XIII's Nano Cube - 28 Gallon LED

[XIII]

Yeah, I've been meaning to give an update for a while. Just been really busy.

 

I picked up a Yellow Clown Goby and a Red Firefish, as well as an Emerald Mithrax Crab and a Red Fancy Nassarius Snail. The goby is a great fish as it loves to perch and swim around, and likes to "nest" in my orange monti. The fire fish is doing great and has a little crevice it treats as its home, and often comes out to bob in the current. All the fish like to school together during the day which is fun to watch.

 

Everything else just keeps growing and multiplying. I could readily frag a few of my corals if I wanted to. I really need to get some updated pictures to share. The zoas and palys are thriving, and the red blastos went from 2 heads to 7. The ice ice favia that started out the size of a quarter is now about the size of my palm. Many of the others have doubled, tripled, or quadrupled in size as well.

 

I have halted the expansion/growth of the red macro algae, but it is still very much still within the tank. Every time I do a water change I scrub some of it off the rocks and try to remove some of it, and it decreases but is damn near impossible to remove entirely.

 

I still haven't picked up a Mandarin, or a clam, as I haven't found one that I like or is trained to eat mysis and pellets, and clams have been hard to find around me lately.

 

I will try to get some pictures up later this week.

[urbaneks]

If we can't have pictures at least we have a post. It's great to see that you still have the tank up and running and are adding to it. Can't wait to see the new pics.

[Atomic081]

great looking tank!!

[lstorm]

Sub'd

[DeAtH07]

Awesome tank! Good job with your setup.

[XIII]

OK, here are some of the long awaited update pics. I've included some before and after shots too.

 

The explosive growth that are the Armageddon Palys:

When first introduced to the tank in August:

 

And where they are now:

 

The Duncans in full bloom with many new heads:

 

Some pictures of the Yellow Clown Goby on his favorite perches:

On the Frilly Mushroom (with the Clowns in the background):

 

And in the Orange Monti (which as quadrupled in size):

 

And a before and after shot of the left side of the tank:

In July of last year:

 

This week:

 

Notice the Ice Ice Favia on the Tonga branch in the center, which looked like this last July:

 

And finally, an updated full tank shot:

From October of last year (has it really been that long since I posted an updated shot?):

 

And how it looks now:

 

Those are the updated pictures I have been able to get so far. The firefish is really hard to get a good shot of, but I will try. I haven't seen the new mithrax crab, but that is to be expected as there are so many hiding spaces for it. As for the fancy snail, it likes to hide under the sand a lot (which is why I got it), so that too has been difficult to get a picture of.

 

You'll notice in the full shots that there is a lot of red macro in the tank...which is my only issue at the moment...need to keep battling it. I'll try to get a few more pictures when able. I've also updated my original post with all of the new additions (and losses) since the last update.

 

Thanks to all who are following and finding this useful, and for all of the feedback and supporting comments.

[XIII]

So, I think my Hector's Goby died in one of his burrows, as I haven't seen it in about a week now. This caused a bloom of green hair algae that I'm now combatting, though almost all of the red macroalgae I was having issues with has died off (just one significant patch area left). About this same time, the Blue Solomon Tree has reached a size that is now dangerous to certain other corals, as it has stung one of my acans causing it to lose a head, and between the Solomon Tree stinging it and a ulcer developed by a macroalgae that rooted on its trunk, the Pulsing Xenia started to shrivel and I had to remove it form the tank as it was pretty much dead (smelled like it was rotting too). The Frogspawn also threw out a really long tentacle one night and stung the micromusa, causing it to lose several heads.

 

Because of all of these issues, I decided to rework a portion of my aquascape in order to give the Solomon Tree more room and to have certain corals not interfere with others. During the process, which gave me several issues: I partially crushed my Miami Hurricane echinophyllia (which it is slowly recovering from); broke a large section of my orange Monti (which has been repaired); moved my micromusa and one of my acans; and rearranged the rock-work in the back of the display area.

