Newbies guide to the nano reef

[4251cpd]

Chapter 5 Pt Fin

The Shrimps
....or I like 'em best deep fried w/a little bbq sauce on the side.

Let me state an opinion about shrimps in the nano setting. Very do-able as long as you keep in mind a couple of things: They are not part of your clean up crew. Consider them as your in-laws, an evil part of marriage, because they consume food like your fish, add some what to the bioload and can, depending on the family not be reef safe. They need iodine/iodide to molt and certain nano fish will find them very tasty. Other then the "cleaner" shrimps, the sand lot gang could potentially screw up any sand sitting corals in your tank when they start kicking up debris and this in turn could sicken your $65 open brain. I will put a blanket statement for the nano newbie: Stick with the "cleaners" in anything smaller then 30 gallons.

With that off my chest here are some nice options in the nano:

1. The Common or skunk or golden skunk shrimp. I have one and love that damn little hog. Coloring is sleek (car commercial, I know), friendly as all hades (likes to take rides on my hands, and his reverse imitation of JC walking on water is priceless), eats fish waste, and will help to clean necrotic tissue and parasites on your fish. He is Flo-bee of the ocean world. Will steal food from your corals but a DIY coral feeder will solve that problem.

2. The Fire or Blood or Scarlet shrimp. Hauntingly blood red coloring. Serves the same functions as the skunk. Pricey since it is from deeper water, intense lighting may keep it bunkered down in a cave during viewing hours. I don't know about you but if I'm paying 40 bucks for something I want to see it.

3. Peppermint shrimp. Known for the anecdotal abilities of consuming out breaks of the pest glass anenomes. Kinda like that girl you had nocturnal emissions over in high school, cute, but shy. Lastly, they have been known to "mistake" coral for their natural food source. BEWARE!!!!!!!!

Since I've stated my opinion on the shrimps for a nano reef, I will not get into sand-lot gang. Though I will tell you, "sexy" shrimp might not be a bad purchase. Search our threads and archives about them. With the smaller tank a "pistol" shrimp would not be a hot idea. Thats just moi....
If someone has another opinion, please post. I'm just going with my own experience and shared information is the key to this wonderful hobby. I gots to get some beauty sleep. I'll talk lighting next.....Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

It's all done by smoke and mirrors....

Lighting the Nano.
........or disguising and hypnotizing our brainless beauties. (No this is not a jab for those, like me who had to take the short yellow bus to skool).

Note, I'm what many of the academia would refer to as uncouth, not politically correct or just a plain old Neanderthal. Sometimes this gets me in trouble but I can look in the mirror each day I wake up and feel, proud about the way my life and my family. Well onward I tell ya...

Lighting Primer. Lighting comes to play in a reef tank like missing teeth in hockey players. You cannot have one without the other....I think the Chairman of the board said the same thing about marriage and love. (Killing someone you may be elgible for parole, we don't have that luxuary in marriage). Lets KISS the biology of corals for a moment and see why leaping lumens of lighting is so important for the creature that bridges the gap between plant and animal. Percy the the street "entreperneur", has several "ladies" working for him providing a beneficial relationship for all parties involved. The ladies for their part sell various bodily "skills" at discount rates. They then turn over some of the proceeds to Percy for shelter, and protection from the fuzz or others. This is what we can call a symbiotic relationship. Corals have this with a micro algae known as zooxanthelle. Zooxanthelle being a plant needs what, class? No, not water you idiot, but light to perform photosynthesis. It processes CO2 and makes O2, which my fellow reefists is a good thing. But when these micro plants are inside of the coral it also produces byproducts that feed the coral. There are many sources on this site that will fully go into the symbiotic relationship with all kinds of big latin and greek words. Suffice to say, you can't have one without the other.
With so many options available now I will say a few things about lighting your nano and the considerations that must be processed by our gray matter to decide what lighting is good for you. 1. In general, most nano's are 18"s or less in depth. Do you really think a metal halide would be a good option for this shallow of a tank. More then likely bleaching episodes may occur, stress or shocking to the corals and the eventual demise of your brainless buddies.
2. Heat generated by the lighting. See that big yellow ball in the sky? Yes, that thing that gives Arizona 109F of "dry heat", yes, that thing that lets me tan in my trusty white thong. Well the lighting systems for reef tanks does the same, only on a much smaller scale. Heating issues are critical with our small bodies of water. Did someone order the salty fish and mushroom soup?

