Full Version: [CUSTOM] Ann
Ann, I have never kept one personaly, but it;s just like any other coral. Once you start to see transparent and/or white places where it once was colored, it's dieing / a gonner. Maybe it will come back to what it once was, but right now it dosn't look that good as far as color goes, but the fact that it's still accepting food is a good sign.
If yoy want somthing like a plate coral get a pice of frogspawn on the sand and no one will know thay have a much better survivle(spelling) rate.
Interesting, I'll keep a close (closer 
) eye on it and if it starts to recede I'll try moving it to one of my other tanks. Perhaps my pictures are giving a false impression of how it actually looks, I'm sitting right next to the tank now and it doesn't look like it's ailing, still I'm not an expert on such matters. I have my fingers crossed that it'll survive.
Ack, I do actually have a frogspawn frag that I could put in this tank but it's such an agressive grower that I'm trying to avoid at all costs. It's not a pretty colour morph but what it lacks for in colour it makes up for in growth rate. I have it in my large tank and it's a calcium sucking, coral stinging, monster.
Best regards
Ann
) eye on it and if it starts to recede I'll try moving it to one of my other tanks. Perhaps my pictures are giving a false impression of how it actually looks, I'm sitting right next to the tank now and it doesn't look like it's ailing, still I'm not an expert on such matters. I have my fingers crossed that it'll survive.Ack, I do actually have a frogspawn frag that I could put in this tank but it's such an agressive grower that I'm trying to avoid at all costs. It's not a pretty colour morph but what it lacks for in colour it makes up for in growth rate. I have it in my large tank and it's a calcium sucking, coral stinging, monster.
Best regards
Ann
QUOTE(Ann @ Dec 24 2005, 07:31 PM) 
Thanks Max. 
I don't think that this is Halimeda sp., it's not got the characteristic segmented growth pattern as seen in this genus, though perhaps that may develop with time.
[snip]
Here's another shot showing, I hope, the blade composition a bit better. They are quite thin and flexible.
Best regards
Ann
I don't think that this is Halimeda sp., it's not got the characteristic segmented growth pattern as seen in this genus, though perhaps that may develop with time.
[snip]
Here's another shot showing, I hope, the blade composition a bit better. They are quite thin and flexible.
Best regards
Ann
Yes, doesn't look like Halimeda from that angle. Very nice algae though. Did you take some sort of photography class?
I agree with everybody, you're doing a great job on the photography.
I like the vertical composition to your rock layout. Did you do anything to secure the rocks together? You may have already answered and I skimmed past it while I was looking at the photos.
I like the vertical composition to your rock layout. Did you do anything to secure the rocks together? You may have already answered and I skimmed past it while I was looking at the photos.
Max,
I've not attended any photography courses, I just enjoy taking pictures. I suppose you could say it's my other passion, after reef keeping. Now that I have a digital camera it's so much easier too. Delete, delete, delete...
I'm thinking now that the algae could possibly be Udotea sp. Well, whatever it is I hope that it keeps small and manageable.
Rob,
Thanks!
The rocks do have a secret support. I've not posted about it yet as I wasn't sure if anybody would want to know about it to be honest but since you've asked....
I wanted the rocks to be secure but avoid using the likes of milliput etc, so I picked up a length of 6mm acrylic rod and made a frame using it. I cut the rod into 3 smaller lengths and glued them (using Tensol 30) to a bit of acrylic sheeting (black was all I had available at the time). The small squares at the base of rocks have holes drilled through them and sandwiched together with glue as I wasn't sure if the rods would be secure enough without them.
The LR was broken into smaller pieces using a hammer and a hole drilled through the middle bits. Then the pieces were threaded onto the rods to form 3 stacks. Nice and secure but not obvious when viewing the tank. The thin layer of sand hides the black acrylic sheet.
There's been a bit of a development in my Pico since I last posted an update, the pink Seriatopora is no more.
