Today's Experiment

[supernip]

omg i love you.

[c est ma]

LOL!

 

Also, don't forget this article Mr. A already posted:

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/invert.htm

 

 

--D

[adinsxq]

reefscavengers has some weird buggers. check out their "collector's catch" every so often.

 

my order with them went okay... no extras! oh well.

[RayWhisperer]

reefscavengers has some weird buggers. check out their "collector's catch" every so often.

 

my order with them went okay... no extras! oh well.

Banninate him!

[spanko]

Hey it's the 28th where is an update????????

[MrAnderson]

i've started to test for phosphates regularly. N-cycle stuff stays zero, but i've seen 1mg/L phosphate. low, but still there. i guess it's ok for now since it's starting to make the various macroalgae grow a bit. however today was the first day i've tested and gotten a solid zero for phosphates.

 

some of the pink macroalgae growing with the Sinularia. right now, i'm glad that i didn't scrape off any of the "crud" on the rock; it's turned into pretty pink afros of macro:

 

 

 

 

the whateverthehellitis is doing well, the tentacles have gotten longer. sea apples are supposed to move - this hasn't moved since i've noticed it. but the body is so large for an anemone.

 

whatever. IT is ok.

 

[spanko]

I don't know Mr. A but the bigger the whateverthehellitis gets the more it looks like some kind of anemone to me. The clear to brownish hue to it suggests Aiptasia, do you see any radial lines on the tentacles?

[MrAnderson]

lol wouldn't that be a pi$$er.

 

i can't discern any radial lines. plus the body is so big compared to the head... and it's in the sand. that dark brown at the base isn't rock, it's only half of the body, it's about 3X the with of the head currently.

 

also, i don't know if this helps an id, but as soon as i put on the lights it shrivels and closes. i'll get the timecourse i took last night up

[MrAnderson]

so this is what happens as soon as i put the light on, over about 10-15 seconds:

 

 

 

 

 

last pic is "stock footage". as you can see it's cleaned off it's body somewhat, it's mottled brown and yellow.

 

are aiptasia light sensitive, only nocturnal? i didn't think so. do anemones exhibit this sort of behavior?

[spanko]

Nope not light sensitive. This is a whole new bucket of worms you got us into Stanley...............

[Rene]

Maybe it's a cerianthid/tube anemone? They're often nocturnal. Does is have a row of smaller tentacles around the mouth?

[MrAnderson]

^ VERY INTERESTING

 

the best look i can get of it is what you see in the photos. it closes so fast after lights on that as soon as i'm looking closely enough, the shriveling begins. but it DOES look like there may be a second row of tentacles in front of the mouth in the first two photos...

 

and i'm fairly sure it likes the phytoplankton i've been dosing

[spanko]

maybe.

The northern cerianthid (Cerianthus borealis) is related to the anemone. Unlike its cousins who grasp onto rocks, the cerianthid buries itself in the sand so that only its oral disk, tentacles and part of its column show. (photo: Dann Blackwood and Page Valentine, USGS)

[MrAnderson]

definitely maybe

 

i found this pic of a cerianthid, and the body is very very similar, shape, coloring, and texture.

 

[Danyal]

if you don't mind me asking, how much was the rock w/ shipping? i'm trying to get my 29g started and just don't like buying my rock one piece at a time at 5~6 bucks/lb and getting no life on it.

[MrAnderson]

i ordered 15 lbs and they quoted me $56 for it shipped 2-day, which they said was their standard setup. i actually requested overnight shipping which roughly doubled the cost. but they boxed it up after 1PM when i called and it came at 9AM the next day. it was still cheaper than the best LFS rock ($9.99 for the "good stuff" which looked terrible) i could find locally and way way nicer. worked out to about $7.50/lb shipped overnight.

 

before and after, it's been a month:

 

 

 

the dark velvet red coraline is the happiest, it's actually displacing some of the purple. if the whole tank turns that color it would be nuts.

[Danyal]

wow, that's not bad.

[Duncan]

That's really good, Mr A!

 

Your macro definitely grew a lot. Makes me miss my tank when it was in the developing stage.

[Caesar777]

COOL

 

But the cool crowd is taking down their reefs and starting FW planteds, so you're a little behind the times.

[lgreen]

lol

[MrAnderson]

COOL

 

But the cool crowd is taking down their reefs and starting FW planteds, so you're a little behind the times.

 

i've got that too!!

 

[Caesar777]

O U!

 

Is that dwarf Sagittaria in the front?

[MrAnderson]

That's really good, Mr A!Your macro definitely grew a lot. Makes me miss my tank when it was in the developing stage.

thanks duncan! i know you have an appreciation for macroalgae from seeing your tank. one day i might do a biotope, macro-dominant tank - if this one doesn't turn into that. i think the key will be keeping phosphates low.

O U! :PIs that dwarf Sagittaria in the front?

just dwarf narrow-leaf swords. they're a little stunted, truth be told. planted tanks are a freaking pita, i honestly don't know which is worse. if ferts/CO2 get off for a day or two you get these little stunted leaves that never get big, like a biological "record" of how bad you suck. hard to grow big beautiful plants...

[Danyal]

hmm, i just found a really good deal on live rock somewhat near me. do you think it would work to buy a good amount of not-so-live but cheap live rook now and then oder some un-cured live rock to fill in the gaps later?

[spanko]

Sure it would if $ are a problem. But be aware that this will increase your cycle time because when you add the "not-so-live but cheap live rook now" you will start to cycle the tank. Then when you add the "un-cured live rock to fill in the gaps later" you will start another cycle. It would be best from this standpoint to add all of the rock together if you could, but you can do it in pcs. if you have to.