Hi all,
As a lifetime Florida resident, much of my life has been spent on the water and I’ve dabbled from time to time with keeping a tank. After a favorable biocube experience about 10 years ago, I recently acquired an established 32g LED biocube that had live rock, a purple dottyback, and a YT damsel. It was quite a feat transporting the tank (and water and inhabitants) from an hour away, but all seems to have gone well nearly a month later.
I’ve been blown away by the wealth of knowledge in this forum, so was hoping I could impose with a few questions and requests for guidance.
One of the first things I did was to get a good CUC going. I now have 7-8 hermits, 7 FL turbos, 3 nasarrius, an emerald crab, and a peppermint shrimp. I’ve been blown away by the difference they seem to have made. From what I’ve read, this seems to fall roughly in the middle of the various recommendations across the web. The live rock has some green algae and there is also some film algae on the glass, but the CUC seems to keep it in check. Would you recommend adding/changing this CUC?
I also learned that the purple dottyback was quite territorial and used to being the king of the tank. This amusement was short lived after I saw him going after a newly added peppermint shrimp and constantly seeing him harassing the YT damsel. Given that I was planning to add more shrimp and one to two more fish, I made the decision to trade him into the LFS for an oscillaris clown which I think was the right decision. The clown seems to get along fine with the YT, and there is no more harassment of the shrimp that I can tell. I’m interested in stocking one to two more fish that would get along with the current inhabitants. I had been thinking about a fire fish; any other thoughts or recommendations? I’m not trying to break the bank, and I’m also partial to fish with a little more color.
I’ve been doing a 2 gallon water change once a week the last few weeks, using test strips after the change to confirm water levels stay in tune. I realize there are many opinions about frequency/amount of changes. Do I need to be doing a weekly change if I have a relatively low bio load and I am not doing coral?
I’m a big fan of banded coral shrimp, as I’ve caught them in the Keys and love their demeanor. But, I do realize that their temperament can vary wildly. Would one be appropriate here? Or should I instead add another shrimp or two?
I have an Omega One marine flake, some marine pellets, some frozen spirulina brine, and some frozen mysis. I usually do two feedings a day, with one being frozen mixed into a container with tank water. I tried doing Nori on a clip recently and neither fish was interested. Is that an appropriate medley of food? Is there something else I should consider?
I’ve heard that the CUC (and shrimp) will largely subside off detritus and algae. But I have seen some mention of algae wafers. But, I’ve also seen some discussion about how the Hikari wafers have copper sulfate and should be avoided. Should I consider adding any wafers or stuff for CUC?
Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read and respond!
As a lifetime Florida resident, much of my life has been spent on the water and I’ve dabbled from time to time with keeping a tank. After a favorable biocube experience about 10 years ago, I recently acquired an established 32g LED biocube that had live rock, a purple dottyback, and a YT damsel. It was quite a feat transporting the tank (and water and inhabitants) from an hour away, but all seems to have gone well nearly a month later.
I’ve been blown away by the wealth of knowledge in this forum, so was hoping I could impose with a few questions and requests for guidance.
One of the first things I did was to get a good CUC going. I now have 7-8 hermits, 7 FL turbos, 3 nasarrius, an emerald crab, and a peppermint shrimp. I’ve been blown away by the difference they seem to have made. From what I’ve read, this seems to fall roughly in the middle of the various recommendations across the web. The live rock has some green algae and there is also some film algae on the glass, but the CUC seems to keep it in check. Would you recommend adding/changing this CUC?
I also learned that the purple dottyback was quite territorial and used to being the king of the tank. This amusement was short lived after I saw him going after a newly added peppermint shrimp and constantly seeing him harassing the YT damsel. Given that I was planning to add more shrimp and one to two more fish, I made the decision to trade him into the LFS for an oscillaris clown which I think was the right decision. The clown seems to get along fine with the YT, and there is no more harassment of the shrimp that I can tell. I’m interested in stocking one to two more fish that would get along with the current inhabitants. I had been thinking about a fire fish; any other thoughts or recommendations? I’m not trying to break the bank, and I’m also partial to fish with a little more color.
I’ve been doing a 2 gallon water change once a week the last few weeks, using test strips after the change to confirm water levels stay in tune. I realize there are many opinions about frequency/amount of changes. Do I need to be doing a weekly change if I have a relatively low bio load and I am not doing coral?
I’m a big fan of banded coral shrimp, as I’ve caught them in the Keys and love their demeanor. But, I do realize that their temperament can vary wildly. Would one be appropriate here? Or should I instead add another shrimp or two?
I have an Omega One marine flake, some marine pellets, some frozen spirulina brine, and some frozen mysis. I usually do two feedings a day, with one being frozen mixed into a container with tank water. I tried doing Nori on a clip recently and neither fish was interested. Is that an appropriate medley of food? Is there something else I should consider?
I’ve heard that the CUC (and shrimp) will largely subside off detritus and algae. But I have seen some mention of algae wafers. But, I’ve also seen some discussion about how the Hikari wafers have copper sulfate and should be avoided. Should I consider adding any wafers or stuff for CUC?
Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read and respond!