After posting the post with the tips, I thought I should share some photos and maybe a rundown of what all is in the tank. I bought 5 pounds more of live rock, which brings the total up to 11 pounds of live rock now. I also got a deal on some baby Kenya Tree Coral (Capnella sp.).
This photo is of the entire tank with all of the live rock in place. The tank looks more full now, but there is plenty of swimming room for my little fish. I left large "holes" between the stacked rock on the right, as the cleaner shrimp likes to hang upside down waiting for a fish that needs "cleaned" to wander by! You can also see my skimmer in the rear right side of the tank.
Here is a picture of the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp who is a relatively new addition to the tank. He is REALLY good at picking up leftover food that makes its way to the bottom that the fish dont get. He's quick, and will have the bottom cleaned up in minutes! When he's done eating, he goes in his favorite hole in the rocks, waiting to clean the fish too! I got him cuz of his cleaning ability, but he's pretty, too! He adds some color to the tank. One of the goals of this tank is to make it as colorful as possible. Saltwater life is very colorful.
This weekend, I thought I'd try my hand at keeping a coral. This is the Brown Tree Coral, or Kenya Tree Coral I spoke of. It's a baby off of a larger piece at the fish store. I actually got 2 of these, one I "planted" in the sand, another I put on one of the rocks. The one the store had was actually a little bit on the large size, and from what I read, these grow relatively fast, but they apparently cal also be "pruned" also. Thought I'd try this as it's supposedly a very hardy variety.
Here is a nice picture of the cleaner shrimp, the damsel and Nemo, the Clownfish. The other coral is visible on the top of the rock in the foreground. My cardinalfish is partially visible behind the rock in the foreground. He hides when I take pictures, I think he's a bit camera shy. I have another shrimp, he is shy too, and comes out mostly at night or during feeding time, and even then, he stays partially hidden in the rocks.
Here is one of my little hermit crabs. These cute little guys (I have 2) scour the bottom looking for old, leftover food that the shrimp dont get. I also have two snails that feed on the algae and helps keep that under control. I have a fair amount of green algae growing on the tank walls, but it gives the snails something to eat. As long as the front glass is clear, I dont worry about the sides and back.
Well, there you have it, these are the major players in this little aquarium. This is all in a 10 gallon! Although most salt tanks are in massive tanks, dont let that stop you. Saltwater is doable in a smaller tank too!