Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

24 gallon Atlantis


megan

Recommended Posts

fingerscrossed

 

While I had added some snails and small hermit crabs at the 2 week mark, I am so thrilled now to add real color! Don't me wrong, the rocks and algae are great, but I am so excited to have some rics and mushrooms. I got 2 rics and 2 mushrooms and a sea cucumber (at my sons urgent request). One of the mushrooms opens and spreads out great big, but falls down alot. The other stays only slightly open, not really changing in size at all. I don't know which is normal. The bulbous moving one, or the settled smaller one. They both started out the same size. Also, these came from a tank with pretty strong lights and I just have the stock 24AC. Should I have them higher up or just keep the lights on for longer? Anyway, my newest obsession is off to a running start. I have been checking in to this site almost constantly since I found it, and I am glad to see I am not alone!

Link to comment
  • Replies 219
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Band Hunter

Yeah this is a great site, extremely helpful. I can't wait to get some corals, but im happy with with my false perc and my snails for the moment. Good luck with your tank.

 

Band Hunter

Link to comment

I have been watching and reading for a few weeks now and I love it. I actually have learned everything here. My LFS is great, but busy, so I do all my research here. Thanks for the welcome. I'll post pics soon!

Link to comment

So here are the specs on my nano reef

 

I have a 24g AquaPod-standard equip.

25-26 lbs Tonga live rock

10 lbs sand

1 Astrea Snail

2 Nessarius (sp?) Snails

2 Red Legged Hermit Crabs

1 Sea Cucumber

1 Pink/Green Ric

2 Green Ric

1 BIG Purple/Blue Mushroom

2 Purple/Green Mushrooms

1 Starry Blennie

1 Mandarin

 

I just added the fish today. I think I am only going to get either one medium sized swimming fish for movement and color, or a mated pair of some smaller fish. I also see some bubble algae popping up, so I may have to get an Emerald Crab. I am giddy with excitement over this new hobby and am completely obsessed. My mom told me today that I needed to quit staring at my fish tank and tend to my kids! Escapism, perhaps? I'll take some pics tomorrow. Anyone have any suggestions to taking good pics? I feel like I'm on a field trip to Sea World and trying to take pictures through the glass at the Shark Encounter!

Link to comment

You were off to a great start. Cleanup crew after 2 weeks etc. ZGood amount of live rock and sand. Awsome. I have to say I think you rushed a bit by adding fish after less than 3 weeks. I know its hard not to dump everything you want in there. Im fighting that part right now. I added a scooter blenny today and my tank is a month and a half old. I did go through an ammonia spike and now all my tested levels are settled. You may be destined for a crash. I hope not though, but from the research I have gathered it doesnt look good. Also, From all that I have read on Mandarins I have gathered they require a large and constant population of copeopds *unless* they are actually being target fed frozen meaty foods. If neither of these needs are met they will undoubtedly die within 6 months. I hate to be the one that gives you negative feedback and I may not be nearly as competent as some of the experts here. I have however done alot of research here and at a few other forums about the Mandarin specifically as that is the exact fish I hope to house some day.

I wish you all the luck in the choices you have made though, and cant wait for some pictures.

 

-JD-

Link to comment

Fraggle Rockette-Thanks! I always read your posts. I think you are on almost as much as I am! You sound like a total pro too.

Link to comment
neanderthalman

^^ we have experts?

 

I hope that mandarin takes frozen food, or it'll starve. Even if it does, they don't generally do well on frozen. You're also moving a tad to quickly, slow down. You have almost as much livestock in your tank after three weeks than I have after sixteen months.

 

Beauty happens slowly, disaster happens quickly. Never forget that.

 

Oh, welcome to NR, btw. Don't let Tiny scare you :)

Link to comment

I agree with the last post... Welcome to NR and your new found addiction.

 

I hope you aren't rushing things - seems a little early for all that. I hate to do it, but I assume your cycle was completed super fast? (not that it is impossible) And you might of not made a good choice with the mandarin. Cool looking fish but they do need a large established tank. Some can be trained to eat frozen foods but I understand it's not easy to do that. YOu might want to search that here in the forums and see how others have done it.

 

Good Luck to you!

Link to comment
You were off to a great start. Cleanup crew after 2 weeks etc. ZGood amount of live rock and sand. Awsome. I have to say I think you rushed a bit by adding fish after less than 3 weeks. I know its hard not to dump everything you want in there. Im fighting that part right now. I added a scooter blenny today and my tank is a month and a half old. I did go through an ammonia spike and now all my tested levels are settled. You may be destined for a crash. I hope not though, but from the research I have gathered it doesnt look good. Also, From all that I have read on Mandarins I have gathered they require a large and constant population of copeopds *unless* they are actually being target fed frozen meaty foods. If neither of these needs are met they will undoubtedly die within 6 months. I hate to be the one that gives you negative feedback and I may not be nearly as competent as some of the experts here. I have however done alot of research here and at a few other forums about the Mandarin specifically as that is the exact fish I hope to house some day.

I wish you all the luck in the choices you have made though, and cant wait for some pictures.

 

-JD-

 

 

I added the cleanup crew at 2 weeks when my LFS tested my water and I was nearing the end of my Nitrite cycle. We added some food to decompose and by the next week everything was clear, that was on Monday. So, I added the mushrooms and ricordia. Today, I went in for another water test to make sure nothing had changed and that my recent additions still had good water quality. Of course when this water check came back perfect, I couldn't resist! I swear I won't add anything else for awhile. I can't afford to! I appreciate your input, please don't hold back! As for the Mandarin, I had one years ago before reef keeping was so common. I don't even think we had internet yet! He did die, b/c the LFS just sold him to me and that was that. I don't even think they knew what his requirement were. Now, I have two packets of copepods and was told that a monthly restock would do the trick. They also sold me frozen food. My LFS is great and really works with us. They are a great support.

Link to comment
Don't let Tiny scare you :)
hey! do i chaperone your dates? huh?! why i oughta... <_<

 

only things i would add would be to become a little more independent of the LFS, testing, food source, water supply, etc. if they miss a shipment or sell out of frozen food you might be stuck. if you're not already mixing your own sw, start to as you'll be better able to deal with emergencies.

 

you should begin to figure out how much the mandarin should need from the feedings and gauge its needs to forecast what you might need to hold in inventory/stash. they're beautiful fish if you can meet their food needs and limit competition (they're almost a species tank fish).

 

good luck and :welcome:

Link to comment
Anyone have any suggestions to taking good pics?

Use a good digital camera and take your pics through a magnifying glass. It's a little tricky to hold both of them steady so you don't get blurry pics, but my pics have been turning out better since I discovered the magnifying glass trick.

Link to comment
alexmurovec
Use a good digital camera and take your pics through a magnifying glass. It's a little tricky to hold both of them steady so you don't get blurry pics, but my pics have been turning out better since I discovered the magnifying glass trick.

 

thats creative, i never though as using a magnifying glass as a macro technique. I always try to zoom into the object, but then i cannot focus at that length. I'm gonna have to find a magnifying glass and test that out.

Link to comment
fraggle rockette
Fraggle Rockette-Thanks! I always read your posts. I think you are on almost as much as I am! You sound like a total pro too.

 

haha thanks but i seriously doubt i'm a pro! just good at sounding like it- lol. :D i have so much still to learn- i read a TON of saltwater, oceanography, fishkeeping, coral, and marine bio books for over a year before i even felt comfortable getting a tank... and i have no clue when it comes to much of the mods people do or the diy projects... tho i do own a few too many powertools... guess my next task is getting electricians and plumbers manuals - lol.

 

Use a good digital camera and take your pics through a magnifying glass. It's a little tricky to hold both of them steady so you don't get blurry pics, but my pics have been turning out better since I discovered the magnifying glass trick.

 

wow i've never tried that! to steady it tho you should use a tripod- can get a cheap one at walmart or target for like $20.

Link to comment
Scott Riemer
Use a good digital camera and take your pics through a magnifying glass.

Interesting. But, IMO, a good digital camera will already have a good macro mode. I have a Canon A540. Most of the Canon P&S digitals have a good macro function.

Link to comment
wow i've never tried that! to steady it tho you should use a tripod- can get a cheap one at walmart or target for like $20.

Just got a tripod. Haven't had a chance to try it though.

 

Interesting. But, IMO, a good digital camera will already have a good macro mode. I have a Canon A540. Most of the Canon P&S digitals have a good macro function.

LOL! I thought of that just after I typed my response and hit the send button. You are right, with a really good camera you probably don't need the magnifying glass. I guess my camera is just decent, not really good. I also have the focusing problem when I zoom in too far, so the magnifying glass has helped me.

Link to comment
wow i've never tried that! to steady it tho you should use a tripod- can get a cheap one at walmart or target for like $20.
ditto!

 

the magnifying glass suggestion is very good too!

 

i think ann or zoogirl (see their Pico Reef Contest threads in the Special Events forum) was using that technique to very good macro results. some of the best pics of microfauna i've seen in the hobby.

