Dark_Knightt's Reef - 20g

[H3rm1tCr@b]

My LFS said they would train one onto prepared foods for me, so i would jsut stock up the DT and QT with lots of pods, then take her home and feed mostly pellets in the QT for about a motnhs. Also, i need to know 1) can you quarantine ruby red dragonets like you cant mandarins, and 2), what size QT should i get. WOuld 5 or 10g work ? Daily adding pods, feeding 3 times a day?

I'm going to be completely honest with you, I have no clue if you should quarantine, how big of a quarantine, etc. I have never done it myself. I think it would be a very good idea to add pods as often as possible, and feed multiple times per day with the pellets once you're sure it will eat it. I would consult someone who has more experience with quarantine, as I have none whatsoever.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I'm going to be completely honest with you, I have no clue if you should quarantine, how big of a quarantine, etc. I have never done it myself. I think it would be a very good idea to add pods as often as possible, and feed multiple times per day with the pellets once you're sure it will eat it. I would consult someone who has more experience with quarantine, as I have none whatsoever.

#reefsquad can i get some help on this?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening,

It sounds like you are planning out things well and are committed to making it work.

I would stay away from the dragonet/mandarin. There are several things to think about when adding any fish. Your tank set up is nice, but has limited rock work for a mandarin to hide and establish a territory. Whatever it ends up eating, you will need to be available to feed it on a regular basis. My final thought is the competition for food and possile aggression from the clowns. They are already established. The mandarin is a casual diner and will need time to eat the clowns may not give him.

My thought would lean towards smaller gobies, basslet, or maybe a cardinal as mentioned. Watch some of the gobies thought , they can make a mess of the tank. A fire fish would be ok. They are usually hiders so I would be a little worried about a spot for the, to hide in your tank.

Hope that helps a big.

 

[Dakippy]

What lighting do you use?

 

[Dark_Knightt]

What lighting do you use?

AI HD 16 Prime.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Just placed an order on fragbox.ca #reefsquad tell me what you think?
- Pulsing Xenia
-Meteor shower cyphastrea
- $5 blowpop zoa frag
and a hydrometer.
Should be arriving tomorrow or the day after, will be posting acclimation and adding-to-tank pics to keep thread updated Cya!

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Got some new corals from the shipment! Posting these a few days later cuz im having issues with the xenia...
Here are some pics tho.

Meteor Shower Cyphastrea, starting growing immediately.

Blowpop Zoa has been closed mostly but is starting to open up now.

Heres the xenia. It was doing ok when it got into the tank but then it was just downhill from thereon... Theres hope of saving it still. Cause is 0 nitrates, 0 PO4, have been feeding lots extra to raise nitrates.

some of the corals have been moved...

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Update 2020-10-10
I went to my LFS today to buy some stuff. Came back with
Algagen Tisbe Pods so I can start my Ruby Red dragonet idea.
Salt
API test strips
Hikari S Marine Pellets
And a BTA.
CUrrently acclimating, will keep you posted once its in.
Also #reefsquad I turned off the tank lights because i needed to temp acclimate the BTA, so I decided to add the pods to the tank. About 30 mins later I see my clowns pecking on the glass eating some pods. Should I be worried about them decimating the entire population before I get my tiny female ruby red? *I will probably add 2 more bags of Algagen pods when I get the fish but hopefully my current ones reproduce well.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Guys its here!! ORA Mandarin, Female! Super excited, have always wanted one, also shes the size of my thumbnail! Ill be tracking her progress on here. Im going to put her into a breeder box and feed her twice a day plus dose pods directly in there so shes fat. Other wise she could get sucked up by my filter, which would be disastreous... Good luck to me

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Heres a video of her Also #reefsquad , I GOT HER TO EAT MINI FROZEN BRINE PIECES!! I didnt think she was eating them at first, then I saw her move her little mouth and realized and saw she was eating it So happy!
Heres a video of her, not eating tho just her in the breeding box.

 

[nereefpat]

Why is it in a breeder box? Is it in a tank, eating something several times per minute?

 

[sfin52]

If you can set up a hob refugium. It will provide pods so you can supplement her diet.

Congrats great looking fish

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Why is it in a breeder box? Is it in a tank, eating something several times per minute?