Metal Halides: Before you hate the playa, hate the game. In my nano at a depth of 14"s, I would have to lose the top, suspend the pendants from the ceiling and run a heavy duty work fan for cooling, which I see about a gallon of evap replacement a day. If you are looking at a deeper, 30 gallon tank and can keep the MH system 8-12"s from the surface and work out a cooling system that does not take away from the display, then by all means, have at it. There are many advantages to MH lighting, life of bulb, stronger intensity of lighting and as close to natural sunlight as we have available at this time. Remember our wild collected corals have been used to the sun, it's when we can sucessfully propagate and "mutate" species that will flourish in lower lighting that in my opinion will really cause the nano to become huge to hobbyists.

VHO, T5 HO The highest output of flourescent lighting available to us hobbyist, would work very well for folks with longer tanks because when looking around, 24" size was the smallest size available for the hobby. Flourescents big knock is the effective life of the bulb. There is less bang for your buck as compared to MH. Heat is not much of an issue and you can have a covered system.

PC This is the meat and potatos of the nano system.
Small in size able to reach tall buildings in a single bound. I really like these little guys. If your tank is shallow, really do some research and see what the output is for these lights. I love the fact the 50/50 option w/blue actinics gives the tank a more "earthy" tone to the colors of your inhabitants. My advice is try to the get as close to the largest wattage bulbs that the corals in your tank will be able to flourish at. 125 watts of PC lighting in a standard 20 gallon tank may be overdoing it with strictly soft corals. Yet, I'd up it immensely if I were doing a SPS only tank with everthing near the top. I've seen people get away with pc sps nano's but the lighting was way up in wattage. The nice thing about most PC lighting systems is that you can always upgrade the ballast, if the current output of your bulbs is not making you happy.

So in summary, there are many things in reef tanks that depend on the right lighting set up. As you wouldn't house a Rhodesian Ridgeback in a 5'x5' room, it doesn't make sense to put a coral such as a pink acropora on the bottom of a display that has 24 watt pc lighting. As I have stressed before, have a plan for what you want displayed and then equip the tank properly. Piece out, nanoo, nanoo. Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

Need Input from you all.

For next coral addition:

a. Small Blasto colony.

b. A darker green fungia.

c. Red green open brain.

If you been keeping up with my ramblings then you know size, shape and dirtiness I've been dealing with. Plus I will be introducing my yellow watchman next week. I will provide pix but would like your help out on this one. Grassieass, Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

Osteichthyes: should we have them in the nano?

Fish & Coral or Coral only?
.....or Mike you're an idiot for even suggesting no fish in a reef set-up.

Hear thee out mee young squire then slop the dung out of Winifre's stall. Thou has labored everth diligantly in thy quest for thoust spurs. As thee haft asked me before, to become of the order of Littlest Glass Boxes of Salt Water thou hast to show sound mind, pure of heart, and chaste of loinage. Consider this cur, only the hardiest of finned monsters may be oft considered when making thoust choices for tank occupants .Consider thee space and volume of water, then thee hast thinkith the amount of waste these foul sirens will produce out of their most priveey spots. Secondth, some of these foul creatures will grow to the size of a suitable mount. Growth and full adult size is critical to keep the tank as stress free as possible. Space, hiding spots are in short supply for the fish in the nano. If they do not have these, the animal will not exhibit "normal" behavior, will be more susceptable to contracting diseases and tend to have a shortened life span. Can you look into a mirror and be happy with yourself having a tang in your 20 gallon? Doubt it.
Third, aggressiveness of the fish. Look for animals that are nearer the docile range then of the damsel range. I wouldn't put a rabid rottweiler in a locked room with a bunch puppies? And yet, if you think this would be fun, turn yourself in to the local authorities, because serial killers tend to get their start this way....

