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Aaron's Rimless 18" Cube


aaron1987

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Not a whole lot to report - my diatom and algae bloom is gathering some steam which I take as a good sign for now. I'll pick up some basic test kits once I'm back from FL in 2 weeks.

 

Speaking of, i'm supposed to head to JAX Wednesday but I'm pretty certain that little storm scheduled to be in the gulf Wed is going to cause problems with a connection in DFW. Unfortunately, I'm flying American and have never had the greatest experience with their customer service but I'll see if I can get them to route me through a different connecting city all the same... Wish me luck!

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Alright, time to play the stocking list game for fish:

 

1x - BSJF

1x - Flame Hawkfish

1x - Candy Hog Fish

 

This is where I run out of steam. Observations about the initial list is that other than the hogfish, I don't have a lot of 'in the water column' movement and can stock 1, maybe 2 more fish depending on size. So with that in mind, some possible tankmates I've considered:

 

Splendid Dottyback (potential aggression concerns)

Flame Angel (nipping at coral is an acceptable risk, being too large and cramped is not and I'm worried an 18" box is on the small end of acceptable)

Cherub Angel (it's okay...)

Royal Gramma (bullet proof but kind of boring)

Mystery Wrasse (too large)

McCosker's (terrible luck with these guys)

 

Any other suggestions or advice? Lotta red and yellow in the rank, as it is.

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buddythelion

Golden Dwarf Moray!

 

Edit: Oops, I just realized you were going open top. That's a big no no. No clowns for you?

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Golden Dwarf Moray!

 

Edit: Oops, I just realized you were going open top. That's a big no no. No clowns for you?

 

I'm afraid that the BSJF means that I will, unfortunately, need to make myself a top of some sort unless I desire a $100 strip of fish jerky. So the GDM is possibility if I could ever find one for sale... Not sure if I have enough rockwork to keep one satisfactorily, though. Awesome idea - thanks!

 

As for clowns.. been there, done that :)

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buddythelion
I'm afraid that the BSJF means that I will, unfortunately, need to make myself a top of some sort unless I desire a $100 strip of fish jerky. So the GDM is possibility if I could ever find one for sale... Not sure if I have enough rockwork to keep one satisfactorily, though. Awesome idea - thanks!

 

As for clowns.. been there, done that :)

 

I have one in my 12 cube. Just find a baby one! Tons of personality, I love mine.

 

This was my stocking list, even though it's on the slightly over crowded side they've been doing fine in the 12 (minus a BSJ).

 

GDM

BSJ

Picasso Pair

Tiger Blenny

 

I wish I could squeeze a Naoko Fairy Wrasse, they stay on the smaller end for wrasses and look great. So I'm debating on BSJ or Naoko. BSJ are known for being difficult to keep while the Naoko might need more swimming room.

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I have one in my 12 cube. Just find a baby one! Tons of personality, I love mine.

 

This was my stocking list, even though it's on the slightly over crowded side they've been doing fine in the 12 (minus a BSJ).

 

GDM

BSJ

Picasso Pair

Tiger Blenny

 

I wish I could squeeze a Naoko Fairy Wrasse, they stay on the smaller end for wrasses and look great. So I'm debating on BSJ or Naoko. BSJ are known for being difficult to keep while the Naoko might need more swimming room.

 

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a GDM; they don't show up that often, though.

 

In my experience, getting a healthy BSJF up front is the key to success. My theory (unsubstantiated) is that they don't take kindly to being disturbed repeatedly - better to get one that has been established for a couple weeks at the LFS or wherever.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Fridmani could be fun, though I feel like I would have better luck tracking down a pair of neon gobies. I've always thought they were kind of cool. Thanks for the suggestion!

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So after a spin through the Diver's Den, I pulled the trigger on some livestock! Woo! Nothing ultra rare (that's what the eventually Cherry Corals order is for..) but I'm excited to have some movement in the tank. I snagged a nice looking Yellowhead Jawfish - I know, its no BSJF but my girlfriend thought this one was cute and I'm not one to complain about saving some money on a fish! Also picked up a Flame Hawkfish and a Candy Hogfish. A ORA red goni rounded things out. I was a noob about it and didn't save the pics so you'll all have to wait till their delivery on Wed :)

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omgomgomg Livestock! Can't wait to see pics!

 

Speaking of, here's a little teaser of a little guy I picked up at Barrier Reef today while I was dripping him...

 

20120909_165921.jpg

 

The color balance is quite off making it look like a Bipartitus, but it's actually a 2" Potter's Leopard. Quite the gamble, but he was fat and bold, which is more than can be said about most of them, if you can even find one...

 

Slow drip acclimation for 2 hrs and while I know they are somewhat prone to intestinal worms, I decided against a prophylactic Prazi dip, fearing the added stress with their already delicate nature. He swam around the tank for a bit, then hid under some rocks for awhile before burying himself (as expected). I consider the (apparently) successful acclimation to be encouraging, given how many of these end up belly up from shipping stress.

 

It will be an adventure to see if I can get the little guy onto frozen, but he's about as nice a specimen as I could hope for to give it a try with.

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Speaking of, here's a little teaser of a little guy I picked up at Barrier Reef today while I was dripping him...

 

20120909_165921.jpg

 

The color balance is quite off making it look like a Choati, but it's actually a 2" Potter's Leopard. Quite the gamble, but he was fat and bold, which is more than can be said about most of them, if you can even find one...

 

Slow drip acclimation for 2 hrs and while I know they are somewhat prone to intestinal worms, I decided against a prophylactic Prazi dip, fearing the added stress with their already delicate nature. He swam around the tank for a bit, then hid under some rocks for awhile before burying himself (as expected). I consider the (apparently) successful acclimation to be encouraging, given how many of these end up belly up from shipping stress.

 

It will be an adventure to see if I can get the little guy onto frozen, but he's about as nice a specimen as I could hope for to give it a try with.

Aww, he's so cute. Hope he makes it for you. I <3 Barrier Reef; it's the nicest set up with the cleanest tanks that I've seen in the Puget Sound area.

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Speaking of, here's a little teaser of a little guy I picked up at Barrier Reef today while I was dripping him...

 

20120909_165921.jpg

 

The color balance is quite off making it look like a Choati, but it's actually a 2" Potter's Leopard. Quite the gamble, but he was fat and bold, which is more than can be said about most of them, if you can even find one...

 

Slow drip acclimation for 2 hrs and while I know they are somewhat prone to intestinal worms, I decided against a prophylactic Prazi dip, fearing the added stress with their already delicate nature. He swam around the tank for a bit, then hid under some rocks for awhile before burying himself (as expected). I consider the (apparently) successful acclimation to be encouraging, given how many of these end up belly up from shipping stress.

 

It will be an adventure to see if I can get the little guy onto frozen, but he's about as nice a specimen as I could hope for to give it a try with.

Great looking Potters! Doesn't look like a chaoti to me in the pic, dead on Potters. They do get 4"+ though, but gorgeous none the less!

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Aww, he's so cute. Hope he makes it for you. I <3 Barrier Reef; it's the nicest set up with the cleanest tanks that I've seen in the Puget Sound area.

 

Thanks - me too! Agreed on Barrier Reef, they have done a really nice job with their display tank and the staff are knowledgeable. I haven't lived here long enough to check out too many others but Saltwater City (I think that was it...) was the other one I swung by and I couldn't have been less impressed.

 

Great looking Potters! Doesn't look like a chaoti to me in the pic, dead on Potters. They do get 4"+ though, but gorgeous none the less!