I had to remove it, but not for any of the reasons I expected. I have already mentioned that my zoanthids were looking a bit rough the other week, I thought that I had cured the problem by adding some carbon/polyfilters in a bag to the refugium but it proved only to be a short term cure. Soon afterwards the zoas were losing colour again and refusing to open fully. I changed out some water (multiple times actually) in case it was a water quality problem and even stuck the carbon/polyfilters into a proper pumped filter unit in case passive filtration was not efficient enough, but the zoas continued their downward spiral. On the morning they refused to open up at all I decided I must take other action. The only change that I had made to the tank prior to the problem developing was to add the Blastomussa corals and Seriatopora. Now, there seem to be a fair number of Pico tanks (in this competition too) with Blastos in so I figured that they were unllikely to be the cause of such problems but I haven't seen many Seriatopora mixed in with zoas. I didn't think that it could be the root of the trouble but I wasn't entirely sure so I decided to take the frag out and see what happened. To my very great amazement the zoas immediately began to open up again and after 3 days all are pretty much back to normal again. I never knew that Seriatopora could pack such a potent punch! There's always something new to learn when keeping reef tanks. 
I had actually been quite pleased with how the Seri had been doing up till then, it had been keeping its colour well and showing signs of growth too. Oh well, this Pico was never supposed to be about SPS corals. I took a quick pic of it before it was banished to the sump of my big tank to show how it had been faring, there are 6 days between the left shot and the right shot.
Best regards
Ann
I've not attended any photography courses, I just enjoy taking pictures. I suppose you could say it's my other passion, after reef keeping. Now that I have a digital camera it's so much easier too. Delete, delete, delete...
I'm thinking now that the algae could possibly be Udotea sp. Well, whatever it is I hope that it keeps small and manageable.
Rob,
Thanks!
The rocks do have a secret support. I've not posted about it yet as I wasn't sure if anybody would want to know about it to be honest but since you've asked....I wanted the rocks to be secure but avoid using the likes of milliput etc, so I picked up a length of 6mm acrylic rod and made a frame using it. I cut the rod into 3 smaller lengths and glued them (using Tensol 30) to a bit of acrylic sheeting (black was all I had available at the time). The small squares at the base of rocks have holes drilled through them and sandwiched together with glue as I wasn't sure if the rods would be secure enough without them.
The LR was broken into smaller pieces using a hammer and a hole drilled through the middle bits. Then the pieces were threaded onto the rods to form 3 stacks. Nice and secure but not obvious when viewing the tank. The thin layer of sand hides the black acrylic sheet.
There's been a bit of a development in my Pico since I last posted an update, the pink Seriatopora is no more.
I had to remove it, but not for any of the reasons I expected. I have already mentioned that my zoanthids were looking a bit rough the other week, I thought that I had cured the problem by adding some carbon/polyfilters in a bag to the refugium but it proved only to be a short term cure. Soon afterwards the zoas were losing colour again and refusing to open fully. I changed out some water (multiple times actually) in case it was a water quality problem and even stuck the carbon/polyfilters into a proper pumped filter unit in case passive filtration was not efficient enough, but the zoas continued their downward spiral. On the morning they refused to open up at all I decided I must take other action. The only change that I had made to the tank prior to the problem developing was to add the Blastomussa corals and Seriatopora. Now, there seem to be a fair number of Pico tanks (in this competition too) with Blastos in so I figured that they were unllikely to be the cause of such problems but I haven't seen many Seriatopora mixed in with zoas. I didn't think that it could be the root of the trouble but I wasn't entirely sure so I decided to take the frag out and see what happened. To my very great amazement the zoas immediately began to open up again and after 3 days all are pretty much back to normal again. I never knew that Seriatopora could pack such a potent punch! There's always something new to learn when keeping reef tanks. I had actually been quite pleased with how the Seri had been doing up till then, it had been keeping its colour well and showing signs of growth too. Oh well, this Pico was never supposed to be about SPS corals. I took a quick pic of it before it was banished to the sump of my big tank to show how it had been faring, there are 6 days between the left shot and the right shot.
Best regards
Ann
ooOOooo, reefing secrets! that's what the contest is all about imo.
great idea!
great idea!
I love it Ann, you're such a DIYer!!
That's crazy about the seriatopora. What was it doing to affect the zoanthids? It's a shame it was showing such good growth for under a week.
That's crazy about the seriatopora. What was it doing to affect the zoanthids? It's a shame it was showing such good growth for under a week.
Dang, I did not think that there was much chemical warefare when it came to most sps. Fantastic pics of a fantastic tank.
Zoogirl, there was no direct contact between the Seri so it must have been down to chemical warfare as Ice has stated. I had no idea that SPS corals produced much in the way of toxic substances in the same way as some soft corals (such as Leather corals) are known to do. I know better about that now. 
