Me again

Dear MySanity:

Yes, peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) and a green clown gobie would make excellent tankmates for your Mustangs (Hippocampus erectus) and are good selections for a 24-gallon nano tank. I would get two of the peppermint shrimp so the hermaphroditic shrimp can reproduce in the aquarium. The peppermint shrimp don’t need to be treated prophylactically and shouldn’t be subjected to hyposalinity or a freshwater dip, while you keep an eye on them. But the green clown gobie — or any other marine fish you are considering — should be quarantined as outlined by Estefano before you introduce them to the aquarium.

By the time the the quarantine period has passed, your nano tank should have adjusted to the heavier bioload from your Mustangs and should be ready for new additions, providing do not over stock the tank. It would be helpful to know what other specimens are already in the 24-gallon nano setup besides the pair of Mustangs. You mentioned live corals in your earlier post, so if you could just give us a quick run down on the live corals you are keeping and any invertebrates you have as sanitation engineers for your cleanup crew, I can give you a better idea of whether or not the tank can safely accommodate new additions.

And it would also be helpful if you can advise us regarding your current aquarium parameters with regard to the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, specific gravity, and water temperature. Let’s verify that the water chemistry is where it should be before you consider introducing new tankmates. That will give us a better idea of how well the aquarium is handling its current bioload and whether the biofiltration can cope with the new additions.

Best of luck with your new nano tank! If you are careful not to overstock it and you follow the recommendations for upgrading and modifying the filtration system to make it more suitable for seahorses, all should go well.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna