Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef

[Nano sapiens]

Now that zoanthids will finally live in my tank I think I'll add those to the list of some to get at some point

 

Can't go wrong with Sunny D's.

 

Besides the normal Zoa pests, watch the Amphipod population. If they aren't eradicated, or well controlled with a predator, Zoanthids often get muched...which I had experience with a long while back in this tank ;(

[Nano sapiens]

Odd Fluorescent Orange 'Blobules':

 

I've been seeing some small fluorescent orange blogs on my sand bed for a few years now and I noticed that some seem to disappear randomly during the day, but show up again during the early morning when the blue/violet channels come on.

 

Here's a pic taken with a 10X eye loop of an odd little fluorescent orange blob. Thing is tiny, but the fluorescence is amazing under blue light:

 

 

 

Best I could do with camera at full zoom and the 10X eye loop:

 

 

 

At first I thought this might be a planulae from my orange Ricordia florida, but after watching it for a few minutes I noticed that it was changing shape and moving itself into the substrate (this is no mushroom!):

 

 

A few short minutes and it had completely disappeared...

 

 

The next fluorescent orange type that are more common are these roundish disks (1/8" - 3/16"). My first guess was that they were from the Ricordia florida due to the similar colors, but I'm not so sure since I've never seen these attach to anything in the tank. I haven't seen these change shape or move around on their own and they seem to come and go over a few days time:

 

 

 

The really small can be really weird and interesting

[teenyreef]

That's very cool, and coincidentally I noticed a teeny tiny blob of fluorsecent green in my 40g tank the other night. I had the same problem - I couldn't really get a decent picture of it, but it was fascinating. I have imaginatively named it the Little Green Blob

 

Little Green Blob by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[Nano sapiens]

That's very cool, and coincidentally I noticed a teeny tiny blob of fluorsecent green in my 40g tank the other night. I had the same problem - I couldn't really get a decent picture of it, but it was fascinating. I have imaginatively named it the Little Green Blob

 

Little Green Blob by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

I have something similar growing under a baby Yuma. Sometimes these little 'blobs' can turn into something really nice...if they don't get munched, whacked or mutilated.

 

I'd be curious to see what this eventually turns into

[vlangel]

That's very cool, and coincidentally I noticed a teeny tiny blob of fluorsecent green in my 40g tank the other night. I had the same problem - I couldn't really get a decent picture of it, but it was fascinating. I have imaginatively named it the Little Green Blob

 

Little Green Blob by TeenyReef, on Flickr

Odd Fluorescent Orange 'Blobules':

 

I've been seeing some small fluorescent orange blogs on my sand bed for a few years now and I noticed that some seem to disappear randomly during the day, but show up again during the early morning when the blue/violet channels come on.

 

Here's a pic taken with a 10X eye loop of an odd little fluorescent orange blob. Thing is tiny, but the fluorescence is amazing under blue light:

 

 

 

Best I could do with camera at full zoom and the 10X eye loop:

 

 

 

At first I thought this might be a planulae from my orange Ricordia florida, but after watching it for a few minutes I noticed that it was changing shape and moving itself into the substrate (this is no mushroom!):

 

 

A few short minutes and it had completely disappeared...

 

 

The next fluorescent orange type that are more common are these roundish disks (1/8" - 3/16"). My first guess was that they were from the Ricordia florida due to the similar colors, but I'm not so sure since I've never seen these attach to anything in the tank. I haven't seen these change shape or move around on their own and they seem to come and go over a few days time:

 

 

 

The really small can be really weird and interesting

Wow, those are cool discoveries guys! THat is part of what makes reefing so fascinating.

[Nano sapiens]

Cleaner Shrimp Needs a Cleaning

 

Ordered two Pederson Shrimp which came in today. One of them looked great...the other a bit 'bleached'. I noticed some unusual black specs, barely visible, on the carapace and took a few pics with a 10x magnifyer and full zoom on my camera:

 

 

 

A 'closeup of a closeup' showing the parasites in more detail:

 

 

I had read about these Cleaner Shrimp not being immune to parasites themselves, and it is very interesting to see the real deal upclose. Treating the parasites is risky since they are likely crustacea, just like the shrimp itself. The question now is can these parasites successfully complete their lifecycle in an aquarium, or do they require a specific intermediate host(s) on the reef in order to complete it? Hmmm...

