cfeist's Aquapod 24

[Ocho Cinco]

Nice pics!!! I was wondering if anyone was thinking the same as me, will the shrimp get eaten by the frogspawn?

[Lizzie1324]

Looking good...

Your frogspawn/Sexy Shrimp pictures are way cool.

I <3 Sexy Shrimp! Haha.

[cfeist]

Nice pics!!! I was wondering if anyone was thinking the same as me, will the shrimp get eaten by the frogspawn?

 

Nope, both the sexy and the glass anemone shrimp have been in the frogspawn and nothing happend. In fact, the glass anemone shrimp literally spends all day in the frogspawn, and I watched it collect a few pellets yesterday, return to the frogspawn and visit each head (5 of them) and drop bits of pellet into it, very cool.

 

Looking good...

Your frogspawn/Sexy Shrimp pictures are way cool.

I <3 Sexy Shrimp! Haha.

 

Thanks for the compliments! They are pretty cool little things.

[cfeist]

Fairly big update! First things first, water parameters are as follows after almost two months going strong! I'm amazed by the transformation of the tank after almost two months, I am very pleased so far and credit this site and a lot of you for the help, so thanks!

Ammonia: 0

Nitrites: 0

Nitrates: 0

Ph: 8.2

Alk: 8

Calcium: 420

Salinity: 1.025

Phosphates: 0

 

And with the near two month anniversary, here are some new updated FTS!

 

 

 

 

 

I recently ordered a new Tail Spot Blenny, another sexy shrimp and two little dwarf zebra hermits from LiveAquaria. All arrived safe and sound on Friday and were acclimated accordingly. The blenny was very shy for the first couple of days, but is starting to roam the tank and munch on substrate and algae on the glass. The additional sexy shrimp I dropped off near the other and they have since been hanging out together. The dwarf zebra hermits are pretty cool looking, they are so tiny but have huge front claws and cool little markings. They are characters though, they have been runnin around at high speeds and messing with the other hermits, no harm done though and they are fun to watch.

 

I should also mention since the passing of the other clown(carpet surfing), Puggsy, the remaining clown has been spending a lot more time hanging out with the other fish. In fact, he's been swimming with Goby and he's been trying to get Blenny to come out and play as well. Here's a couple of shots of him and his new buddy the Blenny.

 

 

 

 

Here's some shots of Blenny exploring the tank after the third day. The first two days he was hiding behind some zoas on the right side of the tank looking pretty stressed so I left him alone, although I credit Puggsy the clown with getting him to find the courage to explore,lol.

 

 

 

 

Oh! I almost forgot, I have been curious as to the black spots on my clown Puggsy, because as Lalani had mentioned, she may have been sneaking around while I was gone at work each day to play in the Frogspawn and they were stings. Well, I was pleased to finally see her enjoying her new host!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

You'll notice in some of those shots the glass anemone shrimp is on the left head of the frogspawn, he has decided to host it as well, so there is some tension between the shrimp and the clown as of late, but they are managing to share it hah! I'm so happy!

 

On a final note, I should also mentioned I picked up a beautiful purple/pink/red Goniopora against my better judgement. However I must say I went home to do research and read up on it at goniopora.org prior to buying it. The red ones are supposedly much more hardy than the green, however it still doesn't make it an easy coral to keep. I managed to feed it some cyclop/coral frenzy on Sunday, and it has been opened and looking very healthy so far. Obviously it's early, but I am going to keep a sharp eye out and if there is any trouble I will return it, however it is looking better health wise than it did in the warehouse tank I bought it from. It adds some amazing color and movement to the tank, I really hope it works out.

 

 

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to some comments.

[Lalani]

Ha, told ya she was hosting the froggie while you were away.

Great update, Colin! That is a beautiful blenny and it's so cool how the clownfish, sexy shrimp, and glass shrimp are all hosting the froggie. Bet the YCG is going to want in on the action!

[cfeist]

Ha, told ya she was hosting the froggie while you were away.

Great update, Colin! That is a beautiful blenny and it's so cool how the clownfish, sexy shrimp, and glass shrimp are all hosting the froggie. Bet the YCG is going to want in on the action!

 

Haha, you were right! I just kept seeing the clown have more and more black spots each day when I would come home, even on the weekends never seeing her host the frogspawn, until yesterday! Wooo, now it's all the time.

 

It's funny that everyone loves the frogspawn. Goby was the first to go in it and play around, now that the shrimps and clown are in it, he's gotta wait his turn, lol. Luckily the frogspawn has 5 heads and looks like 2 of those 5 are starting to split, so there is plenty of space.

