Fishfreak's foxy BC29: Brine Shrimp!

[fishfreak0114]

I did a water change yesterday and the sand was full of gunk. It looks much better now! I felt like Godzilla terrorizing the tank, I knocked so many things over and off my rock work! Everything's back in place now

 

Couple FTS! used my camera again and my new favorite photo editing website ipiccy.com. The gorgs and leather are shedding.

 

wfv3trg_zpshw0dyuv7 by orb1915, on Flickr

P8261495_zpsgnu0ckfb by orb1915, on Flickr

 

Had to have some fun with the new website

yegduy_zpsujixjx5r by orb1915, on Flickr

P8261498_zpslklkf0mt by orb1915, on Flickr

 

So far the QT fish are doing well. No signs of ich

P8261540_zpsrc9wmsx1 by orb1915, on Flickr

P8261542_zpsip7b6d44 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

P8261489_zpsdew02qmc by orb1915, on Flickr

P8261524_zpskslgst48 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I think the nem has found a place it's happy. Unfortunately that's also where my Duncan used to be need to find a new spot for it now

YEGXYY_zpsksjyfi7f by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I transplanted Zoas to where the chalice was, and to where the radioactives were (I knocked them off and ended up moving them, there's still a few radioactives on the rock though)

P8261474_zpsbdrorqoz by orb1915, on Flickr

P8261467_zpshj7wdpwv by orb1915, on Flickr

 

Only the one branch of gorg has ever opened, but it seems to be going strong so far. It eats well

P8261466_zps8ru42muf by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The dendro just seems to get better and better! I made a new corral, a bit smaller, rounder and I tried to press some sand in it so it would blend a little more

P8261526_zpstyljtg76 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The goniopora was $2 well spent. It grow a decent amount

P8261476_zpslff9pxby by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The lobo is doing really well too

P8261465_zpsuzrvlsrj by orb1915, on Flickr

[fishfreak0114]

The plate lives on...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through its babies!!!

I just noticed today that there's around 20 (that I can see) baby plates growing on the dead one! So cool excuse my bad photos, the glass needs a cleaning. These are the smaller ones, there's way more on the other side and a few slightly larger ones. About a 1/4-1/3 of a cm across.

gftr_zpskkkoydiq by orb1915, on Flickr

tdt_zpswanwfg85 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The fish in QT are still going strong

[fishfreak0114]

I just took a long hard look at the QT fish. They're both ich free, and the damsel looks fabulous. My concern however lies with the flame angel. Maybe I'm being paranoid (again). It seems skinnier than it should be, I'm guessing from not having rock to graze on all day and the smaller amount of food I've been feeding to reduce pollution. And it's it's lateral line is more defined than usual. I can't get a pic because damn that's one fast fish, but I'm worried that it could be the onset of HLLE? Is that possible? So I was wondering if it would be worth the risk to put it in the DT two weeks before the QT period is up. I treated with prazipro and for ich, so I'm not really sure what else it could be other than underfed/HLLE. I don't want to risk my other fish's health, but I also don't want the flame to decline.

[fishfreak0114]

Wow this has been quite the week so far, back to school and work. I manage to embarrass myself twice yesterday within the first 10 minutes of class, and again today typical me. So far it's been ok though, my classes seem good (except PE of course, I have a feeling we'll be starting off with a nice long run tomorrow morning ).

 

The plate continues to make more babies!!! I've seen more spring up in different areas, now I approximate that there's 35-40! they seem to have a grown a little bit, I tried to feed them but not sure if it worked.

 

QT fish have less than two weeks left! They may go in two or three days early if I go out of town (to somewhere that could have a tailspot).

 

I'm considering vacuuming out around half my sand bed and rinsing it really good and putting it back. Ever since I slacked off for a little I just haven't been able to get the sand satisfactorily clean.

[xAyanex]

Soooo awesome about the plate having babies! Congratulations! I'm going to transfer Dot tonight when I get home.

[fishfreak0114]

Soooo awesome about the plate having babies! Congratulations! I'm going to transfer Dot tonight when I get home.

