Pearls of the Antilles...

[lljdma06]

Beautiful!

 

Weird as it is ... I want to see his butt

 

 

If you're into butts, get a cucumber with a pearlfish. That's maybe pushing the edge of kinky with my reef tank.

 

I like big butts and I cannot lie...

 

 

Actually, not his butt, but his foot. Same difference. At least I got one picture where I can see the oral disc.

 

 

Shame, cause he's a pretty nem. I'll be shifting things around in this tank a bit, so look for an update at the end of the weekend.

 

L

[londonloco]

Love this tank. How are your chaulk bass's doing (they are one of my favorite sw fish)? I've tried to keep them several times, never successfully. Within a few months, they always just "vanished".

[lljdma06]

Love this tank. How are your chaulk bass's doing (they are one of my favorite sw fish)? I've tried to keep them several times, never successfully. Within a few months, they always just "vanished".

 

Right now, the four are doing extremely well. They take anything from pellets to frozen and are active and swimming around the tank. Sometimes in groups and sometimes alone. They posture with each other, a lot like Tiger barbs actually.

 

L

[londonloco]

Not sure why I couldn't keep them alive....thinking of trying one in my 20g long one day. I'm waiting for my tank to cycle, it's only been 2 weeks and it's killing me lol, so I have a long way to go. Why does it hurt more to cycle a sw tank than a fw tank?

[lljdma06]

Do you use cured or uncured LR? I use cured, so the process is less demanding. I'm looking into my CUC for my Biocube now.

[21093r53]

i shouldve done something like this for my gf instead :/

[lljdma06]

i shouldve done something like this for my gf instead :/

 

Now, I'm curious. What did you do for her? I'm sure what you did was lovely too. I just went a different route. I like having a slice of regional waters in my house. it's interesting. I may have to redo the seagrass. But I know better for next time.

 

L

[londonloco]

Do you use cured or uncured LR? I use cured, so the process is less demanding. I'm looking into my CUC for my Biocube now.

 

I did use cured rock, so cured I haven't had an ammonia or N03 after 2 weeks. I've decided to go with Seachem Stability and a damsel. Got diatoms already, cuc should be here tomorrow. Still no ammonia or N03, but using Stability, I shouldn't see any.

[lljdma06]

Yeah, my spike In my picos were minimal as well. As soon as I saw diatoms, I did my water tests & was able to add the CUC after about 1.5 weeks. This tank, on the other hand, went through a pretty big cycle.

 

L

[yardboy]

Too lazy to read back over this thread, but did I ever suggest that you try a corkscrew anemone? Has one of the largest aggregations of symbionts in the Caribbean. Anemoneshrimp, sexies, snapping and pistol shrimp, cardinal fish. Pretty cool anemone but it's non-photosynthesizing so has to be fed, though I collected one in the Keys last year and have yet to feed it. He's waiting to go in my new tank.

[lljdma06]

Too lazy to read back over this thread, but did I ever suggest that you try a corkscrew anemone? Has one of the largest aggregations of symbionts in the Caribbean. Anemoneshrimp, sexies, snapping and pistol shrimp, cardinal fish. Pretty cool anemone but it's non-photosynthesizing so has to be fed, though I collected one in the Keys last year and have yet to feed it. He's waiting to go in my new tank.

 

I dunno if you did or not.. I know reef cleaners last year had a curleyque anemone with a tiny symbiont shrimp that I almost got, but I didn't think my tank was ready for a nem at that time.

 

Are those the same or different. The curleyque was also nps. Haha, definitely used to feeding things. I got a pico full of nps.

 

I gotta clean this tank Saturday.

 

[yardboy]

Yes, they are the same, Bartholomea species, I think is how you spell it. It's claimed that they're the most commonly kept Caribbean anemone but I've not seen or heard of anyone keeping one. They are extremely common in the Keys, every crack in the rock has one I think, but they're tough to collect since you can't get to them, but I look in rubble piles where you sometimes find them attached to loose stuff. They're cool looking but if they were colorful they'd be priceless! Very easy to take care of and if you like looking closely at your tank they are really cool with symbionts. I'm sure John could fix you up with one and their shrimps!