 

I love the colors of the Blenny, he's finally becoming more comfortable and so far all of them are getting along really well. As you can see in the photos above, the clown loves to hang around him. So far he's not responding to any food I put in and is munching on the algae on the glass and rocks so I guess it's ok for now.

[cfeist]

Wow, I come home from work tonight and everyone is just hanging out together Goby in his watchtower, blenny in his new found cave and Puggsy in her frogspawn

 

One...two...three amigos

 

You won't catch her very far from her frogspawn anymore...

 

Goby and Puggsy sharing the frogspawn together...

 

 

Two peas in a pod...

 

And still the little baby of the tank...

[Ocho Cinco]

You have a cool thing going here. All the fish and inverts are unique.

[hoganrj]

All I can say is Awesome! Your tank is amazing and the interactions just add to it's apeal. Well Done!

[kuianai]

Wow Cfeist! Your tank looks great! How did you get your nitrates down to zero? Was it the siphoning of the substrate that did it? I'll be glad when I can just get some movement in my tank. lol

 

Robin

[cfeist]

Thanks for the comments Ocho and Rj! I am really pleased with how things are going and the fact that all my fish get along makes it that much more rewarding.

 

Wow Cfeist! Your tank looks great! How did you get your nitrates down to zero? Was it the siphoning of the substrate that did it? I'll be glad when I can just get some movement in my tank. lol

 

Robin

 

Thanks Robin! I'm not completely sure how I got them to zero, but I have been diligent with my water changes. I have done both 10% and 20% every other week, but I have a feeling it may be a combination of water changes and purigen/chemipure in the back chambers, but I'm not sure. That being said, water changes can't hurt and will reduce the nitrates! I had a problem with them hovering around 20 for a couple of weeks, thought I was overfeeding, but then they all of a sudden dropped a couple of weeks after that and have remained at 0.

 

I know how ya feel! Every little addition to the tank after you have been staring at rocks and water for weeks will be very great, and your patience will be rewarded!

[Lizzie1324]

Yay! Blenny!

haha, tail spots are sooo cute. I would have gotten one if I could have found one. I just couldn't resist the little bi-color.

Congratulation's on the clown hosting, way cool.

I want some zebras and sexies too...if only money grew on trees

[dekand]

looking great man! love the goby and blenny, i've always like the little yellow gobies, they have a lot of personality... keep up the good work!

[xADUBx]

Awesome tank! I recently got a YCG, fun little fish!

[xADUBx]

Cfeist - what do you feed your YCG?

[cfeist]

Cfeist - what do you feed your YCG?

 

His favorite is Hikari frozen mysis, but he will also eat Hikari Marine A sinking pellets. They are the tiny ones, and he can barely get them in his mouth. As for the mysis he will go after even the big pieces which he knows are too big for him, but will do his munch it, spit it out, munch it routine.

 

That being said the frozen mysis seems like a favorite for the entire tank, I generally soak a frozen cube in tank water in a tiny dish and then feed one cube over 2-3 days.

[Ocho Cinco]

I love your YCG!!!! It seems like all the ones I see are not yellow like that one. I'm thinking about getting one for my 3 gallon once i turn it into a invert tank.

[kuianai]

I have to agree with Ocho. That YCG is so cute. I want one for my tank also.

 

Cfeist, that rock on the bottom left with the zoo frags on it, are you gonna have zoos all over that rock? Plus I have a question about your MH. How many hours do you keep it on?

 

Robin

[Ocho Cinco]

All the YCG I see online look like this, http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/gobies/yellowclowngoby/. They are not bright yellow like yours, just kinda dull.

[apelaston]

very nice looking tank. I am so anxious to get some frogspawn but I am having trouble finding it anywhere around where I live...arg!

 

Can't believe the clown fish is letting the goby anywhere near her host! Very shocking!

[cfeist]

I love your YCG!!!! It seems like all the ones I see are not yellow like that one. I'm thinking about getting one for my 3 gallon once i turn it into a invert tank.

 

I have seen variations of color while browsing different LFS. Some of the YCGs are more transparent than others, and have different sizes of features this little guy stood out so I took him home. I also think his color is vibrant because he is eating very well, he loves frozen mysis and both hikari marine a pellets and new life spectrum, both supposedly good for colors. I should also mention that I usually slightly adjust levels and saturation in photoshop a tad to give it some more life, but he is a very vibrant yellow in person regardless.

 

I think you will be very happy with one in your 3 gallon, they have so much personality and are great little hardy fish.

