Let the cycling begin!

[Amphibious]

Astrivian,

I would issue a strong word of caution on adding a Royal Gramma to your nano. Both fish are very territorial and in that small of space there will be a dual, probably to the death of one. One of the problems with a nano is you are very restricted as to what you put into the tank. You must chose wisely. Not being a fan of nanos I can't even suggest a tank mate. Maybe someone will chime in and offer help.

[V]

This pic is from wetwebmedia, i will post my own as soon as i can:


this looks more like a Pseudochromis detoiti aka neo-gamma. i could be mistaken!
allthough these are basslets not gamma's the Pseudochromid family are like pitbulls.
lol, u have made a slightly harder choice to pare anything up with these suckers.
he may be hinding now, but just wait till somethings percieved as a threat!
no offence astro,im of the opinion that its not a large enough tank for them to behave properly in captivity! i might be wrong, just a red flag going up giving me that feeling!
a damsel of different colour or a female clown might be the limit for my suggestion if u were to add something else, they would be the only animals i can think of that could hold there own & a different characteristic wise to not be considered rivals

[Astrivian]

Haha that's typical. I read they were territorial and i was suspect of the gramma idea. TY for that advise Veriann. Quick question though, wont most damsels grow too large for a 10 gallon tank? It's all good if i can't find a buddy for him (see below).

Oh, and i finally figured out what the dang snails are. They are Nassarius snails, thanks rob. That is the issue with learning from text-based sources, i am familar with the name in print, but usually have no idea how to pronounce it. I had researched these snails earlier and thought they would be great additions to the nano, but i thought they were pronounced differently.

On the plus side, i think i have convinced my wife to get me a 55 gallon tank for my birthday in October. So the hex may increase by 5.5 times here soon. The advantage of this is i can use the hex as a quarintine tank while i stock the larger one. Why 55? Simple: you have to draw the line somewhere. There is always a larger tank ("Hey a 75 gallon is only 20 more gallons...but if i get a 75 a 100 is only 25 more than that"..... ad infinitum). How did i manage this? Let your spouse read Robert Fenner's Book The Consciencious Marine Aquarist or, more acuratly in her case, look through the pictures. As soon as she says "Oh that one looks cool! I like this one," you got her hooked. Naturally, the fish she pointed at is too large for a 10 gallon......oh boy!

[V]

sweet on the future upgrade.
as for the fish> your do have to factor in the max size when preping a stocking list> but who are we kidden, most marine fish grow so slowly you have ample time!
although i should stress without discriminating that s disregard my last comment

[Astrivian]

Cerith snail? Or maybe Nassarious? The nassaroius are more blunt and have a snorkle that sticks up out of the sand when they are burried.

Nassarious. I think i just spelled it wrong. I think they have a snorkle but they are really small at the moment and it is hard to tell. Their shells are about the width of a Bic pen cap, so maybe 5mm. They will get bigger i am sure. Although...i haven't seen them in a while.... hmm maybe the Arabian grabbed a midnight snack.

Another thing that has surprised me about this whole experience is the hermits. I was expecting to see them crawling all over the tank, but they typically remain hidden for quite some time. honestly, i thought one had died until i found it yesterday. Remember, i am only talking 10 gallons here. I can't imagine trying to find hermits in some of the TR peeps' mega-reef tanks

I dig all your points about the particular fish, arabian dotty. It is really aggressive. And no, i don't have any other fish in there, but seems ready to take on my cat who sits next to it (aquarium...aka. cat TV). Hmm, maybe i will just add a lionfish when i get my 55.... J/K

[CarmieJo]

The nassarius bury themselves in the sand and all you can see is the snorkel poking up through the sand. Mine usually come running when I put food in the tank.

[JayBeDriften]

Nassarius Snails are awesome bottom dwellers. Their little snorkle is is what scientisst beliece to help them locate food and a possible mate. I actually added 10 of these little guys into my Reef Aquarium to help assist with it cycling. The look like zombies the second food is dropped into the tank (this also assist with areation and stirring of the sand). Their also very fast and unlinke other Snails these don't seem to have any issues turning themselve over when flipped so no having to run Snail Overboard drills (as with Mexican Turbo Snails). In my opinion they are beautiful and very beneficial to a Reef Aquarium.

Apparently one of min where pregnant from the store I have some little guys about 1/3 the size of a dime roaming the glass.

[Astrivian]

I have just purchased my upgrade tank. 100 gallon (378.5 liters) long. I will post a pic here soon, but it measures:

H: 1 1/2 feet (45 cm)
W: 6 feet (1.8 meters)
D: 1 1/2 feet

Yea six feet long, some serious panoramic viewing here. It has two overflow boxes along the back, 2 inch (5 cm) bulkheads for the standpipe and 1 inch (2.5 cm) returns in each box. I do not have lights yet, finding a 6 foot fixture is not easy or cheap. This is going to be fun.