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Snow's Bridge of Flowers


Snow_Phoenix

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Snow_Phoenix

Hey everyone, I took some time off reefing and finally got some downtime to stabilize my life. I now hold a proper job, am healing up slowly and even becoming less of an antisocial hermit at family gatherings.

 

So I've decided to pursue the salty route - this time, with proper equipment and no shortcuts/cheapskate ideas that previously cost me a lot of $$ and livestock losses. Also, I'm taking it slow. I know I've said that before, but I'm determined to do this right and not screw up like before.

 

Hence - my new nano set that I set up a couple of days ago. It's a 10G custom-made cube-ish tank with 12mm thick green glass, a sump in the back that houses some floss, PO4 remover, activated carbon, a skimmer and a small stock pump.

 

Here's the tank before it became wet:

 

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Here's the basic equipment I started off with:

 

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I ran into some speed bumps. The first problem was that the lights weren't functioning, even though it was tested. I brought it back today and it turns out it's an adapter issue - new adapter should be arriving tomorrow but I'll only be going to the store to pick it back up on Friday because I need to work. Second problem was that the stock pump was too big and powerful for the tank. It was draining the sump too quickly and coughing up tons of microbubbles in the display, and causing a mini tsunami at the front right corner of the tank (cue me mopping up the mess with an extremely irate father shooting me death glares over the dining table).

 

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So I killed the stock pump and only kept the wavemaker and skimmer on. Here's the tank with a new, smaller stock pump running - the rock is artificial dry rock and quite dense. The sand is regular aragonite live sand.

 

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I also kick-started the cycle by placing some frozen crab roe in a worm feeder basket in the tank, and dosing a vial of Biodigest bacteria.

 

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I also purchased two fish and one shrimp (bicolor blenny, hi-fin black banded goby and candycane pistol shrimp) and promptly QTed them.

 

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The blenny still hasn't eaten any pellets until today, but has shown interest in frozen roe. The goby was healthily munching on pellets and feeding it to the shrimp (he'll swallow a few pellets and spit them out to the shrimp) but for some reason, he passed away just a few hours ago. I am quite bummed - I thought the Bicolor offed him somehow, but there were no signs of ripped fins on the goby and he died with his mouth agape, as if he had trouble breathing. I checked my parameters in the QT, but no visible signs of ammonia or nitrite - nitrate is at 10ppm. I contacted my LFS and the worker told me they have another Hi-Fin in stock, but he's smaller. I'll be paying the LFS a visit on Friday to see if they have any other shrimp gobies that can be paired with a pistol. I recall seeing a Tangaroa and a Wheeler's today, but I don't know if they'll still be there by Friday. In the meantime, since my pistol is tiny and a bit disorientated without the goby, I placed him in a betta tank inside the QT so that I could target-feed him easily.

 

So my plans for this tank:

 

1 blenny

1 goby + pistol shrimp pair

1 small open swimmer fish

1 Porcelain Anemone Crab

2 to 3 White Spotted Anemone shrimps

1 Fire Shrimp

2 Hermit Crabs (Halloween/Electric Blue Legs)

5 Snails (Turbo/Nassarius)

 

Anemones:

 

5 - 6 Mini Maxi Carpet Anemones all places across the 'arch' of the rockwork (hence the 'Bridge of Flowers' theme)

1 - 2 RFAs (if I can get some locally - supplier told me it might take a year or two to get even one)

 

Corals:

 

Toadstool Leather (Booked)

Ultra green GSP (Booked)

Acans

Blastos

Mushrooms*

Gorgs*

 

Macroalgae:

 

Halimeda

Galaxuara

Gracilaria

 

*To be decided.

 

That's my stocking plan for now. Feel free to give any feedback/advice as you see fit. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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Following along!! Sorry about your goby :(

 

Your tank looks similar to the IM10's we have here :) I have a 10g in my bedroom, its a good sleep aid.

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Snow_Phoenix

Following along!! Sorry about your goby :(

 

Your tank looks similar to the IM10's we have here :) I have a 10g in my bedroom, its a good sleep aid.

 

Yeah, I was so saddened by his passing. I managed to get two short vids of him eating and acting normally before he died. Still not sure what happened. He's not the only fish I lost. I was raising several discus juvis in a freshwater tank for the past 1.5 months. I lost one of them today, and another appears ill as well. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day since I might need to do a major WC - easily 75% at least. Discus are beautiful, but challenging.

 

Might I ask what are the specs of the IM 10? Mine is 15" (L) x 12" (W) x 12" (H), if I'm not mistaken. I initially wanted to put the tank in my bedroom, but the only open spot is directly under the air-conditioning unit, which dispenses a lot of dust. Also, my sister's vanity set will be right next to the tank, and I can only imagine what would happen when she starts spraying her perfumes or using her powders. The risk of contamination is too high, so I just put the tank in the dining area.

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Snow_Phoenix

IM10 is 12" x 15" x 13 H so sounds like the same dimensions.

 

Discus certainly intimidate me, they are beautiful though.