 

I have to agree with Ocho. That YCG is so cute. I want one for my tank also.

 

Cfeist, that rock on the bottom left with the zoo frags on it, are you gonna have zoos all over that rock? Plus I have a question about your MH. How many hours do you keep it on?

 

Robin

 

Thanks, I think you should get one too, they are amazing little things. As for the rock, I have a few zoa frags glued to the rock with the intention of them spreading and then ones at the base in front are on rocks in the substrate. I plan on moving a couple tiny ones elsewhere but haven't decided on it yet. I figured that area would be a good zoa garden spot.

 

I keep the MH on from 12:30 - 8:30, 8hours. Dual Jebo/Azoo/Aquatek fans come on at 1-8pm. I would love to have the fans on a thermostat to only come on when the temp reaches a certain point, but don't want to spend any money. Eventually I will get a chiller, and the reality of that may come sooner than later with summer approaching.

 

very nice looking tank. I am so anxious to get some frogspawn but I am having trouble finding it anywhere around where I live...arg!

 

Can't believe the clown fish is letting the goby anywhere near her host! Very shocking!

 

Thanks for the compliments! I'm lucky that reefhotspot.com is a few miles away from where I live, they are great. I love the frogspawn, it adds so much life and color to the tank, not to mention the YCG and clown love it. The glass shrimp loved it too, but was quickly booted from it by the clown, however the goby was playing in it long before the clown, so the goby is left alone They now share it peacefully which is great. Also, the frogspawn initially had 5 heads, now I have 6 woo hoo!

[Lizzie1324]

Looking great, as usual, and congrats on the new frogspawn head!

hehe

[CL_]

Looks great, I get more and more excited about getting an ap as the days go by!

[Lizzie1324]

Any updates?

[cfeist]

Thank's for asking, I'll try and have some new photos towards the end of the week. Here's the latest:

 

I've been treating my clown with medication over the past couple of weeks after noticing some white bumps on her. Her behavior was fine, but I was concerned as to what it could be or if it developed and became a big problem. It wasn't Ich though, and I took the photos to the LFS and they diagnosed it as an internal parasite or worm under the skin. I soaked all of their food (frozen mysis, hikari pellets) with Garlic Guard and Metronidazole for over a week and all symptoms and physical problems are completely gone. I still soak their food with Garlic Guard as they seem to like it and are more responsive to different foods with it, plus it can't hurt to have some garlic and vitamins in there anyway.

 

I've been doing regular maintenance, dosing with B-Ionic and everything is doing great. Spots of corraline are starting to appear all over the back wall. The corals seem healthy and are showing growth, there are a few zoa patches that have accelerated in growth and pop out little baby polyps every couple of days it seems. I am still looking for some more corals to add to the other side of the tank, as the frogspawn dominates the one side and is my clowns home, although my yellow clown goby loves to play in it as well.

 

All three fish, the clownfish, clown goby and tailspot blenny get along great, they even hang out in the same area of the tank most of the day together. I have been making sure goby gets his food as the others are much more aggressive eaters and bigger than he is, but he's great. All of the inverts including the glass anemone shrimp and porcelain crab are healthy and have since molted, I've even treated them to some shrimp chunks which they love.

 

I recently had been searching for a worthy tankmate for the three. One that wouldn't stir the pot too much and that wouldn't add much to the bioload. I found a cute little pygmy possum wrasse at the LFS the other weekend and picked him up after reading a bit about him. They top out at 2.5" which is great since most wrasses get to 4", also they are notoriously mellow fish that love swimming through the nooks and crannies of the rocks so I figured it would be a perfect fit. So far so good, although he is extremely shy. I see him out at night and in the morning before the lights come on scavenging around and exploring. The others don't bother him and he doesn't bother them, so that's good. He also finally ate frozen mysis for the first time last night, I supposed he was tired of eating pods all day long. I am hoping he adjusts over the next week and starts to come out more often. He is very shy and timid, although it's only been a week and my clownfish and blenny took a little while as well when they were first introduced. I'll try and snap a few shots of him, but it's been pretty difficult so far.

 

I also have been dealing with siphoning out little brown/red flatworms that I've found. I imagine they came in on the live rock as I dip pretty much everything that I put in the tank with Lugols/FW mix. The population size is very small, but I still siphon them out when I see them, so far so good and appears to be normal and nothing to really worry about too much. I was worried at first, but guess I'm not alone when it comes to flatworms coming out of nowhere.

 

Hopefully later this week I'll have some new photos. Thanks for asking! I realize I've been busy as of late and realize I haven't been keeping up with the updates.