Questions for all

[ankjones]

Ok, i would really like a few opinions on my thoughts. I have a 6 gallon with 7lbs of live rock, 1 lb of live sand and the rest crushed coral, one peppermint shrimp, two margarita snails, one bumble bee snail, and three scarlet crabs, and I am planning on adding a very small young mated pair of false perculas, and slowly adding polyps and ricordia's, should I add the perculas first, or add some corals first? Also, what do I need before adding these corals? I.E. calcium tester? calcium additive? plankton? ect.. I've been planning on using combo vital to feed the corals... Im trying to do this on a budget, so help from all would be very useful!!
thanks

 

[johnehr]

Im the last person to give advice, but I would think fish before corals because of the larger "cycle" introduced by the additional bio-load. It would go easier on the corals? Am I right?

 

[jasontatro]

I think that a lot of folks here would agree with me that 2 percs in a 6 gallon tank a little too much. I had a 10 gallon nano in the past and found one to be enough.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Steven Pro]

I think that a lot of folks here would agree with me that 2 percs in a 6 gallon tank a little too much. I had a 10 gallon nano in the past and found one to be enough.

Just my thoughts.

Agreed. A small goby or two would be a better choice.

 

[wrightme43]

Agreed. You wont need ca supplement for ricordia or zoos, In a nano you might be better of with frequent small water changes. Additives in a tank so small are very dangerous, IMHO. The ca supplement would help Coraline algae grow. The salt I use usually has a 350 ppm ca in 1.025 gravity water. That is enough for coraline. Unless your growing lots of stoney corals ca is not a big issue IMHO. A really trick combo would be a tiger pistol shrimp and a watchman goby. Or a randalli goby, and pistol shrimp. Hope it helps. Steve

 

[ankjones]

why do two percs seem to be too much, i've read in the past that having a mated pair is much better, and i've heard results from a 5 gal tank?
thanks all, also my peppermint shrimp hides all the time, is it just the way he is?

 

[jasontatro]

It's not a compatibility issue, but rather a bioload issue. Those two fish are going to produce alot of pollution, and such a small scale it is going to be very hard to control. I think there is also a space issue... a 6 gallon is too small for a pair of growing percs.

 

[BCT182]

why do two percs seem to be too much, i've read in the past that having a mated pair is much better, and i've heard results from a 5 gal tank?
thanks all, also my peppermint shrimp hides all the time, is it just the way he is?

Two larger fish like clowns will create alot of waste. I'm sure there are people who have done it, but the whole purpose of fish keeping is to create a happy non-stressful enviroment. I might recommend:
a Bi-color blenny
a Green chromis
a catalina goby (even 2) (requires cooler tank temps. around 72)
a Banded goby
any clown gobie (even 2)
a six line wrasse
All these fish are active and will add splash of color to your tank.
Good luck.
Brett

 

[Beckmola24]

I had 2 false percs in the same size tank and no one to tell me not to. I don't reccomend it. It was my first tank, and probably my biggest mistake. They both were sick all of the time and died with in a few months. I am really sad that I didn't get advice before diving into it. The only 2 fish I've ever had die on me. I really wouldn't reccomend putting 2 in there. They just produce too much waste. Your params will be murder to keep in line. Been there done that.

 

[wrassehole]

i agree with steve, get the goby shrimp combo, much more eye candy per square inch

 

[EvilMel]

If you get the goby shrimp combo I would definately go with a randall's shrimp not a tiger. A randall's is alot neater looking and stays a TON smaller. The smaller shrimp would surely tolerate a smaller digging area alot better. The only problem with this is that Randalls shrimp *like* to pair with basically two types of gobies: yasha hashe and what I know as yellow rose gobies (black and white barred with bright yellow faces). This is actually not a bad thing since both of these gobies are really cool looking (esp yasha hashe).

Anyways, if it were me, I would go with the smaller shrimp. I mean I have had both and I love my randalls (he's stayed less than 1 inch I believe but he digs like mad!).

Oh and btw, my peppermint shrimp that I had hid constantly. In fact, I didn't see him for about 2 years once (we thought he was dead).

 

[NaH2O]

I agree with the comments, so far. 2 false percs would be quite a bioload on this small of a system - the amount of waste produced by these fish would most likely be too much for your system to break down quickly. If you really want to have a pair of false percs, then you would either need to add an overflow with a sump or do religious water changes every day. Personally, I think having a shrimp - goby combo to be an awesome idea.

As far as testing goes, I think your standard ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, plus pH, alk, and calcium (although with your corals, water changes would most likely fulfill the Ca requirement) - still a good parameter to keep track of.

IMO, the corals you will be keeping won't need any supplemental feedings. The products of photosynthesis, and nutrients available in the tank should be sufficient for your corals to do well.

Hope this helps