I'm pretty stoked to have them, they're so itty bitty adorable! I really want to watch them grow up. I bet Dot will be super happy to get out of QT and into your reef! And Bob will have some company

[xAyanex]

I'm pretty stoked to have them, they're so itty bitty adorable! I really want to watch them grow up. I bet Dot will be super happy to get out of QT and into your reef! And Bob will have some company

I can't wait to see them progress

 

Yes! It will be interesting to see how they react to one another. It would be really nice if they would figure out a different "favorite spot".

 

Because Bob is SUCH a weirdo. Like, what fish prefers to stay vertically in a corner next to a thermometer? Lol

[yoshii]

Wow nice FTS! This tank is really looking nice

Congrats on the plate babies too! I love when that happens

[fishfreak0114]

I can't wait to see them progress

 

Yes! It will be interesting to see how they react to one another. It would be really nice if they would figure out a different "favorite spot".

 

Because Bob is SUCH a weirdo. Like, what fish prefers to stay vertically in a corner next to a thermometer? Lol

Lol, mine like to hang out at the back too!

Wow nice FTS! This tank is really looking nice

Congrats on the plate babies too! I love when that happens

Thanks! I've been having some diatom issues lately, and more algae on the glass which is why I haven't posted any pics in a bit. I'm hoping that cleaning my sand very thoroughly can resolve it.

I keep trying to count the babies, but they're so tightly squashed together that it's a difficult task

[fishfreak0114]

Oh QT woes! I'm hoping this isn't a repeat of previous QT's (fish death) but anyways...

 

So today the damsel hasn't been "swimming". It seems to be stuck on the bottom, like it won't float. Or maybe it's just not in the mood to get up and swim around. It is moving around and eating though. The flame is fine. As a precaution, I did an 8l wc (I've been doing lots of wc's) changed the floss, and added a small bag of phosguard and carbon. I'm hoping for the best .

 

And on the FW side, lots of heartbreak in the last week. I was at the fish store picking up fish for my step mom, and my dad was telling me to hurry up. Figured I'd grab a couple neon tetras and rummy nose tetras to bulk up my numbers. I didn't get a chance to really look at them because, again, I was being rushed. I probably shouldn't have bought them but I was a touch frazzled running around the store and texting two people about what they wanted me to buy, and when I went to get fish I got them anyways. When I got home I was very disappointed with the health of them. The rummy noses were small and skinny. Within two days, 2 out of three had died. Just the new ones. Now, over the last couple days, 5 of my 8 neons died. I'd only bought 3, so I'm thinking they brought something with them that's effecting even my established ones that were doing great . Having no idea what it is and being that I have a couple sensitive fish that don't like meds, I'm just going to wait and see what happens. All my remaining fish seem fine, only the tiny rummies and my neons have been dying. The survivors seem ok thus far. Wish me luck

 

I plan on doing the big sand cleaning on Monday or Tuesday. If the tank looks nice and clean after I'll post up some pics.

[fishfreak0114]

Good news! The damsel is still alive! I really don't think it's sick, it's just acting weird. It hovers at the bottom, but it moves around, stays upright, has intact fins, is eating, not gasping and has good color. I'm thinking maybe it just claimed the area of the tank it hangs out in as its territory?

 

My mom has described a kinda strange behaviour between the fish. She said it makes her think of courting. The two fish are buddies and have been for a while, sharing the PVC and hanging out together most of the time. Now the flame is "herding" it as she put it, not on a mean or aggressive way, just steering it towards the heater. So strange.

[teenyreef]

Damsels are supposed to be nearly indestructible, so I'm glad yours seems to be OK. I'm also glad the angel is doing OK now!

 

I'm sorry about the rummy noses and neons. I have a bunch in my 90g FW tank, and I always seem to lose about a quarter of them every six month or so, always for no apparent reason. It's annoying but I love the way they look so much, especially the rummy noses

[fishfreak0114]

Damsels are supposed to be nearly indestructible, so I'm glad yours seems to be OK. I'm also glad the angel is doing OK now!

