nickjqz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 CHALK BASS!!!! Awesome! Finally! How many? How do the two royal grammas get along? Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Awesome! Finally!How many? How do the two royal grammas get along? I got 4 chalk bass. No, I don't have 2 grammas in one tank. I got one gramma for this tank. I've got a much smaller one in another system. I just really happen to like the fish. I was gonna maybe wait for a black cap basslet, but when I saw this guy, I couldn't pass him up. Stunning fish. Link to comment
nickjqz Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Nice. I have one too, great coloration. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Nice. I have one too, great coloration. Thanks, now time for peechurs!! Acclimating In the tank Video Thanks for looking, L Link to comment
nickjqz Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Looks great! My royal gramma hid for like the first week. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Looks great! My royal gramma hid for like the first week. Thanks. I've heard that about grammas, but mine have not been timid at all. Very inquisitive. My larger one in the 36g is a bit more assertive, but it's not bad. loving those chalk bass I'm loving them too. One jumped while I was netting him & hit the floor pretty hard. I'm watching him carefully. Did a water change today. They eat well too. Not fussy at all. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Very nice macro tank, and clever title name! Do you dose? I remember my Halimeda sucked up all the calcium/carbonate in my tank. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Very nice macro tank, and clever title name! Do you dose? I remember my Halimeda sucked up all the calcium/carbonate in my tank. Thanks. I do my best. No, I don't dose. I do larger water changes (maybe 20% weekly) and mix salt as if I'm mixing for sps corals. For what it's worth, I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I haven't felt the need to dose yet. I can check my calcium again if you'd like. A lot of people have asked me dosing questions and are surprised to find out I don't dose. L Link to comment
yoshii Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 YES CHALK BASS!! omgomgomg I love the gramma, makes me miss my old one, a lot of people hate on them, but IMO they're great little fish Link to comment
nickjqz Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I love the gramma, makes me miss my old one, a lot of people hate on them, but IMO they're great little fish Agreeed!!! Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 YES CHALK BASS!! omgomgomg I love the gramma, makes me miss my old one, a lot of people hate on them, but IMO they're great little fish Agreeed!!! Well, don't get too used to the gramma. It's not doing great. It's ok, but it's getting picked on (I suspect, I don't actually see anybody doing any picking) and has turned very reclusive. If it's not thriving by the weekend, I'll be taking it back to the store if I can. Right now, I'm watching it. Could well be that it's not doing a great job negotiating the rock work and it's hurting itself if it get spooked. Shame, as I really like it, but Some pictures for you. Added a sexy new black back ground. And now video Thanks for looking. Hopefully, the gramma just needs to do some adjusting. L Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Looks good and natural. How's the Halodule doing for you? Without any other seagrass species for competition, it should fill in relatively quickly. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Looks good and natural. How's the Halodule doing for you? Without any other seagrass species for competition, it should fill in relatively quickly. It's doing ok. I don't have a nutrient base in my substrate, so it's going a bit slow, but it is rooting and I do see some spread. The main problem is that the jawfish will often disrupt the substrate and shift things about. I'd like to get a bit more Halodule once it's back in season. Now that I know more about the plant, I can fill things in a bit more. It's growing taller and I see new growth. But time for some bad news. I lost the Royal gramma. I was going to take him back to the store today as I really didn't like that he wasn't adjusting well. Usually my fish adjust very quickly and thrive, but this gramma was getting spooked and hitting the rock work (injuring himself) and was just afraid of his shadow. What I think happened is that despite them being very different looking and having some pretty different habits, the gramma and the chalk bass are still both basslets. It's frustrating because these fish will often be listed as compatible in tanks, but I think the usual assumption is that only one of each is being kept. It was 4 against one and ultimately not fair on the gramma. Gutted, but I learned my lesson. Spent the better part of the early morning testing my water. Everything is fine, jawfish and banded shrimp were being an excellent CUC, as were the hermit crabs. It's kind of wedged in a rock, so it'll be hard to remove. I've got a concert tonight, so it has to wait. I got water in case I need to do a water change. I'm in mourning, what a lovely fish and I don't just randomly throw stuff in my tank. L Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I see what you mean, now. Terribly sorry for the loss. It's always bad losing anything, like corals/anemones, but losing fish seems to hit even harder. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 I see what you mean, now. Terribly sorry for the loss. It's always bad losing anything, like corals/anemones, but losing fish seems to hit even harder. Yeah, I'm better now. It's funny because I know not to keep species of the same genus together, but I guess you have to watch for types as well. The rest of the fish are doing great. I cannot locate any evidence of the gramma, so my CUC has done a fabulous job. L Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Good that it's better now. Yup. Unfortunately, aggression and competition is extremely complex, especially in fishes. One has to consider things not only on a phylogenetic sense (inter- and intraspecific/generic/familial interactions), but also each organism's niche, etc. Huge subject and, to a large extent, experimental, given "personality" differences between individuals. Link to comment
castiel Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Very sad news indeed =0( Link to comment
yardboy Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Bummer about the gramma, glad I'm not the only one compassionate about livestock. What turnover rates do you have in your tank; any current making devices? In the video the water seemed pretty quiet. I've found that when fish have to work to stay in position they aren't always as aggressive, but it varies. I've heard that chalkbass school. Have you found that to be true with yours? They seem to be laying pretty low in your tank so I wondered. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Bummer about the gramma, glad I'm not the only one compassionate about livestock. What turnover rates do you have in your tank; any current making devices? In the video the water seemed pretty quiet. I've found that when fish have to work to stay in position they aren't always as aggressive, but it varies. I've heard that chalkbass school. Have you found that to be true with yours? They seem to be laying pretty low in your tank so I wondered. They explore the tank together and in small groups, but not in a school unless it's feeding time. They are much more extroverted now. They are wild caught, so it took a while for them to get used to me. The first couple days, I couldn't approach the tank without them swimming to hiding places. Now, they'll hang out more like my jawfish do. I have two Koralia nano 425, but I've always been dissatisfied with the flow. But the plants seem to prefer less flow. Especially the grass. What I want is more surface agitation. Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 They explore the tank together and in small groups, but not in a school unless it's feeding time. They are much more extroverted now. They are wild caught, so it took a while for them to get used to me. The first couple days, I couldn't approach the tank without them swimming to hiding places. Now, they'll hang out more like my jawfish do. I have two Koralia nano 425, but I've always been dissatisfied with the flow. But the plants seem to prefer less flow. Especially the grass. What I want is more surface agitation. Unless there's something else in particular that doesn't tolerate higher flow rates, you don't have to worry about the grasses. I've always had very high flow volumes (as high or higher than in a typical reef system), but with lower velocities. I currently use an MP40 @ 100% and one Tunze nanostream with the high flow mod in my little 25g cube. The hydrodynamic dampening effect the grasses create is substantial--that much flow is gone by the time it diffuses through 50% of the grasses. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Unless there's something else in particular that doesn't tolerate higher flow rates, you don't have to worry about the grasses. I've always had very high flow volumes (as high or higher than in a typical reef system), but with lower velocities. I currently use an MP40 @ 100% and one Tunze nanostream with the high flow mod in my little 25g cube. The hydrodynamic dampening effect the grasses create is substantial--that much flow is gone by the time it diffuses through 50% of the grasses. Yeah, I was considering adding another power head. I'll check my bag of junk. It has some old power heads. I had/have a koralia 750, but my mom said she threw it away when she was removing clutter. But I'm not convinced and will go on a thorough search for it this weekend. Was supposed to send it to Monochrome5 along with some chaeto, but she told me she threw it away. I'll see if I can dig it up. I hope I can, that may be what I need. I gotta replant my macro trimmings? Wanna come do it for me? L Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Added a rock anemone. Caribbean native. Stupid, has now placed his foot against the corner, so all I see is his butt. LOLOLOL Here's a picture of what he looks like before he started to moon me on a permanent basis. Link to comment
castiel Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Beautiful! Weird as it is ... I want to see his butt Link to comment
yardboy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 If you're into butts, get a cucumber with a pearlfish. That's maybe pushing the edge of kinky with my reef tank. Link to comment
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