megability Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 More Hawkfish, on the lurk... Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Man, Hawkfish is FAST as he darts across the tank when he sees something that looks tasty. I thought the Tomato Clown was fast when got excited, but he's got nothing on the Hawkfish... Quote Link to comment
StevieT Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Amazing pictures, I enjoyed Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks StevieT, the reef is still enjoying your media baskets and 'fuge too Quote Link to comment
Builder Anthony Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Are those rings unique to that fish or do all of them have that circle around the eye like that? Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 They all have it, hence the "Arc-Eyed" Hawkfish - to varying degrees of shape and color though of course... Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 After about a month I am finally starting to see the Yasha Goby and Pistol Shrimp venture out of their new burrows. Must have been a lot of internal housekeping in there for the shrimp to straighten out first. Here's a decent picture, with hopefully better ones to follow soon, but they make a cute odd-couple Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hawkfish is a real character. He swoops all over the tank at feeding time, snagging food out of the mouths of other fish, literally, and then goes back to his perch and breathes heavy because he probably just ate way too much. You can actually see food coming out of his gills when he breathes and sometimes he gets the hiccups for a while Quote Link to comment
gsechen Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 love the hawkfish and tail spot blenny pictures! Never seen the arch eyed hawkfish before, wish I can get one but my tank is too small. Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) I created an HD video of the Yasha Goby and Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp doing some housekeeping, please ... Edited April 9, 2011 by megability Quote Link to comment
Spankenrear Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Great thread, looking at starting a BC29 reef, this thread definitely helps. Cheers. Quote Link to comment
Leftyfish Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Amazing photos, what a tank! Quote Link to comment
Mushroom Boy Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Beautiful job! So, what do you have running in the sump at this point (media basket, refugium ...)? Also, what type of salt and additives do you use? Fantastic growth and coralline encrustation! Keep it up! Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Thanks. Yeah I have the inTank Media Baskets in the back, with a cut square of floss/sponge on the top rack, then a bag of GFO in the middle, and a bag of Chemi-Pure in the bottom space. In the second chamber which is now the mini 'fuge, there's a growing ball of Cheato algae powered by a submersible light all night that came with StevieT's kit. I now use a 2-part (with magnesium too) made at a local store here and it seems to work ok, but it now takes a LOT to keep my Calcium up, probably because the Montiporas in there now are getting so big. I probably use 1/4th to 1/2 cup of A and B a day now, but maybe it's just not that strong either. I also use Reef Crystals salt when I do 4g water changes about every 3 weeks or so, and Kent's Essential Elements from time to time in between. I'm stoked on the corraline too, it's so thick and rich looking Quote Link to comment
Mushroom Boy Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Awesome, thanks for the info. It's nice to see a stock lit BC growing like that! Hoping mine will look like that someday! Quote Link to comment
megability Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Here's an even better video of the Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp housekeeping with the Yasha Goby just standing guard... Man that's a busy little shrimp, he's definitely on a mission to get that sand the way he wants it! ...remember to watch in HD! ->Link to Video Quote Link to comment
melbell86 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 love your tank, beautiful scape and corals!! Quote Link to comment
megability Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Picked up a new Porcelain Crab today. I'll try to post a good picture soon but he's not colored like most I've seen. He's very striped with purples, browns and blacks, with a couple of big orange dots on his big claws like eyes. He's also got really blue antenae and mouth parts. It seems he's a newly listed species from the Caribbean, Petrolisthes bolivarensis, called Zebra or Purple Zebra Porcelain Crab... Quote Link to comment
Runt714 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 i just fell in love with your tank... Quote Link to comment
megability Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 I added what was sold as a Strawberry Cowry today, (Erosaria helvola?) really colorful! Initial research confirms these little snails are reef-safe but then something else I read says they can go after soft corals if given the opportunity. Judging by the amount of coloration they have, lots of little red bumps and a "feathery" mantle, I would imagine they spend all day on some specific type of carnation coral in the wild, but can anyone confirm one way or another if they're safe? I'll try and post some pics soon because it's really a neat looking little snail... Quote Link to comment
megability Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Ok, a little more research and I have ID'ed the cowry as actually a "Jenner's Cowry" (Jenneria pustulata) or Pustulated Cowry, very colorful indeed, but likely a coral eater... I'll keep an eye on him for now Until I post a decent pic, here are some good ones of the shell at least http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_134.shtml Quote Link to comment
megability Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 This little colorful snail has taken up shop next to the toxic-waste trumpet coral so far and I've watched him take a few bites. Pretty cool actually. I'm going to consider this both a good and bad thing; bad because no one wants their corals preyed upon, but good because out of all my corals, I have the most of the trumpets, they grow fast anyway, and hopefully this means the snail is not so specific as to what kind of coral it needs and I can keep him alive Quote Link to comment
megability Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 As promised, here are some pictures of this cool little cowry snail - also called an ovulid, false cowry, egg cowry, and allied cowry it seems. Jenneria pustulata is the scientific name, called Jenners Cowry or Pustulated Cowry... Their mantle actually comes out and covers their shell when they are active, laying down calcium from the outside, that's why they are so smooth and shiny. And their mantle appears to try and mimic coral polyps, pretty cool, and I am assuming the bright red colors are either to blend in with it's favorite coral, probably a pocillopora, or maybe to advertise that they are poisonous... or both Quote Link to comment
megability Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Here's the little guy munching away on some trumpet coral - thankfully I have a ton of it... This is only about 2 or 3 days worth of feeding so far, so it will be interesting to see how much he needs, and how much each head of trumpet coral can take before it's irreparably harmed... Quote Link to comment
matty0206 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 It would be cool to set up a species tank for him. Cheap frags for food....nom nom! Quote Link to comment
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