 

I'm sorry about the rummy noses and neons. I have a bunch in my 90g FW tank, and I always seem to lose about a quarter of them every six month or so, always for no apparent reason. It's annoying but I love the way they look so much, especially the rummy noses

Thanks! I was super nervous because we're at 3 weeks in the 10, and that's where things have gone bad in the past.

 

The neons and rummy noses are favorites, so I think I'll always keep them, despite the random deaths. I'm going to wait a while to restock though in case it's a disease. And QT! I need to QT next time!

[fishfreak0114]

I did a little spot cleaning in the Qt today, and I moved the PVC away from its spot next to the intake. The flame wasn't expecting the higher suction and got stuck! Caught at the tail. I immediately turned the filter off and it swam away like nothing happened. Gave me a heart attack! I put the PVC back against the intake, and I lowered the filters setting. I told my mom to keep a super close eye on it. The tank is getting a dose of prime today.

 

I also decided to see if the damsel couldn't get off the bottom, or if it just didn't want to. I chased it a little and it can swim! After it got off the bottom, it continued to swim around. Yay!

 

I started baking a cake today for my moms 50th. Mocha hazelnut. It's smells declicious! I'm going to attempt to decorate it tomorrow, I guess we'll see how that turns out

[fishfreak0114]

In my 26 planted my worst nightmares are playing out. Since I last posted I've lost another neon, a rummy nose and my Kuhli loach. Moved most fish to a 5g and treating with Prazipro. My two scaleless loaches remain in the 26 being treated with a half dose. I don't even know what's wrong but I can't just sit here and do nothing my Params are fine. Heartbroken...

[fishfreak0114]

Well I'm feeling pretty bummed out right now. I'm home sick today, and I decided to switch over to my moms house early to get some Lipton chicken noodle soup. I got there and lo and behold, the flame was stuck to the filter not dead (yet). How could suck a strong swimmer get stuck? I'm guessing it has an underlying issue? It was stuck at the dorsal fin, nose up, and when I turned the filter off it was still breathing, but now when it's not actively swimming it's nose goes up! I'm holding out hope for the poor things recovery, but it's not looking good. The damsel is, as it has been since I chased it with my hand, swimming everywhere like crazy!

[fishfreak0114]

The flame is almost gone

[fishfreak0114]

Here's a pic of my moms 50th birthday cake! She loved it!

 

[fishfreak0114]

A few updates:

 

The damsel is still doing good. I plan to keep it in for an extra week to make sure there's nothing wrong with it.

 

Today I did a half water change, and I'm going to do the other half tomorrow. I wanted to see how good rinsing my sand vs vacuuming it works. I can definitely say, rinsing got out WAY more gunk. It seemed like in the 1/5 of my sandbed that I removed and rinsed I got rid of more waste than when I vacuum the whole bed. I sucked the sand out and rinsed it under the tap about 15 times until the water was clear. Then I dosed prime to the sand and swirled it around really good. Being that I use tap water in the tank I wasn't worried about rinsing in sw. It also happened to eliminate around 20 bristleworms in the process, which I felt kind of bad about, but the fw killed them.

 

All my corals are doing really good, except the lobed leather, with has been extremely shrunk up for a couple weeks now. It seems to be having a very drawn out shed. Makes me a little concerned. The walking dendro seems to have finished its recovery and it looks fabulous! I still don't know where to put the duncan. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

 

The feather duster shed it's crown a little while back, and it's new one is growing in now. The new tube it made itself is really long.

 

I love the RFA! It may be just plain old brown, but I find it to be a very interesting animal. I'm feeding it roughly once per week, as well as anything it catches.

 

Today I turned the plate around to check progress. More babies are still popping up, some so small I can barely tell that they're there! My current estimate is around 70-80 babies. This is the most productive area

 

The acan has never done good from the time I got it, but for about the past month what's left has been puffing up. It makes me wonder if it will make a recovery.

