mikejrice's 30 Gallon Innovative Marine Nuvo Aquarium

I am on my phone, so this will be briefer than I wanted. Anyways, I added my BSJ first, as everything I read said to do so. I have a very peaceful tank (BSJ, Possum Wrasse, Helfrichi Firefish, Tailspot Blenny and Blood Red Shrimp), and the BSJ is by far the most aggressive. Looking back, I would have been better adding him last. But in reality the only aggression he shows is toward the shrimp for whatever reason. Periodically during three day he will go right up to the shrimp (who stays in the same spot) and snap at him. No idea why, and the shrimp really doesn't care. Other than that the tank mates all get along.

The BSJ had definitely made the tank his own. He has dug out the entire back of my tank and moved the sand to the sides and front. They need a deeper sand bed, I had a 4", but as mentioned he took it down to bare glass. I have given him plenty of pieces to work with, they need them to make their burrows. Drop some shells in, and soon enough he had moved them. He is always covering my corals in sand, so any sensitive corals that can't shed sand may not be appropriate.

He reacts to everything you do, whether walking by the tank, going to feed, working in the tank etc. They are very funny that way. He gets mad if I put a coral in one of his perching spots, he will try to move the frag or even spit sand on it. They can have attitudes! As far as feeding time goes, it is all about him. He will sit right next to the net I feed with until full. After he is done, there are no issue with feeding other fish.

Other than that, they prefer cooler temps. Most say no higher than 72. I personally keep mine at 76.5. So far so good. They also seem to need some spirulina in their diet. He loves flake foods, pellets, and frozen both meaty and for herbivores. Look up BSJ disease, very common. I was lucky apparently. Mine lost its colors on some if its scales a couple months ago. I made more of an effort to mix up the diet (including spirulina flakes), and he is back to normal now. No idea if that was the reason or not. Oh, and obviously you need a 100% closed tank! A quick search will show how many have been lost this way.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you want any more info.

 

Awesome info Marshall. Thank you.

I hadn't really thought about their sand needs, and my tank only has about an inch. I think for that reason, I might skip the jawfish again. I'm glad you chimed in and made me think a little bit more.

 

Glad I could help. And yes, with only a 1" sandbed, I don't think it would be a happy tank for a BSJ.

 

Very nice zoa rock Mike. Question, did you glue that one piece of rock to the glass? I can't see what it's on to keep it in the higher position...??

 

It's magnetic.

 

That's a pretty cool mag rock...where'd you get that? Lol

 

Hey man little late t0 the party! Love the build. I am thinking about this tank for my sons room. Quick question. I see you went with the reef ready with led even though you already had the radions. I plan to use a separate led as well so thought I could go the cheaper route and do the tank only package. Is there something different between the reef ready and standard nuvo30? I thought it was just the addition of the led but now I am confused. Thanks!!

 

Update your dang thread slacker!

 

Mine came in the reef ready box, but it was the standard tank in there. The biggest difference with the two kits is the light, but the reef ready also comes with Spin Streams and extra filters. I don't use either, so it wasn't worth it to me. If you plan on using those and like the light, the reef ready kit would probably be worth it for you.

 

Finally an update.