Tangs are big swimmers and fast growers and I would not add one to a 36" tank. There are many fish that eat algae. Also some people have good luck with hermit crabs eating HA but none of mine seem to. The question always is will the individual fish eat the algae in your tank????
I currently have an Atlantic Pygmy Angel in QT and it is a dedicated herbivore. I am on the downside (hopefully) of a HA outbreak and have pulled some from my DT and given to him but he mostly ignores it. Maybe it would be different if the HA was still attached and he could graze it from the rocks.
I think that good husbandry and growing macro in a refugium are the best ways to control nuisance algae. And not going on vacation and having someone else take care of your tank.
bought 2 clown fish one lg one small, the bigest diff i could get in the juvinile tank.
both get on fantasticly and follow each other round all the time.( they did chose the common orange ones but with good strong markings ). the extra to this is that the baby tang ( sorry carmie) that we bought the week before has now come out of hidding and insists on swiming with them. though she dose run back to her hidey hole as soon as the lights go out.
found a rouge small claw that pops out to trim alge round the holes in one of my LR .havn't seen the rest of him
so dont know what ive inherited? be it crab ,shrimp, lobster or what?
must be very hardy to have survived the cycling proces?one day he will show us more! cant wait.
kids are naming things, dorie, nemo and coral +red legs and moon light for the blue hermit. both of the turbos died. but the narsisus are doing well. i wont replace the turbos but i am keeping an open eye out for money coweries as they are my favoret.
realy sorry cant work out how to get pictures from my pic folder onto this page! atach/ insert image, dosent work.? the real shame is that im sure its me not the system. lack of knowledge is unforgiving!
blue hermit has changed his shell again, i thought that they only didthis as they grow out of the last? so iether he is a fast grower ,or he cant make up his mind.
salinity is kreeping up ,but im sure thats from not owning a good fresh water supply? but ill keep looking
id like to put a pic next to me name but same again? i cant work it out sorry.
I host my pix at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket. You just copy the img code and past it into your post an viola! a pictures appears when you click post quick reply. The little picture by your name is called an avatar. To add one go to "User CP" on the left side in the second box just below the TR logo. Once there click "Edit Avatar" in the nav box and then you should be able to upload the picture from your computer or a website. It has to be less than 120x120 pixels.
lots of visits to the coast, though she wants a crab? not good!
the claw is a crab but it moves round inside the rock only poking out its claw at lights out.
we use the room lights as the sun rise/set .and see alot of critters,dore is strait to bed when the tank lights go out. the clowns take a while to settle in their corner, but we start to see worms in the water collom and outher bugs including the claw! my sun found a slug like criter .
thinking of getting an infared light so we can see more? have you tried this?
bought 3 shrimp ( the transparent ones?) i was hopping that they might breed and at 15p each i thought it was great value! during the day they were great entertainment but by morning there was only the shells left, one was definatly got by the blue hermiy as the shell was right next to him half eaten! ( thats guilty in my book.) dont know who got the other 2 but the big clown ( coral) did try a couple of nips during the day.
life /death can be tough!
Sorry about the shrimps. It is possible that they molted and the others are hiding.
I don't think you would necessarily want infrared because I think that they make a lot of heat. But, I have a red head light (a flashlight (torch) on an elastic band that you use hands free) that I use for spying on my tank at night. You can also buy hand held red flashlights.
I realize that the shrimps may be goners ... but don't forget that they do molt. And I have found that they oftem molt shortly after moving into a new tank. My most recent shrimp purchase molted the evening he was placed into the tank. I thought for sure he had died as there were numerous hermit crabs picking at the shell. Imagine my suprise when he turned up, at feeding, a few days later. Now he eats out of my hand and is even offering the occassional cleaner service to several of the fish in the tank.
That crab in your tank has me worried, though. Keep an eye out for him.
Your local military surplus store or Bass pro shop will have lots of options for your lighting needs. I saved alot of gear from the ARMY that will come in handy now , he he he he
military store is a great idea. we have one in our small town of poole. as its the countrys marine/ comando base.
being that we have the bigest natural harbour in the world ! though i know our freinds from austrailia will argue that point.
starting to find worms and even larger slug types, its amazing how fast they have grown from a small bag of live coral sand? as i made the rest up from a mix of play sand and dry coral sand. good budgeting! and the efect mixed in with an asortment of shells that ive had my kids beach comb. looks realy natural.
that blue hermit has changed again into a larger shell ! so the visual efect has had some benifits on top of saving a lot of money. its got to the point that im going to have to take the kids out again so the little scoundrel can, grow even more and move house/ shell again? the strange thing is the red hermit though more active in his eating .is still using the same shell! go figure?
here is the question!
my soft coral has shrunk as the LFS said it would ,and i have deliberatly placed it in a high flow/ high up (sunny) spot . as he said it would encourage a clumping type growth as aposed to a elongated thin growth! (personall choice, he told me what would happen . without any bias)
but its only been 2 days and i am starting too see some lose/ blown off mini branches in the water collom?
is this normal ? is it part of its a climating? should i worry
I don't think you should be seeing branches blown off your coral unless something is not right. What are your water parameters? Is the coral right in front of the outlet from the powerhead?
parameters are still constant and reading very good. no2=0 no3=0 salinity 10275 ph 8
its a good 8" from a wave simulator outlet. so though the flow is good its not constant.
but to be honest im not worrying now as quiet a few have attached them selfs to rock and sand. and continue to mouth the water, they apear to be routing if thats the right word?
thnx for the quick responce ill let you know how their doing when they have had more time!
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
from my pic folder onto this page! atach/ insert image, dosent work.? the real shame is that im sure its me not the system. lack of knowledge is unforgiving!