Now that I've attempted to warn you off of keeping fish in a nano reef, kinda like informing a drunk that his 2am conquest is hiding a lot more under the mini-skirt then he could ever imagine, if you think you can keep up with the maintenance, water quality and parameters then by all means, lets go shopping...........WAIT, how will that six line wrasse that looks so hellacool do with the two peppermint shrimp I already got for the tank? Cochise, you will not be war chief on tonights excursion. Start doing searches on this site, look at the pretty pictures and think long and hard. 10-15 gallons, 1-2 small fish (with the 10 gallon that is pushing the envelope). Small fish is one that does not get past 3"s in captivity. 20-25, two would be fine and 3 if you get close to the 25 gallon size and you make plenty of rock work caves and spaces for your denziens. 25-30, 3 is safe as long as they are not hyper or highly aggressive. Put 3 yellow tailed damsels in a 20 gallon and see Darwinism up close and personal, ya sick puppy!

This is just a primer on fish, kinda like sneaking a peek at your dad's playboy stash, just gives ya more questions then answers after you wipe the drool off your chin. The next sections will deal with specific types of fish that can work well in a nano reef, till then, if the "gal" you hit on at 1:30 am has a larger adams apple then you, maybe it's time to go home alone. Just a friendly bit of advice free of charge. Holla atcha anon, Mike.

 

[NaH2O]

Small blasto colony. Can you believe it took me this long to decide between the 3 choices?

Great posts once again!

 

[4251cpd]

Small blasto colony. Can you believe it took me this long to decide between the 3 choices?

Great posts once again!

Thanks Nikki, of course you'd pick the most expensive of the group, the lfs I was eyeballing them at had 4 different ones, each a different color and had only about 4-6 polyps each. He wants 65 for each frag-YIKES. Had a nice darker orange one that I think would look very nice w/the lighting I have. I have to say, your sox spanked us this weekend, though I think I speak for the rest of baseball fans: A.J. finally got what was coming to him.

 

[4251cpd]

Off Topic but a nice tribute.

If anyone has seen the skyline in Chicago at night it is a special sight to behold. The buisnesses did a tribute to an officer of my old unit who was killed in a vehicle crash in January.

 

[NaH2O]

Wow! That is so incredible....what a great tribute!

 

[Maxx]

Great pic! I always like to see recognition for those who make the ultimate sacrifice.

Slightly off topic....heard any good news lately?

Nick

 

[4251cpd]

Great pic! I always like to see recognition for those who make the ultimate sacrifice.

Slightly off topic....heard any good news lately?

Nick

Yes, it's always nice to see someone cares about us every once in a while. Rumors are flying off the handle about another class "soon". I'm not getting hepped up about it till the merit nominations are asked for via fax. Once that comes in, I breathe a small sigh of relief, but will be still sitting on the ledge because they do not announce the size of the class till the week before it goes in. Sooooooo......... who knows. Thanks for the encouragement and slaughtering a cornish hen for moi, it's a touching tribute.

 

[4251cpd]

So you're thinking about fishies.....

Preguide check list to buying a fish.
....cause knowledge is power, schoolhouse rock.... What a great time it was to grow up in the 70's. I learned everything about grammer from Saturday morning cartoons. I must look like a complete moron when a question of grammer comes up because I start singing the appropriate song, "conjunction junction whats your function...". I bring this up as I do all things salty because I've always found analogies and anecdotes always help in the learning process. I will go over points to research when you decide to take the plunge and get something in your nano that actually swims.

1. Dietary needs of the fish. Is your potential charge a straight up carnivore? Its great to get that fish to eat as close to what its DNA has programmed it to eat. Yet, even meat eaters need variety and veggies to balance it's diet. Certain nutrients it can only obtain in proper percentages that will not suffice from the six degrees of seperation of the food chain. So just throwing in some high quality flake and/or pellet food will not be beneficial to your verts. Even though I could eat thin crust pizza at every meal (I know four of the food groups are present), my doctor would give me a prostate exam every month, hence my balanced diet. Thank the heavens that "nano" fish, though are carnivorous are really somewhat trainable to be more like us, omnivorous. Mixing up what it eats and using soaks (vitamin supplements) should provide the optimal balance for health, color, behavior and longevity. I will get more in depth later about food, feeding and such.


