Finished cycling now what?

[Michelle S]

After 6 + weeks finished cycling and ready to add fish!!

Question: are the two flow heads that came with this all in one sufficient? I have a vortech MP 10 W not yet installed.

Question: I plan on changing out standard media filters with new one: what three stage media are best?

Can mandarin dragonlet be first fish (already eating live brine shrimp per liveaquaria)?

Stats:
-28 gal jbj LED nano cube
-media basket came with this All in one: sponge filter, activated carbon, ceramic rings + bio balls.
-Ammonia: 0; Nitrite 0; Nitrate 2; Ph 8.1; gravity 1.024; temp: 75.5.
-water source: premixed salt from lfs and RO.
-7 lbs live rock; 25 lbs fuji dry rock
-substrate: 1" live sand with 1" fine white sand on top.
-snails and hermit crabs.

planning on adding ; African Gold and Blue Cespitularia Coral; Wham'n Watermelon and Radioactive Dragon Eye Colony Polyp Rock Zoanthus IM; anemones, clownfish, starfish, shrimp and goby over the course of this year.

What do you think?

[Toddrtrex]

Honestly, I would skip the anemone -- besides the inherent parameter swings that come with smaller tanks -- all the hosting anemones will get too big for that tank. It would be the anemone and that would be about it.

What type of starfish?

[Zebodog]

Adding a mandarin is a bad idea. Regardless of what prepared foods they eat, mandarins require sufficient live pods to survive and thrive long term; the mandarin would slowly starve to death in your tank right now.

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by Zebodog

Adding a mandarin is a bad idea. Regardless of what prepared foods they eat, mandarins require sufficient live pods to survive and thrive long term; the mandarin would slowly starve to death in your tank right now.

I missed that - thanks.

Yep, as I said in the other thread that you posted it, any dragonette would be a poor choice for this tank.

[Gilby]

Ditch the bio balls and ceramic rings. They will cause increasing nitrates down the road. Don't add the mandarin(wait a least a year) and even in a 28g it's not likely to survive after a year, they can deplete a pod population pretty quick in a 28g. I know it's eating prepared foods but they need to graze all day.

[Michelle S]

Yeah, I love that mandarin but maybe I'll just tape a small photo of it to the outside of my tank! ha ha

What type of starfish? I don't know the kind I find in the ocean in the NE coast?

[Michelle S]

I really want a wrasse also but I think my tanks is too small for that as well.

[Gilby]

Oh and I would get your temp up a little 78-80.

[Gilby]

Starfish are very sensative creatures also, I would pass on that for a little while esp. if you don't know what kind you want. Do some research on starfish before you think about getting one.

A six line wrasse might not be bad for that size if you want a wrasse. They tend to stay fairly small but they also munch on pods so you may want to wait a little while

[karsseboom]

you cant put a starfish that you find at the beach in your tank, unless you live in the keys where its warm. those fish and inverts are coldwater and your tank in warm water not the same.

[Angel*Fish]

Six lines tend to decimate the pod population. Before getting one, a little research as to whether or not you want to do that is a very good idea. I think your shrimp goby idea is a very good one. If you get really small ones like highfin red banded gobies you might consider obtaining a pair. The smaller blennies are a good choice. Or what about a firefish or a royal gramma?

It's unlikely that you will fish a starfish appropriate for your tank or experience level. The next consideration is a brittle star, but I'm inclined to not trust them. The green ones are well know fish eaters (the green death).

[Sk8r]

Ok, rather than shooting down choices as you make them, let us recommend some that WILL work well for you:
1. little gobies and blennies (real gobies: mandarins are called gobies, but are really dragonets, a difficult species, and scooters are called blennies, but again, are dragonets.)
Look at the tailspot blenny, the midas, or starry (you're going to have to make a choice: they may not be compatible) ---and the tailspot and starry both eat film algae, so may be too competitive with each other for a limited food source in a 28.

look at the smaller gobies, and among them the yellow watchman, who is a character of a fish; tunnels, hides, comes out and watches everything you do. Grumpy fellow, but fun. Redstripe gobies are good. DO NOT get a diamond goby: it will starve in a 28.

If you decided against gobies, you might try the fairy wrasses, 2-3 of them. They're small and active...pushy, and should not be kept with the smallest gobies.

The royal gramma gets along pretty well with everyone.

One black and white brittle star to clean the sand.

Some scarlet hermits: they're fun.

If anyone thinks of other small fishes that would work, chime in.

[renogaw]

Royal grammas though won't let her have smaller shrimp/crabs like sexy or pompom crabs.

I still don't think you've cycled, per the reasons in your post on the 28 gallon thread, but if you're sure you have, good luck.

edit: well, here you say you have some live rock, your other post says you have no live rock, so hopefully you did cycle...

[Michelle S]

Wow, super great info, thanks!!!