Link to comment

I really appreciate everyone's input. I am a little surprised that my LFS let me move so fast, I guess I didn't think I was. Now I know better! I won't be doing any more for a long time. As for the Mandarin, he is eating very well. He is quite a pig. The blenny doesn't seem at all interested in his food. He is poking away at copepods all day and he seems to like the frozen food just fine. I thaw it a little and mush it up then pour it all in his little corner. He floats over it, breaking it up more and then munches away. One hermit crab did come around one time, but it didnt stop the Mandarin from eating. The Blenny is eating sheets of sea weed and algae and they seem to stay away from each other. Thanks too for the photo info. I will try it. Now I'm scared to post any pics of my Mandarin as he is a little on the skinny side and I fear the backlash from my fellow nature enthusiasts! Aaackk! I will keep everyone posted and hope that I can continue to report good news. By the way, how heavy are the soft corals on the bio load of the tank? I will SURE NOT add any more fish. We are good there, but are the softies just as taxing as the other life forms? :bowdown:

Link to comment
Scott Riemer

The jury's still out on how much of an effect corals have on the bio-load of the tank. There's been some epic threads about it. My belief is they do have an effect but not nearly as much as fish. The best thing to do is move slowly, IMO. Patience is important and always gives your tank time to adapt to any new additions.

Link to comment

So I've been doing my research and know I feel an EXTRAORDINARY amount of pressure, b/c as a NooB, I not only bought 1, but 2 difficult fish. Oh, the pretty, pretty colors can be so deceiving! It would seem though that the whole trick is to feed the daylights out of the little buggers. I'm going to try mysis, brine, copepods and pellets. SO THERE! We'll just have to see. Now I feel like crap tho, as I have a huge conscience about responsible pet ownership. I am going to do my best. Maybe if any of you have some suggestions in addition to your woeful predictions, I can recover from my big fat mistake. All I can say is, some other NooB ding dong without the committment I have probably would have bought these fish if I didn't, and at least I have you guys!

 

Does anyone have any constructive thoughts?

Link to comment

don't feel too guilty about the mandarin. most of us have been there, some more than once! :blush: at least you're trying to take the steps to be able to keep the mandarin. try the live and frozen foods you mentioned. it's not an impossibility to get them to eat prepared/pellet food, it's just very tedious and often hit or miss as they're individual creatures with individualities to match.

 

as for the coral-bioload issue, imo it depends on the coral and obviously, the hobbyist. a bali slimer can be a net positive load on your biofilter (heterotrophic) whereas a green star polyp could be a net negative load on your biofilter (autotrophic). otoh, a non-photosynthetic, like a dendronephthya, might seem like it should be a heterotroph but it may turn out to be a net negative load as it feeds on organic matter before it has a chance to weigh down on your biofilter.

 

but back to the mandarin, i think you should approach the mandarin like a seahorse (check seahorse.org). try setting up a very simple (easy/cheap) mini-tank, e.g. a 1-gal. air-drive hex tank, to raise brine shrimp and or other microcrustys. gut-loading the brine isn't the best way but it is a viable way at least.

 

don't let everyone put too much pressure on you. you sound responsible and you're trying and listening. sometimes beginners don't want to hear what we suggest and only want to hear what they wish. i don't think you're one of those. you've spilled the milk but you're not crying over it. *thumbsup*

 

don't be scared to post anything here. it's a DMZ. we respect those that respect us as well. hth

Link to comment

Thank you so much! I actually have been consumed with guilt now. I don't want to be irresponsible. I did a bunch of research last night and found a bunch of info on mysis, frozen brine, and formula 1 and 2 pellets. I already had frozen formula 2 and had put 2 packs copepods in the tank. The copepods drive me nuts, b/c I can't see them. So I went today and bought frozen pellets from the San Francisco company and they are a mix of brine, mysis and a bunch of other proteins. Then I also got the formula 1 pellets.

 

SO... after reading last night that my first 2 purchases were Dragonets (I had to look that up) I now have any combination of Formula 1 (pellet), Formula 2 (frozen), San Francisco frozen meaty cubes, Purple Seaweed sheets, and a weekly bag of copepods to feed these guys. I was thrilled to see that when I put the frozen mysis/brine and the Formula 1 pellets in they both went NUTS. With no hesitation they gobbled it up.

 

What else could be lacking? I don't want to oversimplify, but seriously, we keep whale sharks in captivity. If I feed them often enough, what would they be missing to die of malnutrition?

 

The small tank is a great idea. I'm no good at customizations, so a little tank would be easier. I'll check out that website too. Great tips!!!

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...