Yeah I hate the cold. Here in Miami it's the complete opposite. At about 3 in the afternoon it was almost 85 degrees today. I like fishing too. The florida keys are only about an hour drive south. yay for living in south florida.

Really cool zoas and love the clean look..


ROFL...at least your girlfriend looks at the tank with you, my girlfriend comments on me why I spend so much time looking at it over and over and cleaning it when its not necessary, when it looks the same as it did 5 mins ago.

Hahah My wife is the same way until i add some new corals and then its like "oooooooo that's so pretty"

Yeah, I definitely appreciate my girlfriend's interest. She isn't exactly begging me to run out and buy more coral... but she's interested and intrigued, so I can't ask for much more than that.

Damn, is it Friday yet?? ...this week is dragging by.

That is a wonderful interest that your girlfriend is appreciate what you are doing to your pico. i wish my wife would be that interest and not getting on to me about buying more corals. It's so tough to deal with because all you gonna hear from them is: "You don't love me, you love the pico tank more then me" It make me wanna give it up sometime.. you are lucky to have a gf like that..

I like your pico... with those zoas in it.. im trying to get more zoas and palyps in bright colors as possible. well friday is almost here.. don't worry it gonna go by really quick.. is it still snowing up there in WI? im from the south so its hella hot down here now.. sweaty balls.. lol jk

Nah, it stopped snowing in Wisconsin. Just really cold today. But things are looking up. Now we're supposed to be in the upper 30's... low 40's all weekend.

* UPDATE!! *

Guess what? ...got home from work tonight and my girlfriend told me to come over to the tank real quick. And she pointed out a little baby Brittle Starfish she located in one of the rocks. He must've came in the rock and neither one of us spotted him before until today. I couldn't snap a photo of him... but from leg to leg, he's probably an inch or so. Definitely noticeable. That's pretty cool.

Also took these photos tonight.

My Green Bay Packer zoas are definitely growing... or expanding... or one of them. The polyps have gotten larger. See?




They're starting to "move" down onto this rock a little more and inch their way forward. I noticed two little small polyps underneath the main head... which is really exciting to see! I didn't notice these when I bought the frag.




Here is a photo of the rock on the left hand side with all of the different colors of coralline algae coming in. It is amazing! There's little spots of fluorescent lime green coralline... plus little spots of pink and purple. See?




Here's another photo.



I hope everyone is having a good night!

I really appreciate all of you taking a look at my thread. It's cool to see the replies and read what everyone thinks.

I'm enjoying watching your thread, i think you started your tank not long before me so its interesting so see how something develops in a diff ambient climate, your water chemistry is obv going to be different as if your air quality etc. Your rock looks pretty similar to mine in terms of algal growth and coraline etc. I am well keen for some of the zoa's your able to get your hands on over there. I agree it is awesome coming on and seeing comments on your thread *cough cough* Joking. Keep it up man! I'm enjoying your tank.

Those zoas look nice. It won't be long before they spread and cover that whole rock!

I know I have a very long time ahead of me before I need to consider this... and since there isn't any feasible way of controlling Mother Nature herself... what if I put something else next to this zoas? If I got a frag of 'shrooms and put them next to those zoas... would they both do okay together? Would the mushrooms "halt" the zoas from spreading across the surface of that entire rock?

I'm just thinking long term, I guess... I think in the end, any remaining zoa frags I obtain will try to remain on my sand bed. I like the pink ones where they are... and I like the green ones where they are. But I really need to think about the prime real estate on that live rock. Especially, since I don't want a "zoa only" pico.

How much further can I branch out into different corals given the stock lighting? Am I pretty much regulated to simply zoas and 'shrooms? I don't want to run the risk of hurting anything either...

I just got to work and I swear, I feel like I was just here. Bleh.

I think the range of the bulb and quality of the bulbs makes a difference to be honest. Cheap bulbs will only do the minimum in terms of quality of light but you can probs get good 11w or 18w bulbs. I'm in the same posistion as you.

Nice they do look a little bigger. Oh and by the way, I updated my thread.

Thanks for the reply, man!

* UPDATE!!*

So... I had interesting thing that occurred last night. I posted it in the "Invertebrate" section of the forum, as well. As best as I can tell, one of my hermit crabs crawled out of his shell the night before. I'm guessing he needed to molt... I did not have any spare shells in my pico at the time. I'm under the assumption that perhaps one of my Nassarius Snails or even the BumbleBee Snail disturbed him as he was lying vulnerable on my sand bed. My girlfriend found him on the other side of the tank lying on his back undisturbed. An hour or had passed and by that time, the BumbleBee Snail was making a snack out of him. All that remained was a couple of small claws. I am 100% sure this was not a molt... it wasn't his exoskeleton. He definitely ventured out of his shell for whatever reason. RIP - little Hermit.