The water changes and carbon etc must have been helping dilute whatever it was out but I guess they just weren't enough to keep up. The water volume is so small and the corals are so close together. I'm just so relieved to have worked out the cause of the problem, I was beginning to think that the zoas might have contracted some sort of fatal disease. 
Best regards
Ann
The water changes and carbon etc must have been helping dilute whatever it was out but I guess they just weren't enough to keep up. The water volume is so small and the corals are so close together. I'm just so relieved to have worked out the cause of the problem, I was beginning to think that the zoas might have contracted some sort of fatal disease. Best regards
Ann
very nice handy work w/ the LR support rods.
Nice work very insperational!!
(BTW this is my 300th post!
)
(BTW this is my 300th post!
)
Wow, great looking tank Ann. I love the idea for supporting the rock. got a FTS?
Looks beautiful Ann! Congrats on the stellar job with the tank
nice
Okay, a monster update today. I hope there aren't too many members still using dial up cause there are a lot of pictures, if there are I apologise in advance. 
So... starting with zoanthids, most are looking good I think. One tiny frag had to be relegated to the refugium as it was knocked off the rockwork, no doubt by one of those pesky hermits. I daren't risk using more superglue to fix it down again so I'm just going to let it attach naturally to a small rock and then move it back to front again once it's secure.
The green zoanthids below, have shown great growth which is not entirely surprising as they are getting the best light and they weren't mauled by me (ie fragged) right after introduction.
Whoopee! The nasty blob of superglue/rock has fallen off these zoas at last. The bottom half has fixed itself nicely to the rock and has grown itself a couple of small new polyps. The top half still looks a bit loose but I'm hopeful that it will attach too now that the glue has gone.
The rest of the zoas haven't shown much sign of encrusting on to the rock work or new polyps but seem heathy enough. Perhaps they need a little help feeding wise?
Groan! What do we have here? I thought that I'd got rid of this blasted Aiptasia but oh no, it somehow survived my mega fragging. I'm going to have to zap it ASAP.
I had to relocate the tiny B. merleti frag to higher up the tank as it was getting too much flow in its old position. Actually I'm finding it surprisingly hard to find suitable locations for some of the corals in this tank. The flow is really quite strong round the lower areas of the rockwork.
The B wellsi is going to have to tough it out where it is cause I haven't got anywhere else to put it.
The Fungia is one, fortunately, that likes the flow, though it does seem debatable as to whether it's really happy or not in this tank. I like to think it's doing OK. Oh and the hermits wanted to get in the act too.
Now as for my poor baby Bubble. It's been tried in practically every location in this tank but I can't find quite the right spot for it. The trouble is that it doesn't have an internal skeleton yet so when it inflates it's like a baloon bobbing about. It finally parted company with the old bit of skeleton it was attached to so now it rolls round the tank like a ball of tumbleweed. As a last ditch attempt I've made a little corral (heh heh) for it at the back of the tank, if it escapes from there then I'm going to have to pop it in the refugium for safe keeping.
So... starting with zoanthids, most are looking good I think. One tiny frag had to be relegated to the refugium as it was knocked off the rockwork, no doubt by one of those pesky hermits. I daren't risk using more superglue to fix it down again so I'm just going to let it attach naturally to a small rock and then move it back to front again once it's secure.
The green zoanthids below, have shown great growth which is not entirely surprising as they are getting the best light and they weren't mauled by me (ie fragged) right after introduction.
Whoopee! The nasty blob of superglue/rock has fallen off these zoas at last.
The bottom half has fixed itself nicely to the rock and has grown itself a couple of small new polyps. The top half still looks a bit loose but I'm hopeful that it will attach too now that the glue has gone.The rest of the zoas haven't shown much sign of encrusting on to the rock work or new polyps but seem heathy enough. Perhaps they need a little help feeding wise?
Groan! What do we have here? I thought that I'd got rid of this blasted Aiptasia but oh no, it somehow survived my mega fragging. I'm going to have to zap it ASAP.
I had to relocate the tiny B. merleti frag to higher up the tank as it was getting too much flow in its old position. Actually I'm finding it surprisingly hard to find suitable locations for some of the corals in this tank. The flow is really quite strong round the lower areas of the rockwork.
The B wellsi is going to have to tough it out where it is cause I haven't got anywhere else to put it.