2. Punk vs Muzak. Not what background music you want your fish to fall asleep to during lights out, but it's natural disposistion. Various books have differing categories and some break them down even further. Looking at it in simpler terms: all animals (including homo sapien sapien) have three basic needs, eats(food),feets( as space) and treats (yes, you gutter minded sicko you're right on). Aggressive behavior can be displayed by the most meekest if it feels that any point of the triangle is threatened. What we have to do is present our swimmers with the illusion that we are meeting their needs. Being frank and honest, a nano cannot provide adequate space for creature comfort, but if we provide nooks, crannies and grannies the fight or flight mode is lessened and stress is lower. Some fish are just not cut out for a confined space and should stay with larger tanks. Just a fact of life. Putting some same sexed fish into the tank is just asking for TROUBLE. Do some checking around with books and the internet about this. When I list the nano canidates I will put in tips and clues about which species go together like beer and pizza and the ones that should be avoided together like a gin and tonic and tiramasu.


3. Natural swimming/behavior patterns. Are they sewer rats or mid level executives? Finding out what the fish does normally and meeting that need goes a long way to making the fish adapt to confinement. A barebottom set up is no place to put yellow head jawfish. If you can keep 2 or more fish, my advice is to get a mid level fish (clown, damsel, cardinal etc.) and bottom dweller (gobies, blennys etc.) that way their natural niches are not as threatened by an "invader". They have their "space" and if their nutritional needs are a bit different then feeding strategies can be more inventive on our parts. This will also be touched upon later.

Ciao good people, will hunt and peck soon all about the cardinal fish. Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

Picture of the new guy.

After 3 weeks of QT, I put the little shy bugger in his/her new home. Eating well, and hopefully next month or so will totally figure out that my ugly mug coming to the glass means dinner time......

 

[spy_i]

any photographs of what you've done this past month? anyway, "saddle anemone in your nano"- what's your say?

 

[NaH2O]

I'm just a bill....sittin' on capital hill....

Love the new addition to your set-up, Mike. Gonio is looking great, too!

Here is a recent topic leebca started on fish nutrition: Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition and Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition Part 2

 

[4251cpd]

Thanks Nikki, I will peruse when I got a few minutes or so, had a rough evening, and it wasn't from John/Jane Q tonight.

 

[4251cpd]

any photographs of what you've done this past month? anyway, "saddle anemone in your nano"- what's your say?

I'd say no, the few reasons being:

1. Spy, if I remember correctly, have a standard 20 gallon tank with LR and such, I dont think there is enough spacing for the anemone which where I've read can get up to 14"s in size.

2. Lighting requirements: you have 50/50 PC's but an anemone needs more lumens that MH can provide, to thrive in the tank.

3. I've read that this particular host, if hungry enough will make a meal of it's clown. That would be a shame to lose a sebae that tries to perform its normal routine.


I'm leery about clams and anemones in nano's for two reasons: I personally do not endorse MH lighting for such a small tank and these particular animals if growing out in normal fashion, will out grow the tank. These are ethical concerns we must address, before we put something into our nano's. Will they thrive in a tiny space?

 

[spy_i]

yourite!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by spy_i
any photographs of what you've done this past month? anyway, "saddle anemone in your nano"- what's your say?


I'd say no, the few reasons being:

1. Spy, if I remember correctly, have a standard 20 gallon tank with LR and such, I dont think there is enough spacing for the anemone which where I've read can get up to 14"s in size.

2. Lighting requirements: you have 50/50 PC's but an anemone needs more lumens that MH can provide, to thrive in the tank.

3. I've read that this particular host, if hungry enough will make a meal of it's clown. That would be a shame to lose a sebae that tries to perform its normal routine.


