I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds these creatures extraordinary.

Most Sea Spiders are parasitic, feeding on the tissue of their host using a proboscis (to literally suck up the tissue. Yum!). The hosts are most commonly corals and hydroids but they can also be sponges and a very small number are herbivores. I've not seen any mention of worms or microcrustaceans being used hosts but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

This chap was not a happy healthy spider or I may have been tempted to keep him (I really hate to kill anything). I hadn't really noticed any obvious zoanthid loss so whatever it was doing was minimal. It was on it's last legs (in more ways than one) however and would not have lasted even if I had put him back in again.

Incidentally this is the second pynogonid that's turned up in my tanks, a few years ago I found one in my big tank. You'll be glad to hear that I did keep that one as it was sooo small and the tank was sooo big, I felt confident that it couldn't do that much harm. I only saw it the once though.

Best regards

Ann

He's a crusty little bugger isn't he? Ann, you must have really good eyes!

Ann... fantastic! Looks like you're having so much fun with this tank. I love it!

Hope to see more pics soon. Especially some nano zoox

Thanks! I am having fun with this tank, I hope I can still say the same when the weather starts to heat up.

So far I'm pretty happy with how things are progressing, the only real blip is the continual rearrangement of some of the frags (by claws unknown). Since the last update 3 more frags have been knocked off. One I was just able to reattach, another resulted in the splitting of the blue(ish) Ricordea florida which I guess is not that bad a thing really as I now have two mushroom instead of one, but a third frag has vanished entirely and I'm majorly cheesed off about that!

On a brighter note, I picked up some fantastic new frags at the weekend. I visited a reefing buddy who gave me some zoanthids and a mushroom polyp and I also acquired a couple of freebie polyps from a shop that we visited too so all in all it was a great day for me and the Pico! The frags still have some settling in but here are a few quick shots to show them off.

Firstly the shop freebies:





And here are the very nice frags from my friend's tank:





The colours are wonderful I sure hope that they don't change too much. No shot of the mushroom as of yet.

I'll post a new FTS and some updated coral shots tomorrow.

Best regards

Ann

WOW! I love the last pic! What a wonderful colors!

Thanks! Yeah the last zoanthids are really cool, they are really very blue. I just hope that the colour doesn't fade too much, they were under 400W MHs and now they're errr, not! So anyway we shall see.

Here are some more pics as promised:

I have finally been able to remove the tie from around these zoas, yay! They seem to be growing really well now but the colour has shifted a bit since introduction, they don't seem to be as dark as they were before. Is that down to too much light or too little light?



These are growing well and have kept their vibrant green colours.



No new polyps for these zoas yet but there is some mat growth so hopefully it won't be long.



No signs of growth all from these.



No growth here either, in fact I there seems to be some shrinking of the mat connecting the polyps to each other and that can't be good. These polyps are smaller than all the others, is that significant I wonder? Are the small species harder to keep than the larger ones??



Here's what they look like from the side, pretty little things. I sure hope I don't lose them.



These green ones are doing great except.... see the group of polyps on the right? Well those are MIA. Eaten or dislodged, who knows. Note that the Aiptasia has gone now too, I nuked it with some Joe's Juice.



These are the polyps that were knocked off a while ago, I placed them into the refugium for safe keeping. They are back now.



More pics to follow in a mo.....

The Fungia is still in the land of the living. It does seem a bit bigger but I don't know that for sure really.



The B. wellsi has developed a teeny tiny new polyp at the back which is great news.



However, not much is happening with the B. merleti. It doesn't expand very much at all and I'm wondering if it's getting too much light. I'd like to move it again but don't really have anywhere better for it to go, so I guess it'll have to tough it out where it is.

The tunicates are still the same. I have been dosing the tank with DTs phyto and oyster eggs but I don't know if they are helping at all. One things for sure there's no stopping that tube worm, it keeps on extending its tube and has grown up and past the squirts now. The spirorbid worm population has also exploded, they have settled almost everywhere, it's quite cool really! I think that they must be responsible for lowering the alkalinity and calcium levels, I had to start dosing for those this week.



The Sargassum algae keeps on growing, it's developed gas bladders now. Neato! I have been trimming it a bit to keep it away from the corals but should probably be more vicious with it as it's perhaps getting a bit too bushy.



The mushrooms have been relocated to the rear of the tank where there is less flow. Will have to get shots of them later.

That's enough pics for now, I hope that I haven't posted too many. I'll finish off with the latest FTS.



Best regards

Ann

cool! gas bladders on the sargum! i forgot whether that was sexual or just a floatation aid(?). very interesting, nevertheless.

carrying on from my thread:
i'm shocked you're getting coralline without heavily supplementing the ca/alk when your blasto's budding and you've got that fungia.

i agree, that the worm growth you noted is definitely another factor. in my tank too but i think the coralline in there is grabbing the ca/alk first still.

but do you think you're getting some bio-ca/alk from what you're feeding? i've not tried the oyster eggs but i've heard they're as perfect as we can currently get (food-wise).

so the joe's juice wasn't so bad? did that polyp pull thru?

Ann = Pico Reef goddess

Looking great Ann!

Ann - almost convinced that zoas are cool, almost!

That FTS makes it look like a 30 gallon cube! Well done with the setup.

Wow! Looking nice.... I think we found a winner!

Ann, looks stunning as usual!! I WANT those beautiful blue zoas!!! I might just have to fly over and raid your tank

Again, WOW!

Looks awsome!

ann it looks great. rem me? uk reefer helped you with lighting best uk pico ive ever seen

ive got some frags with your name on them

BRIGHT red mushrooms
BRIGHT green mushrooms
BRIGHT green zoos
BRIGHT green star polups

if you want them altho i dont know how to ship not asking for anything ££ wise if youre intrested pm me

Ann, those new zoos are awesome... the whole tank is looking great I think the sargassum really makes it... keep up the good work!

ya, lol.. it doesnt look like its 2.5g .. it looks huge.. nice work

love the rics and zoos...good luck with the contest Ann

Like it! looking very nice.

Thanks again for all the lovely comments.

Tiny, you are right of course, the Blastomussa and Fungia must be soaking up the alk/Ca even if it's not that apparent to me. They are slow growers but their skeletons are quite dense so it must take quite a bit of calcium to extend them. It's the spirorbid population though that shows the most obvious Ca usage. They have settled everywhere in this tank, on the glass, plastic pipes and even on some blades of algae, flaunting their curly little white casings at me. I've never seen so many appear so quickly, a benefit of going skimmerless perhaps?



The jury is still out on the dosage of phyto and the oyster eggs. The filter feeding worms must be loving it but I'm not sure about anything else. When I add it most of the zoanthids shut down immediately, the squirts close their siphons, even the large worm retracts it's crown for a while, it's not exactly what I'd call an enthusiastic response.

The gas bladders on the Sargassum are formed purely to keep the algae upright btw, floatation devices really.

Raven, I never used to be that taken by zoanthids either but now I think I'm addicted. I wouldn't keep them with my SPS corals but I can quite see myself setting up a bigger tank to keep them and them alone. Not that that's going to happen anytime soon.

Invert, that really is very kind of you. If you'd have offered a few weeks ago I would have jumped at the chance for sure, but now I feel that the Pico is as stocked up as I want it to be. I don't intend on adding any more corals, I just want what's there already to fill in now. Thanks a million for the offer though.

Best regards

Ann

Hey Ann, you made the "Idol Nano" Thread!
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...ndpost&p=704480

thats kool ann it does look dam nice

i relised i use to many smiles lol

Travis, OMG! I'm not sure mine's in the same category as some of those tanks, they are really incredible. Fingers crossed that my lil tank continues to grow and improve. Thanks very much for the link.


Tiny, sorry I forgot to respond to this question:



Which polyp are you referring to?

Best regards

Ann

hmm, i thought you had dripped so joe's juice onto a zoo polyp by accident ( and it was mightily po'd) when you were killing off aipts. maybe i got it mixed up with another thread?

Ahh, I think that was Zoogirl. One of her Blastos got a squirt of the stuff IIRC but they all looked great in her last FTS so I assume that they made it through the ordeal OK.

Best regards

Ann

oops!

i saw your tank pic in the Idol thread! This is my favorite pico I've seen! I love the rockwork so much!

keep it up =)

How's the new pico zoas doing? Have they attached to the rock yet?

Well they are still in the same postition in the tank so I take that to be a promising sign. I think that the blue and pink spotted ones have attached but unless I give them a tug to find out I can't be 100% positive. There's no way am I messing with those beauties, nooo way at all.