The Fungia is one, fortunately, that likes the flow, though it does seem debatable as to whether it's really happy or not in this tank. I like to think it's doing OK. Oh and the hermits wanted to get in the act too.
Now as for my poor baby Bubble. It's been tried in practically every location in this tank but I can't find quite the right spot for it. The trouble is that it doesn't have an internal skeleton yet so when it inflates it's like a baloon bobbing about. It finally parted company with the old bit of skeleton it was attached to so now it rolls round the tank like a ball of tumbleweed.
As a last ditch attempt I've made a little corral (heh heh) for it at the back of the tank, if it escapes from there then I'm going to have to pop it in the refugium for safe keeping.
sweet!
The 'blue' Ricordea is hopefully thinking about splitting in half.
The red dot 'srhoom is back in the tank again, still small and lonesome but attached to a small rock now.
The only new addition to this tank has been a frag of Ricordea yuma that I literally scraped of the rock of my Nano tank. I've had these mushrooms for years now and they grew really really well in my old tank (too well to be honest) but now that I have them in my Nano they do absolutely nothing, they just exist. I wonder whether this one will do better in this Pico??
I still have my hitchhiker tunicates but I'm not sure that they are really doing that well. They used to have an opaque appearance but since I've been running the carbon they've turned clear. I don't know if that's significant or not? One thing's for sure the tube worm behind them is very happy. It was nowhere to be seen in the last picture of the squirts but has formed a tube and grown up the rockwork to its present location.
Phew, that's pretty much all my news. There's just time for a couple of FTS...
Best regards
Ann
The red dot 'srhoom is back in the tank again, still small and lonesome but attached to a small rock now.
The only new addition to this tank has been a frag of Ricordea yuma that I literally scraped of the rock of my Nano tank. I've had these mushrooms for years now and they grew really really well in my old tank (too well to be honest) but now that I have them in my Nano they do absolutely nothing, they just exist. I wonder whether this one will do better in this Pico??
I still have my hitchhiker tunicates but I'm not sure that they are really doing that well. They used to have an opaque appearance but since I've been running the carbon they've turned clear. I don't know if that's significant or not? One thing's for sure the tube worm behind them is very happy. It was nowhere to be seen in the last picture of the squirts but has formed a tube and grown up the rockwork to its present location.
Phew, that's pretty much all my news. There's just time for a couple of FTS...
Best regards
Ann
i love the wellsi shot! new desktop wallpaper for me!
nice coloration and growth all around. maybe you can get the baby bubble a temporary shell/skeleton, like a hermit-shell type of thing.
nice coloration and growth all around. maybe you can get the baby bubble a temporary shell/skeleton, like a hermit-shell type of thing.
Thanks guys.
Hmm, a temporary shell home could be just the ticket. I'll have to see if I can find one that's suitable.
Best regards
Ann
Hmm, a temporary shell home could be just the ticket. I'll have to see if I can find one that's suitable.
Best regards
Ann
Love the corner shot, simply beautiful
Looks fantastic ann!
Wow! Nice tank! Awesome growth and I love the aquascape...very nice
WOW!!! those pics are THE BEST... especially the one with the Fungia and the 2 Hermits...that should be in like a book or Magazine....I love that Sargassum Macro stuff and the Rics and the Blasto ..... your tank looks great...(why do you have to be in custom 
)
)
No, thank goodness she is in [CUSTOM]! Hehe.
The tank is beautiful Ann. All your zoanthids are looking fabulous!!
The tank is beautiful Ann. All your zoanthids are looking fabulous!!
Your tank looks amazing Ann! Love the updated FTS shots!
Thanks everyone.
I can't decide if I'd rather be in [CUSTOM] or [STOCK], there are so many great looking tanks in both categories.
Best regards
Ann
I can't decide if I'd rather be in [CUSTOM] or [STOCK], there are so many great looking tanks in both categories.
Best regards
Ann
OFFICIAL PICO CONTEST NEWS
New Task... Read about it here...
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75621
YOU MUST COMPLETE THE TASK!
New Task... Read about it here...
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75621
YOU MUST COMPLETE THE TASK!
Task completed
Equipment
Standard UK glass tank (12 x 8 x 8)
DIY glass ‘refugium’ (12 x 4.75 x 8)
Micro-jet 450 pump
50W Hagen Tronic Heaterstat
Fluval 1 plus internal filter (containing carbon and polyfilter)
Lighting: 2 x 18W 50/50 compact T5 tubes (over the main tank) + 1 x 18W Daylight tube (over the refugium)
50mm case fan to keep things cool
Aquadoser set on a timer for freshwater top off
Livestock
Various zoanthid colonies
2 colour morphs of Ricordea florida mushrooms
Ricordea yuma mushroom
Red Discosoma sp. mushroom
Fungia sp.
