ejaustin Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 After Joey (damselfish) settled into the 29 gallon tank and with the water parameters still looking okay, I've begun adding a few more inhabitants to my 29 gallon tank. I've added 3 cleaner shrimp, 3 astraeas, 3 nassarius snails, 3 turbos, and 1 emerald crab. I also added more live rock last night because the only other critter I plan to add at this point is a royal gramma and I was concerned I didn't have enough hidey-holes for everyone. If all goes well, I will probably add the gramma this weekend. Although Joey was not happy about having to share his tank (he knocked a snail off a live rock and dive-bombed the shrimp a few times, although he backed off as soon as they waved their antennae at him), everyone seems to have settled in nicely. Anyway, I thought I'd just off this quick update. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedude Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 The waving motion from the shrimp that you're referring to is to actually inform the fish that they are indeed a cleaner. If they didn't wave back and worth they would be eaten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Sounds like your tank is doing well. Congrats EJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted May 18, 2006 Author Share Posted May 18, 2006 The waving is how they tell the fish they are cleaners? Wow, that's cool to know. I thought they were just saying, "Hey! Hey! Watch out, bud." By now, Joey swims right by them, sometimes brushing against an antenna or two, and neither critter seems to give it much thought. Haven't seen an actual cleaning take place, but they could be attending to that when I'm not watching. I'm relieved that there seems to have been so little squabbling. I am seeing a minor diatom bloom. I expect that switching to buying RO water from the LFS for water changes and being a bit less indulgent in feeding will help with that, and I may get a few more Nassarius snails. (I just love watching those little guys anyway!) Anyway, I'm deeply appreciative of all the information and support I've been getting here and elsewhere. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 Well, I got the royal gramma and a few more snails for the tank and some tee-tiny hermit crabs. The gramma promptly found a smallish cave to hide in, but not too small for Joey to get in there and harass her. After a while, she darted out and did a lap around the tank (with Joey crowding her but not nipping at her). She found a smaller place to hide, back under a rock, too small an opening for Joey to get to her. I noticed the emerald crab hanging out in that corner a while later. I couldn't see the gramma, but figured she was probably farther back under the rock. A while after that, I noticed the emerald crab making off with a Nassarius snail. I made her drop the snail. A little while after that, we found the emerald crab with another Nassarius snail in her grasp and munching on what was left of the gramma. crybaby2.gif I netted the crab and put her in a bucket (purchased for the aquarium stuff, so no chemicals or anything lurking there) with some saltwater. I'm so sad because I really like the crab. Emerald crabs seem to be standard issue in clean-up crew packages and everything I've read about them lead me to believe an emerald crab would be fine in my tank. (I know, just because certain characteristics are generally true of a species doesn't mean they will be true of every individual.) Nevertheless, I can't let her destroy all the snails and anyone else she can get her pincers on. I know people talk about taking critters to a LFS, but I would hate for this to happen to someone else. (Of course, she might do just wonderfully in another tank.) At this point, I'm thinking she'll be okay in the bucket for a day or two while I try to decide what to do next. I just got the water today at the LFS when I got the fish, so it should be in great shape. But I don't have a filter or anything like that for the bucket, so I don't dare leave her there too long. *sigh* ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammondegge Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 sounds like a sociopathic emerald crab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted May 27, 2006 Author Share Posted May 27, 2006 The consensus seems to be that the emerald crab I had was exhibiting some very unusual behavior for an emerald crab. I took her back to the store and plan on getting another one when I am ready. I decided to replace the royal gramma first. I did a very slow drip accumulation for her, because the store told me the tank she was in had a salinity of 1.019. (They had only had the fish a couple days, so I'm guessing it might be standard procedure, but I'm not sure.) Anyway, before I put her in the tank, I had pre-selected a hole in the live rock for her that was unoccupied and is too small for the damselfish to get into. She agreeably darted into the little hole and disappeared from sight. That was Wednesday evening. No gramma sightings at all on Thursday, even at feeding time. I peered as deeply as I could into the live rock, but it's a fair-sized chunk of Fiji rock and who know what kinds of tunnels and whatnot are on the inside? Last night after the lights had been off for a while, I went out there and looked around with my little moonlight. In one of the holes (not her original entrance), I could see a little purple head hanging down. She wiggled a bit and moved her eyes, so I knew she was still breathing. This morning when I fed the tank, she crept out of an entirely different hole to grab a few bites to eat. Joey (the damselfish) cruised by once or twice, but she just darted back into the rock and was fine. A couple times she came out for a second or two and hung there in the water close to her safety, at a not-quite-upright angle. (I'm charmed by royal grammas' insistence on flaunting convention when choosing which direction is "up", for the moment!) This evening when I fed the tank, she came out of the opposite side of the rock (toward the center of the tank, near a little cave formed by a concave area of the rock). If Joey got too close, she just went back in her place, without seeming too concerned about it. Once or twice Joey went into the little cave and turned his tail toward her and fanned his tail but kept his place. I figured she probably liked the water current he was making for her. (I doubt that was his intent, though!) She seems to be feeling at home. A snail got closer to her opening than she liked, so she knocked him off. Anyway, I think she's wonderful. Her name is Emma, after my grandmother, of course. Once she seems settled, we'll try another emerald crab, aiming for one that can't get into Emma's house too easily. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 That's a great description of Emma's introduction! I had been thinking of a Royal Gramma, but after an experience I had recently with a neon dottyback getting very mean very quickly, I was afraid to try another dottyback type fish. But now you make me want one more! I especially like what you said about being "charmed by royal grammas' insistence on flaunting convention when choosing which direction is "up", for the moment!". I had named the neon dottyback I had briefly "whomee" (pronounced HOOOmee) because whenever I would look at him, he would look at me, then look behind himself and to the side like he was trying to figure out if my attention was on him or not. Do RG's tend to be bullies when established, like my Whomee was? In one night, between a Sunday evening and Monday morning, he tore my firefish up pretty bad when he got past the divider I had put in the Q tank they were in. I know for your tank, with Joey in there, something that can stand up for itself is good, but I just worry about my peaceful firefish, 6 line, cardinals and any new fish I might want to introduce later on like a sailfin tang and a Mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted May 27, 2006 Author Share Posted May 27, 2006 From what I've read, royal grammas tend to hide a lot and tend not to bully or be bullied. I don't have a lot of personal experience yet, though (I've had my tank less than 2 months), so maybe someone with more experience will pipe up. It's also my understanding that it's up to the new fish in the tank to find a territory and the fish who are already there have an advantage. I do think the strategy of pre-selecting a possible territory for the newcomer worked well and I think I'll do that in the future. It's not important to me that they end up there, but it is important to me that everyone have their own space to retreat to and that the newcomer has someplace safe to go. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejaustin Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 Just to be clear, my Emma is a Royal Gramma (basslet), not a dottyback. The coloring is similar, but the basslets have a dark spot on their dorsal fin. From what I've been reading this evening, the grammas are more peaceful than the dottybacks. FWIW. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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