UP & RUNNING

[Kenny_Graham]

Finally my Aqua Nano 24 is ready for fish. I put a Damsel in and he's happy. I have 2 fish left from my 55, a Lawnmower Blenny and a Clown. What's the community feeling of which 1 to add next to the 24??

[Whoyah]

I would wait a little while, if you can to add another fish. If not I would go with the clown.

[Kenny_Graham]

:confused: That's what I thought. I really need to tear down the 55, szzz the wife, so how long a wait do you suggest???

[dakar]

Especially in a smaller tank, 1 fish every couple three weeks should work out well.... gives the system time to adjust to the bioload before it gets increased.

[Kenny_Graham]

What about shrimp??

[lReef lKeeper]

IMO, lose the DAMNsel. you will probably end up tearing everything apart to get him out later !!

[dakar]

Toss the shrimp in there as you see fit, as a general rule I like to think they either consume as much (or more) nutrients than they create.

[Kenny_Graham]

OK no shrimp, but Bobby why get rid of the Damsel?? I thought he was a cheap test fish??

[Whoyah]

If the damsel is black and white, they are highly territorial (sp?) and will typcially kill other fish unless they are considerable smaller then the other fish. If it is a blue damsel, they might be ok. Kind of a 50/50 thing. Either way I would remove it from the nano and return it to the LFS. Maybe get some clean-up crew.

WHat I would recommend doing is cycling the tank with a raw cocktail shrimp. Just plop it in and let it start decaying. Once your test show that the cycle is complete, I would think you could add the clown and blennie at the same time. You might see a tiny cycle after adding the fish but I think the fish will do fine.

[lReef lKeeper]

If the damsel is black and white, they are highly territorial (sp?) and will typcially kill other fish unless they are considerable smaller then the other fish. If it is a blue damsel, they might be ok. Kind of a 50/50 thing. Either way I would remove it from the nano and return it to the LFS. Maybe get some clean-up crew.

and that is why Kenny, most DAMNsels are aggressive as they mature. eventually, IMHO, it would get aggressive enough to kill just about any smaller fish that you put in the tank with it.

[Kenny_Graham]

The Damsel is blue with a yellow tail. I'll try to catch it. I'm not sure if "Whoyah" is kidding or not????

[lReef lKeeper]

he is not, IME i have noticed that some are not as aggressive if they are the only DAMNsel in the tank. i believe that the blue/yellow tail would be in the medium aggressiveness cataglory, but that is just my exp.

[Kenny_Graham]

Ok, I still don't know about the coctail shrimp????????

[Whoyah]

I am quite serious about the cocktail shrimp. The bacteria on the live rock will feed on the raw shrimp which will cycle the tank. The cycle you see from using a fish has nothing to do with the actual fish. The cycle occurs due to the leftover fish food and the fish poop. Once the cycle is complete it is time to add your fish.

I believe the blue-yellow tail damsel are the least aggressive of the bunch but still a damsel.

[Kenny_Graham]

:WHY: Now I get it. Boy again I wish I'd known about the community years ago. Even though I've done this for sometime I find I was a total dummy. Is there a book called "Reef Tanks For Dummies"?

Thanks again,

Kenny G.

[dakar]

I was thinking about the wrong kind of shrimp, thought you'd already cycled...using a cocktail shrimp to kick off the nitrogen is a proven method to ready your tank, not to mention the most humane as it involves no live animals.

I'm with the rest on the DAMNsels... they aren't allowed in the house here.. LOL

[Whoyah]

Kenny,

I know how you feel. I spent a number of years struggling with this hobby but once I found the online forum community everything started making sense. I can truthfully say I enjoy this hobby and it has ton to do with CaptiveReefing.

[Kenny_Graham]

The Damsel was put in last Friday and is doing fine. I'm not sure how to get it now without taking all the live rock out (that's alot of outs)?

I already went to the store and bought 1 sea shrimp for 11 cents and put it in. I think the clerk thought i was nuts.

Kenny G.

[Whoyah]

Using two nets works pretty well. One to chase one to trap.

[Kenny_Graham]

OK will try.

[lReef lKeeper]

http://www.captivereefing.com/showthread.php?t=1905

look at the last ref. book on Amandas first post ... lol