Blastomussa wellsi
Blastomussa merleti
Bubble coral, Plerogyra sinuosa
Hitchhiker pink tunicates
2 dwarf blue-legged hermit crabs, Clibanarius tricolor
2 Dove snails, Euplica sp.
Stomatella sp. snails
Chaetomorpha sp. algae in the refugium
Not a lot has changed here since the last update although I have finally moved the Bubble coral to the refugium for safe keeping.
Best regards
Ann
Equipment
Standard UK glass tank (12 x 8 x 8)
DIY glass ‘refugium’ (12 x 4.75 x 8)
Micro-jet 450 pump
50W Hagen Tronic Heaterstat
Fluval 1 plus internal filter (containing carbon and polyfilter)
Lighting: 2 x 18W 50/50 compact T5 tubes (over the main tank) + 1 x 18W Daylight tube (over the refugium)
50mm case fan to keep things cool
Aquadoser set on a timer for freshwater top off
Livestock
Various zoanthid colonies
2 colour morphs of Ricordea florida mushrooms
Ricordea yuma mushroom
Red Discosoma sp. mushroom
Fungia sp.
Blastomussa wellsi
Blastomussa merleti
Bubble coral, Plerogyra sinuosa
Hitchhiker pink tunicates
2 dwarf blue-legged hermit crabs, Clibanarius tricolor
2 Dove snails, Euplica sp.
Stomatella sp. snails
Chaetomorpha sp. algae in the refugium
Not a lot has changed here since the last update although I have finally moved the Bubble coral to the refugium for safe keeping.
Best regards
Ann
Wow! Looks gorgeous Ann!!
Wow Ann, your tank is absolutely stunning! I love it! 
Will you be keeping it after the contest is over?
Will you be keeping it after the contest is over?
Yep, unless the corals put on a super growth spurt in the next 3 months I think that there'll be plenty more room for expansion after the contest is over. I'm a 2.54lyfe reefer.
Best regards
Ann
Best regards
Ann
Great job Ann that tank is beautiful
Wow! Easily the best tank in the contest so far! What are those leafy looking things on the left and right? I assume some sort of macro algae, but do you know what type?
Thank you so much for the kind words.
The algae is Sargassum sp., a very common live rock hitchhiker. Some of the clumps are getting quite big now so I've begun pruning them which is very easy to do. Out come the scissors and snip, snip. If only all algae were so easy to contain
Best regards
Ann
The algae is Sargassum sp., a very common live rock hitchhiker. Some of the clumps are getting quite big now so I've begun pruning them which is very easy to do. Out come the scissors and snip, snip. If only all algae were so easy to contain
Best regards
Ann
I don’t know what the judging rules are but your tank looks fantastic! Good luck in the contest.
Looking really nice Ann, it'll look amazing when it starts to fill out.
I've just realised I don't get how your plumbing works, I can see the 2 returns and what i'm guessing is the inlet in the middle, but how does it all work off 1 circulation pump without an overflow?
It's all down to an imbalance in atmospheric pressure.
Basically water siphons through the tube in the middle of the tank to the refugium and is pumped back in again by the Micro-jet via the outlets in the top left and right corners. Simple eh! It took a bit of trial and error to work out what size pipework was best suited for the job. Too small a diameter pipe for the outlet and the Pico ends up overflowing. When the system is running the difference between the two water levels is an inch. In the event of a power or pump failure then the two water levels just equalise ie the Pico level drops half an inch.
No drilling of glass tanks for me.
Best regards
Ann
Basically water siphons through the tube in the middle of the tank to the refugium and is pumped back in again by the Micro-jet via the outlets in the top left and right corners. Simple eh! It took a bit of trial and error to work out what size pipework was best suited for the job. Too small a diameter pipe for the outlet and the Pico ends up overflowing.
When the system is running the difference between the two water levels is an inch. In the event of a power or pump failure then the two water levels just equalise ie the Pico level drops half an inch. No drilling of glass tanks for me.
