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Dr.Fragenstein · 11-21-2008, 07:37 AM

Angela, as far as fish are concerned you have a pretty stocked tank as is, if it were my tank I'd have maybe 3 fish, actually when I had my 29gal setup I had a firefish and two scooter blennies. I know it doesn't seem like many fish but salt water contains less o2 than freshwater, NH4 is more toxic and the fish are more territorial. With that said I would HIGHLY suggest no more fish.
As far as clean up crews are concerned, many of the mentioned problems hair algae and aiptasia are spurred by elevated nutrients in the water. Water changes are your friend!! I am not saying w/c will solve everything BUT it will greatly discourage nuisence algae and invasive anemones.
Hair algae will be eaten by tangs(DON'T ADD TO YOUR TANK!) a few blennies(also DON'T ADD AT THIS POINT) some dwarf crabs(only get DWARF) and snails(if the HA is short enough) With that said, I would try to trim the HA to a short length and let a few snails and crabs polish it off. In your tank I would add maybe 5 red leg DWARF crabs and maybe 3-4 astraea, or trochus snails and let them help out.
For the aiptasia, butterflies will eat them(DON'T ADD TO TANK!) peppermint shrimp will eat them only if the aiptasia is small and you will need a small "pack" of the shrimp to be effective, maybe 3-5. Also, berghia nudibranchs will eat them but EVERYONE-PLEASE, LEAVE THESE CREATURES ON THE REEF! THEY ARE OBLIGATE AIPTASIA EATERS AND DIE WITHOUT THEM!!!!
Other than that Angela, keeping the tank clean on your own by proper maintainace will help curtail some of these issues.
Oh, I forgot to mention, Red Sea's Aiptasia X is VERY good at killing aiptasia effectively.

Good luck

11-21-2008, 07:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
Dr.Fragenstein Panda Puffer Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 2,108 Skin: Mint Karma: 26304	Angela, as far as fish are concerned you have a pretty stocked tank as is, if it were my tank I'd have maybe 3 fish, actually when I had my 29gal setup I had a firefish and two scooter blennies. I know it doesn't seem like many fish but salt water contains less o2 than freshwater, NH4 is more toxic and the fish are more territorial. With that said I would HIGHLY suggest no more fish. As far as clean up crews are concerned, many of the mentioned problems hair algae and aiptasia are spurred by elevated nutrients in the water. Water changes are your friend!! I am not saying w/c will solve everything BUT it will greatly discourage nuisence algae and invasive anemones. Hair algae will be eaten by tangs(DON'T ADD TO YOUR TANK!) a few blennies(also DON'T ADD AT THIS POINT) some dwarf crabs(only get DWARF) and snails(if the HA is short enough) With that said, I would try to trim the HA to a short length and let a few snails and crabs polish it off. In your tank I would add maybe 5 red leg DWARF crabs and maybe 3-4 astraea, or trochus snails and let them help out. For the aiptasia, butterflies will eat them(DON'T ADD TO TANK!) peppermint shrimp will eat them only if the aiptasia is small and you will need a small "pack" of the shrimp to be effective, maybe 3-5. Also, berghia nudibranchs will eat them but EVERYONE-PLEASE, LEAVE THESE CREATURES ON THE REEF! THEY ARE OBLIGATE AIPTASIA EATERS AND DIE WITHOUT THEM!!!! Other than that Angela, keeping the tank clean on your own by proper maintainace will help curtail some of these issues. Oh, I forgot to mention, Red Sea's Aiptasia X is VERY good at killing aiptasia effectively. Good luck _________ Big glass tank lit by thin glass bulbs.... SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS! My Tank Thread... If you have T5 questions go here... T5 Questions ... Last edited by Dr.Fragenstein; 11-21-2008 at 07:38 AM. Reason: Can't spell by!