Unknown coral

[vsciacca]

Thanks but the sand depth varying is all due to my pistol shrimp... moves around sand all the time and gets on my nervessssss!! But my pistol shrimp-yasha goby pair has been my favorite relationship so far.

Definitely planning to add a pistol shrimp goby pair too. Along with a red scooter blenny a canary blenny and a pair of clowns. But don’t wanna go too crazy with the small space I have. My pearly jawfish is currently my favorite animal in the tank. Awesome personality and a cool color. I’ve had two pairs of clowns but for some reason both pairs died and I can’t figure out why so I’m taking a break from them for now. Very strange when everything else is doing really well

 

[slav621]

I had to look up pearly jawfish-pretty fish for sure. Do they swim around a lot? I am looking to add another pair for my clown and one more fish but not sure on one yet. My clowns mate died about 4 months ago. Hesitant to get another mate for my clown~ I heard that it is kind of difficult and I don't want to kill any fish by it getting bullied in the process.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Definitely planning to add a pistol shrimp goby pair too. Along with a red scooter blenny a canary blenny and a pair of clowns. But don’t wanna go too crazy with the small space I have. My pearly jawfish is currently my favorite animal in the tank. Awesome personality and a cool color. I’ve had two pairs of clowns but for some reason both pairs died and I can’t figure out why so I’m taking a break from them for now. Very strange when everything else is doing really well

The tanks at the small end for a dragonet. It’s not impossible, but you may struggle keeping it well fed.
As for the clowns, what symptoms did they show? Are you quarantining your fish before adding them?

 

[vsciacca]

I had to look up pearly jawfish-pretty fish for sure. Do they swim around a lot? I am looking to add another pair for my clown and one more fish but not sure on one yet. My clowns mate died about 4 months ago. Hesitant to get another mate for my clown~ I heard that it is kind of difficult and I don't want to kill any fish by it getting bullied in the process.

They don’t swim around a ton. They burrow but they poke their heads out all the time. If you’re looking for something that swims around a lot I love my orchid blenny. Very nice color and very active but I also am looking to get a canary blenny which I’m super excited about. Its body is shaped similar to a female mahi mahi but it’s all yellow and it tends to hang out in the middle of the water column. My lfs said it’s a good community tank addition, it’s reef safe, and not super delicate but not as hardy as others so best to add it to a fully cycled tank that’s at least 3-4 months old which I assume isn’t an issue for you. The scooter blenny is so cool too. Very small fish but scoots along the rocks and sand bed like a goby would and is bright red. Might not be a bad option to look into as well

 

[Jim Gomoll]

That’s funny you say that I actually put them all on the sand bed because I wanted to rent a par meter before moving closer to the light which I did this morning so I’m currently in the process of moving them around. I made the mistake of not researching the best sand too so I ended up getting the only sand my petco had rather than going to my lfs to save me 30 min of driving. Unfortunately all petco had was oolite and so now I deal with sand blowing around anytime I move anything.

Thinking about replacing the sand but I don’t want to disturb the tank too much since it’s only about 2 months old and just recently finished cycling. Any thoughts on if I should keep the sand or replace it? If I should replace it any thoughts on the best way to do it? Thanks for the help

Although your tank is only 2months old there is beneficial bacteria in the sand bed you want until you've replaced it all. So don't replace all at once.

I came across a post awhile back using this method if you are still wanting to change out you sand.

Since the sand grains are tiny in size you can over time take 1/3 out by sucking it up during a water change. Add new sand before replacing salt water so you have more room without splashing water all over the place using the following method.

Start with a large outlet funnel or make one from a milk jug. Jug is nice because it has a handle. Duct tape it inside a piece of 1 1/2" to 2" PVC really good, probably around 2ft long. Carefully pour new substrate into funnel in small amounts and direct it around so you do not make tank cloudier than need be.

Personally I would buy CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade that can be found and any Petco or from Amazon. Good small/medium grain size plus as a bonus has beneficial bacteria in it to replace what you just took out.
Do not rinse this live sand. Doing so just washes the bacteria out of the substrate.

 

[vsciacca]

Although your tank is only 2months old there is beneficial bacteria in the sand bed you want until you've replaced it all. So don't replace all at once.

I came across a post awhile back using this method if you are still wanting to change out you sand.

Since the sand grains are tiny in size you can over time take 1/3 out by sucking it up during a water change. Add new sand before replacing salt water so you have more room without splashing water all over the place using the following method.

Start with a large outlet funnel or make one from a milk jug. Jug is nice because it has a handle. Duct tape it inside a piece of 1 1/2" to 2" PVC really good, probably around 2ft long. Carefully pour new substrate into funnel in small amounts and direct it around so you do not make tank cloudier than need be.

Personally I would buy CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade that can be found and any Petco or from Amazon. Good small/medium grain size plus as a bonus has beneficial bacteria in it to replace what you just took out.
Do not rinse this live sand. Doing so just washes the bacteria out of the substrate.

The special grade is exactly what I’d like to replace it with. I was thinking about that because I’ve only done one water change so far and had a really hard time keeping the sand from getting sucked up. Might as well just let it happen and slowly replace over time. Good thinking I’ll give that a shot! Thanks

 

[slav621]

They don’t swim around a ton. They burrow but they poke their heads out all the time. If you’re looking for something that swims around a lot I love my orchid blenny. Very nice color and very active but I also am looking to get a canary blenny which I’m super excited about. Its body is shaped similar to a female mahi mahi but it’s all yellow and it tends to hang out in the middle of the water column. My lfs said it’s a good community tank addition, it’s reef safe, and not super delicate but not as hardy as others so best to add it to a fully cycled tank that’s at least 3-4 months old which I assume isn’t an issue for you. The scooter blenny is so cool too. Very small fish but scoots along the rocks and sand bed like a goby would and is bright red. Might not be a bad option to look into as well

I might look into that orchid blenny! Here is my pistol shrimp/Yasha Goby pair

 

[Sharkbait19]

Is “orchid blenny” actually the orchid dottyback?

 

[vsciacca]

Is “orchid blenny” actually the orchid dottyback?

You’re absolutely right! Sorry got them mixed up