The green Palythoa has settled in great and has already developed a new little bud at its base already. I wish all the other corals would be so accomodating with their growth.

Still no sign of the elusive crab but one more frag has been knocked off this week so something's still up to no good. I'm just willling everything to encrust onto the actual rockwork so that I don't have to worry about stuff being moved anymore.

Best regards

Ann

Tank is looking fantastic! Excellent pics as well - you should post up some of your reef keeping and picture taking secrets for the rest of us

mind over reefing.

You bet!

So anyway not much to update really. All is progressing OK I think, The zoanthids are fine, growing a bit too slowly for my liking but hey I'm just thinking of how the tank won't have filled in by the end if the competition.

The mushrooms haven't done anything at all which is disappointing, they used to like me but I guess not any more.

The B wellsi is doing great, with 1 new polyp and 3 other buds developing now, I must try and get a shot of it one night. The B. merleti however is not doing so great, I broke down in the end and moved it lower down the tank, it's not in a great viewing position any more but I don't care as long the new position perks it up a bit. I find it hard to imagine that it was getting too much light. The Fungia is still good to go.

Oh and the Sargassum is looking mighty fine. No chance of faking a FTS for me, my algae'o'meter is a dead give away.



Best regards

Ann

Wow! I've been eagerly awaiting an update so glad to see a new FTS! I'm sorry your merleti isn't doing so hot. I hope the new location will perk the little guy up. It definitely looks like the macroalgae is enjoying the conditions of your tank. Is there any chance that it will go sexual? I've heard that you can lose a lot in a tank if macroalgae goes sexual so just be careful I hope to see more updates soon

Hmm, you have a point there. I really don't know if Sargassum can go sexual and crash a tank, I've not read about it happening but that doesn't mean that it's not a possiblity. I'd better check up on that asap.

I'll post some close-up shots of the corals soon. I've been trying to resist posting too many updates as there's not a lot changed recently (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Don't want to bore you all rigid with almost identical pictures.

Best regards

Ann

looking good ann

You never have to worry about boring us with your tank Ann! You have one of the nicest tanks I've ever seen and growth or not, it's still ultra cool to look at pictures of it! I hope I didn't worry you too much with the question about the sargassum going sexual, I just wanted to make sure that you were aware if it was a possibility. Can't wait to see close-ups of everyone! I especially can't wat to see the pics of the frags you got from your friend. Those blue zoas still make me drool every time I see them!

"Algae reproduce in astoundingly diverse ways. Some reproduce asexually, others use sexual reproduction, and many use both. In asexual reproduction an individual reproduces without combining its genetic material with that from another individual. The simplest form of asexual reproduction is binary fission, in which a unicellular organism simply divides into two new individuals. Some multicellular algae, including Sargassum, reproduce asexually through fragmentation, in which fragments of the parent develop into new individuals. In a similar process called budding, special buds detach from multicellular algae and develop into new individuals, commonly found in Sphacelaria. Many algae produce special cells called spores that are capable of growing into new individuals. If these spores move about using flagella, they are known as zoospores."
-http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573848/Algae.html

But, that doesn mean it doesnt do both though... As always, AWSOME tank+pictures.

Karen, no actually I'm glad that you brought it up cause it's made me think hard about this algae now and not just about the potential of crashing my tank either.

Thanks Max, I have performed a search on the reproductive strategies of Sargassum too and have also discovered that it does sexually reproduce but does not sporulate like Caulerpa is known to do. So basically it won't crash my tank.... phew!

However, this has triggered me to wondering if this type of seaweed has a detrimental effect on the health of my corals in other ways. I assume that it must produce some noxious chemicals to deter hungry herbivores after all most I've seen seem to avoid eating it and a pico has such a small volume of water that any chemical warfare can be a big issue. I do like the look of this algae and its potential to lock up nutrients but not if it's going to harm my corals in anyway.

Anyhow I'm still in research mode and will keep you all posted of any findings.

Best regards

Ann

Amazing Ann, simply amazing.

Do you run carbon or phosban (or somthing like that)?

Try asking Anthony Calfo (spelling?) on the RC forums.

OK I've found my answer now, it can be kept but it must be trimmed back very regularly and chemical filtration (ie carbon) must be employed along with plenty of water changes to keep the noxious chemicals at bay.

