5g N. wennerae pico

[SaltyCabbage]

Tank as of 1/17/2024 a sad update…

The tank crashed and it looks like I lost everything. The pair of tiger gobies have died and the Gramma was breathing heavy on the rocks when I checked on the tank last Friday morning. It passed in a qt tank the next morning.

2/6/2024 update Little bugger popped out this morning! Idk what took it so long but I'm happy to know it's alive.
I haven’t seen or heard the mantis in a while either, I could be molting but I’m not holding my breath honestly.

I’ve let the tank go and it’s looking pretty bad. Algae is growing faster than I can remove it.

I’m going to give the tank some time to sit before I add anything. The tank is full of pods and other tiny life so it’s not totally dead, and a huge brittle star seems to have made it just fine so not all hope is lost.


First build post.

I’ve had this empty 5g Fluval spec sitting around for a while and originally planned on a barnacle blenny tank full of softies and macro. But when ordering my rock from TampaBay Saltwater this little green mantis caught my eye and I had to have it.

Equipment list

Fluval 5g spec

Stock pump

Hygger mini return pump (wave makers were too big imo)

10w Nicrew clip on light

Two 3.6w 460nm artinic led strips

50w Aqueon heater

custom acrylic lid (came with tank)

9~lbs base rock/rubble from TBS

3~lbs premium base rock from TBS

9~lbs live sand from TBS

One large barnacle cluster


And the usual salty supplies (food, test kits, etc)


Livestock list

One regular blue damsel (temp home to keep cycle while I was waiting for the TBS order) - removed 8/24/23

Hand full of hermits, mostly blue legged and a couple orange clawed.

Two astrea snails

A few conchs have shown up

6? Gorilla crabs for mantis food

One tiny tiger goby (best freebie!!)

And the N. Wennerae mantis shrimp (around 1”-1.5”)

One Royal gramma - added 8/26/23


Setting up the tank.

I quickly glued the led strips to the lid with superglue gel, doesn’t need to be pretty just has to hold! And I’m not mounting the Nicrew light, just have it resting on the lid.

I filled the tank with sand and water on Aug 12th and added the barnacle cluster and some rock from My main DT AIO chamber to get some bacteria going. As well as a fake plant for the damsel when it’s added.

I added the damsel the following Tuesday when the tank was sucking down about 2ppm ammonia within 24hrs. After adding the damsel I had a slight ammonia spike but everything has been stable since then. Probably should have added more rock but you live and learn.


No water changes till the Friday the 18th. I had noticed something precipitating in the water on Friday so I did a large 50% wc and that seemed to have cleared it up.

Tbs order arrives

On Monday the 21st the order from TBS arrived at the airport so I picked it up, did a small 1g wc and started getting the rocks and sand ready for the 5g.

After adding the sand and rock the tank was nice and cloudy!

Letting the tank sit overnight it seems to have cleared up almost 100%. Here is the tank on Aug 22nd

So far I’ve only lost one gorilla crab and one of
the astrea snails. Mantis and goby are doing well!

Will get better pictures of the mantis today, it made it’s burrow in a barnacle and has blocked the opening with rocks and shells. Seems to be doing alright!

Thank you all for reading. This is my first build thread and I’m sure I messed a few things up. I apologize if this isn’t formatted correctly!

Happy reefing all!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Forgot to add to original post, the little Mantis does a flip!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Decided to catch the little damsel last night and move it to a larger display. If I had known it would take an over an hour to catch it in a 5g tank I would have waited till the morning lol. Was worried about the stress but thankfully it’s back to normal this morning.

Had do move everything to get it so the tank got rescaped. Honestly like the look!

Sorry for the salty glass, just took a quick pic this morning before leaving for work.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Added a gramma yesterday from my DT. It stayed under an overhang since I added it a few months ago never really leaving or exploring the tank so I’m hoping this tank is a bit less stressful for it even though it houses the mantis.

I’ll be adding some more rock on the right to give it a larger area to hide in and chill around, or removing it if I notice any stress on the animals.

So far it’s eaten some mysis and tdo pellets. It’s taken to the right of the tank and spends its time swimming through the rocks like an eel and occasionally swimming open water. It seems less stressed in this tank but I’ll know for sure after a month.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

The tiger goby is doing very well. It’s actively pecking at everything and swimming all around the rocks. Next time I order rocks I’m definitely grabbing a few more!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Been a bust few weeks, though the tank is doing pretty well!

I got a few zoa frags, a green paly, and a nice grubes gorgonian over the past weekend. Im hoping to make this a mainly zoa tank with a few soft corals like the gorgonian and some anthelia.

macros are growing in very well, I added some grape caulerpa on September 2nd as I want more green and less undesirable growths. I want to add one more species but I can’t decide between dragons breath or red grape caulerpa.

The blushing star coral has started to get inflorescence in its polyps! It seems to be growing well, it extends all day and has a nice
feeding response.

The mantis was acting very odd for a minute. Swimming erratically, curling without a threat, flashing the glass etc. I posted a thread if you want to read through it.

