[TobiasK]

hello
people very new here and new to keeping salt water fish just got my first two fish 2 blue-green cromis the other day and a hermit crab. now the tank i started is a 20 but it will be going to the 37 gallon I have soon. I was wondering what would be a good tank mate for the Blue Green Chromis that is non agressive but has great color?
I was thinking i may go for a lawnmower goby when I get the 37 gallon up and running so maybe something that would be ok with that one to.

I also going to pick up some live rock tomarrow that is comming in to the LFS any good way to pick out live rock ?

thanks all for any advice.

[CSeaSee]

First of all, WELCOME TO REEFLAND!!!
-This 37 gallon tank... what was it used for in the past? How did you acquire it?
-When adding live rock (LR) to a tank with livestock, be sure the LR is completely cured... there should be no odor coming from the rock. Also, beware of hitchikers like aiptasia anemones... these should be avoided. Otherwise, have some sort of an idea about what your aquascape will look like before you go in. Do you want small pieces, or a couple of large pieces?
-As far as tankmates go, a lawnmower goby/blenny whatever probably won't do well in a new tank... go for something a little easier to feed. Royal grammas or valentini puffers are good choices. (Sorry, I can't remember the scientific names) Both are small, hardy, and relatively inexpensive.

[TobiasK]

First thanks for the reply. I had this 37 gallon set up for my african cichlids and it has been set up for about 7 months I was thinking of swaping the water and adding some crushed coral with the substrate I already have in there. I have some new live rock I just got in my 20 long and just got it today so hope it ok I just jumped in to this but I only have some starter fish in there with it and how do I watch out for aiptasia anemones and how would I remove them.
I also didn't notice any smell from the rock other than the smell of salt water on it. The lady at the local fish shop said that it was ok to just put in hope she knew her stuff. I did notice the somthing onthe rock I hope to get a pic of it but it moves looked like a pink worm with spines but went back in to the hole but it realy looks cool knowing my luck its a bad thing to have but it is kind of cool to see how this rock works. I also think I will wait on the goby till my tank has been set up for a a few months and all is well.

thanks again

[CSeaSee]

-Was this 37-gallon EVER treated with copper medicine? If the answer is yes, ditch the tank. Copper is deadly to marine inverts at ridiculously low levels, and it remains in the tank for years. It is much cheaper to get a new tank than to have everything you put in the old one die.
-Freshwater substrate is totally inappropriate for a marine tank. Ditch the old freshwater gravel. As far as marine substrate, choose one that's aragonite-based. This will help your buffering capacity. I have 1/2 of my tank crushed coral and 1/2 sand. Some people will tell you that crushed coral is a detritus trap that leads to water quality problems. I say, if you have good husbandry and regularly vacuum the bed, you will be fine. My tank has been up and running with crushed coral for over three years. I like it because I can view the world of creatures that exist in the substrate easier. Opinions here will vary.
-Your pink spiny thing is a bristleworm. 99.9% of the time, they are great, free additions to tanks, as they will eat detritus and act as scavengers. 0.1% of the time, you'll get some huge predatory beast that eats everything. Don't worry, your description sounds fine to me. I have a lot of these guys in my tank.
-What hardware do you have in there? What are your future plans? Coral or a FOWLR?