Adriana’s 25-gallon Saltwater Build

I figured the worms were just bristleworm larvae. Added the royal gramma in last week and it's doing wonderfully. She looks beautiful under the new lighting. Seems to get along well with everyone else. I fed her today and she ate just as aggressively as my clown. I'm thinking of getting another fish or two and then I'll focus on an anemone and coral. Still trying to figure out what I'll get. I need help with a name for the royal gramma and an idea of what fish to buy next. Thanks

Forgot to post this here, but the kenya tree was doing wonderfully until last week. I noticed that almost all of the tree disappeared. There were only a few polyps left. People on a separate forum suggested that it dropped branches to reproduce, but I can't even find the top anywhere. The polyps that were left behind are already growing very quickly. I'm still bewildered about the whole situation, though.

 

Glad everything is going well for you! Whats your stocking so far?

Can’t help you on the kenya tree but gosh that sounds scary!

 

How about a small wrasse for your next fish? I loooove Lchi's pink streaked... but I might go with a yellow coris wrasse instead because I believe they are braver and thus, more often seen.

Hmm, I like to stick with a theme where naming fish in a community tank are concerned, so what's the clown's name? If that's not a good idea, then I'd probably go with something that sounds royal, whether it be a real royal or a fictional one. Tbh, CerseI Lannister came to mind, lol, but she is pretty awful. How about King Arthur?

Do you have a Duncan yet?!? I know we've spoken of the species before, but I can't recommend them enough... particularly if you're waiting on maturity within the tank before adding a nem. While you wait, the movement and fleshy look of Duncans and Euphyllia can mimic the look of a nem. Another hardy coral that I looove, but is not often mentioned for whatever reason, are favias. I have 2 favias and 2 favites, both from the family faviidae, which is an absolutely huge family of corals which offers great variation in colors and patterns.

 

How about a small wrasse for your next fish? I loooove Lchi's pink streaked... but I might go with a yellow coris wrasse instead because I believe they are braver and thus, more often seen.

Hmm, I like to stick with a theme where naming fish in a community tank are concerned, so what's the clown's name? If that's not a good idea, then I'd probably go with something that sounds royal, whether it be a real royal or a fictional one. Tbh, CerseI Lannister came to mind, lol, but she is pretty awful. How about King Arthur?

Do you have a Duncan yet?!? I know we've spoken of the species before, but I can't recommend them enough... particularly if you're waiting on maturity within the tank before adding a nem. While you wait, the movement and fleshy look of Duncans and Euphyllia can mimic the look of a nem. Another hardy coral that I looove, but is not often mentioned for whatever reason, are favias. I have 2 favias and 2 favites, both from the family faviidae, which is an absolutely huge family of corals which offers great variation in colors and patterns.

Glad everything is going well for you! Whats your stocking so far?

Can’t help you on the kenya tree but gosh that sounds scary!

Thanks for the response! I have one clownfish, a yellow watchman goby/tiger pistol shrimp pair, two trochus snails, one royal gramma, one Kenya tree, two mushrooms, one bird’s nest, and one leptastrea.
I love King Arthur Think I’m gonna go with that lol.
I’m definitely interested in a wrasse or a blenny. Always depends on what’s in stock, though. I’ll let you guys know what I can find. I’ll be setting up a quarantine tank today. Might even get a Duncan because you keep mentioning it and I’m very interested

EDIT: I think I forgot to mention this, but what do you guys think about trying to get a second clownfish? Also, do you think I have room for two more fish?

 

I'd probably go with no more than 4 fish in a 25g, but really, as long as they all have space and get along, the number is up to you... because, of course, more fish = a higher bioload, which in turn can lead to nitrate and phosphate issues if you aren't careful. Aaaanndd, as you know, high nitrates and phosphates can cause algae and upset sensitive species. So, I'll say yes, you can have 5 nano fish in a 25g, if they all get along, and if you can keep nutrients under control.

As for adding a second clown after your current one is already established. Hmmm, this doesn't always go well as you probably know. Again, it's all up to you. I might try it if I were properly prepared with the equipment, time, and effort that may become necessary. In other words, it'd be good to have a way to separate them, (moving one to qt or a breeder box), in the event that they try to murder each other. You may want to try re-introduction afterward, but if they just can't get along, you'd need to re-home one. Gotta say, if things go south, the removal and/or re-homing of a fish is stressful on them and you. I couldn't say what the chances are of everything going smooth, but at best guess, the odds are probably 50/50, and those aren't good enough for me to want to try it.

 

I think I’ll skip the clown idea, then. She seems fine on her own and I don’t want to risk anything. I just cleaned the tank and everything looks so much better now that the algae is gone (my arm hurts so much, brown spot is almost impossible to scrub off). The quarantine is all set up. I’m heading off to the LFS to see what I can get I’ll see how the tank parameters are with one more fish and will then determine whether or not it can handle more. Gotta get my phosphates/nitrates tested.

 

All right.. So, remember when I said my LFS always gives me great discounts? I got a bunch of free stuff to quarantine, mostly coral. I’ll get a picture of everything when I get home. I’m going to use the old light I originally had for the ten-gallon saltwater, but I’m worried this won’t be enough for the coral. It’s a Nicrew 15-watt LED. You guys are gonna have to help me out with identifying these corals. I know there’s a Duncan and mushroom in there somewhere. Should I just dip the coral in the treatment I got a while ago and add them to the tank? I don’t want to put them in quarantine and have them all die because there’s not enough light. The employee got me a fish and said it was a coral percher, don’t exactly know if that’s the species name. He said it stays at the size it’s at right now, doesn’t have a swim bladder, likes to perch in acros in the wild, etc. The colors are green, blue, and purple. I’ll get a picture of it. It looks like it’ll do great in my tank.