[lljdma06]

Yes, they are the same, Bartholomea species, I think is how you spell it. It's claimed that they're the most commonly kept Caribbean anemone but I've not seen or heard of anyone keeping one. They are extremely common in the Keys, every crack in the rock has one I think, but they're tough to collect since you can't get to them, but I look in rubble piles where you sometimes find them attached to loose stuff. They're cool looking but if they were colorful they'd be priceless! Very easy to take care of and if you like looking closely at your tank they are really cool with symbionts. I'm sure John could fix you up with one and their shrimps!

 

Hehe, I may ask him, getting a CUC for my biocube soon, so I may ask if he can perhaps dig one up. Won't be a problem keeping that and the rock nem, right? I've heard disaster stories about mixing nem species.

 

L

[yardboy]

Sorry for the really bad pic but thought you might want an answer to your question (we're heading to Mardi Gras and I might not remember later) They seem to get along quite well with lots of other anemones. There are 8 different species in this 40L, been up for over a year. Here's a lineup of curleycue, maxi-mini carpet, ricordea, and two flowers.

 

[Amphiprion1]

Bartholomea are a big aiptasiid anemone and are about as easy, too. Luckily, I haven't seen them spread like Aiptasia, though. I used to sell quite a few of them back when they were more popular in our area. We would sell them (or at least try) with some of their alpheid symbionts, like brown pistol shrimp. Pretty cool to observe them together.

[lljdma06]

Sorry for the really bad pic but thought you might want an answer to your question (we're heading to Mardi Gras and I might not remember later) They seem to get along quite well with lots of other anemones. There are 8 different species in this 40L, been up for over a year. Here's a lineup of curleycue, maxi-mini carpet, ricordea, and two flowers.

 

 

Haha, that looks like an aiptasia that's had it's Wheaties!

 

Bartholomea are a big aiptasiid anemone and are about as easy, too. Luckily, I haven't seen them spread like Aiptasia, though. I used to sell quite a few of them back when they were more popular in our area. We would sell them (or at least try) with some of their alpheid symbionts, like brown pistol shrimp. Pretty cool to observe them together.

 

It would be interesting to acquire one with a symbiont. Too cool!

 

L

[yardboy]

It's funny. I wonder if their popularity declined as the awareness of Aiptasia became known and remembering in the past how liverock covered with aiptasia would be sold in lfs as if there were nothing wrong with that was residual memory of the popularity of curleycue?

The pic is bad and while they do resemble their cousins, they have a greater attractiveness to my eye and I've not seen this one reproduce in the last year but references do say they can reproduce by pedal laceration, just like Aiptasia. Certainly a bunch of colored shrimps enhance their appearance!

[Amphiprion1]

It's funny. I wonder if their popularity declined as the awareness of Aiptasia became known and remembering in the past how liverock covered with aiptasia would be sold in lfs as if there were nothing wrong with that was residual memory of the popularity of curleycue?

The pic is bad and while they do resemble their cousins, they have a greater attractiveness to my eye and I've not seen this one reproduce in the last year but references do say they can reproduce by pedal laceration, just like Aiptasia. Certainly a bunch of colored shrimps enhance their appearance!

 

I actually like them, as well, especially the ones where the rings/bands were somewhat fluorescent. I think the whole idea of them not only looking like Aiptasia, but being related were all part of the stigma for this species. It's a shame, too. There's another species available, B. lucida, that has small bulbs on the tentacles instead of the corkscrew-style rings that B. annulata has. It's pretty cool, too, but I haven't seen it very often at all.

