Is This a Bad Cycle...?

[markkazdad]

Emily, let me know when/if you decide to order fish. I am looking for a couple for a 10g for my office. If I don't find what I want locally by then, I may pitch in with you and split the shipping.

Me three.

 

[EmilyXLC]

Where would you guys like to order from?

Saltwaterfish.com has a ton of specials going on right now, but sadly it looks like they're ending in two days... too soon for me. : (

 

[markkazdad]

Maybe site sponsor reefs2go.com; they have chromis for $1.99. My wife likes the royal gramma coloring, but I don't know if my 10g is too small. Open to other suggestions for the 10g. It currently has the one damsel, one JSB xenia frag, emerald crab, a couple of small hermit crabs and reefcleaners CUC on the way. I've never ordered fish online, so vendor selection is difficult for me.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I'm happy with Live Aquaria. Harry allowed me to piggy-back my order on his big one a couple of times (he gets the free shipping with his big orders.) A number of people order from Reetopia and seemed happy in the past.

 

[JSB]

I have had good success with LiveAquaria. Saltwaterfish is ok as well. If it is getting colder, the latter (in FL) may be a better idea as LiveAquaria is in Michigan.

 

[markkazdad]

What are you thinking of putting in your 10g office tank?

 

[JSB]

What are you thinking of putting in your 10g office tank?

A couple of damsels and some mushrooms. Nothing special.

 

[markkazdad]

Well, I was going to do some comparison shopping, but it's hard when not every store has the same things in stock. Here's all I could come up with so far:

1) liveaquaria.com has a $29.99 minimum to get super low $34.99 overnight shipping (from California)

2) reefs2go.com overnight shipping to southeast states is $24.99, so there's already a $10 advantage. GatorBen has received some good stuff from them (but I don't recall if any were fish). Sample order: 6 green chromis, 2 yellow-tailed blue damsels, 2 peppermint shrimp $50.90 shipped. Seems pretty good to me.

Where else should I look? (I didn't include mushrooms -- too many choices for me to guess which kind you want.)

 

[JSB]

I will be getting every thing but fish from around here. I may, however, get a pair of A. Ocellaris instead.

 

[EmilyXLC]

Well, guys... Last night I re-checked everything & it was all down to 0. Finally ready for some life.

Today I added about 9 hermit crabs & a couple of snails.

How long should I wait until adding the rest? A week or two? I'll be checking the parameters on Thursday.

 

[JSB]

You can drop in a couple of small fish now. Remember, in an old school cycle (without shrimp) there would already be fish in there.

 

[jgraz]

You could also add the rest of your CUC if you want. There will be plenty for them. But yes if the cycle is over then add away. 1 big fish at a time. Or 2-3 small at a time.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I don't remember whether I added fish first or a coral first.

I remember my first visit to Captive Bred Corals (I am sure some of you remember the shop in Cattanooga). One of the people who worked there said that fishes are more troublesome than corals and told me to stay with corals only if I can. Judging from that, I must have had only a coral (probably xenia) at that time.

So, you can try a softie and see what happens once you are sure that your hermits and snails are doing fine. How about some zoanthids? I can give you a plug of zoas to try out

 

[nhago]

I have very mixed feelings about reefs2go. Although I liked their customer service at first and the fact that they have good deals and a 14 day guarantee, here is my experience:

- 1st order: 3 chromis, flame angel, a mandarin and some coral ($10 zoas just to add to the order).
When I got the shipping (next morning around 9:30AM), the mandarin, 1 chromis and the flame angel were all dead. I called them and they promptly gave me a coupon, but i would have to pay for shipping again. Needless to say, with this first order it was like my chromis cost me $26, instead of $2, because of the added shipping.

-2nd order: 1 chromis, flame, mandarin and some other additional coral (also, a couple of good deal on zoas and mushrooms)
Once again, my flame angel was DOA the next morning and never made it to the tank and the extra chromis was bullied by the other 2 (I thought this could happen).

They claim that the DOA average for their shipped fish is less than 5%, so either I am just THAT lucky or there is something wrong there. Either way, the great deal they had on fish ended up costing more out of my pocket than going to a local store. Just my experience..

 

[JSB]

I don't remember whether I added fish first or a coral first.

I remember my first visit to Captive Bred Corals (I am sure some of you remember the shop in Cattanooga). One of the people who worked there said that fishes are more troublesome than corals and told me to stay with corals only if I can. Judging from that, I must have had only a coral (probably xenia) at that time.

So, you can try a softie and see what happens once you are sure that your hermits and snails are doing fine. How about some zoanthids? I can give you a plug of zoas to try out

Really not a bad idea, but to me a furnished home (coral) with no people (fish) is a bit of a yawner. I like to see moving things.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Really not a bad idea, but to me a furnished home (coral) with no people (fish) is a bit of a yawner. I like to see moving things.

Yep. That's why I have fish in my tank, too, despite the advice I got...

 

[H@rry]

Really not a bad idea, but to me a furnished home (coral) with no people (fish) is a bit of a yawner. I like to see moving things.

That's what M@ry Ruth thinks too. She says you look at coral and watch fish.

 

[EmilyXLC]

I don't remember whether I added fish first or a coral first.

I remember my first visit to Captive Bred Corals (I am sure some of you remember the shop in Cattanooga). One of the people who worked there said that fishes are more troublesome than corals and told me to stay with corals only if I can. Judging from that, I must have had only a coral (probably xenia) at that time.

So, you can try a softie and see what happens once you are sure that your hermits and snails are doing fine. How about some zoanthids? I can give you a plug of zoas to try out

That would be excellent! Don't I need to get a test kit for Calcium & all of that other stuff beforehand? All I have right now to test for is pH, Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia. Plus, I've been using Instant Ocean salt, so I'd need to switch to Reef Crystals before corals, right?

If anyone locally has any Blue Chromis or a Bangaii Cardinal they would like to sell? Those are what I'm looking to start my tank off with, fish-wise.

 

[nhago]

That would be excellent! Don't I need to get a test kit for Calcium & all of that other stuff beforehand? All I have right now to test for is pH, Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia. Plus, I've been using Instant Ocean salt, so I'd need to switch to Reef Crystals before corals, right?

If anyone locally has any Blue Chromis or a Bangaii Cardinal they would like to sell? Those are what I'm looking to start my tank off with, fish-wise.

Not really to begin with. I still use Instant Ocean salt and I have a few corals in my tank. Plus, since you are using RO/DI water and there is nothing in your tank to unbalance the parameters, I'd say you should be ok to drop some zoas in there.
Before I get grilled on here, I still think it's a good idea to get test kits for the other "reef" parameters as I also have them. I am just referring for now, you should be ok!

 

[EmilyXLC]

Oh, definitely. I'll be getting all of the other test kits & supplements very soon.