Thinking about stocking options
 

As most of you know I have a 10 gallon AIO Nano Reef. Since I have been unsuccessful with coral and snails I want to find out the problem(Diatom algea, Overpowering light, or alkalinity even though I tested it was at 3 meg/l but that was Red Sea) But I also want life in the tank. I want to make a reef tank but that doesn't seem like it would work for the tank with the lights I have.

For the moment I was thinking Dwarf Blue Legged Hermit crabs but I also read that crabs may disrupt/agitate coral. Also my track record with inverts so far is bad.

Second option was just a Oc. clownfish, seems safest way to go but I don't know if I would be happy with just one fish(Although I am working on getting the 55 gallon set up).

My third option I was thinking and reading(Also wanting advice and thoughts on) a small mantis shrimp of some sort. I do not know much about them besides they are highly aggressive, can cause alot of pain, will kill any lving thing they can. What I want to know about them is the following :roll:

1: What kinds are able to fit in a 10 gallon tank?(I have read in alot of places there are)
2: What do I have to feed them? What are their feeding habits?
3: Can I keep anything else in the tank?(Macro algae, mushrooms, any inverts)
4: I have heard that there are black ones that hitchhike on LR could I get one of those for the 10 gallon if the LFS has one I can get for free?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, i have no experience with Mantis. I do want to chime in on the coral question. There are many soft corals which are extremely easy to care for. Yellow Star Polyps, Green Star Polyps, some mushrooms... these are basically the type of animals that just need you to keep them wet. There isn't much you can do wrong when caring for them, assuming you change the light bulb at the proper time and keep nitrates low.

I think you would find keeping Clownifhs in a 10 gallon tank to be more difficult. I didn't realize you were having difficulty with your setup. What happened? Did they acclimate well, or just wither away quickly?

All but my zoas did great for awhile but once this brown stuff(Maybe diatom, maybe cyano, maybe dino) made the mushrooms melt, and I haven't seen a trace of the GSP for a week now. The Zoas are slowly melting away... and all my snails have died I believe. I have asked another forum on the mantis shrimp and I think if I can get the problem dealt with I will get one.

But I still don't know what is happening. I think my nitrates are at 0(tested today but don't have a card but compare before after color and what it should look like). I use RO/DI water for top off and WC. I use instant ocean salt, have a fairly even light cycle, but my lights are overpowered for the tank(saving up for a cheap PC fixture). My water has also been cloudy while the brown stuff has been in the tank. I have no idea what is happening.

Brown stuff? Can you post a couple pics? With a tank this small, quick fixes should be easy.

Ivremoved most of it from the tank and it seems to have died down a bit but it might be on the rocks still. I'll try to get a pick when I get home.

Also could I get a yellow tailed damsel and put it in then when I am teady put a mantis in without worry or would I not be able to get away with that?
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just a quick question. how old is/was the tank and how long after the tank was setup was the first fish (and how many) introduced into the tank?

I never put in fish... I did though put in my first snails about a month or so in and a week after three corls and three more snails... Nothing since... About two months in now
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No. The mantis will tear the Yellow Tail Damsel to shreds.

That makes this hard then because since I have a smallish budget I don't wanna spend $40 on a mantis just to have it die from my water or something... Also the mantis would be small when i got it so wouldn't the damsel have a chance for awhile? at least untill I got my 55 gallon up?

Also I was advised by someone to get a turbo(and feed it algae sheets to keep it alive) because it will be safe against the small mantis and clean the tank. Is that good advice? I know that turbo snails aren't meant for small tanks but isn't that just because the small food source?

As soon as the mantis acclimates it will kill everything in the tank with it.