Well, it finally happened. I acquired a JBJ 12-gallon nano-cube for Aquarium Fish International’s editorial office here in Irvine, California. Now, what to put in it? I’ve already determined to go the saltwater route, partly because out of the four tanks currently residing on various editors’ desktops all are freshwater setups.
I’m thinking along the lines of about a 2- to 3-inch-deep crushed coral sandbed, two pieces of eco-friendly live rock that when pushed together form an archway, some mushroom corals (Actinodiscus spp.), one orange spotted goby (Amblyeleotris guttata) and three bumble bee snails (Engina sp.) for clean up.
The “shrooms,” goby and bumble bees are easy to care for, all hail from either the Indo-Pacific or Central Pacific and as a result enjoy roughly the same water parameters. While the gobies max out at 3.5 inches and the snails stay small (a half inch), the mushrooms have the potential to grow fast and get sizable, at least for a nano; however, I can always cull and share them with my friends at the Southern California Marine Aquarium Society.
Here are the care requirements for my proposed livestock (thanks to the LiveAquaria website for these values):
Actinodiscus parameters: moderate lighting and water flow, water temperature in the 70s, hardness between 8 to 12, pH between 8.1 and 8.4, specific gravity between 1.023 and 1.025. Manufactures its own food photosynthetically but also benefits from supplemental feedings of plankton or brine shrimp, which are fed to polyps individually.
Amblyeleotris guttata parameters: minimum tank size of 10 gallons, reef friendly, water temperature is the same, hardness and pH the same, specific gravity begins at 1.020 and goes up to 1.025. Requires a varied diet of fresh or frozen Mysis, brine shrimp and table shrimp; feed twice a day.
Engina sp. parameters: reef friendly, same parameters as the mushrooms, foragers that eat detritus from the live rock and sandbed but also benefit from supplemental feedings of meaty foods.
Let me know what you think of my initial choices. If you have some other ideas, I’d be interested in reading what you have to say. Just leave your ideas in the comment field following this article. I’ll let everyone know what I ultimately stock the new AFI office setup with. I for one am looking forward to your suggestions.
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