SeaSerpants Dual Hills 20g ONE MONTH!!!

[SeaSerpant]

Hey all,

I just put my peepermint shrimp into my tank on thursday and i found it dead behind my filter intake. It still has all it's colour and i would have expected it to atleast be a bit clear.
Is it actually dead did it molt? It looks like the flesh is still in it... sad.gif
My params are as follows:
Ammonia-0 (could possibly be .1)
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Ph-8.5
SG-1.025

Everything else is showing no signs of stress or any problems, zoas are out, mushroom is the biggest it's ever been, frogspawn is growing nicely, snails are active, so are the hermits.

WHAT COULD THE PROBLEM BE???

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Myka]

Hi SeaSerpant!

Great start to your new tank! =] Your tank is rather too new for a shrimp. They are more sensitive than a lot of people realise. I would suggest you wait at least 3-4 months before trying to add a new one.

What are you using to test your pH? I am surprised to see the pH so high during the cycle, as well as after. I suspect it isn't accurate. I would suggest you check it against a calibrated digital pH meter/monitor.

FYI, the "pearling algae" pic you posted is actually dinoflagellates. I see a wee bit of cyano bacteria as well. Usually when you see an algae-like growth that is "pearling" like that it is a bacteria of some sort, and not an algae. I would also suggest you get on top of the red bubble algae (siphon them out when you do water changes) as they are difficult to irradicate.

Corals:
None
Want:
Zoas
Pulsing Xenia
Frogspawn
Feather Dusters
(any ideas for nice colourful corals? preferably soft)

Fish/cuc:
None
Want (will change):
2 clownfish (female, male)
RedFire Fish
Longnosed Hawkfish
Magenta Dottyback
Lawnmower Blenny
CUC
Possibly a pygmy seahorse

Be aware that feather dusters have very poor long-term survival. They require more food than we can usually provide them without polluting our tanks. I hope you don't want to put ALL those fish in the tank!! If you decide to get a Lawnmower blenny pick one that eats prepared foods as most won't accept prepared foods, and will die of starvation in a small tank like yours. The Longnose Hawkfish will get too big for your tank. If you decide on a Dotty, I would suggest an Orchid Dotty instead as the Magentas can become quite aggressive. Pigmy seahorses are one of the most challenging ponies to feed, they are best left to reef keepers who have previous experience with ponies. I would suggest that your tank would be full with only two of the fish on your list (not including the ones I don't suggest you keep). Consider checking out "nano" fish for more options. There are lots of teeny fish out there that allow you to keep more fish in a small space.

[SeaSerpant]

Wow thanks so much Myka!

Well i guess i forgot to add my updated stocking list!
2 clownfish (female, male)
Blue Neon Goby
Bluestripe pipefish (will come way later or never)
Yasha Haze Goby
Firefish goby (possibly not!)
CUC

There is a sale on at aquarium illusions this weekend but with this death i've decided not buy any fish and only corals!

For PH i am testing with a digital tester! And my dad is a chemist so it's calibrated!

Thanks Again
SeaSerpant

[Myka]

You are very welcome!

I think you are still being rather exuberant with the amount of fish you want to put in the tank. It is not a freshwater tank where the fish population can be much greater without compromising the water quality.

That's cool your dad's a chemist! I would assume then, that he knows to calibrate it for alkaline pH rather than acidic pH. I am very surprised that your pH is that high. Are you using any additives at this point of just salt? What salt are you using?

Are you really amped on getting clownfish? They do much better in pairs, but you would be filling your tank almost to capacity just by getting a pair.

If you don't mind, I would like to suggest some of my favourite fish that I would consider suitable for a 20 gallon tank. I choose these fish because they have a small territory, and do well in nanos. Note that some are not compatible with eachother:

~ Yellowhead/Pearly Jawfish (proen to jumping, should have a lid on tank)
~ Clown Gobies
~ Yasha Goby (prone to jumping, pricey)
~ Firefish (prone to jumping)
~ Neon or Sharknose Goby
~ Hi-Fin Goby
~ Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
~ Yellow Watchman Goby
~ Orchid Dottyback
~ Yellow or Blue Assessor (pricey, can be a bit harder to obtain)

If you're really set on clowns, consider tank-bred True Percula Clowns (a bit more sensitive than Oscellaris to acclimate, but hardy once acclimated) or Barberi Clowns as both of these clowns will stay smaller than the rest.

