Hey im looking for a challenge any ideas?

Well i have been keeping a 12 gallon eclipse saltwater setup now for one year, i have an oscellaris clown, a blue damsel, an anenome, a cleaner shrimp, a blue starfish and a bunch of cleaner inverts. My tank has been running very well (I think) cuz nothing has died. I purchased my first coral i believe it is a daisy polyp or a zoasomething, idk the guy at my LFS said it is a great starter colony and i hope he is right.

Plans for near future

continue adding corals maybe some mushrooms

and my ultimate goal is to put in a manderin, i know its like every newbie wants a manderin but i just would like some help on how it could be possible

for example

how to pick the right specimen

how to keep the food plenty (ie pod supply i guess)

i really think im ready to go for a little challenge

any other suggestions of a reasonable challenge would be cool


THANKS

-Mike

 

buy the fattest one you can find.ask them if you can see it eat frozen food.over feed it all the time and shut off everything while it eats so the food does'nt get sucked up before its eaten and increase your water changes.you may have success,or you may end up watching it slowly whither away till it dies.its a gamble.

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef, neighbor!
In my opinion, with such a small sized tank, I would avoid the Mandarin as their specialized feeding habits many times lead to their death, especially in small tanks!
Maybe try a Clown Goby or other type of small Goby instead!
Good luck!

 

SPS's would be a challenge for you! Do you run a fuge??

 

Challenge..... hmmm..... I'm jealous, my tank is enough of a challenge the way it is, I don't have to go out looking for one!

 

Consider a Rainford Goby (Ambligobius rainfordi) instead of a mandarin...

Albeit a little shy, it stays tiny (1/2"-1.5") and is perfect for a Nano...and is a very striking fish...

Pretty common and usually cheaper then a mandarin also...



;D

 

Otty What is a fuge? im not entirely sure if i do have one or not.... i guess if im not sure i prolly dont lol


Thanks everyone for the suggestions

 

fuge is short for Refugium.

What is a Refugium?
A refugium is an area in which some of your inhabitants can be given refuge from others that might pick on them. It can be a separate tank connected via plumbing or a section within the tank that's separated from the rest. A growing trend is to use a refugium primarily to house macroalgae. Macroalgae feed on the same substances as the nuisance algae, so growing them in your system removes the food source for those nuisance algae and in turn prevents their growth.

 

Thanks Lunatik