I usually buy online, but I'll have to be sure to check for the date first.

A snail decided to clean the zoa rock right now, so it will be a bit longer before I can get a good picture. They closed up because of him.

Here it is!



Any ideas on if this is a named zoa?

Either way, I like it.

AWESOMENESS>
i think you should name em MJ's LE Radioactive Goobers.

Ok, I give up... what's the LE stand for?

I like it though!!!

Limited Edition. duhhhrrr LOL

thanks for teh compliment!

PS i want me some Goobers!

-> Me

That makes it even better! I love it!



I'm hoping that it will be a fast grower, and that it will let me be a fragging machine!

first of all. LOL.

second of all. ME LIKEY

Once it's big enough to start fragging it up, you'll be on "The List." In the spring, I'd really like to be able to do some swaps with NR members, so that we can share our cool corals!

Plus, MJ's LE Radioactive Goobers need to have an exclusive group.

Very nice zoas!!

Thanks! I was so excited to have such a cool find today, and for not much dough. I don't think I've ever seen these before.

Very cool, You figured out the param questions, and got a beautiful new frag. Life is good.

Indeed! My new frags for the 20L don't look so hot today (I think there was too much of an alk difference between the other person's tank and mine that acclimating didn't help with ). I've had corals bounce back, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. One of the ORA frags is still showing some polyps though. It's still early, so I'm at least hopeful. This first frag for the 29g was sort of a coral pick-me-up because zoas are virtually indestructible (other than by mushrooms )

I bet the SPS will pick up over the next couple of days, they'll adjust well. Drop a little phyto or some such in the tank.

I'll do that! I'm afraid the monti sp. may be a gonner, because pods were swarming all over it. Then again, I thought that about my chalice when it was retracted for about a week straight. It recovered just fine. The rest of the new coral has a shot though. I'll give them a little something tonight.

That pic of the zoa's are Green Cossettes. I have them, and was trying to find a name for a long time ... and that's what I figured out!

great tank!

Thanks for the info! Hm... I think I like MJ's LE Radioactive Goobers better.



Thank you! I can't wait to see this tank as it ages.

Oh, I found out today that the LFS can order chalk bass for me, for about $20 each. That's the same as livequaria, and I would get to support my LFS / NR sponsor. The downside is that they only have a 24 hour guarantee vs. the 14 days of liveaquaria. The trouble will come with getting the starry blenny. I think I may wait until later for this one if it can't be ordered locally and buy it online along with a few corals, so reduce the shipping per coral/fish.

Just had to give a harrumph at the " zoas are virtually indestructible" line.

May feel slightly different after watching $500-$600 worth of prized zoa melt away for reasons unknown.

...yes, I'm still bitter

Yes, I would be too! That's one of the other reasons (aside from budgets) that I like small frags. I know the feeling though... I watched my favorite RDEs slowly vanish a few months ago and I couldn't stop them. However, I think I saw today a single polyp of it in my 20L, so I might be trying to revive it!

I think that they are hard to intentionally kill, but when you get attached to some or pay a lot for them, they gather in a conspiracy to deprive you.

I was amazed with these ones though. Only a few hours after putting them in, and they are already fully open! I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

yeahp. id liek to do that

agreed, Radioactive Goobers really need to be LE!

(general note; my reply was hellza late )

I know the feeling of melting zoas I only have pictures to remember them by
I have had so many just melt away...why won't those freakin' brown paly's melt...they just spread like wild fire

Inorite? The ones you want to be contained or to melt a little bit (like yellow polyps) just keep spreading. But the ones I liked (RDE) just wouldn't retreating.

I did discover what the likely problem was with them though. When I set up the 20L, I moved the rock the RDE were on much closer to the mushroom rock than they had been. I also didn't have anything in the way of carbon running at the time either. I think that the mushrooms and the zoas were waging chemical warfare against each other, and the mushrooms were able to release their anthrax attack first!

Well, there will be a zero-tolerance-mushroom policy for this tank. I'll allow no terrorists into the Barrel 'O Monkeys!

+1 to this. For unknown reasons, zoas don't do well for me. They either melt away, or just don't thrive. There's only one type (unknown, but pretty) that seems to be an exception to this ap123 tank rule.

Like you MJ, I've only bought small frags, and I never bought any of the pricey ones. Still brings a pang.

I've actually had pretty good luck, aside from the RDE issue. I've got some brown palys that have turned an amazing shade of neon green (I'll try to get pics tonight) and I've got some blue and pink zoas that are slow but steady growers. Then, there are my YPs that literally grow like weeds.

I have a feeling that some tanks are the same with zoas are mine is with GSP. For whatever reason, I just can't get it to take.

After talking with John from Reef Cleaners, I think I've settled in on a CUC. I'm going to order it tomorrow so that I can get it next Wednesday with Priority (hopefully).

Here's the plan:

20 Dwarf Ceriths
5 Nassarius
8 Florida Ceriths
6 Large Nerite

When I was cleaning up the sump, I ended up letting water levels get a bit too low near the Rpump, and it cavitated for a few seconds, so now I'm back to mini-bubbles everywhere! I think that there is air pockets caught within the pump and I have a plan to solve this problem, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Sounds good so far good job a tip for thoes micro bubbles is to put a sponge in front of the pump intake that worked for me.

NO CRABS FTW!!!

My pump has actually got a sponge built into it. The trouble is that a plastic cover houses the actual inlet for the pump has large enough teeth that it captures a lot of air. I'm hoping that if I can get enough water in the sump, I can take the cover off, get all of the air out and then replace it.

If that doesn't work, I might try to find a nice and fine aquarium sponge and pack it around the outside of the pump for a second layer. Hm... yeah, that could work quite nicely. Thanks for the idea!



No crabs is ALWAYS a good thing!

It should also cut down on the snailcides. They can sleep easy in my tank.

i agree with you completely.

PS; how are teh Gooberz?

The Gooberz are doing great! One of the snails seems to be in love with them. There was some GHA growing on it, and this one snail seems to be refusing to leave the rock until each bit of it is gone. He's become the Guardian of the Gooberz!

Once I get rid of these darn bubbles I take some new photos. I'm also thinking about moving a small rock from my 20L that I think still has a single polyp of RDE in the hopes of getting this 29g started off right.

gimme a pic of teh Guardian of teh Gooberz. i wanna makeit veryyyyy special.
Horray for teh Guardian of teh Gooberz!

Hip Hip Horray!

Let me see if I can get a good actinic shot.

MJ you need to juice those Zoas. Macgyver would recomend you dump in some rust, energize it with a solar cell, then add a little vodka. They would truly then be radio active. OR better yet, send them down to me. I think they would look better in my tank. Put them on the bamboo airlines, I'll snag them as they pass over.

I'm actually working on a plan to use a pine cone and some Gooberz zoa juice to create a thermo-zoa explosion, thereby saturating other zoas in a high dose of radiation. That's now new Gooberz are formed. Once more generations can be created, I think I can whip together a solar powered mini helicopter to airlift them to you.

Ok, let me first say that these are old school Current stock actinics.... NOT my ATI Blue + bulbs. But anyways.....







THE GUARDIAN OF THE GOOBERZ

Well, I bought a new Salifert Alk test today. It was $13 (not bad) and it's good until 2012 (excellent!!!). My 29 tested at a bit above 11 dkh and the 20L tested at a bit over 10 dkh.

Speaking of my 20L, it was getting over crowded with softies in some areas, so I move a couple of the zoa frags a cut a couple of months ago into the 29g. Now, in addition to the MJ's LE Radioactive Gooberz, I've moved in another unnamed zoa (ya'll can help name it too!), an unnamed paly, and a few YPs. I've also put a small lobo in as well.

In an effort to save my RDEs (which have been disappearing for the last several months), I've move the rock they were on as well. I think that they were lost the battle with the mushrooms in the 20L, but in the mushroom-free 29, maybe they can recover.

Once everything is no longer PO'd about the move, I'll take a few photos.

RDE Rock (hopefully they come back)


Unknown blue and pink zoas


I believe this is a deep water lobo

Nice stuff, monkey boy.

Very nice, I love the lobo.

I say you call the pink and blue zoas... pinky pookies...or psychedelic tribbles? Howzzat?

Me too! I actually scored it for about $13. The picture doesn't quite show it, but it's got shades ranging from a bluish-green at the outside edge to orange ringing the mouth. From what I've heard, under the lighting I've got it under, it should develop a nice metallic tint to those colors, with the orange really dominating. I can't wait!




Haha psychedelic tribbles.... I like it!

I was playing with the macro settings on my camera (a Kodak C533), and I decided to take a couple of shots. Let me know what ya'll think!

Lookin good!

Thanks! I'd really like to improve my photography, but it's tough with a point and shoot camera. I can't complain though, because the camera was a gift from someone with whom I used to be very close. It's great for taking pictures while traveling, etc; but reef photography was definitely not something that was contemplated for this camera.

I'm thinking about getting a new camera some day, but it would have to be a decent macro camera and available on a budget. From what I've read, it seems that the best bet is a budget camera and then an upgraded macro lens?

Hey MJ your photos are just as bad as mine I am actually looking at buying a new photo box. GRR all the different variables. Tanks looking good. I've got a new yougottatryitouta thingiymabob. Okay so I decided to hook up an HHO generator and see what the addition of pure Hydrogen would do. Well I plumbed that into my 100000000 W MH and WOW! That Bit(h lit up so bright that NASA called me. Needless to say my corals instantly split and the called the light momma. Now the zoas are eating pennies, only 1982 and pre years. Oh not to mention that they are now asking for a new thumping barrel and 100lbs of sugar ever other week. I guess the daily dosing of vodka isnt enough. I think they have a problem.

I know! I suck at life.




Exactly! I did see that Nikkon has a sub-$600 camera that is pretty nice, and a DSLR.





Don't you hate it when NASA gets all uppity? I mean, if we want to be able to irradiate half of our neighborhood and light the place up like a runway, it's our right to do so! They should thank us, because maybe our tanks and power consumption will be the key to letting extraterrestrials know that we're here! It will also be important because otherwise, the ETs might think that porpoises are the dominant life forms. Flipper can't compete with a 100000000 W MH!




I think we need to add those zoas to the existing list of things that will survive a nuclear holocaust (twinkies, cockroaches, and Keith Richards).



Well, what did you expect? Anyone who gets da booze in their veins eventually finds there way to the shine! I bet that the zoas make a pretty mean mash!

Well, I think my order from John at ReefCleaners ships today!

Something unfortunate happened today.






I went to the grocery store, and they no longer have Sammy Octoberfest!

However, I did manage to find a suitable second-best:



I think my cat approves as well.

The question is, what to drink first? Winter Lager, Cranberry Lambic, Holiday Porter or Old Fezziwig Ale?

INB4RICHIE!!!

I just picked the same pack up yesterday!!! 24 pack of goodness!!!

Well done!



Great minds, as they say.

David, you stink!


Let us know how dey is pweeze.

Hey Richie! No advice on where to start? Or will I be the guinea pig?