ecogirl22 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 nice new pics. Its coming along well! Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Just wait till April! I've got people lined up ready to give me pests! Quote Link to comment
PwnMe Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Dude I don't wanna lie... for such an ugly tank... its beautiful. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Dude I don't wanna lie... for such an ugly tank... its beautiful. Just wait till it starts getting stocked... these are just the hitchhikers. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Ok, my new best friend in the whole world is Nick from Rose City Aquarium who scored me this free black mantis shrimp. I wasn't going to make this a mantis tank, but it looks like it's going to be! How exciting! He'll be hanging out for the next couple days in my 7.5 gallon tank until I can move him over on Sunday (after I'm done stocking it with corals). Check him out! Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Ok, so I took a little video of me feeding my mantis shrimp for the first time. He likes mysis shrimp! This is my emergency 7.5 gallon tank that is already cycled and has a small CUC. He'll go into the 2 gallon on Sunday. Notice he takes a couple swings at the forceps. He missed though. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Ok folks, Here we go. It's April 1st and we can start stocking. So my project for the day is to get this thing up and rolling! Here's the Full Tank Shot from this morning prior to any stocking... And the Full Equipment Shot: With the last minute score of a jet black mantis shrimp (Haptosquilla glyptocercus), I had to do some modification of the rockscape to incorporate a mantis shrimp home. I picked up a hard plastic tube fitting from Home Depot and some epoxy so I could cover the tube in aragonite substrate to make it look a little more natural. Here's the final product that has some live rock rubble glued to it to make a base for the original main rock that will go on top. Top view: Right now, I'm waiting for the glue and epoxy to set up. Stay tuned for updates! Everything is chillin' in a bucked while I wait... The mantis shrimp is hanging out in the 7.5 gallon. He came out of hiding to see what was going on about 1/2 hour ago and disappeared after a couple minutes. I almost got a picture of him! 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 And here it is... I may make a few minor adjustments to the rockscape over the next couple days, but I want to let the corals settle down and heal up a little. The xenia just got fragged and it's not too happy, but who would be after getting cut in half and glued to a rock. I threw the Chemipure elite into the back chamber and some filter floss to help clear up the water and remove some of angry-coral chemical warfare agents. I did a 100% water change after messing with everything so much. They all look quite pissed off, but the palys and zoas are starting to open back up and the xenia is waving a little. I won't add the Mantis shrimp for a couple days to make sure the tank doesn't mini-cycle after all of the trauma. 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 A few new things happened today in the pico reef. Added some new stock: About 10 new green majanos with red tips. Bubble algae. About 10-15 bubbles of various sizes. Popped a couple. Hair algae, small clump about dime sized. Various other macros. Caulerpa, some red, some other green stuff. A new piece of live rock for the back to give it some height. Came with some green mushrooms that I hacked up with a razor blade; threw half of the bits into the tank randomly. A small mat of GSP that I robbed from my main display tank, about dime sized. Glued it to the back wall of the tank. In about 1/2 hour, the mantis shrimp goes in. The water is clearing, so I'll try to get a picture before the lights go out for the night. I might wait till tomorrow for everything to settle in and open up. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Here we go: Ladies and Gentlemen, the mantis is in the building.... 2 Quote Link to comment
dallasprstn Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 dudeeeeeee. that mantis shrimp is soo awesome. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 He's so hard to get pictures of because he's so dark! He's absolutely jet black. Nearly soaks up light. Like a black hole! Ooooh.... sinister! Quote Link to comment
dweeeezy Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I have a spec in the contest too. I haven't stocked mine but yours already poops on my future plans. haha. That Mantis is just ridiculously nice. Quote Link to comment
MetaTank Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Wow...Dude, this is a SICK little tank for a pest tank, and all freebie stuff! Seriously, hats off to ya, it's looking lovely already! That mantis is a sweet showpiece... Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 The headquarters of you Mantis shrimp is impressive! Very unique how you built him a home! Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 After all of that work to build him that little home, he hightails it to the back of the tank to hide behind the rockwork. LOL. He hasn't eaten for a couple days, I'll see if I can coax him into the tube in the next day or two. Either way, he's doing well with his transfer to the tank. He was a little pissed when I first netted him from the holding tank and put him in the pico. He sat there for a couple minutes with his head down punching the sand substrate. I'll post video later today of his little tantrum. Quote Link to comment
ecogirl22 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 OMG that must be a first....mantis tantrum video! can't wait! Tank looks great! Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Here he is... 1 Quote Link to comment
miniwhinny Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 HAHAHAHA that is too funny Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 The palys and zoas are starting to open up and the xenia is healing. The majanos are finding their favorite locations and keep moving around a little. The mantis has taken up permanent residence in the back of the tank behind the rockwork. I'll see if I can't coax him into his little home. I might try covering the front of the tank for a little while so he doesn't feel so exposed at the front. 1 Quote Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 This pest tank looks way better than a lot of people's reef tanks 2 Quote Link to comment
ccapasso Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Nice tank. Also, very cool mantis. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Shadie is getting a little less shy. Here's a little video of him setting up his new home. Video: 1 Quote Link to comment
PwnMe Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Max size of that Mantis? I love him and if I had more money I'd be making the same tank as you. Quote Link to comment
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