[teenyreef]

Those acans look perfectly healthy. It looks like they are making a full recovery

[fishfreak0114]

Those acans look perfectly healthy. It looks like they are making a full recovery

That's great news! . I can still see skeleton in some spots(more towards the other side), but hopefully that will heal soon.

[teenyreef]

That's great news! . I can still see skeleton in some spots(more towards the other side), but hopefully that will heal soon.

It should grow out right over the skeleton as the polyps expand and multiply

[fishfreak0114]

Well I just witnessed something that sent shivers up my spine. I'm not sure when it started, but I was looking at my tank and I noticed a squirt if tiny red dots (eggs) and sperm released from the lower part of my tank. Then one from behind the RFA, and then I noticed several large bristleworms out on the rock. And one released another jet of eggs/sperm. Hope I don't get an infestation It's weird because the lights are on? You'd think they would have waited for the dark. I grabbed my camera, but it seems the spawning has ended mixed feelings about that lol cool to witness but I don't want to see the aftereffects.

[fishfreak0114]

Today I did a 16l water change and rinsed another 2/5 of my sand. I think that it should help fix the light dusting of diatoms/cyano (not sure which) that I've had on it for the last couple weeks. It's so white! I seriously can't believe how much more crap rinsing gets out. Us

 

I was thinking about my tank today, and the way I maintain it, and I seriously have no clue how it hasn't become a giant blob of algae and cyano. First of all, I use tap water. I also worked out the percent of water changes I'm doing, and it's only about 15% every two weeks. And I feed heavily and very messy (including broadcasting feeding frozen rotifers/decapsulated brine shrimp eggs at least every two weeks). I also dose phyto. I have no clue how much, but I'm pretty sure it's more than I should be. I just squirt a bunch in every week or two. And I don't have a skimmer helping me out at all. But so long as things keep growing, and the balance doesn't go out of whack, I'm happy

 

The caulerpa is growing fabulously! I really love it.

 

I'm currently trying to convince my mom that a Fluval EVO 12 would make a great softy reef for my bedroom. I feel the itch to get another reef tank, and I really want some simple softies like Xenia and clove polyps that I haven't put in the bc29. And I'd love a pistol/goby pair and a pygmy wrasse. Haven't seen the EVO here in Canada yet, or online, but I'm sure it'll get there eventually. I've already gotten the ok from my dad to get another tank in my bedroom at his house. Gonna ask for a mr.aqua 12g for Christmas in which I'd like to keep either carinotetraodon irrubesco or c. lorteti if I can find one. I love freshwater puffers and let's just note that if I get both those tanks I think fish keeping will have become an obsession. That would put me up to 7 tanks

[fishfreak0114]

Some exciting and some not so happy news.

 

I've decided to put the talbot into the DT! I was going to wait until Sunday, but I'm impatient. It hasn't shown any signs of anything bad since the tank transfer ended, and I'm thinking that the flame angel really was just a fluke. No names yet though, have to wait and see how it adjusts to the new tank.

 

When I came home from school today, I noticed that the top 1" to 1.5" of my gorgonians was just skeleton. I'm thinking it may be from the heat spike my tank suffered today. My mom had the left the curtains open, and the sun heated it right up! Thankfully she got the temp down pretty quick. Everything else seems ok, except that leather that is continuing to shrink even smaller. Unfortunately, I have a feeling it going to wither until there's nothing left. No idea why it isn't happy where it is, it was for the first while and I haven't changed anything.

 

The pink duncan doesn't seem to like where I've put it, I'll have to find it a new spot tomorrow.

 

Since I rinsed my sand, it has stayed sparkling white! No more diatoms/cyano!

 

I may have to scrape off some of the sponge growing on my rock because it's beginning to choke out the zoas that I've glued there. All the zoas seem to have healed nicely, and some are already starting to grow!

 

In my science class, the opportunity to do a longer experiment has risen. Every student will pose a question, and over the course of the semester work to answer it. So naturally I'm trying to do something with coral! Here's the link to the thread I've started about it

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/377007-coral-growth-science-project-planning/