Nano sapiens Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, A.m.P said: I keep forgetting about that reclassification, acanthastrea basically got cleaned out lol... Yeah, the DNA testing is causing all kinds of coral reclassification/renaming, which is often hard to keep up with... 2 Quote Link to comment
jservedio Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 15 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said: Thanks! What I can say so far is that the particular Aussie Lord colony you can see in the side-shot photo with this particular orange Banki get cozy without showing any signs of aggression (so far). What can't be seen quite as well is that there is another orange colored single polyp LPS on the other side of the Banki that looks like a 'Lord on a stem'...and it and the Banki have interacted a bit with their mesenterial filaments (no damage, just a bit of tissue retraction). It was almost like they were probing each other to see if a full blown attack might be warranted. Currently, the Banki is showing some retraction where this unusual 'Lordish looking LPS' is touching it, so it appears to be somewhat dominant. I guess the best I can say is that 'my Aussie Lord is fine touching a Bowerbanki', but others' results may vary. Thank you! How long have they been in that close contact? I had a similar thing happen between a favia and lord where they were probing each other for months and months. The lord got a little aggressive and killed back maybe 5mm of the favia and they just sat there for another few months. Then, one day out of the blue the favia just went nuclear and killed all 8-10 heads of the lord in one go. So now I'm super leery of mixing genus of LPS in very close contact. I guess it's time to start experimenting and moving the bowerbanki close to some lords. My biggest worry is that it dwarfs all of my lords put together, so it has the potential to get really expensive if it lashes out. 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 2 hours ago, jservedio said: Thank you! How long have they been in that close contact? I had a similar thing happen between a favia and lord where they were probing each other for months and months. The lord got a little aggressive and killed back maybe 5mm of the favia and they just sat there for another few months. Then, one day out of the blue the favia just went nuclear and killed all 8-10 heads of the lord in one go. So now I'm super leery of mixing genus of LPS in very close contact. I guess it's time to start experimenting and moving the bowerbanki close to some lords. My biggest worry is that it dwarfs all of my lords put together, so it has the potential to get really expensive if it lashes out. The Aussie Acan and the Banki have been touching for ~3 months. Definitely a bit of crap-shoot when mixing LPS species. I once bought a 'Lobo' (that might have been a Scoly) and one day out of the blue it went bonzai on Rics 4" away 🤥 Maybe position a single Lord polyp or small colony next to the large Banki to see the reaction (better than having the large Banki take out multiple colonies of Lords all at once). 3 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 It's game on with the last two remaining Digitate Hydroids (I sure hope that they are the last!) I've been decapitating these two for 2-3 weeks now, but they always come back within a few short days. Let's see how they do being imprisoned by epoxy 😆 The empty corallite in the second photo is the Hydroids doing... Quick pics in White and Blue lighting of my Acro (echinata or turkani?) to compare color and growth in a few months time: That's a pretty good example of how different a coral can look under different lighting, so when purchasing online, 'Buyer Beware!' And I might as well add this little 1" diameter 'Lord on a stem' (M. lords don't come on branches, so this one either an oddball, or it was perfectly cut out to resemble a stem from a 1" thick skeleton...which is perhaps more likely): Amazingly, it's dominant over the larger bright orange Bowerbanki in the background... 6 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 On 7/18/2021 at 10:18 PM, Nano sapiens said: So, here we go with year 13! Congratulations on 13 years @Nano sapiens, what an amazing milestone! You are an incredible steward to this little reef tank. This year had a few more bumps in the road and changes made, but you've met the challenges with grace, and it's really paying off beautifully. Thank you for continuing to share your journey here with us, it's a real joy to see. 6 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Christopher Marks said: Congratulations on 13 years @Nano sapiens, what an amazing milestone! You are an incredible steward to this little reef tank. This year had a few more bumps in the road and changes made, but you've met the challenges with grace, and it's really paying off beautifully. Thank you for continuing to share your journey here with us, it's a real joy to see. Thanks for the uplifting reply, Chris! Even after all this time with this reef aquarium, there are still things that come up that provide a challenge to decipher and resolve. Part of the joy of reef keeping 😊 3 Quote Link to comment
natalia_la_loca Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 Wow, congratulations on 13 years 😁 also, azure damsels are great! I absolutely love mine. 2 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 Thanks! So far, the Azure has been a good citizen and is fulfilling it's main role as 'nutrient provider' 3 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 Was cleaning the gravel today and just by chance my spaghetti worm ended up against the glass: I usually only see little bits sticking up out of the substrate, but now I can see it in all its writhing orange-tentacled glory 🙂 7 Quote Link to comment