Oh yeah box is absolutely swarming with pods, plus i dose some everyday for extra support. I had to put her in a big breeder box because shes soo smal shed get sucked up by my filter, and i dont want that happening tho. Ive also put pieces of dead corals from the beach in there so that the pods have somewhere to hide, and thats exactly what their doing. Theres plenty of em in there, plus ive gotten her to eat frozen brine, which is just superb

 

[Dark_Knightt]

If you can set up a hob refugium. It will provide pods so you can supplement her diet.

Congrats great looking fish

Im going to look into that, ive been meaning to set smth like that up for a while. Or even just use a bucket with a heater, and dose lil bit of phyto to the bucket every week.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Ive decided to add the mando into the main part of the DT, she seems to be growing slighty. Ive turned the filter flow down so it doesnt suck her up. She looks a bit afraid, but I would too if everything in the world i lived in was bigger than me. Shes doing great, I was originally afraid the clowns would hurt her, when i added her the male went up to her tail and just hit it, didnt bite it, but now they dont seem to mind her, shes currently in their little den and they really dont care lol.

 

[fishlover1478]

updates?

 

[JumboShrimp]

(Loved the “Power Point” strategy you used on dear-old-dad!)

 

[Dark_Knightt]

updates?

writing it up now

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Alright, quick written update! So Im not too sure how long it has been since my last update, but ill do it now lol. Sadly, the mando passed away in late november, due to my mistake. RIP Millie, we all learn from mistakes, especially in this hobby. I also lost a cyphastrea as I added some Dr. Tims Waste Away to get rid of my large dino infestation, and it hurt my bubble coral as well but the bubble is making a comeback. Had the cyano come back, so I decided to treat my tank again with cyano a few weeks ago, and not only did it clean up most of my sandbed, it also got rid of a lot of algae!
Then during the winter holidays, I noticed little mini circles moving around, turns out my margaritas bred and now I have like 20-30 baby snails. (Still not sure what I'm going to do when they get big, there wont be enough algae for all of them. WIll probably sell some.)
Around the same time, my clowns started being hosted by the torch coral I bought and placed in front of their lair! I was super excited at first, but then my female started breathing heavily, so I 1. Quarantined them so that they could heal, I noticed sting marks around her gills, and 2. Moved the torch to the other side of the tank. Not sure if I should move it back in front of the clowns, I may though, they really liked it, I just didnt like it when they werent eating!
Got a giftcard for my LFS, it was supposed to be for a bigger tank (my parents would help pay for the rest, it obviously costs more than $500 to set up a bigger tank lol), so I think I may do that, or I may just buy some more rock, buy a blenny maybe, and lots of corals.
*I already know I want a small betta tank for my desk, since I'm doing online school fulltime now (Ontario back in lockdown baby ) or maybe a mini shrimp tank*


If I get a bigger tank, there will be a new build thread, if not I will try and remember to keep this one updated!!
Thomas

 

[sfin52]

Alright, quick written update! So Im not too sure how long it has been since my last update, but ill do it now lol. Sadly, the mando passed away in late november, due to my mistake. RIP Millie, we all learn from mistakes, especially in this hobby. I also lost a cyphastrea as I added some Dr. Tims Waste Away to get rid of my large dino infestation, and it hurt my bubble coral as well but the bubble is making a comeback. Had the cyano come back, so I decided to treat my tank again with cyano a few weeks ago, and not only did it clean up most of my sandbed, it also got rid of a lot of algae!
Then during the winter holidays, I noticed little mini circles moving around, turns out my margaritas bred and now I have like 20-30 baby snails. (Still not sure what I'm going to do when they get big, there wont be enough algae for all of them. WIll probably sell some.)
Around the same time, my clowns started being hosted by the torch coral I bought and placed in front of their lair! I was super excited at first, but then my female started breathing heavily, so I 1. Quarantined them so that they could heal, I noticed sting marks around her gills, and 2. Moved the torch to the other side of the tank. Not sure if I should move it back in front of the clowns, I may though, they really liked it, I just didnt like it when they werent eating!
Got a giftcard for my LFS, it was supposed to be for a bigger tank (my parents would help pay for the rest, it obviously costs more than $500 to set up a bigger tank lol), so I think I may do that, or I may just buy some more rock, buy a blenny maybe, and lots of corals.
*I already know I want a small betta tank for my desk, since I'm doing online school fulltime now (Ontario back in lockdown baby ) or maybe a mini shrimp tank*


If I get a bigger tank, there will be a new build thread, if not I will try and remember to keep this one updated!!
Thomas

Thats a heck of a gift card