 

 

Show-off portrait from the healthy Pedersons shrimp:

 

[Mariaface]

Good luck!

[Nano sapiens]

Good luck!

 

Thanks! Just thinking, when the shrimp molts I wonder if the parasites go with it...or stay imbedded?

[gena]

Huh...interesting!

[teenyreef]

Hmmmmm...

 

I love that no matter how long we enjoy this hobby there are always new questions with no easy answers. You've just come up with some really good ones. I also wonder if the parasites are specific to these shrimp, or crustaceans in general, or if they might spread all over the tank.

 

Maybe set up a tiny quarantine tank for it?

 

Btw I love that shot of the healthy one

[Nano sapiens]

Many questions, indeed. Parasites are ubiquitous in the native enviroment and most of these animals have defenses to thwart them. In this case, the infected shrimp is missing most of it's long antennae, too, so I know it's been harassed. Pederson's shrimps are known to set up a pecking order on the reef and this poor fella must have been way down on the bottom rung. Very common in the animal kingdom that low ranking individuals have elevated levels of stress hormones and are much more prone to infections and diseases.

 

I don't believe that the parasites can spread due to the intense predation their larvae would experience in such a small, densely packed tank (assuming they do successfully reproduce). Also, the other fishes and crustaceans are in excellent health so they'd have a difficult time getting through the protective mucus layers. But, time will tell...

[teenyreef]

Good points - hopefully the net result is free fish food

[Nano sapiens]

Good points - hopefully the net result is free fish food

 

Exactly

 

One thing I really like about these little nano reefs is that a lot of the smaller things can be easily seen and examined that would otherwise be lost in a large tank.

[Nano sapiens]

Btw I love that shot of the healthy one

 

Kind of looks like an alien (love those 'eye balls on stallks'). The long stretched out posture and swaying motion mimics the host anemone's swaying tentacles.

[teenyreef]

 

Exactly

 

One thing I really like about these little nano reefs is that a lot of the smaller things can be easily seen and examined that would otherwise be lost in a large tank.

I agree, when my 4g was running full out I always kept a magnifying glass right next to the tank.

[Nano sapiens]

Bi-Yearly Pic (8-1/2 years old)

 

Not much different from July's pic. Added two additional Pederson shrimps and a small Green Banded Goby recently, so the tank is a bit more lively. All four Anemone Shrimp are doing quite well together, which is great to see. GBRs continue to spawn regularly. Other than loosing my Jack O Lantern Leptoseris frags for some unknown reason and my original Sunset Monti colony with some kind of bubbled tissue condition, the coral (and coral like) animals are doing fine...

 

[gena]

Beautiful!

[Nano sapiens]

Beautiful!

 

Thanks, Gena

[gena]

Thanks, Gena

You are very welcome. This tank is amazing and 8.5 years old

[Nano sapiens]

You are very welcome. This tank is amazing and 8.5 years old

 

One might say that it is one of the 'Senior Citizens' of Nano-reef

[vlangel]

Bi-Yearly Pic (8-1/2 years old)

 

Not much different from July's pic. Added two additional Pederson shrimps and a small Green Banded Goby recently, so the tank is a bit more lively. All four Anemone Shrimp are doing quite well together, which is great to see. GBRs continue to spawn regularly. Other than loosing my Jack O Lantern Leptoseris frags for some unknown reason and my original Sunset Monti colony with some kind of bubbled tissue condition, the coral (and coral like) animals are doing fine...

 

This tank always looks amazing. You do an awesome job.

[Nano sapiens]

This tank always looks amazing. You do an awesome job.

 

On behalf of the CUC and myself, we thank you!

[Nano sapiens]

Pederson's Anemone Shrimp Playing/Eating Zooxanthellae:

 

 

 

It spent about an hour playing with, and sometimes eating, the strands. Quite entertaining to watch

[Nano sapiens]

Hmmm...Zoanthid Challenges:

 

Some of the Zoanthids morphs are showing signs of a malady. It's not Zoa Pox, but an inability of the animal to expand the disk completely which then leaves the tentacles mostly retracted around the rim. I have noted occasional small white 'cheesy' patches around the disk and mouth on a few effected polyps, which may indicate an infection. Sadly, the Ultimate Chaos colony has taken a big hit and is down to 2 polyps from around 8 a few months ago. Sunny D's and Tyree Rainbows are showing similar symptoms, but are not as badly effected, while the Petroglyphs, Purple Hornets and Rastas are perfectly fine. All other corals/organisms in the tank are doing great and show no signs of distress.

