DaveFason Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks Sushi. I think its in its favorite spot, just growing away. I love to snap growth shots too, just takes so long! -Dave Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Really nice growth on the War Coral Dave. Still waiting on my War and Baby's Breath frags You're tiny Icefire frag is chilling and growing in the meantime and your Green Acro is going to be a mini colony by the time you get it Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Sweet! Adam - I will just put a snail shell and let it grow over it. For the BB's I need a little more time. Its been taking off here so hopefully soon! I've got some really cool ideas for the tank. I'm going to keep my mouth closed but I am really trying to turn this new tank into a piece of art! -Dave Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Adam - I will just put a snail shell and let it grow over it. For the BB's I need a little more time. Its been taking off here so hopefully soon! Sounds great to me Dave. No rush...corals aren't going anywhere I'm going to keep my mouth closed but I am really trying to turn this new tank into a piece of art! Very Very Sneaky.... I may have some new plans in the works for my current tank but I'm still up in the air on it. So many choices. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Adam - If you dont mind, I may just wait until I get the new tank up to get the corals. I will just have your WC grow and grow and maybe I'll just cut a small frag of the BB and let it grow too. Just so its an even trade I mean some REALLY cool ideas -Dave Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Sounds like a plan to me Dave Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 So I got to talk to Copps finally! He was such a cool and down to earth guy and helped me out so much. I first sent him a PM asking about keeping tanks at cooler temps and how this helps fish. I also had questions about dwarf/pygmy Angel's in reef/sps tanks. So to start it off he talked about Angels and his passion for fish. He gave me a background of how he started and all the places he has been. I proceed to ask him about a few different Centropyge's and if I could keep them in my new tank. Overall he told me that a majority or stuff that you read on the internet is old and outdated. With how much the hobby has changed, fish do to! First he stressed about how important it is to QT Angels. You need to get them adjusted to lighting, foods and just get them equalized to our standards and of course the normal stuff. After that he talked about the myths of ALL angels are a 50/50 chance in reefs. To sum it all up, if you corals are heathy, they will be fine. You will loose some polyp extension but this is the exact same thing that happens in nature. Angels feed off of coral mucus, if a coral is not as healthy it will be more stressed and the Angel MAY take advantage of it. Of course there are some that will nip and feed more but he told me that many are FAR from the 50/50 mark. After that we talked about the common myth of keeping your reef around 80 degrees is good. While most places he has dove are around 75-73. With a majority of the "rare" and deep water fish that are coming in the trade the fish need to be kept around the low 70's. This made me feel 100x better about keeping my tank around 73-75 After that he talked about the flame/rusty hybrid that he is keeping and going to mix with other Centropyge's to make a small group of three. He explained that if they are in the same species and class that you can mix them and he has had some great success. This is not for all of them but he is mixing the hybrid with a rusty and flame. VERY COOL! So all in all, Angels are much safer in SPS reefs now, cooler tanks will help these guys out and they are some of the COOLEST fish out there. I really thanked John for giving his time and calling me. If anyone has any Q's please post on here. He gave me some much info, I'm just not the best writer! -Dave P.S - Here's a really cool thread about the hybrid. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1702055 Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Thanks for sharing the information that you were able to glean from Copps...very cool that people are so open to sharing their knowledge and experiences, especially when it comes to fish. From all that I've seen, he and some others on RC/R2R really are the experts when it comes to Angels. After that he talked about the myths of ALL angels are a 50/50 chance in reefs. To sum it all up, if you corals are heathy, they will be fine. You will loose some polyp extension but this is the exact same thing that happens in nature. Angels feed off of coral mucus, if a coral is not as healthy it will be more stressed and the Angel MAY take advantage of it. Of course there are some that will nip and feed more but he told me that many are FAR from the 50/50 mark. After reading through some threads that Spanko (Henry) pointed me to, it sounds like this is the general consensus, well not really consensus, but agreement that it really is 50/50. I know in the case of MPolleti (sp?) he actually enjoys his Angels keeping some of the polyps a little more retracted as you can see more of the color of the "flesh" of various Montipora and other SPS. What I didn't know is that they feed off the mucus, not the actual skeleton like say Parrotfish in the wild. Great info Dave and thanks for sharing. So on to the temperature of your tank....how did you go about lowering it? I think I remember you saying that your heater wasn't keeping up but that things looked better in the cooler range. I'm one that keeps things right around 79 but may knock things back to 78.5 to see how they react. -Adam Link to comment
