Several questions

[JHawlz9989]

First- How big do copepods get? The tank has been out of its cycle for a few weeks now. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all 0. However, I was out of town for a few days and the tank (20 long) was topped off with tap water, so between the maturity of the tank and tap water, I am currently fighting diatoms, hair algae, and a few other algaes. The pod population has exploded, but occasionally I'll see some that are much bigger than others, maybe 2-2.5mm? It is transparent like a copepod. I don't believe it is an isopod, but I would really like to make sure. I haven't seen any of them attacking my fish. They actually seem somewhat scared of my watchman goby, and are neutral towards my peppermint shrimp.

Second- Occasionally my watchman goby will strike the sand. He usually comes out of his cave for a while, checks things out, and will strike where the diatoms are holding onto bubbles. He's also been in confrontation with a three-stripe damsel, who will eventually be removed from the tank altogether. Is this a territorial behavior?

Third- Once I get rid of the damsel, what would be a good second fish to have? I had some yellowtail damsels that were great and nonagressive towards the goby, but the LFS is out of those at this point. Possibly a firefish? I would like something that does some moderate swimming.

Thanks

Josh

[DoubleM 10]

well i would take out the damsel. if it looks like aggressive territorial behavior then i would bet it is.

damsels are known to be territorial. so i would believe that.

as for a second fish. a firefish would be good. as long as you have a good cover with no gaps preferable. they are a very jumpy fish from what i have read.

now before you get another fish i would get the tank under control nutrient wise and stop the algea. then add fish. if you add another fish it could pontentially add to the problem with the aglea.

do you have any type of clean up crew?? snails and crabs will help eat the leftover food before it can become decay.

[JHawlz9989]

As of now I have four hermits, three nassarius, a turbo and a peppermint shrimp. Should I add a few more turbos to help with algae?

[DoubleM 10]

Well how new is the tank? I have a 46 gal and my algea is a little bit more than I want. It's part of a new tank. It's very slowly receading

Sent from my Eris using Tapatalk

[tchndie]

Well first off I would get an RODI unit! That will help with the algae problem. Tap water is one of the causes of hair algae! Get away from those damsel fish!! They are very territorial! Is this going to be a FOWLR or a reef tank? You could get a nice pair of clown fish or a fairy wrasse, flasher wrasse! Fire fish are nice especially if you have a couple of them and they school! I had diatoms come and go for about 7 months! A strawberry conch will eat your diatoms as well and help keep your sand bed clean even after the tank has stabilized! Good luck and keep us informed with your progress!

[MCCOOL]

#1 - probably amphipods or mysid shrimp.

[RocketSurgeon]

My domino damsel leads my pack.

[JHawlz9989]

DoubleM- The tank is a few months old, but within the past 6 weeks I added all new live rock and the tank went through a serious cycle. I just dropped off the damsel at the LFS. He even started going after my peppermint shrimp that I got yesterday...

tchndie- I use RO/DI water from wal-mart. The bank account won't allow an RO unit at this point, so I settle for $0.37/gallon wally world water. It's going to be a reef tank eventually. As of now I have some GSP and maybe a brown button polyp starting to show up? It's hard to tell because algae keeps taking over the rocks and algae. Should I be gently scrubbing this off? I saw someone said use a soft tooth brush? The strawberry conch sounds like a great asset!

MCCOOL- It is an amphipod! Thanks for the ID. Glad it isn't harmful.

RocketSurgeon- Beautiful aquascape! Great looking damsel, too! They are great fish, but I just can't do it in a 20g...

Another general question- I guess I'll just make this thread my tank thread. What do you guys think about my aquascape? I tried to space out the rocks as much as possible; I only have an aquaclear 50 on one side and a 10g pump on the other for waterflow. My next investment is an mp10, which hopefully will help with algae blooms too once I get rid of dead spots.

And one of my nassarius snails laid eggs! It doesn't sound like the probability of them maturing is great, but the only possible predators in the tank are the goby and peppermint shrimp. Maybe hermits, too?

[Angel*Fish]

Isopods seem to especially love diatoms, but you will have a range of pods sizes from copepod to amphipod. They are are good members of your clean up crew. With the damsel, make sure you get the correct fish. Some are fairly peaceful, but have look alikes. They aren't so similar you can't tell the difference, but you need to compare pics, not descriptions. My personal favorite is the azure damsel Chrysiptera hemicyanea.

[tchndie]

What I would do before you start to get alot of corals is put some black garbage bags around the whole tank and cover the top with a bag as well! Keep the lights out for 3 day and make sure you keep all light out! Te hair algae will be gone. When it is gone I would then start running gfo which you can buy a BRS. Or you could scrub the rock with a tooth brush as well. Back braking work! Good luck! Oh ya, your fish will be fine in the dark for 3 days as well.

[ManotheSea]

Run-some-phosphate-and-nitrate-pads-for-two-weeks.And-no-more-tap-water