After lots of observation and help from the community here I’ve decided the mantis is just weird and was stressed from possibly molting and not having a proper burrow. it’s been much more calm and seems to have chilled out now.

Other than that the tank has remained the same. Ugly phase is going away pretty quickly and I’m noticing lots of new organisms like feather dusters and bivalves everyday.

Here’s a photo dump of everything!!

And of course the cute little goby lol, I knew I would like this guy but not this much! Absolutely my favorite saltwater fish so far.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Tank is looking great!

 

[StatelineReefer]

I just started my own N. Wennerae journey! Good to know I'm not alone with them acting unexpectedly. Mine is hiding in the rocks, for three days now. Occasionally I'll hear a dactyl click, so I know she's still in there...

Glad to see yours isn't scared of it's own reflection anymore!!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Tank is looking great!

Thank you!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

I just started my own N. Wennerae journey! Good to know I'm not alone with them acting unexpectedly. Mine is hiding in the rocks, for three days now. Occasionally I'll hear a dactyl click, so I know she's still in there...

Glad to see yours isn't scared of its own reflection anymore!!

Fun stuff! What have you got yours set up in?

And yeah they’re definitely weird creatures lol, hopefully yours calms down a bit!

 

[StatelineReefer]

Fun stuff! What have you got yours set up in?

And yeah they’re definitely weird creatures lol, hopefully yours calms down a bit!

Just an Eshopps 4.8g Deskmate. Noopsyche light, probably will end up being more of a planted tank with macroalgae for nutrient control.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Just an Eshopps 4.8g Deskmate. Noopsyche light, probably will end up being more of a planted tank with macroalgae for nutrient control.

Nice, Will look great full of macro!!

I almost grabbed the Eshops 4.8g as well but this Fluval 5g popped on marketplace for $70 with an extra return and I couldn’t turn it down.

I definitely want to upgrade my light, and I’ve been looking into the Noopsyche lights. How are you liking yours for a smaller tank?

 

[StatelineReefer]

Nice, Will look great full of macro!!

I almost grabbed the Eshops 4.8g as well but this Fluval 5g popped on marketplace for $70 with an extra return and I couldn’t turn it down.

I definitely want to upgrade my light, and I’ve been looking into the Noopsyche lights. How are you liking yours for a smaller tank?

The noopsyche is a lot of light. A LOT of light. I run it at 20% max for the 5 gallon, but you literally can't beat the price for it's capability.

 

[PokeFish]

Been a bust few weeks, though the tank is doing pretty well!

I got a few zoa frags, a green paly, and a nice grubes gorgonian over the past weekend. Im hoping to make this a mainly zoa tank with a few soft corals like the gorgonian and some anthelia.

macros are growing in very well, I added some grape caulerpa on September 2nd as I want more green and less undesirable growths. I want to add one more species but I can’t decide between dragons breath or red grape caulerpa.

The blushing star coral has started to get inflorescence in its polyps! It seems to be growing well, it extends all day and has a nice
feeding response.

The mantis was acting very odd for a minute. Swimming erratically, curling without a threat, flashing the glass etc. I posted a thread if you want to read through it.

After lots of observation and help from the community here I’ve decided the mantis is just weird and was stressed from possibly molting and not having a proper burrow. it’s been much more calm and seems to have chilled out now.

Other than that the tank has remained the same. Ugly phase is going away pretty quickly and I’m noticing lots of new organisms like feather dusters and bivalves everyday.

Here’s a photo dump of everything!!

And of course the cute little goby lol, I knew I would like this guy but not this much! Absolutely my favorite saltwater fish so far.

get some dwarf nerites in there! theyll clean up all the nasties

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Someone decided to say hello!

Not much to update on the tank, fish are doing great and eating well. Macro is growing in and uglies are going away. Am happy with it so far!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Been feeding mysis with a coral feeder and the sound of the mantis hitting the acrylic is absolutely adorable lol.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Always fun seeing the mantis’s stomach change color depending on what it ate. When I feed mysis it’s black and when I feed TDO pellets it turns orange lol.

Nothing to update on the tank, coral and macro are growing nicely and uglies are pretty much gone. Fish and inverts are doing good as well!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

The mantis spent all weekend throwing sand everywhere and making shell piles in front of the burrows. It looks pretty proud of itself lol.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

New frags!!

Headed down to Texas for RAP 2023 this past weekend and had a great time! Was really nice speaking to the vendors and listening to the brs/wwc talk.

After the show on Sunday my girlfriend and I checked out some fish shops and stopped in The Coral Station. We met the owners Jason and Venucia and they’re great people!! We talked about the show for a bit and I grabbed some frags. One red Goni, one blue ricordea mushroom, and two regular rhodactis mushrooms. I’ll definitely be back for more lol.

Everything made it home alright, polyps are extending and the blue mush has already eating a whole tdo pellet.

Can’t wait to head back down in a few weeks and check out some more fish shops!

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Very odd growth has appeared on a rock. I was assuming some type of hydroid colony but can’t find anything online that matches this. Anyone wanna take a stab at this?