Definitely....and stickers that say " these snail eat other snails":mrgreen:

So another update..

The snails have been working hard over the past couple of weeks and the hermits have been doing their bit too. You can see a lot more white patches on the rocks now. It's taking a while but I think patience will be rewarded... Also I still have all the turbo snails - none have been eaten by the bumblebee snails (which seem to do a fat load of absolutely nothing).

http://www.mts.net/~sempers/fulltank_31_05_09.jpg

Unfortunately you'll also note that the Mollys have had their tails bitten again, so I'm trying to find a new home for them before they get eaten or stressed to death.

If I'm honest I didn't really appreciate quite how grumpy the clown would be... :neutral:

Anyway, now that I *have* a grumpy tomato clown, any suggestions as to what I could add now that won't get beaten up? I'd like a shrimp or two of some sort, and another fish or two. Would he go for the shrimp as well - if he did they probably wouldn't stand a chance - he's quick..

I'd wondered about a yellow headed jawfish and I like the coral beauty and flame angelfish, though I suspect adding either of the latter might be too much in my small tank - best left to after the inevitable upgrade?. Any thoughts or livestock suggestions appreciated. :biggrin:

The other option I'd considered was another tomato clown to make a pair (they'd be the only fish in there). Is my tank big enough for this, and could I do it without starting world war 3 in there?

Rob

As long as the clown does not see the newly introduced shrimp as food, they will be fine. I have seen large adult clowns eat small shrimp when being put into tank. Just make sure they are larger in size.

Its a crap shoot trying to introduce another clown. Could try a tiny one and see if she will accept it as a mate. Be prepared to remove it though if she beats on it. Most of our attempts at adding a mate for a larger clown, has failed.

Although your tank is on the bottom end of size for a coral beauty, with lots of rock it may be ok. Find one thats eating mysis at least and better yet mysis & spirolina flakes. They are a tough fish and a brute also, so as long as the tomato accepts it, which again is a question mark.

With a smaller tank like that and no corals, perhaps you could remove the clown to a holding tank while adding something else and then put the clown back. Perhaps even a smaller tomato. If you could get a pair of them to live together, that would be a nice and easy to keep pair of fish for your tank. For sure I would not add any other similar sized fish then, like the angel.

Or, you could add smaller tough fish like a royal gramma or some of the other dottybacks or something like a 6-line wrasse. They both are tough and as adults, are ignorant brutes like the clown. :lol:

Thanks for the pointers, the clown isn't actually that large - about 1.5 - 2". It isn't always attacking the Mollys - just every now and then it seems to have a hissy fit...

If I could find a clown that was smaller, perhaps remove the current clown to a rubbermaid for a while, add the new one, then return the old one - or would it take longer than you can keep one in a rubbermaid? If I do manage to get the clowns to pair up will they become even more territorial - not an issue if there's just them, but when I get a bigger tank and want more fish (when I get a bigger tank I'd like a yellow tang)? When you say the coral beauty is a brute too, does that mean they're likely to fight to the death or just not take any crap from one another?

I'm beginning to have second thoughts on the angels, as you say my tank is the bottom end of what's OK, and I'm getting the impression they can be a handful. Having said that, I do have nigh on 35lbs of rock in there - and algae is something I'm good at. :mrgreen:

The new clown would only need a day or two to become established. Dont want him to much so, as then he may be the territorial one, which could be the case anyways. Sometimes, unless introduced as a small pair, they are impossible to pair up.

Perhaps you could take the resident one out for a few days and then put the two back together at the same time and see what happens then, as neither is the established fish.

Yes, the coral beauty is just good at defending itself but can become a bully after being in a tank for awile and new fish are introduced, esp. in a smaller tank.

If your upgrading in the future, then the coral beauty could be added to the larger tank, when the yellow tang is. Both are very capable of looking after themselves. Thats the best option for angels, even the smaller ones.

So another update - the Mollys have a new home and I've been to the fish shop again! :biggrin:

I had been wondering what I should add next that would keep up with the clown. The options were a 'friend' (hopefully more than that :biggrin:) for the clown, or a coral beauty or a flame angel and maybe something else small. What was available at the time made much of the decision for me - no small clowns, no flame angel, but a nice looking coral beauty that seemed active, ate, had no itch or anything, and had been there for a couple of months. I figured if it'd survived a couple of months there shouldn't be too much wrong with it..
I also got a small royal gramma who is an interesting little character and is apparently able to swallow things up to about half his size. Still not sure quite how he does it...

