Newb with new animals... how to care for?

Timmy44221 · 12/03/2006, 12:11 PM

Ok. I have a turbo snail, 3 blue leg hermits and a scooter blenny. ITs is a new 20gal high tank, It has good live sand, 10ibl of base rock and 10ibl of fully cured live rock (some nice stuff). Because of this my tank cycled quickly and and I let it sit for a week. Well, I now have the above animals. I am not to worried about the crabs, but the snail and the scooter, even with the live rock, I am not sure they have enough food naturaly occuring yet. Is there anythign I can supliment them with. Seaweed, or tubflix worm, some sort of sinking food. Any suggestions on forr for these guys, and other god marine food would be great.

Shagsbeard · 12/03/2006, 12:37 PM

Check out liveaquaria.com for recommended care. It's not gospel, but it's the first place I check when I have a specific species I want to research. The hermits will eat just about anything... table shrimp chopped up fine, or pretty much any meaty sea food. The snail will take care of itself. The blenny you should read up on... I've not yet done that.

One thing you need to do is get tests for your water parameters. Ammonia, Nitrate and pH are a bare minimum to get testing. Get good tests, not the dip strip kind, but the kind where you mix the chemicals (salifert). The strips only can be read by people who really know what to look for.

You will also want a hydrometer to test specific gravity (should be about 1.026) and a thermometer to measure temperature. Once you have all these numbers, get back to us here with them.

AquaReeferMan · 12/03/2006, 12:54 PM

Is the scooter blenny eating anything? They usually tend to just eat pods and in a very young system like yours I doubt there is enough food for it.

seatown76 · 12/03/2006, 12:59 PM

Yeah I agree with Aquareeferman, they usually are a sand sifting fish but I know people that have had luck with brine shrimp.

Timmy44221 · 12/03/2006, 03:45 PM

I have read about the scooter, and I got it because of its sand sifting nature. THe hermits, I am not worried about, and the snail seems to be fine. I just didnt know if there was anything I could suppliment him with, or what foods in general you guys recomend. Is there a way to introduce pods into your water column to help speed up their populaiton growth.

As for the test kit, I have a liquid test kit, and everything in that department it good.

12/03/2006, 12:11 PM	#1
Timmy44221 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 88	Newb with new animals... how to care for? Ok. I have a turbo snail, 3 blue leg hermits and a scooter blenny. ITs is a new 20gal high tank, It has good live sand, 10ibl of base rock and 10ibl of fully cured live rock (some nice stuff). Because of this my tank cycled quickly and and I let it sit for a week. Well, I now have the above animals. I am not to worried about the crabs, but the snail and the scooter, even with the live rock, I am not sure they have enough food naturaly occuring yet. Is there anythign I can supliment them with. Seaweed, or tubflix worm, some sort of sinking food. Any suggestions on forr for these guys, and other god marine food would be great.

12/03/2006, 12:54 PM	#3
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	Is the scooter blenny eating anything? They usually tend to just eat pods and in a very young system like yours I doubt there is enough food for it. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

12/03/2006, 12:59 PM	#4
seatown76 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 49	Yeah I agree with Aquareeferman, they usually are a sand sifting fish but I know people that have had luck with brine shrimp. __________________ I once heard two ladies going on and on about the pains of childbirth and how men don't seem to know what real pain is. I asked if either of them ever got themselves caught in a zipper. Current Tank Info: No tanks at present....too busy with kids...sad i knowzzz

12/03/2006, 12:37 PM	#2
Shagsbeard Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Morro Bay, CA Posts: 2,143	Check out liveaquaria.com for recommended care. It's not gospel, but it's the first place I check when I have a specific species I want to research. The hermits will eat just about anything... table shrimp chopped up fine, or pretty much any meaty sea food. The snail will take care of itself. The blenny you should read up on... I've not yet done that. One thing you need to do is get tests for your water parameters. Ammonia, Nitrate and pH are a bare minimum to get testing. Get good tests, not the dip strip kind, but the kind where you mix the chemicals (salifert). The strips only can be read by people who really know what to look for. You will also want a hydrometer to test specific gravity (should be about 1.026) and a thermometer to measure temperature. Once you have all these numbers, get back to us here with them.

12/03/2006, 03:45 PM	#5
Timmy44221 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 88	I have read about the scooter, and I got it because of its sand sifting nature. THe hermits, I am not worried about, and the snail seems to be fine. I just didnt know if there was anything I could suppliment him with, or what foods in general you guys recomend. Is there a way to introduce pods into your water column to help speed up their populaiton growth. As for the test kit, I have a liquid test kit, and everything in that department it good.