 

Nothing has changed in the tank in over a year (other than the addition of a few small fish and Anemone Shrimp). Consistent parameters, same salt, same temp, same o...same o. So I'm suspecting one of two possibilities. The issue roughly coincides with the addition of three Pederson's anemone shrimps (two are left). They have a habit of perching on Zoanthid colonies day and night and I suspect that their behavior is irritating certain colonies, or that they, or the fish, possibly brought something that irritates Zoanthids into the tank.

 

Looking very closely at the effected Zoanthid polyps, I noticed hundreds of tiny hair like structures attached to their columns. Each attachment point appears to have two thread-like appendages that sway in the current (photo taken through a 4x magnifier):

 

 

With a surgical tweezer, I can just barely grab and yank off the tiny ~1 mm long threads (may be two threads per attachment point, so small it's hard to tell conclusively) and they don't seem to be self-motile once detached. Interestingly, the Zoanthids that are not showing symptoms have little to no threads on their columns.

 

I looked at many zoanthid anatomy references and didn't see any mention of such structures as naturally occuring. This could be some sort of pest, possibly parasitic, but extensive internet searching has produced nothing similar noted for Zoanthid species. Interstingly, in Borneman's 'Aquarium Corals' book he mentions a Zooanthid Condition 1 and Zooanthid Condition 2. 'Condition 1' symptoms are quite similar to what is going on here, so whatever these threads are they may be a potential cause of this wasting condition.

 

The strategy at this point is to continue providing stable conditions and let nature take it's course while continuing to note any changes/developments.

[Jrodinnola]

Hmmm...Zoanthid Challenges:

 

Some of the Zoanthids morphs are showing signs of a malady. It's not Zoa Pox, but an inability of the animal to expand the disk completely which then leaves the tentacles mostly retracted around the rim. I have noted occasional small white 'cheesy' patches around the disk and mouth on a few effected polyps, which may indicate an infection. Sadly, the Ultimate Chaos colony has taken a big hit and is down to 2 polyps from around 8 a few months ago. Sunny D's and Tyree Rainbows are showing similar symptoms, but are not as badly effected, while the Petroglyphs, Purple Hornets and Rastas are perfectly fine. All other corals/organisms in the tank are doing great and show no signs of distress.

 

Nothing has changed in the tank in over a year (other than the addition of a few small fish and Anemone Shrimp). Consistent parameters, same salt, same temp, same o...same o. So I'm suspecting one of two possibilities. The issue roughly coincides with the addition of three Pederson's anemone shrimps (two are left). They have a habit of perching on Zoanthid colonies day and night and I suspect that their behavior is irritating certain colonies, or that they, or the fish, possibly brought something that irritates Zoanthids into the tank.

 

Looking very closely at the effected Zoanthid polyps, I noticed hundreds of tiny hair like structures attached to their columns. Each attachment point appears to have two thread-like appendages that sway in the current (photo taken through a 4x magnifier):

 

 

With a surgical tweezer, I can just barely grab and yank off the tiny ~1 mm long threads (may be two threads per attachment point, so small it's hard to tell conclusively) and they don't seem to be self-motile once detached. Interestingly, the Zoanthids that are not showing symptoms have little to no threads on their columns.

 

I looked at many zoanthid anatomy references and didn't see any mention of such structures as naturally occuring. This could be some sort of pest, possibly parasitic, but extensive internet searching has produced nothing similar noted for Zoanthid species. Interstingly, in Borneman's 'Aquarium Corals' book he mentions a Zooanthid Condition 1 and Zooanthid Condition 2. 'Condition 1' symptoms are quite similar to what is going on here, so whatever these threads are they may be a potential cause of this wasting condition.

 

The strategy at this point is to continue providing stable conditions and let nature take it's course while continuing to note any changes/developments.

Hmm..That is a very interesting observation. You should see if you can get one of the thread like growths and get it under a microscope.. that or perhaps something like this would make it easier to magnify:

 

 

and of course, pics of the magnified threads would be appreciated