 

Beautiful, definitely. But their requirements are very difficult. If I lose another juvi, I might need to rehome them to someone with more experience. These are my babies:

 

1. In QT for 3 weeks.

 

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2. In main display for 5 weeks+.

 

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3. And these are the resident eels (2 flower eels from Myanmar and 1 fire eel) that they share the tank with.

 

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(Take note of the bumblebee goby for reference in size - that eel is actually 13" long).

 

I've kept these guys for the past 1.5 months without any problems until now. I have a feeling there is some sort of contamination going on between this tank and the marine QT tank, which is located in the lower part of the freshwater tank stand. It just seems so odd to suddenly lose two fish today. The Hi-Fin might not have been as healthy as I'd originally thought, but the Discus is another issue. I'll look into it tomorrow after work - I've babied these guys for the last few weeks so I'm not giving up on them anytime soon.

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Beautiful freshwater display, those eels are something else.

 

It's hard to say with the hi-fin. I lose fish in QT who are eating like pigs and then just dead randomly the next day. So you are certainly not alone in that regard. I guess we don't know the fish's history, if there was some sort of shock/acclimation issue from where it was collected in the ocean through the chain and to the LFS, it could cause issues with their kidneys and they wouldn't necessarily die right away.

 

Fish autopsy anyone? :blink: eeek.

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Snow_Phoenix

Beautiful freshwater display, those eels are something else.

 

It's hard to say with the hi-fin. I lose fish in QT who are eating like pigs and then just dead randomly the next day. So you are certainly not alone in that regard. I guess we don't know the fish's history, if there was some sort of shock/acclimation issue from where it was collected in the ocean through the chain and to the LFS, it could cause issues with their kidneys and they wouldn't necessarily die right away.

 

Fish autopsy anyone? :blink: eeek.

 

Thank you. I would need to replace some of the plants though, since some of the stems died off while I was overseas in the UK last month.

 

I suppose you're right. Also, worker at LFS told me a handful of their gobies died as well yesterday night, so it's possible that the fish weren't as healthy as I'd presumed. Will the pistol shrimp be able to survive without a goby for a little while? I'm just wondering how they'd get food, considering they have poor eyesight and all.

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Thank you. I would need to replace some of the plants though, since some of the stems died off while I was overseas in the UK last month.

 

I suppose you're right. Also, worker at LFS told me a handful of their gobies died as well yesterday night, so it's possible that the fish weren't as healthy as I'd presumed. Will the pistol shrimp be able to survive without a goby for a little while? I'm just wondering how they'd get food, considering they have poor eyesight and all.

 

Yeah, they can live alone. I don't think they use eyesight to find food really. They use the gobies to help warn of predators.

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Snow_Phoenix

 

Yeah, they can live alone. I don't think they use eyesight to find food really. They use the gobies to help warn of predators.

 

Okay, that's good then. I'll probably wait for a new shipment of gobies to arrive - no rush, after all. The blenny is still refusing to touch pellets. Only roe, but he gives me a stink eye whenever he sees me trying to put a pellet in the water.

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Okay, that's good then. I'll probably wait for a new shipment of gobies to arrive - no rush, after all. The blenny is still refusing to touch pellets. Only roe, but he gives me a stink eye whenever he sees me trying to put a pellet in the water.

 

lol, blennys are good at giving stink eyes!!

 

You could use a pipette to put some food in the shrimps burrow to make it easy for him.

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Snow_Phoenix

 

lol, blennys are good at giving stink eyes!!

 

You could use a pipette to put some food in the shrimps burrow to make it easy for him.

 

That's why I love blennies - their pronounced eyes make them look comical and adorable at the same time.

 

Yeah, I think I'll do that. The layer of sand in the QT is very thin though, so he doesn't exactly have a burrow, per see. But right now he's in a betta jar in the QT - I'm so worried he'd get sucked up by the filter or something - he's tiny. Like 0.5"+ tiny.

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Glad to see you back in salt!

Sorry to hear about the goby and discus :( I hope everything else is doing well? That's a really cool FW tank, those eels are crazy!

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Snow_Phoenix

Glad to see you back in salt!

Sorry to hear about the goby and discus :( I hope everything else is doing well? That's a really cool FW tank, those eels are crazy!

 

Yoshii! So nice to see you. I love your tanks. :wub:

 

Yeah, I'm still bummed about them - I'm mixing up a new batch of freshwater to do a major WC later in the evening. And yep, those eels are wicked. They've grown at least half an inch in these past few weeks. Only flipside is that they're really picky eaters - they only accept live ghost shrimp, and very rarely certain shreds of dead shrimp meat or frozen bloodworms. I love eels. :happy:

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Yoshii! So nice to see you. I love your tanks. :wub:

 

Yeah, I'm still bummed about them - I'm mixing up a new batch of freshwater to do a major WC later in the evening. And yep, those eels are wicked. They've grown at least half an inch in these past few weeks. Only flipside is that they're really picky eaters - they only accept live ghost shrimp, and very rarely certain shreds of dead shrimp meat or frozen bloodworms. I love eels. :happy:

Aw thanks! I remember you had a tank thread here a while ago, what size tank was it?