[yardboy]

Interesting that you should mention that, as I've always wondered if these guys, found at the jetties on PCB, were in the Aiptasia family. They often have small bubbles at the end of their tentacles, though this pic doesn't show it. I've kept them in tanks for up to a year but no one likes them (symbiont-wise) and they have to be fed. The silt level is usually much higher up here so I'm sure they get a lot to eat. While they are very common, they never multiplied in my tanks.

 

 

lljdma06, sorry if we've hijacked your thread, but it seems pertinent to what you are doing. We're just trying to talk you into more livestock!!!!!

[Amphiprion1]

Interesting that you should mention that, as I've always wondered if these guys, found at the jetties on PCB, were in the Aiptasia family. They often have small bubbles at the end of their tentacles, though this pic doesn't show it. I've kept them in tanks for up to a year but no one likes them (symbiont-wise) and they have to be fed. The silt level is usually much higher up here so I'm sure they get a lot to eat. While they are very common, they never multiplied in

 

lljdma06, sorry if we've hijacked your thread, but it seems pertinent to what you are doing. We're just trying to talk you into more livestock!!!!!

 

Interesting about those anemones.

 

I'll also apologize, lldjma06. Didn't mean to derail anything. It's just that the subject sparked my curiosity.

[lljdma06]

Oh hush up, you two! The whole point of journals is to be educated and I'm certainly being educated.

 

I do want to expand what I keep in my tank. I really don't think I have much more room for fish, but I have room for inverts as this isn't a very coral heavy tank. The reason for making this tank a biotope was to offer a tropical SW community that was a little bit off the beaten path. That you two are discussing this biotope and are showing interest in it is something that I like.

 

I'm glad that this tank makes people talk. Keep hijacking away.

 

Looks like Maloney may send me a Caribbean starfish. But I'll keep a corkscrew in mind. I like the idea.

 

L

[lljdma06]

I finally got around to giving the tank a nice clean and giving it a proper photoshoot. Well, not really a proper one compared to what all of you do, but proper in the sense that I whipped out my HD camera and actually tried to be artistic.

 

But first a few things.

 

1. Added Caulerpa prolifera. Can go "sexual" but a lovely plant and the "sexual" issue can be curtailed with regular pruning.

 

2. I'll be upgrading the lighting in this tank soon. I've been spoiled by Metal Halide and LEDs in my other system! I found a cheap MH 150W fixture from another hobbyist. Picking that up tomorrow. Yay!

 

Now for the pictures. Of course with the Halide up, I'll have to take pictures again, but is that really such a bad thing?

 

fts

 

 

jawfish peeking

 

 

Macros and ricordea

 

 

Ricordeas

 

 

 

 

Chalk bass

 

 

 

Caulerpa

 

 

Another fts

 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

L

[castiel]

Beautiful!

[lljdma06]

Beautiful!

 

Really? Thank you. You know, with all the coral-dominated tanks around that are stunners, mine always looks different, so I wonder if people like it. It doesn't even look like a typical macro display tank. I don't have so many species.

 

Thanks again. Oh, too funny, Mr. Moon, the rock nem, was all closed yesterday. Hehe, they get so tiny when they close up. Don't worry, he was open again by feeding and took mysis with relish. I just wish I could SEE him.

 

Bleh... stupid nem.

 

L

[Amphiprion1]

Everything looks good. I think you and the seagrasses will appreciate the halide, for sure. Until I see better daylight/warmer spectrum LEDs on the market, metal halides will continue to be my preference for these sorts of tanks.

 

Don't feel left out on species. I think your tank really reflects the habitat nicely and it is something that isn't seen as often as it used to be. For a while there "biotope" and habitat-specific tanks were all the rage, whereas previous dutch-like displays of corals and algae from various habitats were popular prior to that. I'm seeing the latter really come back into popularity again, which is interesting. I think it is great that this is a focused display. Heck, if I didn't have my clownfish for so long, I would've done a Caribbean display to begin with, focusing solely on species found in seagrass beds there. I just don't have the heart to get rid of my puppies--er... at least they sorta act like 'em.