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Hey everyone, the tank's coming along pretty well, I now have 4 turbo snails, 4 scarlet reef hermits, a peppermint shrimp, some zoanthids and a leather coral that I think is Kenya Tree. I needed to know some things though, first of all, the peppermint shrimp has been hiding since I got him(Saturday), when will he start to make an appearance? Also, should I put any of the corals in the substrate or do they do best on the rocks? I've never thought about what goes where, and I've had to move the zoanthids about a dozen times. Will the kenya tree-looking thing attach the piece of rock it's on to the LR? One last thing, do I need to feed the peppermint shrimp, and if so, what? Should I just leave it on the bottom for him to find at night? Thanks!

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I like Led Zeppelin.

- Your peppermint shrimp will prob stay hiding for a while until he gets used to the tank.

-and about the corals it depends on the amount of light they need and the amount of water movement so either place would be fine but i really dont know much about either of those corals so thats for someone else to answer.

- the kenya tree will probably stay on the rock that it come on corals dont really move on theyre own.

-if he hasnt been eating you should try hand feeding it some flakes from a good flake food brand. i did this with my cleaner shrimp and it worked well.

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pnh

My peppermint is not really shy at all but he will not handfeed like my cleaner. Make sure you don't have the very shy and somewhat nocturnal camel shrimp instead. These are often sold as peppermints but will eat corals and especially zoanthids.

To feed the shrimp just start dropping some food in an empty corner or somewhere that any fish or other critters are less likely to find it. After a day or 2 the shrimp will get the idea and start checking that area for food. Eventually peppermints will wait for you when you come to feed the tank. Camel shrimp will always stay hidden and go scavenging mostly at night. Most shrimp will eat any sinking food and foods made specifically for inverts are a plus. They also like frozen foods at least occasionally.

You shouldn't move corals around that much. It tends to stress them out. Luckily you have 2 sturdy corals, otherwise they might not take kindly to being moved. Zoanthids will spread on just about anything, and make a good filler between corals. Depending on your light they can be placed lower in the tank, but can also tolerate very high lighting if acclimated to it slowly. I'd place them somewhere on your rocks near the bottom then slowly move them upwards if you want them higher.

The kenya tree is similar, it will grow and spread in a different manner, but will also attach to surrounding rocks. Most leathers can also tolerate a wide range of lighting conditions, and can be placed nearly anywhere in the tank and do well, as long as there isn't too much water flow. As long as they aren't getting blasted, they will be fine.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

So will the kenya tree attach to the main rock over time? I'm sorry about moving the zoanthids so much, but every spot I tried was too shaded or it fell off or was getting blasted by water. I found a good spot, but my hermits might knock it over.

As for the shrimp, I don't want to teach him to only come out at night, how can I train him or get him adapted to the day and coming out to eat more? The only sinking food I have is Algae Wafers I use for my cories. Also, I know it's not a camel because it has no hump and this dealer won't even sell me things I can't have or shouldn't get, even for profit.

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I like Led Zeppelin.

Alot of stores just don't know they are camels instead of peppermints. That's how I ended up with mine. He's pretty cool but going to have to move out when I add corals. Peppermints will come out in the day if you just keep feeding the same spot in the tank with sinking foods. Preferably where fish and other critters have some trouble getting to it. I don't know if they'll eat algae wafers but probably. They seem to go after about anything even if it's not their preferred food. They aren't quite as friendly and a little more picky than cleaner shrimp but otherwise act the same.

Ok then, I'm positive about the peppermint though. I dropped some flake food in a corner last night, I'm about to go see if he ate it. I would try to hand feed him but he retreated to a hole in the back middle of the tank somewhere, I can't even see him. Also, what is a good brand of sinking food for inverts? I bought some Wardley SpectraWhatever flakes for my fish, but a dealer told me that he thinks Ocean Nutrition is the best food. Any thoughts?

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I like Led Zeppelin.

For fish flakes I would prefer ocean nutrition. For shrimp sometimes I just use wardley shrimp pellets but they aren't very good quality. Right now I have a homemade pellet specifically for shrimp that a guy who breeds them gave me. I also have HBH crab and lobster bites and snail biscuits that are designed for freshwater snails but all inverts like it and the ingredients are very high quality. Except I can't find the site for snail biscuits right now.

Ok, what does anyone know about placing the corals?

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I like Led Zeppelin.

I gave you my opinion in my post - if you were asking where to place them. As far as how, some corals just need to be placed - while most will do best if you attach them with an aquarium safe epoxy.

Most shrimp love frozen krill IME.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Ok, I think I'm going to get the AquaStik Epoxy in Foster and Smith, but not actually order it from them.

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I like Led Zeppelin.

Well, I got some pictures, and the Kenya is still holding on. I'm not moving it any more unless I need to (let me know if I do), so it should get better. Do I need to add any nutrients for these inverts? Should I feed them any?

teh kenya

the "fuzzy" polyps

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I like Led Zeppelin.

I may be wrong but the "kenya" seems to me to be xenia, it looks kinda like this.
http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/images/xenia.jpg
*this isnt my pic, this is from coralreefecosystems, credit goes to them.*

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

Both basically feed off of dissolved nutrients and light. They aren't very demanding corals. The zoos look like a nice shade of light blue. Is that their actual color or just the picture?

Actually RBMark, the kenya tree coral is the common name for capnella sp., not xenia. Similar looking corals though.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

That would be the lights giving them the light blue color, they're mostly the same as all zoanthids. They are fluorescing though, so that's a bit of variety. Also, I did find a website that sells blue polyps for cheap.

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I like Led Zeppelin.

they're mostly the same as all zoanthids

if you mean brown, that's not the color of all zoanthids. Zoanthids come in any color of the rainbow, in many combinations too. I have green, orange, purple, and some that are blue/green. Those are common colors - nothing crazy. I've seen reds and blues and other colors that are really impressive.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Well the kenya perked up some in its new spot in the substrate, it's really an ideal spot for any coral. How big will they get? When I go on Friday to get my first fish I'm planning on getting a yellow watchman goby, the guy told me they are very unique. Any thoughts on this?

EDIT: As you might have guessed, since the zoanthids aren't that light blue, the kenya tree isn't either. It's a nice pink, close to the color of this smiley--->

EDIT TO THE EDIT: I really like corals that are kind of clear, does anyone know of any beginner corals that are translucent?

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I like Led Zeppelin.

Most corals shouldn't be clear. I can't think of any off the top of my head that are supposed to be.

The yellow watchman goby isn't really unique or rare, but they are neat fish. If the tank's all cycled through with the LR and everything tests right I'd say that he would be an ok first fish as long as you keep up on your end of the deal...water changes and other maintenance.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

haHA! I now have 2 firefish! They ate some frozen food too.

EDIT: I typed that right as I was running out the door, just made it brief. I did get 2 firefish, and yes, they ate some sliced up Formula 1. They are doing fine, they have been since I put them in, and they love the food. I'll try for a pic, but they're not much for sitting still.

EDITEDIT: What does anyone know about boxer crabs? I'm very intrigued by them and the dealer says they live very well in his tanks, but everything I read online says they have a very low survival rate in captivity. Comments?

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I like Led Zeppelin.