pmemmer Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 So exciting to come back after a 4-ish year break to see this tank still going strong. Amazing work! Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 1 hour ago, pmemmer said: So exciting to come back after a 4-ish year break to see this tank still going strong. Amazing work! Well, talk about a 12g Cadlights blast from the past!!! 🙂 12G Nano sapiens - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/172031-nano-sapiens-12g-au-natural-hummin-along/ mx5apex - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/255788-mx5apex-12g-cadlight-tank/?hl=cadlights Cullent17 - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/319066-cullens-12-gallon-beginner-led-cadlights/?hl=cadlights stuie25 - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/277844-12g-cad-lites-newbie-tank/?gopid=3480507 spencers - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/215934-spencers-12g-cadlights/?hl=cadlights Smee! - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/195602-smees-12g-cadlights/?hl=cadlights pmemmer - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/206121-phils-cadlights-12g/?hl=cadlights Just a few of us reef'in with the little 12g back then... Good to see you back. Plan to start a new build, I presume? Quote Link to comment
pmemmer Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Watch for a new tank thread tomorrow or the next day 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Just now, pmemmer said: Watch for a new tank thread tomorrow or the next day 😎 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 15, 2021 Author Share Posted August 15, 2021 On 7/24/2021 at 9:16 PM, Nano sapiens said: And I might as well add this little 1" diameter 'Lord on a stem' (M. lords don't come on branches, so this one either an oddball, or it was perfectly cut out to resemble a stem from a 1" thick skeleton...which is perhaps more likely): Amazingly, it's dominant over the larger bright orange Bowerbanki in the background... This little Lord did pretty well against the Big Bad Bowerbanki, but finally it had to concede defeat. Before it became too damaged, I moved it with my other right side Lords: Damage is relatively minor and confined to the lower oral disk, so no worries... Halloween Hermit found a convenient place to rest it's heavy shell 🙃 3 2 Quote Link to comment
ramona Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 That Halloween crab - great picture - does he change the shell and where do you get them? (the shells) 1 Quote Link to comment
mipster Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 wow, 13 years. That is incredible and it's been a pleasure to read through the who thread, super interesting! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 14 hours ago, Nano sapiens said: Halloween Hermit found a convenient place to rest it's heavy shell 🙃 I hope foxy didn't try to take a bite. Might cause a little indigestion LOL. That's a great pic!!!! Have you noticed any growth on the fox coral yet? 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 15, 2021 Author Share Posted August 15, 2021 4 hours ago, ramona said: That Halloween crab - great picture - does he change the shell and where do you get them? (the shells) I have two cone shells of similar size. The hermit does change occasionally, but he always ends up with the same one carrying the limpet hitchhiker. Halloween hermits are really long lived (10+ years), but they grow rather slowly IME. Cone shells: https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/tank-cleaners/6-empty-cone-shells-detail Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 15, 2021 Author Share Posted August 15, 2021 42 minutes ago, mipster said: wow, 13 years. That is incredible and it's been a pleasure to read through the who thread, super interesting! Congrats, that's a long read! Glad you found it of interest 👍 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted August 15, 2021 Author Share Posted August 15, 2021 39 minutes ago, gena said: I hope foxy didn't try to take a bite. Might cause a little indigestion LOL. That's a great pic!!!! Have you noticed any growth on the fox coral yet? Now that would have made front page news! The image actually reminded me of something out of Alice in Wonderland (or is that 'Alice in Reefland'?) 😉 The Fox coral has gained in expanded size about 30%, but I don't see much in the way of skeletal growth (the literature does mention that they are not fast growers, though). As long as it looks healthy, expands nicely and eats heartily it's all good 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 3rd Qtr. FTS: Overall, doing pretty well with just a few minor issues (slowly deteriorated Sunny D colony and an odd patch of bare skeleton on the old metallic copper Pavona maldivensis).Since I've lowered my overall lighting intensity by around 15% from the previous high, I found that in order to get some growth I had to increase the length of day a bit (not looking for fast growth, just a slow-moderate pace). With the system as it stands, I am now having to use a mix of 90% kalkwasser/10% RO to keep alkalinity stable.As usual, PO4 is nearly always 'undetectable' and NO3 is staying steady at 25 ppm. Since I don't see anything negative that I can attribute to the higher NO3, it'll stay where it is for a while .'This is how a Blastomussa merletti do...' As a part of the internal skeleton and flesh started stretching downward a few months ago it started growing polyps. It's got about 1/2" to go before the baby polyps touch the sand bed. Assuming that they don't tear off before touchdown, I'm not quite sure what will happen then.SPS are doing okay, especially the Ponape Birdsnest as it has regained all it's normal coloration and will need pruning in about a month. The Acropora echinata is in hibernation, which is fine for now. Managed to save a 1/2" BOP Birdsnest frag and it's starting to sprout new branches (pics later). Leptoseris, Stylocoeniella, Psammacora, Montipora...all fine, battling and growing. 12 Quote Link to comment
jack1978 Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Beautiful as always. 3 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 8 hours ago, jack1978 said: Beautiful as always. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
jservedio Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Looking fantastic like always - I love the way that birdsnest looks trimmed nice, short, and super dense! Those blastos look great too! 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 1 hour ago, jservedio said: Looking fantastic like always - I love the way that birdsnest looks trimmed nice, short, and super dense! Those blastos look great too! Thanks. The Ponape is the perfect nano birdsnest, IMO. Does great with medium light, small branches and stays compact. I've had issues with Blastos when the tank was brightly lit. They really do much better with lower light levels and regular feeding. 3 Quote Link to comment
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