***Fish/Invert Recommendations for 12G Orca***

[Fish4life]

Hi there!

 

I have had a Orca 12G Tl-450 set up for three weeks now after previously being a freshwater cichlid lover. I have already introduced a few corals and fish, but would like to increase the amounts (not by much) in order to get the most out of the tank. Has anyone got any suggestions of inverts and fish that they would recommend?

 

This is what I have atm -

 

Tank - Fiji LR, Crushed coral

 

Corals - GSP, Pulsing Coral

 

Fish - Yellow tailed damsel, 2 Clown fish (false perculas)

 

CleanUpCrew - 1 Mithrax Crab

 

 

As I am new to the nano world guidance would be extremely welcomed.

 

Water parameters are perfect btw, although the hardness is very high.

 

Thanks.

[ReadyReefer]

First tip, make sure you do regular maintenance on the CC it can become a detritus tram

 

Second, how much LR do you have, 1-2 lbs is usually considered minimum

 

Third, hardy corals, try mushrooms or rics, very hardy and beautiful to boot. Also if your lighting is fairly high you might try zoos, very colourful

 

Fourth, I am not familiar with the Orca system so I am not sure how much swimming space the fish have. If for any reason, nitrates or anything else spikes, you might want to get rid of a fish and also that yellow-tip might become aggressive so watch out

 

fifth, for your CUC add some snails. Most people have had luck with astreas, nassarius, nerites, etc

 

Anyway good luck and overall it seems to be a good start

[dshnarw]

First tip, ditch the CC, it will screw with your nitrates by becoming a detritus trap, swap for arag-alive or caribsea

 

fifth, for your CUC add some hermits or snails. I am partial to margarita snails personally and I also have a hermit in my 10 gallon. Others have also had luck with turbos, nerites, astreas etc.

 

 

Do you have an article somewhere for that first statement? The reality is that ANY sandbed can become a detritus trap, and it should be stirred up and cleaned regularly. Regular maintenance will prevent detritus build up.

 

That said - leave your sandbed alone, except for routine stirrings/cleanings.

 

As for margarita snails - those are the WORST choice for a clean up crew. Margarita snails are subtropical snails - the average reef tank temps will kill them quickly.

 

For snails - go with a mix of species. Remember that turbos will get huge and be able to knock things over. Nassarius will help sitr your sandbed, but you'll have to feed them to get them to move much.

 

I recommend against hermits or any other crab species in a reef tank - they kill snails and have been implicated to chew on corals.

 

 

 

You need to find a new home for at least 1 of those fish. 12g would be fine for the pair of clowns or a clown and the damsel, but not all 3. I wouldn't consider aggression an issue with the yellow tail damsel because 1. that species is not particularly aggressive for a damsel and 2. clownfish are damsels (unless you keep all 3 fish - in which case, they'll compete over space)

[ReadyReefer]

Do you have an article somewhere for that first statement? The reality is that ANY sandbed can become a detritus trap, and it should be stirred up and cleaned regularly. Regular maintenance will prevent detritus build up.

 

That said - leave your sandbed alone, except for routine stirrings/cleanings.

 

As for margarita snails - those are the WORST choice for a clean up crew. Margarita snails are subtropical snails - the average reef tank temps will kill them quickly.

 

The first thing I got from personal experience, i found the large grain size trapped fish food easier than other sand types and from what i've read other people have had the same problem. Of course, with regular maintenance like you mentioned it would probable do fine.

 

As for margarita snail i have had 2 in my 10 gallon at 75 degrees for over a month and a half

[dshnarw]

The first thing I got from personal experience, i found the large grain size trapped fish food easier than other sand types and from what i've read other people have had the same problem. Of course, with regular maintenance like you mentioned it would probable do fine.

 

As for margarita snail i have had 2 in my 10 gallon at 75 degrees for over a month and a half

 

 

So why not recommend regular maintenance instead of the excess of changing sand beds? Regular maintenance of the sand bed should be done anyway, no matter the substrate.

 

 

Thats because your temp is not the average reef tank at 78-80, maybe higher. In 75, a margarita snail would probably be fine. Much higher, and you're wasting your money on a decaying object and a shell.

 

"Margarita Snails (Margarites sp.) – This is another snail that is available and sold to aquarists as a tropical herbivore snail that would be a beneficial part of a “clean-up crew”. On the contrary, these snails are temperate snails and will not survive in a typical reef system kept at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes common Turbo Snails may be misidentified as Margarita Snails but since we are not likely to make a positive identification, they too should be avoided." - from Reef Hobbyist Online

[ReadyReefer]

your probably right, but since you mention that about margarita snails, i'm not so sure mine are those anymore, because they survived at 78 degrees in my dealers tank for around 3 weeks before i bought them.

 

Anyway thanks and i'll edit my post

[MDeth]

Margaritas can live about 6mos in 70-low80s

[ReadyReefer]

o i was under the impression quickly meant 1 week to 1 month

[Fish4life]

Thanks for the replies. Ill buy a few snails (NOT MAGARITAS! ) perhaps some nassarius or astreas. What do you think of getting a shrimp too?

 

I will probably get rid of the yellow tail damsel, I originally bought it due to its hardiness, but now my tank seems stable enough. I like the idea of some mushrooms or zoos for some more corals. Dont want to go OTT as I know they will grow.

 

What is the best member of the CUC to clean the algae off of the crushed coral? It gets really annoying after a while. Also what do i need to do with the CC under the live rock and corals? Some parts are inaccessible to clean and therefore will probably result in a build up of detritus and perhaps nitrates. Do i need to move all the LR and corals once in a while to clean?

 

I have added a picture of my current tank too (not good picture, done on phone);

 

[ReadyReefer]

tank looks good, i like the scape. i cant answer the algea question, but about detritus build-up under LR, i don't think you will have to worry about that too much. the nitrate build-up from those areas will most likely be neglible compared to other places in the tank. Of course, it couldn't hurt to that every so often since in a reef tank every little bit helps, but I would't do it every time you do tank maintenance since the damage done by disturbing the corals might be greater than a small amount of detritus under the rock

 

just my .02

ben

 

EDIT: although astreas are great cleaners, you must watch them because if they fall on their backs they cannot right themselves