony, I guess you call it. Or is it one individual mushroom I don't know the terminolgy for these things yet?

Anyway there are 4 mushrooms on one piece of LR. The 3 small ones are about the size of a silver dollar, 1 on the left margin of the LR and two on the back edges, which are difficult to see from this camera angle. The largest one by far which is most prominent in the picture is about the size of a english muffin.

I'm not sure if I got a good deal or not (paid $45), but it is what it is at this point and I am satisfied. Just hoping they make it. The first night they stayed closed, but the last two days they have opened up well once the light came on.

If these make-it in a month or so, I'll add sme Zoas too.

Any additional advice?

 

[Anonymous]

I was being serious about the LR

Looks like you got a species of Rhodactis. I guess I say it's 4 polyps, or 4 mushrooms, but one colony or one "mushroom rock".

$45? Hard to say. Bit pricey for my area, but you're in NH right? Maybe check out www.frags.org to see if you can find locals to buy frags from for cheaper.

My only suggestion is to lose that backing and throw some black or dark blue backing on there. I think you'll like the look.

 

[Rudy]

I was being serious about the LR

Oh, thanks. :lol:

Looks like you got a species of Rhodactis. I guess I say it's 4 polyps, or 4 mushrooms, but one colony or one "mushroom rock".

OK

$45? Hard to say. Bit pricey for my area, but you're in NH right? Maybe check out www.frags.org to see if you can find locals to buy frags from for cheaper.

Yes southern NH. Just starting to get socked with this Nor'Easter. Thanks for the referral :wink:

My only suggestion is to lose that backing and throw some black or dark blue backing on there. I think you'll like the look.

Good idea it was a temporary fix, when I forgot to paint the back black. What is a good backing once already set-up? I ahve never found anything, other than spray paint, that adheres to the glass very well and it is too late to paint as I did my 55 gal.