In light of this I've been quite severe with my prunings this week, in fact I've hacked all but a little of it right down, the tank looks quite empty without all the bushyness. Still, I'm sure that it's for the best, I am ever mindful of what happened to Jareds beautiful SPS Pico and my experience with the Seriatopora earlier on in this competition too.

I am running carbon and doing regular water changes but there is something that seems to be upsetting the corals that I can't quite put my finger on. It could just be down to living life in a Pico with all it's little quirks I suppose.

Best regards

Ann

I luv the tank Ann. Looks awesome.

NICE.

So that sargassum's no good? I'm growing a forest in my tank too. o.O

ann, was the sargum giving you trouble? i thought it was looking fine (along with everything else).

did you notice something recently that prompted the research, filtration and prunings? i advocate carbon 24/7 anyways but more frequent changes if i see something amiss.

did u figure it out yet???? did u get ur water tested.. anyway i love the tank. and i REALLY want some of those rics...lol...

Well I'm not sure what the problem is really, if indeed there is a problem at all. It's just that some of the zoanthids look a bit off, they are not dying or anything like that they are just not as expanded as I know they could (should?) be. Also some of them may be a little faded out colourwise, but that could be down to lighting I guess. Anyhow curiously the expansion/deflation tends to follow a sort of pattern. Things seems OK in the morning but by the afternoon the zoas are looking a bit rough and by that I mean most are open but the skirts are sort of curled in. It's interesting that whatever is upsetting the zoas is worst in the afternoon after the lights have been on for a while.

The Sargassum may be totally blameless but there was a lot of it and it did need a really good prune, there were even clumps of it growing on rocks in the refugium too. So anyway I've plucked a lot of it out but still have a clump growing to the left hand side and on the right.

The water parameters have all been tested and seem OK, in fact I wonder if the water is too clean. LOL! Not a hint of any nitrates or phosphates.

I'll try to get a load of new pictures up later on today.

Best regards

Ann

Wouldn't have thought there would be much nitrates/phospates left after the Sargassum has been at it!

Don't know if it's relevent but the zoas in my tank curls up a little during dawn/dusk as there is less light, and expands fully when the main lights are on.

Hi Raven,

If anything I'd say that the zoas look better when there is only one of the tubes lit. I feel sure it's a chemical thing or perhaps a food thing, maybe I need to add more fertiliser, I mean food. Another thing that I've noticed is that the individual polyp heads are smaller than they were, this is probably down to the light.

Anyway here are a ton of new pics as promised....

These are really doing well, new heads popping up every week, the fastest grower in the tank I think:





These have finally settled down and have produced two new heads and fixed themselves to the rockwork too:





Still no new polyps here, there has been growth since they were added but nothing to get excited about:



Still nothing happening here :



These seem to be growing away from the light rather than towards it, in addition to which a few of the upper polyps have mysteriously vanished:



I had to tie these ones down as they weren't as secure as I'd thought:



more to come......

A new polyps here and two babies on the way too, interestingly they look nicer at night than during the day, expanding much more, looking for food I guess. They love Cyclopeeze:



Growth here too



The blues are a bit of a mystery to me, they are not quite a blue as before but what is even more perplexing is that they don't expand their tentacles as much as they did in their previous home. There is definitely growth (the tiny polyp on the far left is new) so they seem to be doing OK. I wonder if it's a light thing or a flow thing or both? They still look great though:



The Ricordea florida are much the same, no obvious signs of expansion:



At last a pic of the blue Discosoma, it seems to have settled in nicely:



Other news: The R. yuma is really struggling sadly, not sure if it'll be around for too much longer. The red dot 'shroom is still, well a red dot 'shroom, so change there then. The B. wellsi is mad because I pruned back the Sargassum and its getting more light that it really wants/likes. The B. merleti seems doomed, it's fading away and I'm not sure why. Also the hitchhiking tunicates are shrinking due to a lack of the correct food, I'm not surprised really but none the less still a teeny tiny bit disappointed.

Here's how the tank looks at the moment. The coralline has finally begun to take off on the back glass which is maybe not such a great thing as I really quite liked the clean look:



Best regards

Ann

Did the orange sponge hitchhike or did you put it on there? I like all of those orange skirt zoanthids.