My first 3g Picotope

[pj86]

So after my three day vacation, my corals seem happier than ever. Maybe, I've been making them mad by starring at them all the time...lol. Everything seems to be settling in. My large mushroom decided to move. Another mushroom literally went in and out the HOB filter 3-4 times, lost track of it the past week and now has reappeared and seems to be settling down on the tube of one of my worms.

The webcam that I set up gave me peace of mind, being able to see that everything was running as it should.

 

Sandcruiser, true about the algae. I've done some rearranging but there are some very small spots that will get algae on it. To be honest I kinda like those algae spots, also they will be beneficial because that way the other parts of the glass will grow algae slower due to competing algae on the spots I won't clean.

[.Newman.]

what type of algae is it? make sure its not the dreaded bryopsis x_x

[scottsdale454ss]

arent the 2x18w dual current satellite lights discontinued?? Can you still get lamps for that?

[pj86]

Newman, I believe I have several algae in my tank. So far none that have become obnoxious and are hardly noticed. Scottsdale454ss, the bulbs are still available at some stores including Amazon.

[ReggieF]

Very cool tank, but you've filled it up in a little over a month. I've had my 5.5 gallon tank for 3 months and it's no where near full and I thought I was moving fast. You might want to slow down or get a 10 gallon atleast.

[pj86]

ReggieF, yea I might have put quite a bit of stuff quickly. I have another 3 gallon tank running at all times which is practically empty, just incase of an emergency to save stuff. Also, I believe my tank isn't yet half way filled..lol. I don't want to jinx myself but so far everything looks really good, amazing growth and even the sarconephthya is doing really well. The coco worm and the feather dusters are always open. When I bought the coco it had a few feathers missing on one head, now it seems to be regenerating those feathers. Candy canes trying to split, green mushrooms appearing in different places, some zoa polyps that fell of the colony when introducing into the tank are now taking hold in other places, monti seems to want to start a new layer on its cap, amphipods going crazy and seem to be trying to eat my zoa's, sexy shrimps made residency around the coco worm and paly's, GSP has tripled in size and now is encrusting on 3 different rocks for future fragging, hermit took dead blue hermits shell finally after he killed it like 2 weeks ago, and lots more happens in that tank that I probably don't notice.

[pj86]

Didn't know what to put for my avatar. Was searching through my pics and saw my pet gecko which lived about 10 years. I made a DIY vivarium when I was 12, I might set that setup again.

[pj86]

This weekend I went to get some saltwater at my LFS, and noticed one of the workers deciding to throw a doughnut coral away that had quite a bit of skeleton showing, I was like "are you going to throw that away", and he stated most likely, I said "I'll take it". So far it looks way better then it did before, eating quite of bit of mysis and is inflating nicely. Also, he was practically giving away some really nice red blastomussas, therefore I had to take it...haha. I'll post some photos later.

[pj86]

Actually I couldn't wait. Forgot to mention also last weekend I saw these amazing Tub's blue zoa's, probably one is the strongest blues I've seen in nature besides non-photosynthetics, I couldn't say no.

 

Here is what I think it is a doughnut coral. He was about to throw it, I was like , "but it still has a mouth... can I have it?" lol. So it looks much better than it was before and is eating lots and lots.

 

Here are the blasto's, he gave these at a really, really good price. Also has some damage, but they have been eating lots and lots. Have inflated really nicely and have noticed they have like 4-5 babies that weren't noticeable at the store.

 

Here are the crazy, crazy blue zoa's. Just couldn't say no, I got these about a week ago.

 

And my FTS. GSP has grown like crazy, mushrooms trying to move and multiplying, and all of the above from the previous post.

[FLNanoReefer]

Wow. You have a amazing tank. How often do you feed your Sun Coral? How large was your GSP when you bought it? I just added one to my tank 4 days ago and it is already taking hold of the rock and growing!! I love your Ricordia Florida. Has it grown since being added to you tank?

 

Also, if you wouldn't mind tanking a look at my tank thread and giving me some feedback that would be awesome. I could really use some second opinions on a few things.

[pj86]

I dose my tank, but my sun coral gets special treatment in that it gets fed in a separate bowl every other day, and sometimes every 3 days depending on how busy I am.

[FLNanoReefer]

Ok. Thanks. Sun corals are so cool, but I don't think that I can feed it in a separate container every other day. Your Candy Cane Coral is very pretty. I love the coloration. What type of Ricordia do you have in the tank?

 

I hope to set a Picotope up in the next couple of months.

[.Newman.]

i really like your yellow polyps. I used to dislike them but now looking at yours I can appreciate them (without them being in my tank lol)

[pj86]

i really like your yellow polyps. I used to dislike them but now looking at yours I can appreciate them (without them being in my tank lol)

Thanks. Same here, I'm not to big of a fan of how they look but are extremely useful in removing uneaten food quickly from the water column. Aggressive grower also.

