I've woken this morning and found my little Emperor Cardinal dead under a rock.   9/28/08
Hi Everyone , I'm calling from England UK , and am desperately needing to find out why my little Emperor
<aka Banggai>
suddenly died suddenly overnight. I have a 100 litre marine aquarium
<A small volume...>
which is currently stocked with 2 clown fish,
<Their territory>
1 large Emperor cardinal , (the little Emperor who has now perished) , 1 fire shrimp , 6 red legged hermit crabs , 6 blue legged hermit crabs , and 1 coral introduced 1 week ago.
<Mmm, what species?>
The aquarium is stocked well with live rock , and I have stringently followed all recommendations since starting my hobby some 3 months ago. All the other fish appear well - and this little guy was actually the more active of the two - and he also appeared to feed better too. We couldn't find him this morning - and it took ages to locate him - he didn't appear to be previously unwell - and he and the others don't seem to look any different at all. Nothing appears untoward and they were both purchased from a reputable stockist which quarantines prior to sale and were sharing the same tank at the store. We found him wedged under a rock and I can't understand how he could have got himself there. I conduct weekly 10% water-changes , and add 'Gamma NutraPlus' reef feed 3mls daily as recommended. The fish are fed a varied diet of flake and frozen feed and I have had no other concerns until this morning. He was such a character - and I can't believe he just died like that with no apparent cause - as I say - he looks just as he did when I bought him. The water is tested weekly and has been excellent at last test 7 days ago: salt 1.022;
<Too low, esp. for the "coral">
PH 8.17 ; phosphate 0.14 ; KH 11; calcium 480.
<Mmm, a bit high>
I only started using the reef feed 1 week ago - could this be linked???
<Doubtful>
Thank you for your time Grainne .Birmingham. UK
<Likely just "stress" from being in such a little world, with agonistic fishes (the Clowns) it couldn't get away from... This is a social species... that lives in small shoals... of spaces about the size of your couch... I would not add any more fish here. Bob Fenner>

Banggai biotope stocking list
Banggai Cardinal Biotope!   6/19/08
Hi, Scott Fellman! This is the obsessive cardinal-biotope planner again. (I expect you may get up and run for cover--I did at least warn you <g>).
<I'll be sure to wear knee pads so I can hide under the nearest table.. heheh!>
I hope your presentation went well last month. Someday I'd like to go to one of those conventions.
<Would love to see you at one...Imagine, 1,000 fish geeks from all over the world in one hotel!>
Well, you're going to laugh at me, but I ended up going back to a Banggai biotope for my 75G setup.
>I'll NEVER laugh at a fellow biotope geek!>
I wasn't able to find Pajama Cardinals captive-bred, and from everything I've read Montipora digitata sounded like a more beginner-friendly SPS than Porites.
<True!>
Anyway, I've finally got the tank up and running, though not cycled yet. I just wanted to check in with you about the setup and my proposed stocking list and see if it sounds biotope-accurate--not to mention compatible--to you. This is going to be very long, so please forgive me.
<You are forgiven...LOL>
After some research, I decided against a seagrass biotope. I love the way they look and would like to try one someday, but I'm still a rank amateur of 7 months in this hobby and want to stick to stuff I'm reasonably sure of being able to keep alive and healthy. Seagrasses sound a little too challenging at this point.
<I can appreciate your hesitancy. In actuality, Seagrasses really aren't that tough to keep. They do require a rather mature sandbed and an understanding of their needs. I think the toughest part of their husbandry is providing nutrients and waiting for them to put down roots and start growing.>
But after spending a lot of time on Flickr (which turned out to be a really good resource for diving pictures), I came up with the idea of modeling my tank after some Lembeh Strait habitats that I saw.
Apparently Banggais have become naturalized there. I'll just leave out the human-created trash and rubbish that apparently is also found there... :(
<Yeah- that's a feature that we can do without!.>
For substrate, I've got about 1" (may add more) of Carib-Sea Indo-Pacific Black live sand (fine whitish aragonite sand mixed with black volcanic sand, plus a few bigger chunks of coral rock and even shells), which is close to the color of the sand I've seen in a lot of Indonesian diving pics.