So... I did my usual tank maintenance this morning. And everything else in the tank is looking phenomenal. Not only is everything surviving... but it is clearly thriving and growing!! I'm really happy about the conditions thus far. My coralline algae is definitely taking off. The sandbed remains clean... and everything overall is doing great.

Went to my LFS this morning... bought more RO/DI water along with (3) Cerith Snails and a couple of extra shells for the exiting Reg-Legged Hermit Crab in the tank. I've no idea what a hermit crab growth rate is like but I don't want to take the chance again of not having extra shells for him... if/when the time occurs.

The Cerith Snails are small but from what I've read... they have voracious appetites and are excellent scavengers. Gram for gram... they're supposed to be an excellent addition to your CUC. So I added three of them to my tank.

See? (I know this isn't the best photo but you get the idea)



Also, got an e-mail from Steve @ InTank and the submersible lights I ordered for my AC70 fuge have finally come in. Thank goodness...

I'm also meeting up with a local reefer who lives about 20 min. away from me this evening. He said he has some 'shrooms and zoas I can take a look at it. So I'm gonna stop by and get a frag or two from him. *yay!* I'm pretty excited about that. I mean, who doesn't like fresh new frags in their tanks?

Here's a couple of more photos I just took this morning.




* I still don't have a name for these. But they're growing like crazy. The polyp size has definitely gotten larger from when I first got them.



p.s. I'll update with the new frags I get once they're acclimated in my tank this evening... or tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

cant wait to see the new frags, and I sure am havin a great weekend!

** UPDATE **

So, I met up with another local reefer from the club last night. Honestly?? I don't want to say anything bad at all. So, I won't. Let's just the stuff I got isn't quite the caliber of stuff I think I have in the tank right now. But I'm hoping with a little TLC... I'll be able to get them where I want them. I'll let you guys be the judge.

First... I got this striped mushroom polyp from him. It honestly did look okay when he gave me the frag last night... but woke up this morning to find it looking much worse. It looks all shriveled up and yucky. The coloring seems awesome... but it just doesn't appear very happy. Bleh. Any advice you may be able to offer that would help me... is always appreciated. Perhaps it was just the stress of the drive from his house?

* here is the 'shroom *



I also got three very, very, very tiny frags of zoas. And I do mean tiny. There's 6-9 polyps per frag... but the polyps themselves are SO tiny. Especially compared to the other ones in my tank that are near dime-sized at the moment.




I'm not sure exactly what they are either. I think one of them he said may be Eagle Eyes... another one he mentioned may be Toxic Dragon Eyes ????? I've no idea. The silly common names of these zoas will be the death of me.




He had some gorgeous acans and duncans... but I simply didn't want to risk them surviving in my tank with the stock 9W lighting. I don't want anything in my tank to simply survive just for the sake of surviving. Even though this is just my geeky picotope... we need to make ourselves more responsible in this hobby and realize that these underwater critters are our pets, too. And I don't want anyone looking sad in my tank.




Anyway, the guy I visited last night was very nice... but I don't think I'll be getting anymore zoas from him.

Questions??

Will the zoas I obtained last night grow in size or will the "heads" always be that size? Is there anything I can dose or feed that will assist with the growth? Any sort of weird vitamin supplement that will assist in ensuring the frags I obtained last night make it in their new surroundings? Bleh. I hate that the 'shroom looks like sh*t. I know its been less than 24 hours... so I'm hoping he comes around. I didn't epoxy him to the rock... I just set him on there in case I want to move him later on.

In other news... I've not seen any of those damn Cerith Snails I bought yesterday. Do they bury themselves in the sand? They're all missing in action unless they're behind the rockwork...?

Just dropped in to see whats going on with the tank. Everything should be fine once acclimated,as for the Zoas they will get bigger in time (patience young grasshopper), and no special feedings are required. Ceriths are more active at night, so their probably in the rocks chillin. Good call for passing on the Acans and Duncans.

Thanks for the words of encouragement...! I really appreciate it... I'm gonna leave everything chill for now and just do my regular maintenance. I'll stop worrying now and let everything get acclimated.

Thanks again for checkin' in!