Best regards
Ann
So it's just a basic siphon pulling the water out? That's interesting. So I guess you have to watch your evaporation so as not to break the siphon huh, otherwise it would overflow.
I'm surprised you'd be nervous to drill glass, you drilled your rock.
So I guess you have to watch your evaporation so as not to break the siphon huh, otherwise it would overflow. I'm surprised you'd be nervous to drill glass, you drilled your rock.
That's right, it's all down to the siphoning effect, if it's lost then everything would definitely go pear shaped. 
The water level would have to fall a fair bit before the siphon is lost however (so the SG would be pretty screwed up anyway), but the risk is there nonetheless. This is one of the reasons why I have an auto top off of sorts. Fresh water is dosed each day by a pump set on a timer which keeps the levels more or less constant. I just need to do a bit of fine adjustment every now and again to keep the salinity in line. So far it's worked perfectly and, touch wood, it will continue to do so.
Best regards
Ann
The water level would have to fall a fair bit before the siphon is lost however (so the SG would be pretty screwed up anyway), but the risk is there nonetheless. This is one of the reasons why I have an auto top off of sorts. Fresh water is dosed each day by a pump set on a timer which keeps the levels more or less constant. I just need to do a bit of fine adjustment every now and again to keep the salinity in line. So far it's worked perfectly and, touch wood, it will continue to do so.Best regards
Ann
Ah..."Touch wood", I like that. Us Americans are so vulgar we say "knock on wood". Heh.
Time for a brief update now:
My Dove snails are parents, I spotted this little 'un when feeding the Blastomussa last week. Mum (or is it Dad?) can be seen out of focus in the background on the back glass. I just think it's so cool when stuff reproduces successfully.
Now, moving on to some possibly not so great news.
I found an empty crab shell in the tank yesterday morning, where the heck did that spring from? I haven't seen the slightest hint of a hitchhiker crab in this tank up until that point and I stare at the rockwork a LOT. I wonder where it's owner could be residing?? I mean it's a Pico for goodness sake, there's not exactly vast quantities of rock to conceal oneself in. 
Hmm, thinking about it now perhaps I should stop blaming the hermit crabs for all the coral er, rearrangements, that I've discovered in this tank since it was set-up.
Best regards
Ann
Aww...that baby snail is so cute! I found a tiny snail like that on the front of the glass and was so excited until I realized it was a sundial.
I bet Mr. Crabs sits and watches you as you stare at the tank.
As soon as you look away he knocks over a coral! Heh.
Funny you haven't seen him, how big is he?
I bet Mr. Crabs sits and watches you as you stare at the tank.
As soon as you look away he knocks over a coral! Heh. Funny you haven't seen him, how big is he?
that baby snail's amazing! you've got the magic touch!
good luck on the crab. it might not be a problem. have you noticed any coral or zoanthid damage? i'd suggest you eventually get rid of it but "no harm, no foul".
good luck on the crab. it might not be a problem. have you noticed any coral or zoanthid damage? i'd suggest you eventually get rid of it but "no harm, no foul".
aha I syphon, I see now, thx for the explanation.
Can I ask where you got your plumbing from? It's a nice small size.
Took me a while to see that baby snail, I was looking at the coral thinking I've never seen a snail look like that before!
You could try the tasty morsal in a glass trick for the crab, I caught a hairy one in my display with that method - it did take a few days though, the hermits got trapped most of the time.
Can I ask where you got your plumbing from? It's a nice small size.
Took me a while to see that baby snail, I was looking at the coral thinking I've never seen a snail look like that before!
You could try the tasty morsal in a glass trick for the crab, I caught a hairy one in my display with that method - it did take a few days though, the hermits got trapped most of the time.
Ann, that crab shell is the molting of a Teddy Bear Crab. I would try and get it out, if you can. I had one hitchhick on my LR, and it basicaly was a shrimp eater. It ate a Peperment, and two Skunk Cleaners before I knew what was causing their deaths.
It's presently not that big, about half an inch, so it's probably still a baby. Ahh! 
No obvious signs of any coral damage....yet, there are just a few knocked off corals every now and again that it could have a claw in.
I'm a great believer in innocent till proven guilty so I'll wait and see how it all pans out. Not that I could remove the little devil even if I wanted to, I haven't seen hide nor hair of it and I have been doing some late night reconnoitring ever since I found the skeleton. Ho hum, when it's a 5 inch coral ravaging monster I'm sure that I'll be able to spot it.
fras, it's Aquamedic pipework and I mail ordered it from Anglia Aquatics. They give a top notch service.
