got2envy Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Wow cool looking whatever it is! I thought u might be describing a spaghetti worm earlier but now I dunno I think you got palys..they are fast growers and very hardy, I have some that have taken over a large rock in my 75 I also am working on my camera skillz haha tank looks great ! Maria Link to comment
jereader Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Wow cool looking whatever it is! I thought u might be describing a spaghetti worm earlier but now I dunno I think you got palys..they are fast growers and very hardy, I have some that have taken over a large rock in my 75 I also am working on my camera skillz haha tank looks great ! Maria Thanks for the feedback! I was starting to think I was alone on here! Also, these guys will be joined soon by a couple of Toxic Green Palys. I am very excited. Green is my favorite color. Link to comment
jereader Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 I got up this morning for work, to find that my peppermint shrimp had molted! He had been hiding under and behind the main rocks in the tank for about a day and a half, and I was starting to worry about him. Now I know what he was doing! I snapped some pics. I'll try and get them posted tonight. Link to comment
Avon Barksdale Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Good start man, I had a 24 gallon aquapod....It worked out great for me..Those Palys are nice...Keep up the good work!! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Good start man, I had a 24 gallon aquapod....It worked out great for me..Those Palys are nice...Keep up the good work!! Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. I am growing very fond of the Palys, and I am very anxiously awaiting some more! In the meantime, here are some more pics. I seem to only think to take pictures after the day-lights go out. I'm going to try to get into a habit of taking some pics earlier in the evening. Couple of shots of the emerald crab. He hides pretty much all the time until I drop some food in. Greedy little bugger... Here's one of the hermits, chowing down on some Aquadine. These guys are pretty comical at times. And the palys... I'm really loving these guys so far. I don't think I've mentioned this previously, but I've begun dosing Aquachem Reef Fundamentals. I've only dosed twice so far, so I can't honestly say that I've seen any sort of change yet. And last, here's the molt from the peppermint that was in the tank this morning. I guess that means he's growing, right? He seems to be happy and healthy since the molt. That's it for now. This just occurred to me, if any of you are interested, I have quite a few more pictures than what I have posted, and most of them are hosted at photobucket. If you want to check it out, here's a link. And, again, thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming, and I'm going to keep the updates coming! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 Hey everyone. I was just wondering, is it absolutely necessary to dose phytoplankton for your corals? Link to comment
andre Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Hey everyone. I was just wondering, is it absolutely necessary to dose phytoplankton for your corals? nope, they should be fine with good light Link to comment
jereader Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 nope, they should be fine with good light Cool! Thanks. Link to comment
jereader Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 Sorry for no new pics. No interesting changes to report, really. I have some chaeto on the way, and I am also expecting some new palys. Seems like the PO is screwing up the paly shipment, but the seller has promised to make good on the deal, regardless. It just sucks that the palys are most likely going to die in a dark box somewhere. Anyhow, I do have a question for all you experts on here. Why has my copepod population all but dissapeared? My glass was swarming with the little guys a few days ago, but now there are just a handful. What could be the cause of this? Link to comment
steveangela1 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I think your tank is off to a great start. I don't feel like I am a pro w/ sw yet to give advice. Here is a link for hitch-hikers I found: http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm Its helped me figure out what things were. Beautiful paly's!! Link to comment
nebthet Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Very nice start to your tank. I cant wait to see it evolve. Link to comment
jereader Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 This little guy was trapped in the clutches of the evil postal system for 7 days! The water in the bag was icy, and nasty, and I was very doubtful that there would be any survivors. However, once I put him in the tank, the largest polyp opened up a little bit, and gave me hope! And thus he was named: Hope. I plan to track his progress here for everyone to see, 1 day at a time. I will take photos every day that I am able to, and report on my thoughts... Day 1: After 7 days in the mail, I received the package today, and upon opening it was very disheartened. I went ahead and temp-acclimated the bag to the tank water, and then put the coral in the tank. Once this was done, she opened up a little bit, and here we are! Tune in tomorrow for some ealier PM updates! ---------------------------------------------------------- BONUS! FTS: This is as of 12/21/08, but honestly not much has changed since, except the addition of the new coral., and the other palys have moved a little to the left since the emerald kept moving the rock they are on. And there's a bit more green hair algae. EDIT: Sorry. I'm kinda buzzed. My wife makes the white russians pretty strong... EDIT AGAIN: One month today! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 Day 2 I'm still not sure the little guy is gonna make it. The color looks a little better, but this picture was taken earlier in the day than the previous, so I suppose the light could make that difference. Of course the trunk looks a little fatter, and happier, so I still have some hope for him. I'm going out of town for christmas, so we'll see if he perks up any while I'm gone. I'll be back christmas night. Link to comment