<I have used this substrate in my seagrass biotope system and really like it.>
I'm not a big fan of the usual wall-o'-rock covered with corals (although they can look spectacular), so instead I just got 3 good-sized pieces of nice aquacultured Indo-Pacific live rock from my LFS, plus a smaller piece and some little bits, just a little bigger than rubble, to scatter on the sandbed.
<A nice layout. A smattering of live rock rubble makes an interesting, open aquascape.>
They all have good coralline algae growth already and came with some nice little hitchhikers--Stomatellas and Asterina, even some tiny sponges. I have the 2 biggest rocks and the smaller one grouped together (not stacked) at one side of the tank, and the last, more interestingly shaped rock alone on the other side, with open sand between and around them.
<Very nice!>
In the open area of sand, I've planted a patch of Halimeda discoidea (I think it's discoidea) that has been doing really well in my nano (also figured I would incorporate a little microfauna from an established tank with it). I've seen pictures of this macroalgae in a lot of Indonesian biotopes, including in Sulawesi. (If only the ghost pipefish that live in it were hardy and available captive-bred! So cool!)
<Agreed- my favorite fish of all time...Don't know if anyone actually has kept them in captivity, though.>
I also found an interesting-looking decoration at my LFS, consisting of a couple of large barnacle shells with smaller ones encrusting it (all dead and empty, of course), and added that up against of one of the rocks. I'm thinking it might make a nice shelter for one of the fish species I'm considering. I have to admit, I really like the way this tank is starting to look.
<I'm really happy to hear that! Send pics!>
I'm having a canopy made for me (hope to pick it up this week) with PCs, which will come out to about 5 WPG of light (mostly daylight with some actinic). Eventually I plan to add a clip-on metal halide fixture to create those glitter lines that look so pretty in marine tanks. For filtration, I would really like to try the Ecosystem method of a refugium containing mud and macroalgae (Chaeto?).
<Chaetomorpha is a much better choice than Caulerpa, IMO.>
The tank isn't drilled, so I'd have to use an HOB refugium. Unfortunately the Ecosystem refugiums are expensive, so I'm going to see if the LFS guy who's building my canopy can make me an acrylic HOB refugium as well. Should I supplement this with a skimmer? I also have a power filter (which I'm using on the tank right now, with carbon) that could provide supplemental filtration.
<A good place for chemical filtration media.>
Finally, for the CUC, I'm planning to order the Live Sand Activator Plus package from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms, and also add some of their hermits, tiny brittle stars, spaghetti worms, pods, and some other tiny invertebrates.
<A great company to deal with, and nice products, too.>
I'll do this after I have the lights up and running. I was also thinking of maybe adding some Chlorodesmis fastigiata to either the sandbed (interspersed with the Halimeda) or on the rocks. Would this be biotope-appropriate?
<It would be fine.>
Now for the livestock. One of the reasons I've been so finicky and obsessive about this project is that I'm planning to stock this biotope with all captive-bred or -propagated fishes and corals and even invertebrates (when possible). With the exception of the sand, so far everything in my tank has come out of my existing system or someone else's, instead of the wild, and I'd like to keep it that way. I want this tank to be as sustainable as possible. There are so many crushing pressures on wild reefs, and we hobbyists *do* have a significant impact on those habitats, whether we want to admit to that responsibility or not. I also really admire the good people attempting to reduce that pressure by raising and selling CB fishes and CP corals and think they don't get enough support in this hobby from short-sighted people who want to save a few bucks by buying those same animals wild-caught. *deep breath* OK, off the soapbox, end of PSA--on to the critters!
<An excellent attitude/philosophy!>
For fish, I'm going to keep CB Banggais (of course); I'll start out with a group of 5 or so juveniles, but in all likelihood I expect to end up with a pair and to have to return the rest once they're sexually mature. Since 2 small fish in a 75 would look a little sparse, I also am thinking of adding one or two CB Meiacanthus grammistes--I've actually seen a picture of these together with Banggais in Sulawesi. The Fangblennies seem to like hiding in tubular structures like sponges and shells, according to pictures I've seen, which is why I added the barnacles (I'm not even going to attempt any sponges that aren't already on my live rock at this point; they sound difficult). I'm really going for an accurate micro-habitat here, so I don't know what other fish I would add, if any. (there's also the challenge of finding biotope-accurate fish that are also available captive-bred)
<There actually might be some captive breeding of Meiacanthus species-not 100% sure. If you do end up getting them, I'd quarantine them very carefully. The wild-caught ones I've kept almost always come in with some sort of intestinal parasites.>
Corals: I haven't actually seen any pictures of Montipora digitata in the Lembeh Strait/Sulawesi diving pictures I've looked at, but since Montipora is such a common genus I'm assuming they're there! I'll have at least one frag of green digitata, plus maybe one or two more color morphs--maybe pink and/or purple. I don't want it to look like a jumble. I'm also thinking of adding a frag of Xenia (the long-polyped brown kind), which I've seen in pictures of that habitat.
