Done cycling?

[oceanicmark]

My tank has been up for about a month and a half, all it has in it right now is a half a dozen crabs, and a dozen snails, i have watched my ammonia spike and then now go to undetectable, does anyone think i could add a green chromis and some peppermint shrimp, i think i have a small case of aiptasia and i have heard peppermints are pretty hardy. Any info would be appreciated.

[Nuhtty]

If your numbers are checking out OK then chances are you are ready for fish.

Dont add any fish that you dont want in there long term

[oceanicmark]

What do u think the appropriate starting fish for a thirty gallon tank, it has 35 pounds of live rock and 2" deep sand bed.

[Nuhtty]

Originally posted by oceanicmark
What do u think the appropriate starting fish for a thirty gallon tank, it has 35 pounds of live rock and 2" deep sand bed.

What fish do you want in there?

Just dont add a fish that you dont want to keep long term just to "test" the tank

[skippy2]

chromis would be fine. They are a peaceful fish. Don't get damnsels. They are a terror and will harrass any other fish you want to add.

[killagoby]

Here's a good link to start with.

[bertoni]

A green Chromis would be fine, if you like them. Other fish I like are royal grammas, the smaller clown species, and Assessor species. This book is pretty handy, IMO:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...173849-5703813

[oceanicmark]

Yeah, i already made that mistake in my ninety gallon. What about occelaris clowns, would they be hardy enough, or a lawnmower blenny, these fish along with the chromis would be a long term fish, just i dont know which is hardiest.

[bertoni]

A. ocellaris are a fine choice, IMO.

[oceanicmark]

By the way bertoni, i already have that book and it is a wonderful resource.

[oceanicmark]

anyone have any info on the peppermint shrimps

[skippy2]

They are hit or miss as far as aptasia go. As far as putting them in your tank now, I really don't know. A lot of lfs sell camelback shrimp thinking (or knowing) they are pepps. Be sure to tell the difference if you are going to get any. Camelbacks do not eat aptasia.

[Tom_Nev]

I have read that peppermints will harass and eat corals (I've also witnessed it in a LFS) and are the most likley of the Lysmata to do so (which is probably why they also are likley to eat aiptasia).

Also, I started my tank with a yellow tail blue damsel, have no problems with it bothering any other of the inhabitants since added.

[stelow]

They don't seem that hardy but they do take care of aiptasia, but make sure to get peppermints and not the camel backs.

[rubysmomma1]

What are the nitrites and nitrates? As long as the nitrites are 0 and the nitrates are 5 ppm or 0 you should be able to add fish without problems. The nitrates are the last part of the nitrogen cycle. Once they drop, the cycle should be over.

Once we got our levels down to 0s, we began adding long term animals. The first addition, minus the snails and hermits, was 4 peppermint shrimp. They seem to be thriving and they haven't picked on a single coral. (We bought our tank established with corals only.) The peppermint, I have to say, like the silversides better than any algae, but I've seen them taking care of the algae too. A pair of false percs were are first fish addition. (Unfortunately one of them went carpet surfing the first night. ) The other is doing just fine three weeks later. We also added a royal gramma. We also have a coral banded shrimp to assist in clean up duties.

I've also heard chromis are good for beginners. The one thing you have to ask the LFS is will they be willing to trade in the future, if you have a fish you want to get rid of. Our local LFS will give us store credit for anything living we bring in, corals, fish, crabs, shrimp, etc.

Good luck and happy reefing!!

[killagoby]

Some fish for beginners.