 

Ok. Thanks. Sun corals are so cool, but I don't think that I can feed it in a separate container every other day. Your Candy Cane Coral is very pretty. I love the coloration. What type of Ricordia do you have in the tank?

 

I hope to set a Picotope up in the next couple of months.

 

Thanks for the complements. You can have a sun coral and feed it in a small tank, but you gotta have a powerful skimmer or a large refugium or joined aquarium. Sometimes I wonder how long I will last feeding it in a separate container before it gets to be to much work. I have a florida ricordea (orange one), and a ricordea yuma (semi-purple with green tips).

[pj86]

Oh hell ya, I just caught the amphipod eating zoa, gonna post some pics. I'm also willing to give/ship the specimen to any marine biologist that has the equipment to identify it. I will store it with my entomology stuff.

[.Newman.]

wait a zoa eating an amphipod or an amphipod that was eating your zoa?

do post some pics it could be jsut a regular digging amphipod that got too hungry

[pj86]

yea I messed that sentenced up...lol. An amphipod eating a zoa. I think he just got to big for my pico and began eating my zoa's, also my population of copepods has decreased and my amphipod population has increased therefore less food for it. He was one of the few large ones that wasn't in my refugium.

 

[FLNanoReefer]

Thanks. Same here, I'm not to big of a fan of how they look but are extremely useful in removing uneaten food quickly from the water column. Aggressive grower also.

 

 

 

Thanks for the complements. You can have a sun coral and feed it in a small tank, but you gotta have a powerful skimmer or a large refugium or joined aquarium. Sometimes I wonder how long I will last feeding it in a separate container before it gets to be to much work. I have a florida ricordea (orange one), and a ricordea yuma (semi-purple with green tips).

Cool. Thanks. i think I will hold off on the sun coral until I have the time to do daily feedings. Your ricordias and candy cane corals are beautiful. I just saw my first pod in my tank. I don't know what kind it was though.

[brandon429]

this tank is among the most well planned Ive seen you are going the extra mile hope you get published.

[.Newman.]

nice amphipod. thats out of the water, what color was it when it was alive and in the water? clear, tan, or gray? Looks like a sand burrowing amphipod which is most of what these guys are. those large pair of clawed appendages up front are used for digging. It looks to me like that one is obviously a free-living animal, so its not a parasite of zoas, nor does it specifically feed on them. My guess is that it did get a bit hungry and was either eating an ill zoa polyp or eating a weaker part of the polyp, or it was feeding on the polyp's slime. Most arthropods you find in your tank will show this behavior (the little flat "centepede" -looking pods that litter the lower part of the tank will often roam around corals and eat stuff on them.) Except the minuscule copepods, those you usually find on the glass itself or floating around in the water column.

 

In my pico I have amphipods that are possibly even larger than that one (mostly I have Gray ones). they dig burrows under rocks and things and they actively hunt around whenever i feed the tank. I've seen them carry pieces of dried seaweed (I feed my emerald) that were 5 times their body size and somehow drag that into their burrow lol. So these things act as scavengers too, they browse your sand for smaller particles, but if they smell something good in your tank they'll go roaming and will snag it. I have not seen the gray ones actively eat a zoa.

 

If that amphipod was actively eating away at a zoa, I suggest you find any more large ones that look exactly like it and remove them. better safe than sorry lol.

 

Sorry I don't have any invertebrate field guides with me. you could check one out. Atlantic guide

Check plates 50 and 51. Genus to check out: Talorchestia, Gammarus (SW ones), and Orchestia. I am betting yours is a Gammarus species.

[pj86]

Thanks Newman. I have those amphipods (green, grey and brown) running around and also some isopods running around. I have come to the decision that I will try to feed/trap (with a vile/bait) them and see if that is the underlining cause. Second option would be to add a circus goby, but I really want to avoid that due to my last goby having ick about 4 weeks ago and dying from a secondary bacterial infection. I haven't seen nudi's or zoa spiders. The colony doesn't seem to have Zoa pox either. It might be that it has a fungal/bacterial infection which in that case will be hard to treat. Last resort would be to frag it or make another tank as a quarantine tank.

[.Newman.]

try Furan 2 dip.

[pj86]

Thanks Newman, will most likely try the Furan.

[evanski]

Crazy beautiful tank!

[pj86]

Thanks evanski.

So the sun coral is a little bit too happy now and was extremely underfed at the LFS. It is extending its polyps about an inch away from its half an inch skeleton. If it keeps on extending, my sun coral is gonna have to become airborne, gonna have to hang it upside down where it will have a lot more room to extend its polyps. Also I think it will appreciate the lower light. If not I'm gonna have to start another tank or sell it .