<Very nice!>
I've also seen Euphyllia in some of the pictures (I think it was glabrescens), which could also kind of visually stand in for an anemone, but I've had bad luck with Euphyllias being aggressive in the past. Maybe I could have it on the opposite side of the tank from the digitata... then again, maybe I should just stick with the SPS to be on the safe side.
<I'd stick with one or the other. They ARE very aggressive corals and can cause great harm to stony corals in this sized aquarium.>
Alternatively, I might like a Favites or a Fungia (might not have enough room, though) instead, if those would work and not nettle my Montipora. I also was thinking of adding a few polyps--maybe some Zoanthids on the sandbed. Do you know of any species or colors that would be appropriate?
<Colors are strictly up to you. I like the bright ones, myself-but some folks even like the drab brown ones! BTW, Fungia look great against the Indo Pacific Black sand!>
Finally, for inverts, I would like a few ornamental shrimp. I've read that Banggais may prey on ornamental shrimp when they're full-grown, so I had considered getting a mated pair of Stenopus hispidus on the assumption that they might be feisty enough to fend off marauding cardinals. On the other hand, I'm worried that they might be a little too feisty for the other inverts (and maybe even smaller fish like the Meiacanthus). Should I stick to Lysmata instead?
<I'd stick to the Lysmata. The Stenopus can be aggressive, and since the Cardinals aren't exactly fast swimmers, they could be susceptible to attack.>
Anyway, thanks for having the stamina to make it through this huge, long message. Any comments, suggestions, and/or advice welcome. :)
<I totally think that you're on the right track here! I would highly encourage you to keep the coral diversity down to maybe 3 species, distributed throughout the aquarium. Try to minimize allelopathic competition as much as possible, and stay true to your stocking plan. The results will be healthy fishes and a unique display that you can be proud of! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>

Nano stocking question ) 3/14/07
Hey all,
<Hi there Darby!  Mich here.>
     Seems every week or two, I have another question, invariably due to some misadventure....  This time, it goes like this:  
    I have a NanoCube 24.  Last week, its' residents were a Yellow Tail Damsel, some small hermit crabs, a few snails, 4 different kinds of Button polyps, and two different sizes and colors of Star polyps.  I have also been running a 7 gal. refugium to culture copepods for a friends Mandarin.
<What a nice friend!>
    Over the weekend, the afore mentioned friend awoke to find his tank cracked and leaking, possibly due to his dogs knocking a chair into it while playing in the night.  
<Yikes!>
He promptly bagged up his fish (the Psychedelic and a Royal Gramma), and awoke me, handed me the fish, and left.  His parting words were "I won't be mad if they don't survive, they haven't been eating anything lately anyways..."
<Uh oh!>
    Well, I can assure you that they are eating fine.  Voracious, in fact.  
<Oh!  Very good!>
I gave them an adjustment time of 4 hours after their slow acclimation to the tank, then fed them live Brine Shrimp.  
<Nutritional value is poor.>
I swear, the Royal Gramma was trying to take the syringe out of my hand!  
<Hee!>
The Psychedelic also ate with relish, but only after I had managed to squirt a few shrimpies over his head where he could see them.  Ok, so all is well, and it looks like I may be keeping these guys indefinitely.
<OK.>
    Now, before this occurred, I had ordered a pair of Banggai Cardinals for my LFS.  They arrive tomorrow.  The question is:  Should I purchase them and bring them home, or will my tank be over-stocked?
<I think overstocked.  Too crowed psychologically.>
    There are plenty of places for the Cardinals to hide, should they wish to (including 2 good caves), and so far the Royal Gramma and the Damsel are getting along like good buddies and all is peaceful.  I really hope to keep it that way too!
<Then don't add the Cardinals.>
Thanks a bunch!
<Welcome!  -Mich>
Darby