 

I usually give my coral a good scrub with a toothbrush as well as a dip. I think I see some favites ? ( first and last coral pics). Fish looks like a clown goby; if so yay! I love them.

 

I usually give my coral a good scrub with a toothbrush as well as a dip. I think I see some favites ? ( first and last coral pics). Fish looks like a clown goby; if so yay! I love them.

I used a dip and blasted them a bit to make sure nothing was hiding in there. I found a bristleworm, some pods, and a couple feather dusters. That’s it, though. They’re all in the tank now. I’ll get some good pictures tomorrow

 

In the meantime, here’s the fish again.

 

Yep, that's a clown goby. As for the corals, they are not identifiable in those pics, and it's possible they are still mad even though their now in the tank... so, best to ID them after they get happy. First and last pic are indeed a kind of favia, (unsure, but I'm thinking favia instead of favite, either way, family faviidae, which I love!) 4th pic is probably a Duncan, and if not, probably a type of Euphyllia. Dang girl! Free corals??? I wish my LFS loved me so much. Congrats!!

 

Yep, that's a clown goby. As for the corals, they are not identifiable in those pics, and it's possible they are still mad even though their now in the tank... so, best to ID them after they get happy. First and last pic are indeed a kind of favia, (unsure, but I'm thinking favia instead of favite, either way, family faviidae, which I love!) 4th pic is probably a Duncan, and if not, probably a type of Euphyllia. Dang girl! Free corals??? I wish my LFS loved me so much. Congrats!!

Haha, the tank looks so pretty with the new coral! Here are some pics. I’m not sure if every coral has opened completely quite yet, but a few of them definitely have I’m a bit worried because mushrooms generally don’t open up in my tank anymore. My two older mushrooms used to be huge, but they’ve shrunk down to half their original size. I got this little mushroom colony to see if there’s something wrong with my mushrooms or the tank they’re in. I might need to get some super glue for the coral in the first picture because it wasn’t attached to anything. It kind of looks like it glued itself to the rock, though. Also need some type of base for it to stay on.

 

Happy New Years! I’ve been told that I have a cup coral, discordea mushroom, watermelon mushrooms, duncan, and two favias. I fed the Duncan some mysis today. Each head got one piece and there are a total of three heads. I have yet to see the tentacles come out of the favias, but I’ll make sure to feed them when they do. Clown goby ate his mysis today, although I had to get out of his sight for him to come out and eat it. He’s doing well, but he’s clearly unhappy about being in quarantine. I’ll get him out as soon as I think he’s healthy. So far so good I’m going back to my LFS today to pick up some VitaChem and maybe some food for the corals.

 

Happy new year's!

Those are some great beginner corals. May they live long and prosper! Wasn't it fun to feed the Duncan? The discordea mushroom would be a ricordea. Most likely ricordea Florida. The watermelon shrooms are discosoma. If you want to propogate them quick , slice em up like a pizza. Not even kidding

The tank is looking full! Question about the Royal Gramma because I think it's going to be my next fish. Any aggression? Activity level?

 

Happy new year's!

Those are some great beginner corals. May they live long and prosper! Wasn't it fun to feed the Duncan? The discordea mushroom would be a ricordea. Most likely ricordea Florida. The watermelon shrooms are discosoma. If you want to propogate them quick , slice em up like a pizza. Not even kidding

The tank is looking full! Question about the Royal Gramma because I think it's going to be my next fish. Any aggression? Activity level?

Thanks! I haven’t had much luck with mushrooms in my tank so far. Ricordea seems to be doing the best so far and looks absolutely stunning.
Feeding the Duncan was such an awesome experience! I’m definitely looking forward to keeping more of this coral because it seems to be doing very well in my tank.
My royal gramma was very scared of me at first (especially in quarantine), but now she’s basically eating from my hand. She eats just as voraciously as my clownfish, so I don’t have to worry about whether she’s getting enough food. Very active fish as well. I almost always see her swimming around near the clownfish. Her colors look amazing under my light, so she basically glows as much as my corals do lol. She’s not aggressive whatsoever. I’m sooooo glad I purchased her, so I would definitely get one if I was in your place.

 

I was feeding one of the favias tonight and this crab came out of the rocks. I don’t know what type it is, but it was fairly large. Maybe the size of a penny? I’m worried maybe this is the thing that ate my Kenya tree if it didn’t just drop itself to reproduce.

 

Looking great!

 

Looking great!

Haven’t seen you in a while. Hope you’re doing well!

 

Here’s a minI update on the coral. I purchased a new zoanthid the other day and found that it was covered in aiptasia. I decided to take a look at the new corals that were already in the tank and a few of them had it as well. It doesn’t seem like any of the aiptasia has moved from the coral. Regardless, I removed them immediately. They’re in a holding tank and I’ve purchased some Aiptasia Away that should be coming sometime this week. It turned out to be one of the favias (Christmas colored) and the cup coral. I took a good look at the rest and they seem all right. I’m just hoping nothing pops up in the display tank.