[SeaSerpant]

Originally Posted by Myka

You are very welcome!

I think you are still being rather exuberant with the amount of fish you want to put in the tank. It is not a freshwater tank where the fish population can be much greater without compromising the water quality.

That's cool your dad's a chemist! I would assume then, that he knows to calibrate it for alkaline pH rather than acidic pH. I am very surprised that your pH is that high. Are you using any additives at this point of just salt? What salt are you using?

Are you really amped on getting clownfish? They do much better in pairs, but you would be filling your tank almost to capacity just by getting a pair.

If you don't mind, I would like to suggest some of my favourite fish that I would consider suitable for a 20 gallon tank. I choose these fish because they have a small territory, and do well in nanos. Note that some are not compatible with eachother:

~ Yellowhead/Pearly Jawfish (proen to jumping, should have a lid on tank)
~ Clown Gobies
~ Yasha Goby (prone to jumping, pricey)
~ Firefish (prone to jumping)
~ Neon or Sharknose Goby
~ Hi-Fin Goby
~ Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
~ Yellow Watchman Goby
~ Orchid Dottyback
~ Yellow or Blue Assessor (pricey, can be a bit harder to obtain)

If you're really set on clowns, consider tank-bred True Percula Clowns (a bit more sensitive than Oscellaris to acclimate, but hardy once acclimated) or Barberi Clowns as both of these clowns will stay smaller than the rest.

Thanks Again Myka,
I know the Clownfish will take up most of the tanks space, so thats why i was looking for tiny fish with the small bioload, Hence the yasha goby and the blue neon goby (they both barely grow to 2 inches!) but then i noticed, hey what about another swimming fish other than the clownfish.
I'm going to scrap the bluestripefish idea, it'll cost alot and it'll be a long time before i get it!
So that leaves me with the clownfish, yasha haze goby, blue neon goby and another swimming fish!
I hope i can get these all but i have a feeling i won't be able to find the Blue neon goby so locally!

I have seen no antennae or tail of the peppermint shrimp, but i can atleast hope he just molted!
Everythings growing fine, the mushroom is threatening to grow of the zoanthids on top! (pic is my avatar) and the hammerhead seems to be doing fine!
How fast is the hammer supposed to grow? It seems to me that it has grown enough for each heads (there were 2 seperate heads on the hammer)
I have some funky teal algae growing on my live rock, i can't take a good enough pic of it, but it just looks like my rock is turning teal, theres no texture or anything to the algae!

Just say when you want pics!
Thanks
SeaSerpant
Thanks Again
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well i went to the LFS to get my water checked to see if anything in it killed the shrimp and everything came back negative, so it must've been stress that killed it!

But on the other hand i got new Corals!!! I got at torch coral with a coral barnacle in the middle, and some gsp with Some nice green and yellow zoas!

But again there is a problem, the torch is kind of sickly looking but hopefully it will clear up by tomorrow!

PICS

TORCH




ZOA



PLACES IN TANK



COMMENTS WELCOME
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well today was the sale and i loaded up on what they had :bling: So i bought 2 more hermits (they gave me 3 :P) a galaxy coral that looks AWESOME. I was inspired by some of your guy's duncan corals so i got one and a very small patch of xenia, which i hope, will grow to be nice and tall!

I got KORALIA 1 instead of the nano and some coral supplements for the corals in my tank, Ultra MIN s AND Ultra Organic. I shut off the filter and and let just the powerhead go as i put in .375ml of the Min and .75 of the Organic! And i think my hammers have gotten a tinge greener!

So to bring you guys up to speed:
PARAM
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0 - .1

CUC
5- Hermit crabs
2- Bumblebee Snails
2- Astrea Snails
2- Turbo snails
Whack load of bristleworms

CORALS
Hammerhead
Torch
Galaxy
Xenia
Mushrooms
GSP
Zoanthids
FeatherDusters

PICTURES
COMING SOON TO A THREAD NEAR YOU!!!

Thanks
SeaSerpant