The new guy

[andrewq]

Nice shots, that was from a Samsung, huh?

Yes sir! Theres a commercial with Lil wayne, and hes pouring champagne on the phone. Then he completely submerges the phone in a fish tank. I actually got on a chat with verizon wireless to confirm if this was actually possible. They said yes! So im curious to try some underwater shots, and if this phone will work underwater. If my phone gets damaged due to water verizon said they would replace for free. They also it can be submerged up to 1.5meters and for 30minutes. If submerged in saltwater the phone will have to be rinsed with freshwater, and it does not void warranty. Definetly gonna try this!

[andrewq]

So I have a 55 gallon tank, and need some help finding that one fish that just says wow in your tank. My tank is just about fully stocked, and need some help. I like the flame angels, but dont want him eating my corals...................help please!

In short im looking for a community fish who wont eat my corals. He'll be the last fish to go in the tank.

Current live stock
1 blue damsel
2 ocelaris clownfish
1 magenta dottyback
1 sailfin blenny
1 mckosker wrasse

Inverts
Serpent starfish
peppermint shrimp
coral banded shrimp
pistol shrimp
Green emerald crab
Red mithrax crab
and clean up crew

Corals
GSP
Pulsing xenia
Anthelia
Various mushrooms
Sherman bta
Green bta
Nuclear green polyps
Blue polyps
Yellow polps
Hammer coral
Torch coral
bubble coral
green nepthea leather
duncans

[Zack]

Have you looked into a Royal Gramma? By far one of my favorite fish.

[alton]

There is no such thing as a guaranteed reef safe fish. I had sold a purple tang once and then chowed down on the persons coral. All four of my flame Angels have been reef safe,but they love to graze all day long. My tanks have always had plenty of algae for them to do that. If you really want one place it in a QT tank for a month and add a few corals to see how it does. One word of caution they will be king of the tank in a few years

[andrewq]

There is no such thing as a guaranteed reef safe fish. I had sold a purple tang once and then chowed down on the persons coral. All four of my flame Angels have been reef safe,but they love to graze all day long. My tanks have always had plenty of algae for them to do that. If you really want one place it in a QT tank for a month and add a few corals to see how it does. One word of caution they will be king of the tank in a few years

I did finally decide on what to get. Im going with 1 yellow watchman goby, and 1 royal gramma.

[Justin]

Or you can go with a midas blenny or other mid water blenny. Right now you have a lot fish that hang out on the bottom except for the mccoskers. Get something that will populate the mid to upper part of your tank. Also note that mccoskers will fade in color a bit if he doesnt have a reason to flash. Conisder getting a female for him.

[andrewq]

Or you can go with a midas blenny or other mid water blenny. Right now you have a lot fish that hang out on the bottom except for the mccoskers. Get something that will populate the mid to upper part of your tank. Also note that mccoskers will fade in color a bit if he doesnt have a reason to flash. Conisder getting a female for him.

Midas blenny is a very nice looking fish, and the color im looking for, thanks for that! I agree with your statement about the bottom being occupied, and did not know the mccoskers fade. The yellow watchman is mainly for my pistol shrimp. I made this picture for reference, but yeah I do need something that swims in the mid to upper part of my tank.

[Justin]

Your welcome. Midas Blennies have a lot of personality and look great once they get older and stretch out. If you are looking for another Yellow fish, consider getting a yellow assessor. They are great little guys and are pretty chill for a reef. I picked up one from Fintique during their SW thursday sale and he is in my 40 breeder adding to the nutrients for my coral frags. If you are looking for more mid water fish, consider the following:

Cardinals- Bangaii (will breed in the tank), Pajama, gold stripes, red spots, practically any from the Cardinal family are great. For ideas, go to liveaquaria.com and check out the types that are commonly available. From there, either order them online or ask a local fish store to order them for you.
Forked Tail Blenny- I have one and she is awesome
dartfish- make sure you have a top. They can be really cool and have lots of color. Helferich dartfish are impressive
tangs- your tank will be a little small for these guys. I say minimum is a 4ft + tank for swimming room
Flasher wrasses- McCoskers is a flasher wrasse. If your guy is young enough, you can try to get another type of male like a carpenter. They will flash each other for dominance. If you have had your McCoskers for awhile, DON'T get another flasher
Other wrasses- Yellow Corris wrasse, 8 Line ( I don't like them for their aggression)
Fairy Wrasses- Hawaiian Flame Wrasse is a beautiful one

The next set are iffy because of care or aggression among themselves but because they are zooplanktavores, they tend to hang out on top of reefs and other fish look to them to see if the coast is clear or not:

Chromis- these can be fickle but if you feed pretty heavily and frequently, you can help avoid aggression over food territories
Anthias- I wouldn't normally recommend these unless you can feed quite a bit

[andrewq]

So I ended up getting a small yellow tang for cheap, and a green clown goby. I know the yellow tang will get too big for the tank eventually. Thats ok though, just means I get to get another fish when he outgrows or maybe a bigger tank. The green clown goby adapted pretty quickly to my tank, and is out and about. I owe that to my pistol shrimp, as he has made an extensive network of tunnels throughout my tank. Im happy with the green clown goby, and his colors are beautiful.

Im thinking about regularly producing brine shrimp in large quantities. I know my clown goby likes live brine shrimp, and im sure my other fish would benefit from it as well. I have the extra space in the last chamber to fit a 2 liter bottle, and placing it in the sump will keep the temperature stable. I ordered the brine shrimp eggs online, and im wondering how I could keep the brine shrimp alive long term? A couple 5 gallon buckets could generate some revenue, and it would ultimately go towards my tank. I work from home so I definitely have the time to do this. + The wife would be happy with the idea of not having to spend money out of my paycheck for fish stuff.

Ive read a couple ideas on keeping them alive long term. Some say they like dirty water, and some say the holding tanks require regular water changes? Anybody have experience with keeping brine shrimp alive long term.

Im just estimating but maybe $10 for a quart of brine shrimp............idk. Im always looking for ways to fund my addiction to fish tanks. I used to sell aquatic plants online, and did pretty well. I was selling pogostemon helferi or downoi for almost about $5 a plant. It did pretty well, but couldnt keep up with the demand. I guess I would start small with the brine shrimp. Its cheap to get started, and if enough people bought brine shrimp regularly I could upgrade to something larger in my garage. Maybe even sell to LFS.............

I attached a picture, and something like this could be constructed easily and for cheap.

[Justin]

Just be careful that the Tang doesn't become too aggressive with future additions. Tangs are great for algae but if they are kept in too confining a space, they can go a little "crazy." Hence why most people recommend a Tang for 100+ gallons or more. Part of the reason why I went with a 6ft tank instead of the typical 4ft dimension, was to offer my fish more horizontal swimming room to really stretch out.

Growing live food can be difficult at best. For a time I was rearing rotifers, phytoplankton and brine shrimp to offer my fish the best nutritional diet possible. The problem with Brine shrimp is that once they consume their egg yolks, all of the nutritional value is gone. They are pretty much just egg shells that float at that point. You can try to infuse some phytoplankton or Spirulina in the diet to up the nutritional value. I would just stick to brine shrimp nauplii for feeding your fish. They will love the squirming action the fry make and are great for finicky eaters.