 

All in all, the tank suffered a major setback this week, which sucked as it had been doing so well and looking great. I'm content with how everything looks, but still have concerns for the micromusa recovering. I've also noticed the my Mellow Yellow Goniopora has been slowly having die-back as well, so I'll either have to move it or eventually lose it (the latter of which is unfortunately more likely). I plan to replace the Hector's goby either with another one or a different fish at some point, but want the tank to re-stabilize first.

 

============================================================

Can any one offer good advice on how to get rid of vermatid snails? I know that you can break them off or superglue their "burrows," but my tank is still pretty overrun with them. Is there a natural predator that I can add to my tank that will eat them (I believe that there are certain fish that might, though they are too large for my tank)?

[MrIcky]

Sorry about your last text, but the pics in the 3/11 post look great. I don't have a clue on the snail

[dday80]

XIII -

 

Your tank looks great man! Sorry you're having coral war issues! Lets see a new pic of the reaquascape!

[XIII]

So, my tank issues have subsided, and all of the corals are once again doing great. The frags I was able to recover from some of the damage done to the main corals have started showing growth, so I decided to make a few additional frags of a couple of the zoas (and will soon make frags of the Blue Solomon Tree and Armageddon palys).

 

However, about a week or so ago, my yellow clown goby got a little too close to the MP10 one night, was trapped by the pressure, and when I found him the next morning he was dead. This was very disheartening to my wife, as she really liked him. It had never gone near the MP10 before, so I was surprised to discover this.

 

So yesterday, we went to our LFS and picked up a replacement yellow clown goby, a second emerald crab, and these two little guys.

 

The first is a Pygmy Hawk (not actually a hawkfish but an anthias), otherwise known as a Highfin Perchlet.

He has a similar temperament to the yellow clown goby, and bounces from perch to perch around the rocks.

 

The other is a Spotted Mandarin.

This one is a tank-bred ORA mandarin, which means he eats frozen mysis and pellets. I've long wanted to get a mandarin, specifically a blue one, but my wife saw him and really wanted it, and since it was ORA and with my tank being a nano, this was the best option.

 

So we now have six fish in the tank, the two clowns, the red firefish, and these three additions. All seem to be getting along and finding places among the corals and rocks to call their own home. I did manage to get a great shot of the firefish while feeding them yesterday, and thought I'd share.

This also shows the incredible growth and structure of my orange monti (the color is off a bit in this picture but is is a very vibrant salmon/pinkish-orange color).

 

Also, while trying to get a shot of the mandarin in the tank (he's hiding), I took this picture of the the back half of the right side of the tank, which shows off the new background aquascape, and just how much the Blue Solomon has grown.

 

All and all, everything is doing great. The red algae continues to decrease, and the vermatid snails seem to stop proliferating as much (though they are still everywhere). This coming weekend will mark the first anniversary of establishing my tank, and I plan on reworking the plumbing to my chiller before the summer hits. So with the new additions and everything else going well, and looking back on what I have learned this past year, I'm looking forward to what the second year will bring.

 

----------------------------

Once the frags have matured a bit more, I will probably put them up for sale or trade. I currently have the following frags ready to go:

- Joker's Zoas (5 polyps)

- Georgia Peach Zoas (5 polyps)

- Orange Monti

- Miami Hurricane Echinophyllia (6+ eyes)

 

And will be or could frag the following if anyone was interested:

- Armageddon Paly's

- Blue Solomon Tree

- Yellow Polyps

- Green Star Polyps

- Clavularia Liam's Cloves

- Superman Mushroom

- Green/White Frilly Mushroom

 

If anyone is interested, just PM me.

[MrIcky]

Glad things are back on track for you. Hope my monti caps grow in like yours are.

[XIII]

Thanks. The monti is the only coral not permanently attached in my tank at the moment. As it continues to grow out, I keep shifting it to keep it form touching the back wall or other rocks.

[MrIcky]

Thanks. The monti is the only coral not permanently attached in my tank at the moment. As it continues to grow out, I keep shifting it to keep it form touching the back wall or other rocks.

 

For why?

[dday80]

Glad to hear everything is going well. Tank looks awesome! I may hit you up for some zoas once my tank gets a bit more mature.

