The Dude Abides.

[c est ma]

I have some Mollies, platties, tinfoil barbs, bala sharks, tiger barbs, columbian sharks, gourami, pleco, rosy barbs, and some others. It's cool because it is so low maintenance.

 

Amazing, isn't it?

 

Sounds like a nice assortment!

 

--Diane

[Dooderino]

Oh ok thanks, I wasn't sure what your lighting was...

 

Quick question that I forget the answer... would you be able to give me some examples of:

 

LPS

Softies

and SPS

 

I forget what corals fit in which category

LPS are frogspawn, hammers, torchs, candycane, acans, anything with a hard, stoney skeleton.

Softies are things like mushrooms, zoanthids, xenia, leathers, GSP, and such. All soft.

SPS are stoney corals with small polyps. Acro, monti, and things that tend to look more like tree branches. With some encrusting corals as well.

[Dooderino]

I started a new tank. A 5.5g Pico!!! As if one was enough.

[Dooderino]

Not much has been going on. Just keeping up with my husbandry. My clam died. Not sure why. Next time I will make a spot closer to the light. I fragged and moved some stuff around. I started a pico tank and moved some of the frags over there. I went picture crazy because I like to look back and I like to share. We all know NRs all love pictures.

 

FTS's

I have no idea what these are called.

These either.

One of these things are not like the others.

Watermelons

Candy Canes

Fiji leather?

Gilbert on some kind of SPS.

[Dooderino]

MORE PICTURES!!!

 

Favia

Mandarin

She just started to host the Frogspawn.

Some Palys

Ember

Some SPS

Radioactive Greens

Candy Cane

Brittle Star

Baby frogspawn

 

 

Last 2

 

Acan

Rics

[Elite Twit]

Very nice updated pics. Glad to see you are still keeping up with everything. I especially like the macros in the back. Always looks more natural to me with some macro in a reef tank.

 

Do you have pics of the stock pump in chamber one? This was the post I was trying to find about moving the stock pump to chamber one. I was trying to fit it in but it didn't seem to go any way I tried.

[Dooderino]

Very nice updated pics. Glad to see you are still keeping up with everything. I especially like the macros in the back. Always looks more natural to me with some macro in a reef tank.

 

Do you have pics of the stock pump in chamber one? This was the post I was trying to find about moving the stock pump to chamber one. I was trying to fit it in but it didn't seem to go any way I tried.

It is a tight fit past the silicon but it will fit. It is set up EXACTY like the return in chamber 3.

[bamaboy333]

How is that Madarin doing? i hear everyone say they are very difficult in such a small tank. i have the JBJ 28g HQI, and want to add one down the line, but was hesitant, as most people on here dont keep them. Any advice would be awesome. i plan on keeping 2 clowns, yellow head jawfish, firefish, then hopefully the Mandarin. It just looks like you have everything running so smoothly, and I am just getting to start adding things, I would pick your brain. Great looking tank, I am looking to model mine very similar.

[spanko]

Hey dood, nice stuff! I think Gilbert is sitting on a pagoda cup coral in that pic. Do a google. It is considered LPS and your is very nice colors.

[Dooderino]

How is that Madarin doing? i hear everyone say they are very difficult in such a small tank. i have the JBJ 28g HQI, and want to add one down the line, but was hesitant, as most people on here dont keep them. Any advice would be awesome. i plan on keeping 2 clowns, yellow head jawfish, firefish, then hopefully the Mandarin. It just looks like you have everything running so smoothly, and I am just getting to start adding things, I would pick your brain. Great looking tank, I am looking to model mine very similar.

The madarin was in a breeding net for about 2 weeks and I added frozen brine twice a day until he started to eat it. Now I turn off the pumps and add the frozen brine in the area he usually hangs out. The cold frozen chunk of food floats for awhile but sinks after a few minutes. He just picks the brine off the rock and sand. His belly looks good and he eats every day. I plan on introducing some pods to help supplement his feeding.I have amphipods but I would like to see some trigger pods and some copipods too. There is a place that sells huge numbers of pods for $100. Just need to find where I saw it.

[Dooderino]

Hey dood, nice stuff! I think Gilbert is sitting on a pagoda cup coral in that pic. Do a google. It is considered LPS and your is very nice colors.

Turbinaria reniformis

(Yellow Scroll Coral), Thanks for the info!!!

[Dooderino]

Well it's been 6 months and so far everything is thriving. I took 6 Xenia frags to a LFS and got some credit. Basically I got a cool zoa frag for next to nothing. My acro is growing. I was worried for awhile but I see growth. I sold my baby clown. Fragged my FS and added it to my pico. I'm also going to frag my zoas when I get a chance. I also added some Sun coral. These guys are pigs. and I'm slowly teaching them to come out during the evening instead of over night.