Deleted User 6 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I usually keep things around 78, but I might drop it back a bit too just to see. Good read, man. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 No problem guys. I always kept it cooler around 77 but then my heater would not keep up unless I had it around 75-74. So now I just keep it right around there. As of right now I have it at 73.7 -Dave Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 This is what I want to mimic... -Dave Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Stunning...what type of centropyge is that on the bottom? Link to comment
bluenassarius Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 looks like a multibar pygmy angel. Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 blue is correct! I am going to try and get my hands on both. Also here's some cool growth shots Setosa March 29th Last week I guess you can see my Hawkins growing too! -Dave Link to comment
Uhuru Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 great info, thanks for that summary! did you guys talk at all about the best diets for them in captivity? the difference between the large angels which require sponges, and the dwarf ones which I'm guessing do not? what about algae - how important is it for the dwarf angels? If you don't have enough for them to graze on, can you supplement with algae enriched foods? I have a potter's and pygmy cherub in my 150 and they get along fine! Keep the temp at 73 Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Uhuru - Diets will be different but he said algae is very important with the dwarfs. The need plenty of stuff to graze. Algae enriched foods do help but they will also be fine once you get them on frozen Mysis, Brine ect. The big thing there are SO many opinions out there, if something works for you then go with it! I think mixing it up will be best. The temp is a big thing. With most of these guy being collected in deeper waters its only normal for them. Like I said, I've been keeping mine at low 70's and he has been doing it for years. The funny this is when I put my hand in tanks that are around 79-80 I feel like I am dipping in a hot tub! Well tomorrow is the big day. I think I may start my thread for the "Po Man's ELOS" Hopefully I will have some pictures for you guys! -Dave Link to comment
bluenassarius Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 blue is correct! I am going to try and get my hands on both. Also here's some cool growth shots don't know where your located but i've seen the multibars almost every month over here.... Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Blue - Hmmmm. I'm in NC. I am looking for a tiny/small one. 1"-1-1/2". Think you could help me out! -Dave Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 So I have been having this odd feeling on the new tank to try a radium bulb out + T5's..... hmmmm................. -D Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 So I have been having this odd feeling on the new tank to try a radium bulb out + T5's..... Do you think you need the extra PAR or are you looking for that "radium" look? Maybe try out one of the Par38 spotlights once they come out with the wider (40-80 degree) optics. -Adam Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 I love the T5's but love the shimmer... Every time I look at my buddy's tank I just love the shimmer with the Vortechs. Radiums + Fiji and Blue +! Uhh who knows, still plenty of time to think about it. -Dave Link to comment
divecj5 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Very true....check out the video that DHaut has of his tank with the Par38 LED over it....THAT is some crazy shimmer. Just saying it may be cheaper to toss one or two of these over the tank than investing in a nice MH/T-5 combo. Your ATI is too nice to give up Link to comment
DaveFason Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 Hope everyone had a good Turkey day. Well my girlfriends brother has a older Digital Rebel that he is letting me use for a bit. It has a nice macro Sigma lens too. So before even cleaning the tank I had to snap some pictures... So out of 100 I took only a few turned out ok This is my first time using a DSLR and on top of that this crazy lens that I am having to learn but trial and error! So please dont laugh! I think a few turned out well, I am going to do a water change and clean the tank tomorrow and I'll snap a TON and post them too. The tank has been on auto drive, just dosing stuff and letting it go. The Superman, WM and Setosa have been roiding up and growing FAST! Enjoy! War Coral Top Down Top Down WM WM BGM ME Superman Flasher -Dave Link to comment
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