First ever saltwater aquarium

[RustyT22]

I have started my first ever 29g BioCube saltwater aquarium. I bought 2 bags of live sand, a bunch of live rock (which happened to have some interesting life included in it), and a damsel to cycle the tank.

After 3 weeks, we added a cleanup crew of 8 snails, 8 hermit crabs, a horshoe crab, and a sand-sifting starfish.

At the 6 week point, we added to clown fish and a piece of soft coral Here are some photos of the tank!

 

[RustyT22]

 

[RustyT22]

 

[Bifferwine]

Hi and welcome! I would highly recommend removing the horseshoe crab and the sand sifting star. They will both starve to death VERY quickly in a 29 gallon tank. Both those animals require huge, mature systems to survive as they deplete their food sources really quickly. And in a new tank, there probably isn't any food for them to begin with. The fact that your star is climbing the glass (which isn't normal behavior for a sand sifting star) indicates that it is searching for something -- probably food.

You may not be aware of this, but horseshoe crabs require a minimum tank size of 180 gallons. They look deceptively simple for how difficult they actually are to care for.

Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: Horseshoe Crab

 

[salt_for_brains]

+1 Sarah

Welcome! Take it slow and research is the best advice I can give you for the saltwater hobby.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.

 

[RustyT22]

I would highly recommend removing the horseshoe crab and the sand sifting star. They will both starve to death VERY quickly in a 29 gallon tank. Both those animals require huge, mature systems to survive as they deplete their food sources really quickly. And in a new tank, there probably isn't any food for them to begin with.

Thanks so much for the welcome and the info. I will catch the horshoe crab asap and take him back to the lfs. As for the SSStar, I have really grown fond of him and have read that I can target feed him when he is out at night to supplement the detritus in the sand. Is this advisable?

I had a couple other questions but had fallen asleep last night before posting them.

1. In the next to last picture That I posted, there is something back inside of that cavern that is moving. I only see it once a week or so, but its something I didn't buy and came in on the live rock. It's tan/brown, seems to be a couple inches long, and looks spine. It stays under that rock and I can only see him by using the light from my cell phone to shine under there (which also makes for a very hard pic to take as well). Any ideas? I thought it may be multi legged like a starfish, but it doesn't seem to be.

2. What are those two things that look like grey tripods in the last picture? They are tiny (smaller than 1/8") and move all over that one rock. Also came in with the lr I'm assuming.

3. What kind of coral do I have growing in the tank? I have three different types, and only one that I bought. I believe the white one that is spreading pretty rapidly is polyps? I didn't get a picture of that one ( forgot). The others I'm wondering about are the one in the third pic (came on the lr) and the fourth pic (purchased but forgot what they told me)

I'm currently giving my tank a third of a frozen block of food for the fish, purple up every other day for the healthy algea, and target feeding the coral oyster with a needless syringe once a week. I change about 15% of the water every two weeks, and I think that about it. I'm running purigen instead of carbon to help keep levels in check and all the water tests have been perfect so far. I've our purchased a protein skimmer but haven't put it on yet due to the cycling. I've also got a blower (for lack of a better term) in the tank to help move more water around on the opposite side of the return.

Any other suggestions/ ideas? Thanks a ton!

 

[AllReady]

1. Is it visible in the pic? There appears to be a bristle worm in it though its a little fuzzy to tell for sure. There are also what looks like a couple tube worm shells on the rock so it could be one of those as well.

2. Those a little starfish- astrea stars. They're just a little short on arms at the moment. :D

3. The ones you bought are zoanthids, nice color too. The other thing pictured appears to be a manjano anemone. Usually considered a pest, but, it's your call on what to do with it. As for the unpictured white stuff, it's hard to say.

I'd hook up the protein skimmer now- not really any reason not to.

As for target feeding the star, I've heard of people doing it as well but haven't ever tried it or actually heard of someone with firsthand success.

 

[RustyT22]

Thanks for the info. I just caught the horseshoe crab and killed the manjano anemone as well. Now, I just have to hope to see the sand star tonight so I can feed him. Thanks for the help!

 

[FishyReef]

Welcome!

The thing in the cave that you see is either a bristleworm of the leg of a brittlestar - both are good hitchhikers to have and will eat up uneaten food and fish poop. The tripod thing is an asternia star - some people have had trouble with them when their populations explode (literally everywhere), but I think for the most part they are harmless in small numbers. +1 on the SSS - even with target feeding, you likely won't be able to meet its needs, and when it does die it could cause a small tank like yours to cycle which might kill other stuff in your tank. I know how hard it is to remove critters that you've become attached to, but in the end its better for the critter to be in a home better suited for its needs. What else do you have for a clean up crew?

 

[RustyT22]

As far as the manjano anemone goes, I tried to remove it and it ended up tearing into pieces rather than coming out whole. It was pretty small, but should I be worried about that causing a cycle? Or spreading that way? I hope not...

 

[salt_for_brains]

No way it causes a cycle but spreading is a definite possibility.

 

[RustyT22]

Any ideas what these three items are? Now that Im finding out how much bad stuff I've got in my tank, I want to be careful.



This is the first coral that popped up from the live rock. I think it's Polyps (sp?) but not sure. It seems to spread really quick which is cool now in an empty tank; but may be extremely aggravating later...



On the bottom od the shell you can see two black and white feather looking things. Its hard to take a pic of them because of their size, but not sure what they are.





This one has long clear "tentacles" (not sure if thats the right term?) and about three of them are on this one rock. Theyre really small though....about 1/8" wide.

By the way, Thank you everyone for the help! It's awesome how knowledgeable you guys are!

 

[salt_for_brains]

The pink polyps will cover some area. I usually try and isolate the rock they are on so they don't take over but I like the color they bring.

The feather dusters are safe.

The other appears to be glass anemones which is a nuisance and will spread if it isn't removed.

 

[Ted]

First pic looks like star polyps to me. those are ok. Middle pics not really sure. Last pic looks like a aiptasia that will need to be killed using aiptasia X or control. Dont try to manually remove it will tear and each new piece will become a new one.

 

[FishyReef]

First pic looks like star polyps to me. those are ok. Middle pics not really sure. Last pic looks like a aiptasia that will need to be killed using aiptasia X or control. Dont try to manually remove it will tear and each new piece will become a new one.

+1 I'd add that the star polyps look a little bleached, but with proper lighting they should regain their color. What kind of lighting do you have over your tank?

And you can use aiptasia x to kill the majano as well.

And we're glad to have you aboard!

 

[RustyT22]

The stock biocube 29g lighting. I believe it has compact fluorescents for the daylight and actinic, and leds for the moon light. Will that add color back into the star polyps?

 

[Bifferwine]

Yes, those lights are sufficient for the star polyps. Star polyps can either come in pink or green colors. Yours look to be the pink variety, but they may turn green if they are in fact just a little bleached right now.

 

[salt_for_brains]

I started off with the same biocube setup and my pink star polyps did just fine.

 

[RustyT22]

Is this a good addition to my tank? I want him, but don't know how to care for a coral branded shrimp.



Also, I want one of these too. Pajama Cardinal is what its called I believe? Just wanted you guys' input on the two additions.

Also, any help with my zoas would be great. They quit opening up and I found out from a water test that the pH was too low. We've raised it back up with buffers, but it isnt doing any better even with the pH getting adjusted. Anything I can do to get him to come back? He doesnt look dead. Just closed up, but only one or two of the zoas are opening at all now. :frustrat: