Fish/Invert only Saltwater

[Trinityblood]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to starting up the reef tank again! It'll probably be a few years before that happens, though. They're a real pain to move, even something as small as a 30 gallon. Whenever it happens, I'll either be doing a percula clown and bubbletip anemone tank or a small soft and LPS coral reef with gobies and shrimp.

Tiger conchs and fighting conchs are probably the same conch, just by a different common name. Yours looks just like the fighting conch I used to have. If you continue to have trouble with your shrimp bullying your conch, try deepening the sand bed a bit. The conch should make use of the deeper sandbed to burrow away from the shrimp.

Two Ocellaris clowns, a peppermint shrimp, and a clown goby will definitely be okay in a 20 gallon if your tank is established and your filtration is sufficient. The addition of the royal gramma is where things get iffy. They're more active than the clownfish and clown goby, and more suited to a 30 gallon tank than a 20 gallon. Try adding your clown goby, seeing how things work out, and going from there.

That's part of what kept me away from tanks, too. Moving too much.

That sounds like an awesome setup. Can't wait.

I believe Tiger/Fighting conchs are different. The tiger conch goes by a few different names (like strawberry) and fighting isn't one of them. Their scientific names are different, too. Correct me if I'm wrong. Tiger seems the smaller of the two species.

Tiger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conomurex_luhuanus

Fighting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strombus

Yes, for sure. I've been adding livestock in stages and will be waiting longer before deciding when/how to add. Goby is a safe bet a bit later on. Gramma is, as you say, the iffy one.

Thank you for posting Trinityblood. Nice looking tank and fish.

I've found keeping fish, in general, is more demanding than reptiles.

The technology has improved for both reptile keeping and fish keeping, making both hobbies easier, but reptiles have a little more margin for error in general. You still cannot get away from water changes in fish tanks, which are more demanding and prone to error than changing paper in a reptile tank (or whatever substrate you use).

I also think the amount of information out there is better and more accessible. There is still bad info and people who don't want to learn how to do things properly or think they know better. However, if you want good info, you can usually find it. When I was kid, you couldn't Google "Nitrogen Cycle" or "Reptile Thermostat." I was super reliant back then on books and pet store staff. Not always a good thing.

Anyway, I digressed. I really like tank and I am glad you started a post on your tank.

Thanks!

Funny, I got a reptile partly to convince myself to not get fish. But the itch didn't go away....It didn't for 10 years and I kidded myself lol. They're different worlds in terms of care but both so interesting to learn about and care for. Reptiles are like caring for the animal specifically. Fish is caring for an entire ecosystem.

I hear you on the accessibility part. Back then I got my info from the local fish store and my high school teacher who was teaching the marine class I was in. I was taught to cycle with a fish (with no bacteria in a bottle or tips to use prime to reduce ammonia) and had never heard of using a heater. Good thing I never owned a beta. It probably would have lived in a fish bowl. I never would have gotten my ball python if it weren't for all the information on the internet, either. I was exposed to snake keeping that way and all the info made me appreciate the animal and confidant in jumping into owning one though I don't know a soul in real life who owns a reptile.

I'll be waiting for Lincoln updates too!