I'm leery about clams and anemones in nano's for two reasons: I personally do not endorse MH lighting for such a small tank and these particular animals if growing out in normal fashion, will out grow the tank. These are ethical concerns we must address, before we put something into our nano's. Will they thrive in a tiny space?

well, I actually own the long tentacled anemone (magnificent something anemone)... I've been having it since I started my pico, untill i transfered him in my nano5. So far it's doing great except that it's roaming a lot in the tank which really is annoying me. I tried many measures to confine him but still no luck until somebody said to put on an inch of pvc---so far it's has been four days now that he stayed there.

So, because of this I decided to get a saddle anemone coz I've seen them not to wander a lot.

The first day it was beautiful until the third day that it has tripled it size occupying most of the space. SO I returned it to the lfs.

well it just answered my question before.LOLOZ!

 

[4251cpd]

Hey Spy-i, if something is motile rather then sessile then let it do it's thing. You will do more harm if you attempt to control it's movement. I'd love to have an anemone but size and lighting put the ky-bosh on that. If you love someone set them free , unless you lost the hand cuff key. Let them do what they are wont to do. If you want movement of inverts then get a xenia frag.

 

[spy_i]

thanx for the advice.. but I'm keeping my anemone. I can't let it go, been a while in my tank. Anway got more problems now about ick. I only had the bannerfish alone to survive and i'm treating him with the hyposaline thing. hope it will survive. Any help from you would be very much appreciated.

and I love to have that xenia aswell but our lfs don't carry it. Is it possible to acquire from somewhere? I'm currently residing from dubai if you remember.

 

[4251cpd]

Cunning, cute, colorful and catatonic.

.....or my introduction to the cardinalfish.

Overview: Family Apogonidae. A somewhat solitary reef or schooling fish whose larger cousins can reach nearly 5"s in length (bad nano boy) and though stereotyping is not politically correct (nonsense I yell) typically the larger the size of the species, the less likely you'll want it in your reef set-up. Some are skittish, some nocturnal, most need a bolt hole they can call their own (as we all). Do your research peeples if you happen to fall in love with a fish. I've picked two that would be perfect for the nano
and will get into the goods, da bads and the truely ugly of the three.

Pterapogon kauderni
Commonly known as the Banggai or Highfin cardinalfish. Distinctive vertical black stripes, one intersecting the eye. The overall shape lends credibility to the common name as it's overall shape resembles guess what....a cardinal's head. This meat eater is in the mid-high level hoverers. Seemingly staying in a designated spot, not showing much effort to keep it's place. Fairly hardy so acclimating, especially a wild caught should be done with care when you QT the fish. Best news K-mart shoppers is that this particular species is being tank bred rather successfully and seeing them with more regularity as captive bred. Conservation, and pricing will come down (no, I'm not cheap just friggin frugal) . Yet, I went into a particular lfs and the owner showed me a juvey bangaii and told me it was tank bred, asked him the price and he told me $45, needless to say, I did not buy him. Gouger, rot in Dante's 5th level. Variety of frozen meaty foods though I would try a bit of veggies with them. Ocean Nutrition has a variety cube pack that includes all their products. Watch the gellatin, it is as hard as a rock, so I use about a 1/4 of the cube, use a dedicated pair of scissors and mince the begeezzus out of it into sizes that will fit into your fishes mouth. But I digress (I am usually the anti-ADD poster child but sometimes...), this is lover not a fighter fish, will not usually harass others unless you have a mated pair and they are brooding. More Walter Cronkite then John Stossell, you need to make sure they get fill at chow time if there are other high-mid level swimmers that are consumate hogs during feeding. Maxium size is 3"s and 10 gallon plus tank is ideal for these majestic wallflowers of the reef. Compatible with most nano reef fish, but I'd be leery putting any with an established damsel. Safe (remember there are no absolutes with animals) with inverts both sessile and motile. I give this fish two thumbs up for the nano reef. Happy fathers day. Will bo the pajama cardinal tomorrow. Mike.