jereader Posted December 26, 2008 Author Share Posted December 26, 2008 At this point, I am losing hope a little bit. But I am not giving up yet. The green in the center looks a little brighter, but I still haven't seen any more opening... EDIT: Even though I posted this on the morning of the 26th, it was intended to cover christmas day. Sorry if I caused any confusion. I'll have another update tonight! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 27, 2008 Author Share Posted December 27, 2008 No new pic tonight, but I am happy to report what appears to be improvement. The new paly is beginning to open up more, even to point of polyps being visible now, and his coloration is most definitely improving. He's gone from the grey-ish color seen on day one to a purple-ish brown color. Unfortunately I had to rescue him from the emerald crab today. I don't think the crab was trying to eat him (Ok, maybe his little brothers that didn't make it...) but knocked him over in the process of getting to some other food source. So, he's now situated in the sandbed near the other colony of palys. I also have been doing some reading, and came to the realization that I have a nasty outbreak of cyano going on, so I am reducing feedings to every other day, and shortening my light cycle by a few hours. I used a toothbrush to scrub most of the cyano off the two rocks it was most apparent on, and used my baster to suck as much as I could off of the sand. I also did a large 2+ gallon water change, replaced my filter floss, and added charcoal in the third chamber. It's the not-so-good charcoal that came with my AP12 for now, but I have some chemi-pure on the way for future employ if needed. Something I've been wondering about... I still have a large piece of the sponge in the first chamber of my AP12, under some filter floss, and I've read over and over that it's not good to use it. What would be a better alternative? Link to comment
jereader Posted December 27, 2008 Author Share Posted December 27, 2008 New FTS! You might notice that the large rock on the left, and the small one on top of it have been scrubbed clean or algae. I took them out of the tank, scrubbed them with a toothbrush, and rinsed them with distilled water. Here's a shot of my emerald crab cleaning himself. I really love this guy. If only he wouldn't hide out so much... After my cleaning efforts last night there are number of these feather duster tubes all over the place this morning. Very cool! Here's what would seem to be the biggest feather duster in the tank. He came in on the rock that the palys are on. In the second photo you can see another hitchhiker that came on the rock. I have no idea what that one is. Any ideas? And here's another shop of Hope, the little coral that could! He is definitely doing better. I strongly believe he's going to make it now. He is discolored still, but looking better all the time! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 OK folks. I need some help here. What is the longest I could leave my tank without any light or flow? I only have inverts in there right now, so they should be fine for a day right? I am having problems with cyano and a new problem with the hose from my MJ1200 coming out of the return and squirting water all over the place. I believe a longer piece of tubing will fix this issue, and the lack of light for a day would do wonders to kill the cyano. Any input it appreciated. Link to comment
jereader Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 Well, I came home tonight to find the little guy gone from the plug. I think the emerald crab got him. Link to comment
IMaNoob Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 leaving the lights off for a day or so is fine. but flow can not be left off. keep the flow going. and emerald crabs can be a pain in the ___ sometimes! Link to comment
jereader Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Yeah, I resolved the issue that led me to want to leave the pump off, so it was left on. But I turned off all lights, and covered the tank with a blanket for the day. Today they got about ~5-6 hours light before being covered and blacked out. The cyano is dieing off already. I also added some chaetomorpha in the back chamber, so I figure the scales are tipped in my favor now! BTW, thanks for the post! I was starting to think that nobody liked my tank! Link to comment
jereader Posted January 1, 2009 Author Share Posted January 1, 2009 Well, I came home tonight to find the little guy gone from the plug. I think the emerald crab got him. Check that. I found the little guy in the sand, hiding behind the rock that the first big colony lives on! He wasn't open very much, so I pulled him out, glued him back on the plug and put him back out front where he'll get some light. Also, his replacement came in yesterday. The coloration is much prettier on a healthy coral! I'll have to get some pics up soon, hopefully tonight. Also, the decreased feedings, and light cycle have done wonders for the tank. The cyano is all but gone. The tank is shiny and clean now, and my critters are gleefully active! I didn't realize it but all the food I was giving them was making them lazy. Now that he has to go look for food, I see a lot more of my emerald crab. Link to comment
jereader Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Here are a few shots of the newest additions to my little slice of the ocean. Riccordea - not sure what kind, but I really like it. It opened up almost immediately, and seems to be very happy in my tank. Some cool little polyps that my wife picked out. Hawaiian feather duster. I've wanted one of these guys for a while. They are so beautiful! Rhodactis Mushroom (?) - I'm a little concerned about this guy, but I think he'll be ok. Green striped mushrooms - there are more on this rock, but this is the one that is spread out the most. They really look great under MH. I'm already considering an upgrade... wish the economy weren't in the crapper right now. Little frag of xenia. I think it looks ok. The picture doesn't really show it, but they seem to be extending and pulsing quite well. And the obligatory FTS! All of these guys were obtained from Oasis Tropical Fish in tucson AZ. If any of you are in the area, I highly recommend you go check out their stock. They have some very nice pieces. Anyhow. Just a little update. Thanks for looking! Link to comment
FPM29 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Those are really nice additions and they should grow nicely along with your tank. Is that Green Hair Algae on the rock by the blue shroom? Interesting to see considering you have an Emerald Crab. What are you feeding if you dont have any fish? Link to comment
jereader Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Those are really nice additions and they should grow nicely along with your tank.Is that Green Hair Algae on the rock by the blue shroom? Interesting to see considering you have an Emerald Crab. What are you feeding if you dont have any fish? Yes that is GHA. I throw a couple of flakes of aquadine in every other day for the emerald and the peppermint, as well as the brittle star. Do you think they would clear up the GHA for me if I stopped feeding them for a week or so? I know the emerald LOVES macro-algae, but he doesn't seem too interested in the GHA... Link to comment
jereader Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 I'm sure you guys are sick of me, but I don't care. I'm having fun. Here are some new pics! This is the little paly that got lost in the mail for a week. He's surviving, perhaps even thriving. I'm watching for new polyps all the time... Here is about the best shot i've been able to get of my peppermint. The little bugger won't stay still! He's tons of fun to watch though! My emerald crab. He's also difficult to photograph. Even the slightest move will make him run and hide most of the time. For the first month that I had him, he would really only come out during dark, but lately he's been getting awfully brave! Anyhow, just wanted to share some of my enjoyment! Thanks for looking! Link to comment
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