The Coral Beauty
http://www.mts.net/~sempers/Blueberry.jpg

The Royal Gramma
http://www.mts.net/~sempers/Rhubarb.jpg

Everyone seems to be happy and eating well. The Gramma eats practically anything that floats within range of his hole, the clown eats everything apart from the expensive food he was supposed like, and the coral beauty eats flake, algae off the rocks and nori.

I got inventive with the nori and cut a small rock in two then epoxied a magnet into each half (magnet totally encased in epoxy) so they stick together with the nori held in between. Seems to work pretty well so far..

I think I've got all the livestock I'll have in this tank, in fact I may be a bit overstocked at this point, especially if things grow. I do however have a plan.. It comes in the form of a 75 g tank which I am replacing a broken panel on, so larger quarters are in the offing..

So I've not posted anything for a while, mostly because not a lot has happened - apart from my ballasts exploding. Really, they actually did explode..

Anyway after much messing around a new ballast from Canadian Tire has the fishes back in the daylight again. So there's time for my current project - the upgrade...

It's going to be the slowest upgrade ever as I'm buying bits as I go. I've fixed up the broken 75 gallon tank I got my hands on and now have finally finished building the stand.

I wanted to have all the sump, skimmer etc hidden out of sight so it had to be built as a cabinet as opposed to a stand. I wanted it to match the rest of our furniture so it's made of a mix of maple and birch faced plywood. Anyway here come the photos - angles are a little odd as it's in the smallest bedroom and I couldn't get far enough away from it for sensible photos.

http://www.mts.net/~sempers/tankstand2.jpg

In a fit of madness I actually made the door handles myself out of some scrap maple because I wanted them to match. Me? Obsessive? No!!! :lol:

http://www.mts.net/~sempers/tankstand3.jpg

http://www.mts.net/~sempers/tankstand4.jpg

And an out of focus one of the box beams that support the top.

http://www.mts.net/~sempers/tankstand5.jpg

There are a few things that I'd have done differently, perhaps not using hard white maple for the doors and the front of the cabinet. It's nice wood, but they're not kidding about the 'hard' bit - you could make car parts out of the stuff! :neutral:
I'd planned on using ready planed dimensional lumber, but it was really expensive so I bought larger rough lumber, then re-sawed and planed it myself. In fact the price difference was so big that it actually paid for a thickness planer... So I now have a new toy as well! :biggrin:

I went with this type of design when I did my stand its mostly 2x4 construction with Maple Coverings and Finishes. Then i Just stained it to my preference.

I hope these Pictures work.

It's been a while again, but there's been quite a bit going on outside the tank - bought a house and had to halt the tank upgrade for a while. Also it looks like it's going to go in the basement, which needs a ceiling!

I have managed to pick up a few bit here and there though. A 30 gallon tank second hand for a sump is the latest. I'm currently in the process of tearing out the old wrecked silicone before re-siliconing it.

I have the skimmer, just the lighting and a load of rock from BRS to go.

It's a bit frustrating, but there you go, but that brings me to the main subject of the post. My current piece of crap hang on skimmer. Seriously it's a waste of the earth's natural resources - no kidding. :neutral:
If anyone tries to sell you a Weipro skimmer, just say no...
Anyway, with the move to the big tank and the better skimmer on hold, I had to do something. I'm battling to keep the water quality up and getting no help from the skimmer. I left it running to boost gas exchange as I have a covered tank, but lately I reckon it can't be doing much for that either. No matter how much I clean it, play with it, cajole or curse it, it just seems to get worse. Something had to give, so I was left with a choice of buying another one (which would cost about half the price if the rock for the big tank) or rig something. I chose the second option. :mrgreen:

A trip to Windsor Plywood saw me with a board foot of 1" basswood (apparently the same as limewood) which I ripped into a 1/8" piece of end grain. Then I got out the C/A and made an airstone that would fit down in the body if the skimmer by the inlet. It's about 1" square by 3/8" (sorry, didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo). I drilled the lid of the skimmer and fed the airline down through the neck.

The results are spectacular. If I block the venturi, it's much quieter or a start, and there's bubbles - lots of bubbles.

From this:
http://www.mts.net/~sempers/Venturi_skimmer.jpg

The skimmate and the foam you see is left over from running it with the airstone earlier. Check out the lack of bubbles!

To this:
http://www.mts.net/~sempers/Skimmer_airstone.jpg

For the first time (pretty much ever) it's skimming! :biggrin:

And the best bit is for 6 bucks I've got enough wood for about a hundred or so airstones.. It may be my imagination, but the fish seem to be more active too, perhaps the oxygen levels have increased.. Or it could be in my head.

But still - IT SKIMMS!!!

Right on I'll follow along... and add any advice that I think can help.