Dino Rock: Brian's 10G Reef

[ninjamyst]

I gave my dad a frag of GSP.  Told him not to add it to his main rocks.  He didn't listen.  Now his entire tank is GSP and it's amazing

[PeterU]

Have you considered a single porcelain anemone crab with a Maxi-mini Carpet anemone as opposed to a pair?

[Brian da lion]

On 8/26/2021 at 8:17 PM, PeterU said:

Have you considered a single porcelain anemone crab with a Maxi-mini Carpet anemone as opposed to a pair?

That’s definitely a possibility. Do the crabs do ok singly vs in pairs? 

[Brian da lion]

Picked up some new inhabitants for the tank today: a pair of tiny tank-raised ocellaris clowns and a very small emerald crab. I know opinions are generally mixed on a pair of clowns in a 10 but both of them are only around an inch in length. Should they grow too big, we have no problem upgrading to a larger tank. Also, the waste they produce should help with nitrates for the Xenia. 

[ninjamyst]

The clowns still stay smaller in a 10g.  I had a pair in a 13g and they grew in the beginning but stayed relatively small.  One jumped so I had the lonely one to my 75g.  Doubled in size within months.  

[gena]

On 8/26/2021 at 5:05 PM, ninjamyst said:

I gave my dad a frag of GSP.  Told him not to add it to his main rocks.  He didn't listen.  Now his entire tank is GSP and it's amazing

This is exactly why I slapped my frag of branching GSP right onto the rocks....I'm a rebel like your dad LOL.

 

@Brian da lion I'm sure your xenia will be just fine!!!  Love the new additions!!!!

[Brian da lion]

Tragedy struck this morning, and I turned on the light in my office to find the smaller clownfish on the carpet. I had seen the larger one nipping at it a few times, but it wasn't leaving any damage, so I assumed they were just establishing the pecking order in the relationship. He must have gotten spooked during the night and jumped. Needless to say, I'm super bummed about this. Are there any good resources to read up on about pairing clownfish so I can make sure this doesn't happen again? I'm not sure if the current fish is male or female. If it's male, would I need to buy a confirmed female fish, or would I run into the same problem again?

[gena]

Not sure about reading material...there are some Clownfish books out there but I think they are OOP so very pricey.  I would just google online for recommendations.  I doubt the bigger clownfish of yours has "turned" female already.  Could just be a super aggressive fish.  I can't tell just how big it is, but if you try again, maybe go for a bigger one than that one.  Also, a temporary lid while they establish themselves might be a wise choice.  They are very easy to make DIY.  I use the clips from Innovative Marine to hold a basic window screen frame with netting from Bulk Reef Supply.

 

So sorry about the fish.  It's always the worst feeling finding a dried up fish on the floor.

[Brian da lion]

Update Time:

 

Tank has been running for 6 weeks and things are going well. Seeing some nice growth on the xenia and GSP, which have started spreading onto adjacent rocks. I also recently got an order from worldwidecorals, who I cannot recommend enough. Great coral and even better customer service! Here is the current stock list:

 

Fish:

2x Ocellaris Clowns

 

Inverts:

White Spot Anemone Shrimp

2x Sexy Shrimp

Emerald Crab

4x Dwarf Blue leg Hermits

4x Astrea Snails

2x Cerith Snails

Trochus Snail

Feather Duster Worm

 

Coral:

Green Star Polyps

Pom Pom Xenia

Xenia Elongata

Anthelia

Daisy Polyps

Green/Pink Bird's Nest

 

I feel pretty good about where the tank is at right now. I may pick up some small Mushroom/Zoa frags going forward, but mostly the plan now is just to let the Xenia/GSP/Anthelia run wild!

[Critteraholic]

Beautiful! It looks great! I think 10's are a perfect size.

 

I didn't see any shells on the sand bed for the hermit crabs. If you don't have any, you should take a look at what your hermit crabs are wearing and hit up a craft store for similar shells. The little stinkers will fight and sometimes kill each other for shells. Unfortunately this is normal behavior. Extra shells will reduce/eliminate this behavior.

 

If you already know this just ignore me!  I saw you listed cerith snails and last night I came home with more blue legged hermies (serious algae eaters and rock cleaners) two of which are wearing cerith snail shells. 😬 So I'm digging through my shell collection to see if I can find something they like better.  I don't want my cerith snails becoming snack food!  Good luck!

[Brian da lion]

1 hour ago, Critteraholic said:

Beautiful! It looks great! I think 10's are a perfect size.

 

I didn't see any shells on the sand bed for the hermit crabs. If you don't have any, you should take a look at what your hermit crabs are wearing and hit up a craft store for similar shells. The little stinkers will fight and sometimes kill each other for shells. Unfortunately this is normal behavior. Extra shells will reduce/eliminate this behavior.

 

If you already know this just ignore me!  I saw you listed cerith snails and last night I came home with more blue legged hermies (serious algae eaters and rock cleaners) two of which are wearing cerith snail shells. 😬 So I'm digging through my shell collection to see if I can find something they like better.  I don't want my cerith snails becoming snack food!  Good luck!

Good looking out! There are actually 3 empty shells near the base of the rock on the right; not super visible in the pic.

[Critteraholic]

 I just thought those were live snails doing their thing! 

[Brian da lion]

Realized I haven't done an update in a while:

 

Tank is now at just under 4 months, and everything is going well. Getting some nice spread on the GSP and both types of Xenia are growing like weeds!

[Jakesaw]

On 8/13/2021 at 1:45 PM, Clown79 said:

Nice set up. Looks great and does look like a dinosaur🙂

 

I was thinking "Turtle Power "