 

Well on to the pictures, enjoy!

Little tiny hitch-hiker crab in the Acro. It's been there since I got the frag and never moves.

[c est ma]

Wow, Dood, somehow I missed your late March pics so it's been pic heaven looking at your thread today! Your tank looks wonderful and you have some super specimens. I esp. like the bicolored candy cane, and that brittle star is amazing!

 

 

--Diane

[fishybadmike]

The shot of your brittle star looks good - amazing detail! I think you are the first person I've seen on here that appears to have the same variety of candy-cane as me (the brown with a flourescent green center).

[Dooderino]

Hello fellow AIO'ers. It's been awhile since I have posted any updates on my BC29. It's now 32 weeks (8+ months) old. A lot has been happening outside my Nano's viewing window. Last time I posted I had a new pico5.5 and some old corals that were thriving.

 

I closed down my pico. I wasn't entirely happy with the look of the tank. I might get a Deco tank later but for now I just cleaned all the equipment and stored it in the garage. I moved all the pico stuff into my BC29. Most of the rocks were moved into the back chamber to expand on the 'fuge I'm "one day" going to build. For now I still have my chaeto and caulerpa in the main display. But it actually doesn't bother me. Maybe that's why I havn't built the 'fuge light.

 

I sold my tiny clown and my six-line. The Pico ended up with the bigger B&W Ocellaris(Oreo) a emerald crab(Oz), some hermits, an anemone crab and a pom pom crab. All were moved to the BC29 with no ill effects. Of course I only see the 2 pom pom crabs on rare occasions.

My firefish also died. He just didn't come out from his bed one day. It was a VERY spooked fish. The first firefish I had was very social and was always in sight, but this one would see me coming and flee. He only came back out when he smelled food.

 

I have also lost a couple of hermits and snails for various reasons but I do still have my original turbo snails and a couple of my original hermits. The red star (USSR) is still doing good. My brittle star is still has all it's legs. My blood shrimp is still doing good too. The mandarin is still eating brine shrimp daily and my clown goby (Gilbert) is still hanging around his Acro branches.

 

My newest acquisitions include another Onxy Percula and a Copperband Butterfly fish. The new percula and the old one hit it off great. Not one fight. Both perculas HATE Oreo. Oreo is limited to the back of the tank and has actually taken up residency in the grape caulerpa. The percula are now hosting my pink tipped frog spawn, which I have fragged twice now.

 

The copperband(trumpet) was added to battle the aiptasia and tube worm infestation. He will also eat mysis shrimp too.

 

I have been religious on my husbandry. Water changes every 1-2 weeks, skimmer for 14 hours a day. I'm still using the B-Ionic, Chromaplex, Reef Trace, Reef Vitamins, Iodine and phytoplankton. Everything seems to be good with the water conditions.

 

Well here are some pictures. Be warned there are A LOT of them!!!

 

As you can see the rics have really taken off!

A common sight every time I go near the tank. All they want is food.

The button polyps on the left were my first corals. They were hitch hikers, well one was.

Each of the Zoa groups started life as about 10 heads on a square marble puck.

The Neon striped mushrooms really glow in the actinics. The frag started with one head. Now there are over 10 on the rock and 2 more that fell off and have found new homes amongst the rock work.

Here is some Acro. Slow growers. The Acan has added about 10 heads but they are all still very small. I don't know if the yellow scroll coral has grown at all.

The left side of the tank. You can see this where I keep the caulerpa and where Oreo has made his home.

The pink candycane in the middle started off as 4 heads and now has 12. It was one of my first purchases. The frogspawn started as 6 heads and is now 12. The branch in the front has 6, the top left has 4 and the top right has 2. The far top left is a 2 headed torch.

These palys were closed for nearly a month. They have doubled since and have a wonderful color.

This is why I bought the copperband butterfly fish. Aiptasia, it's showing up in various places and mostly between corals.

This is just one of 3 frags of this spectacular morph of a candycane.

I thought this favia was a goner too. It was very low in color for awhile. It's finally coming around.

I bought this perc on sale for $20. He was a bully in the beginning but has settled in nicely.

Here are the pair. The female is behing the male. She is a lighter shade of orange. You can also see some of that cool candycane and the original green striped neon mushroom in the back ground.

The GSP has spread to numerous rocks. You can also see how big the pink candycane has gotten. The Tonga LR was a cool piece in my pico but now looks fantastic in the BC29.

Here is the Copperband. I will keep it until it gets too big or I think it is not feeding enough.

Gilbert doing what he does best.

Anemone Crab

These palythoas started life as a 15 head frag. I think they have grown 500%.