 

I've always heard discus are really difficult and finicky, good luck!

Oh wow they grow fast, how often do you have to feed them?

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Snow_Phoenix

Aw thanks! I remember you had a tank thread here a while ago, what size tank was it?

 

I've always heard discus are really difficult and finicky, good luck!

Oh wow they grow fast, how often do you have to feed them?

 

I think it was a 16G, if I'm not mistaken - a standard 2' ft.

 

Yes, they are difficult - if anything - even the slightest thing changes in the water, they immediately fall ill or get stressed. I feed the eels around twice to thrice a week - occasionally I get them some cheap, small fish like tetras to snack on, but I prefer shrimp because the shrimp stick to the bottom of the tank and the eels tend to be bottom-dwellers = easier feeding.

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Snow_Phoenix

I spent some time with my little sister who just graduated from Law school in the UK. We had some delicious Japanese food - some sushi and a bento box.

 

 

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:wub:

 

Anyhow, I took a trip to the LFS in hopes of getting a new adapter for my lightset, but the manager wasn't around so no new adapter yet.

 

However - a nice new shipment of fish came in and there were a few more tiny gobies on display (orangemark, orange spotted, Hi-Fin, sleeper banded, two spot, aurora, brown banded etc.) so I asked the girl working there if I could snag the new Hi-Fin that just arrived (the second Hi-Fin from last week's shipment apparently passed away this morning). She gave me a discount since the gobies from last week's shipment apparently weren't too healthy - today's batch was from a supplier in Singapore, so the fish were from a different source.

 

So I picked this cute fella up:

 

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After acclimation, I quickly introduced him into the QT. I released the Pistol from the betta tank into the main QT display. Within less than 15 seconds, the pair found each other and stuck like glue near the ceramic shelter I have in there for the fish to hide/sleep in. I tried to feed them a mix of mysis and brine and both of them ate immediately without issue.

 

But! There was one problem. I think I figured out why my previous Hi-Fin died. It was my blenny. While I was target feeding the goby + pistol pair, the blenny attacked both of them. I shooed him off with the baster but he managed to rip off one of the Pistol's legs. :furious:

 

And then he tried to nip at the goby. I abandoned the baster, stuck my hand in the QT tank and somehow (don't ask me how), managed to cup him underwater and stick him in the betta tank. He's been giving me the stink eye every since, most likely plotting revenge in his tiny 1G holding jar.

 

I'll be deporting him back to the store either tomorrow or next Monday.

 

So no more bicolor blennies for me.

 

I think I'll just opt for a small species of combtooth blenny - does the Pictus blenny or Two Spot blenny or even TSB sound okay? They won't go apeshit on my goby, will they?

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Snow_Phoenix

Love a shrimp and goby pairing, it's about as awesome as clownfish frolicking in an anemone.

The rock work looks nice, it seems like it is coming together nicely. :flower:

 

Thank you Kat. I had the exact same fish/shrimp species pair when I first started the hobby and was a total noob. I think I have an old video of the shrimp digging the burrow for the goby, but I don't know which folder it is in in my computer. If I find it, I'll upload it. The symbiotic relationship between the two was amazing.

 

And thanks for the compliments. It's good to be back. :grouphug::happydance:

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Tailspots can be little shits too. The one in my wife's tank got after an Emerald crab for being too close to his hole. I've never kept any other than Orange spot, Tailspot, Bicolour, Starry or Lawnmower blennies. I've been trying to get hold of Dot Dash blennys and Linear blennies for a while to no avail. Our monster Lawnmower blenny is a gentile giant.

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Snow_Phoenix

Tailspots can be little shits too. The one in my wife's tank got after an Emerald crab for being too close to his hole. I've never kept any other than Orange spot, Tailspot, Bicolour, Starry or Lawnmower blennies. I've been trying to get hold of Dot Dash blennys and Linear blennies for a while to no avail. Our monster Lawnmower blenny is a gentile giant.

 

I recall having 2 TSBs, 1 Two Spot and 2 Pictus before (during various points in the last 3 years or so), but so far all 5 proved to be okay with smaller fish. But none of them shared the same nano with a shrimp goby though.

 

Lawnmowers grow really big though - the one I saw at a different LFS was bordering 6" and really fat/thick. I think he might outgrow the tank, unfortunately.

 

How about segmented sailfin blennies? Any experience with those?

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Glad to have you back For a swimmer you could do a small assessor or basslet, any small Liopropoma species from the Pacific should be cheaper and easily available.

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Snow_Phoenix

Glad to have you back For a swimmer you could do a small assessor or basslet, any small Liopropoma species from the Pacific should be cheaper and easily available.

 

Thank you for the wishes as well as the recommendation. My LFS used to pull in those candy basslets but they were extremely poor shippers. Blue assessors cost around RM 150 here, but I think (and hope) the yellow ones might be cheaper. If it is too pricey, I'll look at cheaper options. I don't feel too comfortable spending more than RM 60 for a fish, tbh.

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