The zoas will grow once they are acclimated to the tank. It will take a few days for the polyps to expand to their size. My nucs went from being tiny when I got them to dime size in 2 days. Dont need to dose anything they will be fine. As for the ceriths they are probably in the rockwork and just munching on some algae that isnt visible.

What is your take on the look of the 'shroom? Just stress? New acclimation?

It has to get acclimated to the light and the flow, give it a few days. If it doesnt look better move it to the bottom with limited flow and maybe some shade. It just looks stressed so dont worry too much.

Mushrooms are so unpredictable. Sometimes they'll look shriveled up and PO'd for no reason at all. The good thing is they're hardy and no matter how bad they look they're, far from dead. Give them some time to acclimate and they'll split before you know it and then you'd wish you didn't have them in the first place.

Thanks for the affirmation, you guys. I really appreciate it. Well, as I said... I'm not gonna mess with anything right now. The zoas are on the sand bed doing their thing... and the 'shroom is placed on the live rock. I'll let them get acclimated and go from there.

1.) Got my submersible lights from InTank today. *yay!* Wow... they're much brighter than I initially anticipated. I can't wait to get some serious chaeto growth in my little AC70 fuge.

2.) I posted a question in the Coral section of the forum today on my lunch break at work. But didn't get many hits on it...

Here is what I posted: ...

------------------------
I've been filling my pico tank with little frags here and there of various zoas. Rather than take up prime real estate on my live rock, I've simply been cutting the frag post off the plug itself... and then setting the plug on my sand next to my live rock. Since it's just a 3-gal. tank... I need to leave the live rock open for other various corals I'll get in the future.

Will the zoas expand off the plug even when they're on the sand and continue to grow and branch outward? Can zoas and/or other corals actually grow in the sand? Or will they confine themselves to just the frag plug since they're on the sand? Is it a must at some point in time the frag plug be glued to my live rock?
-------------------------

Nice new frags! I wouldn't worry too much about the shroom. It should be ok. The zoas are looking good.

Thanks.

I wish I had some frags like those

Some updated photos of my frags... all photos were taken, like, 5 minutes ago.

* AC70 fuge mod with my new submersible lights from InTank *



* from left to right... Goochsters, 2nd from left... no idea., 3rd from left... these haven't opened up much at all so I've no idea what they are... 4th on the end, possible Toxic Dragon Eyes? * The three on the end are all of the frags I bought last weekend. And I'm not even sure the guy I bought them from knew what in the heck they were. He mentioned Toxic Dragon Eyes or some weird name like that so who knows...??? Hahaha.

Looks really good brotha.

Tank is coming along nicely! Sticking with the stock light for now?

Loving this one:

Thanks, you guys!!

Stickin' with the stock light for now... I'm definitely going to upgrade it eventually, but I've honestly not been in a hurry to do so at all. I really feel like I'm having more than enough fun right now with the hobby and the way my tank is progressing. But yes, upgrade will be forthcoming.

Nice stuff, the funny thing with me is that I have access to more sps than zoanthids so Im thinkin bought getin metal halides for the 24 and going in that direction.

Yeah, there's a lot of guys in the club here who seem to have SPS only... or SPS dominated tanks. And I love SPS... but I do like the zoas now that I've got them. My head spins when I think about all of the different color morphs.

Great frags. I love that you are sticking with the stock light for now.

Thanks so much for checking out my thread!!

I know over time I'll feel the need to upgrade the lighting... but it just isn't an added expense I need. I'm having a lot of fun just meeting new people in the hobby and looking at other people's tanks... and collecting frags that I know the stock picotope light can accomodate. I don't want to do things too quickly and while I know I could run out and buy the infamous Current 2x18W fixture... it just isn't a necessity.

I'm learning half the fun is just sitting back and watching my tank grow and... I'm enjoying that. If you spend all of the extra time worrying about what you think you NEED... what fun is that?

I hope everyone is having a great night.

Sheeesh, is it Friday yet?!

That's a really good approach and attitude towards the hobby and those zoas are looking great! I never did get into zoas. Maybe if my first zoa frags didn't get eaten by killer pods I would've taken a different route but unfortunately that wasn't the case so I got into other things instead. I can't wait to see your zoa garden come together.

Nice work. It's amazing how little that tank actually is

Sorry for the lack of updates.

1.) Last weekend I was supposed to hook up with a different fellow reefer but plans fell through at the last minute on their part. Bleh.

