silver97
Active Member
I have recently created a saltwater reef tank that has been running for about 2 months now. It is 40 gallons, would have gone bigger but money was somewhat tight. I have a Fluval 306 filter cleaning it right now, a hydor koralia pump with 850 g pump flow, and an orbit marine LED light fixture that has been doing very well in my tank. I also have around 30 lbs. of live rock in it.
As i started out I kind of rushed the processs, and after having a tank for a month i thought that was enough time for it to cycle and time to get some fish. I rushed to a Petco where the day before i scoped out my clean up crew and a bta, consisting of a fire shrimp and 6 hermit crabs. I bought them all at once, acclimated them to my tank, taking extra care to drip acclimate my bta and rushed out to another pet store where i bought my other fish. Everything was fine and alive when i left.
When i got to the other fish store, i bought 1 regular and 1 black oscellaris clownfish, an emerald crab and 2 blue green chromis and a frag of coral that i believed at the time to be a xenia. Not at any point did my vendor ask me anything about my tank, and they are known around here to be some of the most knowledgeable. I spent about $250-$300 that day.
Having a headache from acclimating all my fish and some troubles, i took a nap, 3 hours I later woke up to find both my clownfish, both green chromis, the emerald crab and the fire shrimp DEAD. I was shocked, stressed out and tired so i decided id deal with it tomorrow.
I called the 2nd fish store and they basically told me i added too many things at once. THANK GOD they credited me for the more expensive things. I wasnt going to bother with Petco, i haven't had good experiences buying freshwater fish with them in the past and didn't want to go through the hassle of it.
I waited 2 more weeks for my tank to cycle completely, which it did, and i bought some zoas and palys online. Seeing they would be a good beginner coral i bought a pack of 45 polyps, and right now i would say around 30 survived (they took a few days to get to Pa from Florida). They are mostly doing fine now.
3 days ago I went back to the other fish store and bought another oscellaris, and i named him Third (short for third times the charm(I have a somewhat cruel sense of humor)). He is alive and well and is swimming all throughout my tank.
However, Third does not host in my bta. I figure its just because he hasnt found it yet, and its only been 3 days with him, but since the month the bta has been in my tank it hasnt shown many signs of being happy. It kind of threw itself behind a rock and gets enough light, but it hasnt eaten anyting since getting it. The tentacles are somewhat see through, which i know is a red flag, but the body is still pink and the tips of its tentacles are still white. I see it pooping all the time, which is why i think it is still ok from the photosynthetic cells inside it. But i would like to know any tips on how to possibly make it happier and healthier.
Another question i have is about the mystery frag i got from my fish store. I thought it was xenia but within the last week or so suspect it isnt because it has more of a structure than most do. It looks like a branching coral, and im wondering if i accidentally picked up an acropora or something along those lines. ill post pics of all the things i asked about
my tank
As i started out I kind of rushed the processs, and after having a tank for a month i thought that was enough time for it to cycle and time to get some fish. I rushed to a Petco where the day before i scoped out my clean up crew and a bta, consisting of a fire shrimp and 6 hermit crabs. I bought them all at once, acclimated them to my tank, taking extra care to drip acclimate my bta and rushed out to another pet store where i bought my other fish. Everything was fine and alive when i left.
When i got to the other fish store, i bought 1 regular and 1 black oscellaris clownfish, an emerald crab and 2 blue green chromis and a frag of coral that i believed at the time to be a xenia. Not at any point did my vendor ask me anything about my tank, and they are known around here to be some of the most knowledgeable. I spent about $250-$300 that day.
Having a headache from acclimating all my fish and some troubles, i took a nap, 3 hours I later woke up to find both my clownfish, both green chromis, the emerald crab and the fire shrimp DEAD. I was shocked, stressed out and tired so i decided id deal with it tomorrow.
I called the 2nd fish store and they basically told me i added too many things at once. THANK GOD they credited me for the more expensive things. I wasnt going to bother with Petco, i haven't had good experiences buying freshwater fish with them in the past and didn't want to go through the hassle of it.
I waited 2 more weeks for my tank to cycle completely, which it did, and i bought some zoas and palys online. Seeing they would be a good beginner coral i bought a pack of 45 polyps, and right now i would say around 30 survived (they took a few days to get to Pa from Florida). They are mostly doing fine now.
3 days ago I went back to the other fish store and bought another oscellaris, and i named him Third (short for third times the charm(I have a somewhat cruel sense of humor)). He is alive and well and is swimming all throughout my tank.
However, Third does not host in my bta. I figure its just because he hasnt found it yet, and its only been 3 days with him, but since the month the bta has been in my tank it hasnt shown many signs of being happy. It kind of threw itself behind a rock and gets enough light, but it hasnt eaten anyting since getting it. The tentacles are somewhat see through, which i know is a red flag, but the body is still pink and the tips of its tentacles are still white. I see it pooping all the time, which is why i think it is still ok from the photosynthetic cells inside it. But i would like to know any tips on how to possibly make it happier and healthier.
Another question i have is about the mystery frag i got from my fish store. I thought it was xenia but within the last week or so suspect it isnt because it has more of a structure than most do. It looks like a branching coral, and im wondering if i accidentally picked up an acropora or something along those lines. ill post pics of all the things i asked about
my tank
the links above