Best regards
Ann
No obvious signs of any coral damage....yet, there are just a few knocked off corals every now and again that it could have a claw in.I'm a great believer in innocent till proven guilty so I'll wait and see how it all pans out. Not that I could remove the little devil even if I wanted to, I haven't seen hide nor hair of it and I have been doing some late night reconnoitring ever since I found the skeleton. Ho hum, when it's a 5 inch coral ravaging monster I'm sure that I'll be able to spot it.
fras, it's Aquamedic pipework and I mail ordered it from Anglia Aquatics. They give a top notch service.
Best regards
Ann
The fun never ends with a reef tank
Quick, call Spiderman, there's a Pycnogonid in my tank!!
This morning whilst checking all my stock out I happened to notice a small wriggly thing on the sand, at first I thought that it was some sort of worm but on closer inspection I discovered that it was a Sea Spider. True to form I just had to get a picture of it so I gently removed it to a Petri dish for observation.
Now the poor thing was obviously struggling otherwise I doubt that I would ever have discovered it. Its colour perfectly matches that of my red/orange zoanthids, a fact that is surely significant I think. No doubt it hitchhiked in on them and has most likely been feasting on them too. I have no actual evidence of this of course, just a sinking feeling that it's true.
It appears to be missing a rear leg, possibly more as I just don't know that much about these guys really (there's generally 4 pairs of legs right?). How it came to lose the leg/s I have no idea, perhaps my mysterious hitchhiker crab ate them?
Anyway on to the pictures, arachnophobes beware.
First to give you a sense of scale here (the coin is a 1p piece and measures 2cm across for you US folks).
Getting up a bit closer, this is the 'top' side and the 'head' is pointing to the right (I think that I have it correct).
This is the 'under' side.
And one more showing the er, 'head' end a bit better.
As much as I like diversity in my tank, I haven't put this guy back in again. Most Pycnogonids are predatory so the risk is too great IMO. I doubt it that this guy would have survived long anyway, it looked too damaged and was not acting like a healthy critter really. Now I wonder if it has any friends still in hiding.......
Best regards
Ann
Quick, call Spiderman, there's a Pycnogonid in my tank!!
This morning whilst checking all my stock out I happened to notice a small wriggly thing on the sand, at first I thought that it was some sort of worm but on closer inspection I discovered that it was a Sea Spider.
True to form I just had to get a picture of it so I gently removed it to a Petri dish for observation.Now the poor thing was obviously struggling otherwise I doubt that I would ever have discovered it. Its colour perfectly matches that of my red/orange zoanthids, a fact that is surely significant I think. No doubt it hitchhiked in on them and has most likely been feasting on them too. I have no actual evidence of this of course, just a sinking feeling that it's true.
It appears to be missing a rear leg, possibly more as I just don't know that much about these guys really (there's generally 4 pairs of legs right?). How it came to lose the leg/s I have no idea, perhaps my mysterious hitchhiker crab ate them?
Anyway on to the pictures, arachnophobes beware.
First to give you a sense of scale here (the coin is a 1p piece and measures 2cm across for you US folks).
Getting up a bit closer, this is the 'top' side and the 'head' is pointing to the right (I think that I have it correct).
This is the 'under' side.
And one more showing the er, 'head' end a bit better.
As much as I like diversity in my tank, I haven't put this guy back in again. Most Pycnogonids are predatory so the risk is too great IMO. I doubt it that this guy would have survived long anyway, it looked too damaged and was not acting like a healthy critter really. Now I wonder if it has any friends still in hiding.......
Best regards
Ann
that's awesome! no fair, you always get the good 'uns. 
but i disagree with you, i'd put it back in. i thought your zoos are doing great. so even if it's feeding on them i think it's a sustainable population for the little guy.
while i guess it could be a coralivore/parasite, i thought most sea spiders were predatory against motile livestock. e.g. worms, microcrustaceans, etc.
it just keeps getting better and better, ann!
but i disagree with you, i'd put it back in. i thought your zoos are doing great. so even if it's feeding on them i think it's a sustainable population for the little guy.
while i guess it could be a coralivore/parasite, i thought most sea spiders were predatory against motile livestock. e.g. worms, microcrustaceans, etc.
it just keeps getting better and better, ann!
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