2.) I'm sick at home today. I felt like crap at work yesterday and now today, I feel even worse. I have an awful cold. My head feels like it's enormous and I have a headache, my nose is stuffed up, I keep sneezing and coughing, my throat is sore and I even had a fever earlier. Now somebody bring me some chicken noodle soup and some frags to make me feel better... I said, now dammit! Just kidding... sort of.

My pico is doing great. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Cool?? I know the photos are a little redundant but each shot is a little more unique than the next. ...enjoy your day, everyone!








*my sickly green-striped 'shroom is looking SO much better now that I secured him in place *

Nice collection you've got going there! I love the zoas with the pink in the middle! Looks like your tank is coming along nicely. I agree with your pico strategy, worry about stuff you don't have isn't fun. Taking it slow isn't bad at all. It's really exciting when you noticed some new polyps, or that you have some new baby snails. I love watching mine grow as well.

hope you're feeling better! If I lived closer i'd bring you soup and maybe a frag :-P Though you have nicer zoas then I do hehe.

Sorry you are under the weather hope you bounce back soon. Just have a cup of tea and stare at the tank you may not feel better but you will enjoy being home for the day.

Thanks Deb and Aeridne...

I really appreciate it. I'm home, yet again today. Only today, I'm feeling a little worse... again. I have that weird light-headed/dizzy feeling now that associates with being sick. I'm taking Advil: Cold & Flu and it doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot. I think I may need to let it run its course, I guess.
Bleh.

Thanks for commenting. I hope you guys have a good weekend!

Doesn't sound like your doing too good over there, hopefully this is the worst of it and you can enjoy your weekend. Also, might be a good strategy keeping with the stock lighting while you populate your tank. I upgraded my light and still have barely anything in it but my electric bill just went up about 30 bucks! so, pretty smart keeping that light to a minimum until you really need it.

Hope you feel better!!!

The tank is coming along so nicely, I hope you feel better. Take some vitamin C, lots of fluids and I take Claritan it really helps me out.
Just think of it this way you have all day to relax and watch the tank. Feel better.

You too! Going crazy with the zoas.

Sorry to hear you're sick! That was me a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't fun at all. I felt like I was going to die.

Get yourself some antibiotics if you can, it will cut that thing short and stop you from your misery.

You guys are the best... Thanks!!

My girlfriend went out and bought me some chicken noodle soup. It was YUM! Of course, my nose is so stuffed up - I couldn't really taste much of anything. But it still made my throat feel better. ugh. I'm chugging the Vitamin C and I've been taking my multi-vitamin, as well. I'm also on Advil: Cold&Flu and then my girlfriend brought me home some Mucinex. It does seem to be loosening things up but I have that weird light headed / dizzy kinda feeling that just completely sucks. Bleh.

Oh my gosh, you guys... my mushroom looks really good today! He's all flattened out and nice 'n big. I'd say his flesh is about the size of a quarter. Looks much better than when I first got him acclimated to my tank.

I hope I'm feeling better by tomorrow. It'd be nice to not have the entire weekend ruined 'cuz of this stupid cold/flu thing.

Thats good to hear about your mushroom. Hopefully you feel better tomorrow so you can get some more frags

I'm definitely feeling much better than I have. Nowhere near 100%... but better, nonetheless.

AND... I got a new frag today.

Photos are forthcoming. Just gotta acclimate the little frag...

Awesome dude, what did you get?

* UPDATE *

I gave my hermit crab a little piece of nori yesterday. Well, it seemed like it was a little piece, anyway. But once he got it into his mitts, he fell over on his back and just start eating away like there was no tomorrow. My Margarita Snail got word of the feast and made his way over evenutally, but my hermit crab got most of it. It was hilarious just to watch him devour this piece of nori. He was so happy!!





Made the trek up to Green Bay this afternoon with my girlfriend to the only LFS in a 50-Mile radius with decent corals and got a frag of these. I'm pretty sure they're Eagle Eyes...?? Not positive though. It's probably the best guess I can make after looking at CoralPedia...

I really think I want some blue/purple in my tank next. Or maybe some bright red. I gotta add some "punch" to my tank. I gotta get it poppin'.

Great pics, i love the snail feast. I've currently had a bit of a cyano problem, so i've had ceriths enjoying their tea of slime off astrea snail shells, had one astrea eating on the glass with two ceriths on its back, wish i had my phone on me at the time!

I saw you that you're looking to a bluish coral to your tank. How about trying a blue ricordea?

http://www.coralmorphologic.com/xcart/prod...t=12&page=2

That's a nice looking ric!!
That would definitely go nicely...