[XIII]

For why?

I don't want it to encrust on the wall.

[XIII]

Just posted a "for sale" notice for the frags I mentioned previously. You can find it HERE.

 

If anyone is interested, please PM me. Thanks.

[dday80]

How's the tank? Any luck in selling your frags?

[XIII]

The tank is doing great. All the fish are pretty happy, and the red macro algae continues to decrease, though I still have issues with the vermatid snails. I finally secured my orange monti in a permanent location, though once again a accidentally snapped a large piece of it off.

 

As for the frags, I ended up trading them at my LFS for credit, which allowed me to pick up a few items that I was in need of, and also a new zoa frag and Halloween Hermit.

 

In other news, my RBTA split, so now I have one that I will want to be getting rid of soon, once it fully heals. Also, my green star polyps have spread to the main rock structure, so I will be getting rid of the mother colony at some point as well.

[Sahin]

Have you managed to control the Vermatid snails in any way at all? If so what has been useful? Thanks.

[XIII]

Have you managed to control the Vermatid snails in any way at all? If so what has been useful? Thanks.

Not really. Because my tank is too small to house a natural predator for them, I just go around and break/crush them when I do my water changes. Bit of a pain to be honest.

[Deleted User 4]

lol cool name

[XIII]

Been a while since I posted an update, so hear it goes.

 

All fish, crabs and other critters are doing amazingly. The

 

I had a run of hair algae and cyano growing in my tank for a couple weeks, but seem to be getting it under control. This was odd to me as the red macro algae that I had been having issues with in the past has almost been completely wiped out. I've changed my feeding habits again to see if that was causing the nuisance algae growth, or if something else was coming in to play. So far things have been better.

 

The corals have had some amazing growth the last few weeks, with several new heads appearing on the Blasto, Duncans, and all three Acans, new Superman mushrooms popping up in the middle of my Armageddon paly's, and the Ice Ice Favia continues to be the unstoppable expanding coral (which I love).

 

I'll try to get some new pictures soon and post them when I can.

 

 

--------------------------------

I'm starting to get the "bug" again, and am now in the serious planning phases for a pico tank for my office. Just need to pick up a tank and figure out the lighting (LED) that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg; I have all the other equipment.

[bioload]

How is the Mandarin doing? I added an ORA Mandarin to my 56g that WAS teaming with pods a couple weeks ago. She still looks pretty plump but I have not actually witnessed her eating anything but pods.I've tried live brine, frozen brine,arcti pods,small pellets, mysis etc. all placed right in front of her nose. Its like she doesn't even see it.Is yours eating prepared food and if so what? I'm looking forward to your updated pics. Good job so far!

[XIII]

How is the Mandarin doing? I added an ORA Mandarin to my 56g that WAS teaming with pods a couple weeks ago. She still looks pretty plump but I have not actually witnessed her eating anything but pods.I've tried live brine, frozen brine,arcti pods,small pellets, mysis etc. all placed right in front of her nose. Its like she doesn't even see it.Is yours eating prepared food and if so what? I'm looking forward to your updated pics. Good job so far!

 

The Mandarin is doing great and eats the Spirulina frozen food I use to feed all my fish. It also loves scooting around looking for pods too. It's doing really well, still very healthy, and not very shy at all anymore. It also responds to "feeding time" with the Clowns.

[XIII]

New pictures.

 

Blue Solomon Tree after a year, with a new Yellow Clown Goby (just a sucker for these little guys) who thinks he's a bird perching in the branches.

 

I had two full size Blue Solomon's, but fragged one of them into 7 smaller pieces to sell off.

Local trade/pick up (Boston area) only.

 

Also thought I'd show the Ice Ice Favia, and how much it has grown.

 

Working on getting more pictures soon.

 

Overall the tank is doing great. The red macro algae is almost all but gone, and the green hair algae is receding. All fish are happy and swim around freely, and the corals are goring so much that I have been fragging them regularly in turn, and the tank now pays for itself and then some. I'm finally getting a pico tank set up for my office, and plan to have that before the end of the year (next month if all goes well).