Euphyllia

[Dooderino]

This photo with flash really shows some detail. If you look right of the candycane you can see the yuma rock. They are not as colorful as some but have grown a lot since I got them.

This is the smaller anemone crab. The zoa patch he is in started with 8 heads.

This is what I call "Flaming Star". It has a red skirt and the center is a yellowish white with a dark back ground. Its hard to get a picture. This one is top down.

This zoa has a peach colored center with purple and the green skirt is a cool touch.

[Elite Twit]

Amazing update pics. Good to see you getting back into it full swing keeping everything alive and thriving. The growth it great on everything. IF it wasn't for the FTSs you could definitely pass this off as a bigger tank everything looks so good.

 

That candy cane is my favorite morph. If you ever wanted to trade a head for something let me know.

 

How long have you had the scarlet cleaner? I wanted one but got the baby skunk instead cause he was really small. I can't remember how big the full grown scarlets were. Do you have any better pics of him?

 

Do you plan on getting rid of Oreo or keeping him letting him be the odd man out? He's probably jealous he's not getting any.

[Dooderino]

Amazing update pics. Good to see you getting back into it full swing keeping everything alive and thriving. The growth it great on everything. IF it wasn't for the FTSs you could definitely pass this off as a bigger tank everything looks so good.

 

That candy cane is my favorite morph. If you ever wanted to trade a head for something let me know.

 

How long have you had the scarlet cleaner? I wanted one but got the baby skunk instead cause he was really small. I can't remember how big the full grown scarlets were. Do you have any better pics of him?

 

Do you plan on getting rid of Oreo or keeping him letting him be the odd man out? He's probably jealous he's not getting any.

Oreo might find a new home in my next pico project. I think I'm going to get a Finnex 4g. The candycanes were in rough shape when I got them and are now starting to grow. As soon as the start to split I will start selling. I do have a better pic of the shrimp(Sparks) but I might have to dig a little.

 

Ok, found one.

[Dooderino]

I saw both my pom pom crabs last night. They were waving at each other from about an inch apart. One of them has an egg clutch. I would be cool if they reproduced but I really doubt that will happen.

[TUDIZZLE]

Wow...some really amazing pics!

 

Your tank sure is maturing nicely

 

I have some simialar zoas to your flamming star..."fire in the sky" is what I got them as

 

I also have some unnamed green and peach zoas I call "peaches and green"

 

Names really don't matter though I think I like flamming star better!

 

congrats on your continued success at reefing

[Dooderino]

Wow...some really amazing pics!

 

Your tank sure is maturing nicely

 

I have some simialar zoas to your flamming star..."fire in the sky" is what I got them as

 

I also have some unnamed green and peach zoas I call "peaches and green"

 

Names really don't matter though I think I like flamming star better!

 

congrats on your continued success at reefing

Thanks!

[ocean-rider17]

LOVE THE TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does the bocube have enough lighting for corals? Have u upgraded them?

[Dooderino]

LOVE THE TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does the bocube have enough lighting for corals? Have u upgraded them?

You can grow soft corals with the stock lights but an upgrade will make the colors pop and the growth explode. Plus you can have some SPS and LSP without problems.

[Dooderino]

Full tank shot progress pics. Enjoy!

Day 4

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4Months

5 Months

6 Months

8 Months

[Dooderino]

My first piece of SPS came with a crab. I never bothered with removing it because it never left the acro it came on. So today I was bored and thought I would do a little research. This is what I found.

 

"Stony corals are the foundation of coral reef ecosystems and form associations with other reef species. Many of these associations may be ecologically important and play a role in maintaining the health and diversity of reef systems, rendering it critical to understand the influence of symbiotic organisms in mediating responses to perturbation. This study demonstrates the importance of an association with trapeziid crabs in reducing adverse effects of sediments deposited on corals. In a field experiment, mortality rates of two species of branching corals were significantly lowered by the presence of crabs. All outplanted corals with crabs survived whereas 45-80% of corals without crabs died within a month. For surviving corals that lacked crabs, growth was slower and tissue bleaching and sediment load were higher. Laboratory experiments revealed that corals with crabs shed substantially more of the sediments deposited on coral surfaces, but also that crabs were most effective at removing grain sizes that were most damaging to coral tissues. The mechanism underlying this symbiotic relationship has not been recognized previously, and its role in maintaining coral health is likely to become even more critical as reefs worldwide experience increasing sedimentation." It is our hope that by documenting the coral and crab species found as commensals we can help to determine which crab species should be targeted for breeding efforts. If we are to ever transplant any of the branching corals out onto the reefs as a restoration project, we will have to include a variety of coral crab species as well.

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coral_crabs.html

 

An interesting beneficial crab that helps keep SPS going strong.

This is the actual species that is in my tank.

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coral_crabs-2.html