 

Hah! I just realized I said Choati, meant Bipartitus for the blue and 'black'. Under proper white balancing, I assure you it's a gorgeous blue and yellow :) They do get too large for an 18" cube eventually - no question! If he does well enough that we get to that point, I'd say he deserves the resulting tank upgrade ;)

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Thanks - me too! Agreed on Barrier Reef, they have done a really nice job with their display tank and the staff are knowledgeable. I haven't lived here long enough to check out too many others but Saltwater City (I think that was it...) was the other one I swung by and I couldn't have been less impressed.

Yea, I wasn't too impressed by Saltwater City either, even though they get rave reviews over on Yelp. Denny's Pet World up in Kirkland isn't too bad, decent fish/frozen food (it's great if you're into freshwater) selection & I think they'll special order stuff for you, but their coral display tank isn't anything to write home about. Actually, I think Barrier Reef is the only one with clean, well lit coral tanks, their sale ones too, not just the big display one.

 

The Fish Place in the U District is ok, seemed more fish oriented than coral though. Red C in north Seattle has big plans, but still getting organized imo (got my clowns there). The guy has some pretty big frag tanks. Don't go there if you're allergic to cats. Trying to think of any other non-big box stores I've been to...Sea King Aquariums is also in Renton but I think he's only open by appointment? Apparently the website has only a fraction of what he actually has available.

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Funny you should mention Saltwater City's Yelp reviews - the reason I went there...

 

Do any of them sell reliably healthy, pest-free fish - at least based on their reputation? I know Barrier Reef does their best and seem to do pretty well at it, but I also know that they do pretty high volume and don't quarantine.

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Funny you should mention Saltwater City's Yelp reviews - the reason I went there...

 

Do any of them sell reliably healthy, pest-free fish - at least based on their reputation? I know Barrier Reef does their best and seem to do pretty well at it, but I also know that they do pretty high volume and don't quarantine.

Probably depends on what you're looking for. I'm not sure anyone "reliably" does a full quarantine, but I'm an un-trusting cynic. You might want to give Denny's Pet World a try if you're ever up in the Kirkland/Totem Lake area. I've purchased freshwater fish there in the past & had excellent results, but haven't bought their SW fish. I was planning on it, but when I went to check out Red C he had a ton of clowns so I went ahead & got them then.

 

They have 2 lovely big display tanks, & their coral selection is ok, but poorly lit so you don't get to see the specimens anywhere near their best imo.

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Well, my little experiment failed this morning as I found him the the clutches of a small mithrax crab. Doubt the crab was responsible for the death - much more likely the wrasse died over night. I'm surprised, given that the Potter's gave every indication of health yesterday evening during acclimation and after being added to the aquarium. I double-checked my parameters given the suddenness and was unable to find anything out of sorts. Not an unlikely outcome, but I assumed the difficulty would be weaning onto prepared foods.

 

I guess their reputation as fragile is well deserved; I'm not really sure what I could have done differently: Drip acclimation for 2 hrs, skipped prophylactic dips and baths, lights out on the tank. Anyone with experience (preferably success) care to chime in on your strategy for Leopard acclimation?

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Sorry for the loss :(

 

My LFS has a black leopard wrasse that is eating awesome. I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on it. I wish my tank was more mature. I feel they are more likely to have success that way. Who knows, sometimes fish just die

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Sorry for the loss :(

 

My LFS has a black leopard wrasse that is eating awesome. I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on it. I wish my tank was more mature. I feel they are more likely to have success that way. Who knows, sometimes fish just die

 

From what I understand, black leopard's are significantly hardier than potters. As long as things are stable and it's eating you should give it a whirl :) And yes - sometimes they do just die.. At least with coral you generally get some advanced notice that something is amiss.

 

 

Sorry to hear about the loss :( Those fish are beautiful.

 

Yes they are. I'm disappointed but I bought it knowing they're quite fragile.

 

On a cheerier note - my DFS purchases arrive today and they're of the significantly hardier variety so here's to hoping they thrive!

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Sweet cube. Hopefully you'll have better luck with the new order.

 

I'm hoping to get back to the NW sometime soon. I don't miss the rain but I do miss having stores that aren't 3 hours away.

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