20g Saltwater

[freshwaterfishlover]

My Crayfish in my 20g died and I want to make it a saltwater.

How does this sound as a stocking list?:

Whisper 40
Penplex 100w
Live sand
3 Clownfish
6 Gobies Variety Small kind
2 Snails
1 or 2 Shrimp

[cocoa_pleco]

i would only go with a pair of clownfish and less gobies

[gm72]

What happened to the crayfish?

[freshwaterfishlover]

Just looked in the tank today and it was on it side. I moved it a little nothing happened so I assume it's dead. I had the last one last 5 months this one about 3 months.


How about this

2 Clows
4 Small Gobbies
2 Snails
1 Shrimp

[Drumachine09]

Alot of gobys are extremely teritorial. Heres what I would suggest.

1x clown goby (BRIGHT yellow buggers with a personality)
2x clowns
2x cleaner shrimp
5x turbo snails

Any plans for coral?

[freshwaterfishlover]

No Coral since it is my first Saltwater ever. What kind of Clow Goby are you talking about? Any?

Seems to little fish for a 20 Gallon, but I listen to you.

Also is my tank still cycled if I use the same Filter, but change the substrate?

[Dave66]

Google Gobiosoma, its the genus they are talking about. There are many, many small fellows available in that genus for your 20.

Dave

[gm72]

I'm still stuck on why the crayfish died in the first place. This is indicative of a problem. I prefer to solve problems before adding other habitats, but to each his/her own.

[Dave66]

Probably copper in the water, GM.

Dave

[freshwaterfishlover]

Can't tell you why the Crayfish died. No spots or discoloring.

[Dave66]

If it just dropped dead, it was probably due to copper poisoning. Crustaceans are very, very sensitive to it. Could have been accumilating in your tank for a long time. Some water companies still use copper pipes.

Dave

[freshwaterfishlover]

Crayfish just dropped dead. My last Crayfish did the same thing. My FW Snails only live a few months and drop dead. My Ghost Shrimp do fine. My fish are doing better then ever.

Is my 20g still Cycled for the Saltwater tank If I use same Filter, but Diffrent Substrate?

[gm72]

I am suggesting that you determine why your crustaceon died. You have a problem with your water conditions.

[cocoa_pleco]

yes it will be cycled, but we need to figure out why the crayfish died. its a bad sign if he died fast. my old one lived for about 2 years in my tank until he got attacked

[freshwaterfishlover]

Can't help you on this one.

[gm72]

Its not us you need to help, it is yourself. I would, once again, strongly advise we work to determine what went wrong so that you don't repeat the same issue in the future.

[2manyfish]

First off, no your tank will not be cycled. Freshwater bacteria and saltwater bacteria are two different things. You will need to cycle the tank again, once you have switched it over to salt.
If you are having problems (or suspect you are having problems) with copper I would suggest you get a test kit for this. Even though they aren't terribly accurate at least you could get a feel for what is going on in your water. OR you could take a sample to your LFS and see if they will test it for you.
You need to find out what is going on.

Saltwater is different from freshwater in stocking levels. Warm water holds less oxygen than cool water and saltwater holds less oxygen than freshwater so warm saltwater holds the least amount of oxygen of all! Not only that but many saltwater fish are aggressive and must have room to establish their territories.

I would suggest you get a book on the subject - "The Concientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner is a good one to start with.



Edit: to add this link to check out your local water supply....
www.epa.gov/water/