das awesome Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 How long did it take you to find a peppermint that would actually eat the aiptasia? I've tried like 6 and not one of them would touch them! Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 How long did it take you to find a peppermint that would actually eat the aiptasia? I've tried like 6 and not one of them would touch them! My very first peppermint ate aiptasia! In fact, in the first five minutes he was in the tank, he scrambled underneath a rock and TORE into a bunch of small aiptasia sprouting there. I did read an article about peppermint shrimp (a scientific publication) and what the authors claimed is that Peppermint shrimp originating in the Caribbean are confirmed aiptasia eaters (this is where all of mine come from as I'm in Florida), but there is spottier success with other variants. I'm not on the computer where I have that pdf stashed, and when I get back to the office, I'll see if I can find the relevant section and post it for you. Peppermints come from lots of different places, so see if your lfs can confirm the ones you get are Caribbean born! Thank you for the advice! The ones you originally had were quite large, the picture I included is my largest, the rest are somewhere between the size of my pinky nail and my thumb nail. It seems like I find a new one coming out of the rocks just about every day. I hate removing life from my tank this early in the game but it seems like the prudent move based on your experiences. I think I'll pick up a peppermint shrimp this weekend and see how he takes to them. Good luck! See if the lfs can confirm the peppermints are Caribbean born. Those are the ones confirmed to be aiptasia eaters. 1 Quote Link to comment
crouton Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 My very first peppermint ate aiptasia! In fact, in the first five minutes he was in the tank, he scrambled underneath a rock and TORE into a bunch of small aiptasia sprouting there. I did read an article about peppermint shrimp (a scientific publication) and what the authors claimed is that Peppermint shrimp originating in the Caribbean are confirmed aiptasia eaters (this is where all of mine come from as I'm in Florida), but there is spottier success with other variants. I'm not on the computer where I have that pdf stashed, and when I get back to the office, I'll see if I can find the relevant section and post it for you. Peppermints come from lots of different places, so see if your lfs can confirm the ones you get are Caribbean born! Good luck! See if the lfs can confirm the peppermints are Caribbean born. Those are the ones confirmed to be aiptasia eaters. Well I added a pair to the tank yesterday and when I woke up this morning one of them had molted which was quite a scare. I'm laying in bed and look across my room and just see a clear shrimp floating around the tank randomly. The good news is that my second biggest aiptasia has nubs where it's arms used to be so it looks like my shrimp are the correct variety. If they don't go after the big one in a week or two I might add a third. They are cute little things, I hope they come out of hiding eventually. Thanks again for your advice and good luck with yours! Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Well I added a pair to the tank yesterday and when I woke up this morning one of them had molted which was quite a scare. I'm laying in bed and look across my room and just see a clear shrimp floating around the tank randomly. The good news is that my second biggest aiptasia has nubs where it's arms used to be so it looks like my shrimp are the correct variety. If they don't go after the big one in a week or two I might add a third. They are cute little things, I hope they come out of hiding eventually. Thanks again for your advice and good luck with yours! It is freaky the first time they molt, but the so-called "stress molt" is not that unusual -- this is when they molt very soon after being added. I have been out of town for a week, but when I checked my tank this morning, the aiptasia was crazy out of control. It's time for another round of aiptasia X then onto peppermints! Also, just an FYI, some reefers report that their peppermints nibbled/ate coral. Mine never did that -- in fact, my sexy shrimp which are renowned for such behavior have not done that -- however, I feed every day, sometimes more than once. A well-fed shrimp is a happy tank mate. A hungry one will eat! 1 Quote Link to comment
eitallent Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hello. Sadly, I think Karloff, my Peppermint shrimp, did not survive this last molt. He has been missing for the last two days, today is the third. He was eating voraciously when I fed the fish this past Sunday. Then I noticed he was opaque and could not articulate his tail. He was still bobbing around the tank, just his little legs paddling like mad. I guess he grew too fast and might have not successfully molted. Have you ever heard of this or run across it in your reading? I have not. I have tried to find a body with a flash light in all the nooks and crannies with no luck. I guess the CUC is very efficient. Msscha, I hope all is calm and well with you and your loved ones. Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Hello. Sadly, I think Karloff, my Peppermint shrimp, did not survive this last molt. He has been missing for the last two days, today is the third. He was eating voraciously when I fed the fish this past Sunday. Then I noticed he was opaque and could not articulate his tail. He was still bobbing around the tank, just his little legs paddling like mad. I guess he grew too fast and might have not successfully molted. Have you ever heard of this or run across it in your reading? I have not. I have tried to find a body with a flash light in all the nooks and crannies with no luck. I guess the CUC is very efficient. Msscha, I hope all is calm and well with you and your loved ones. HI, Eitallent -- so sorry to hear about Karloff. I lost one peppermint after a molt, and like you, found the molted shell, but never the body. I don't recall how old Karloff might be, but peppermints are not long-lived -- around 2 years from what I've read. Since we often buy adults, it could be that Karloff lived a full and happy life in your tank and then contributed his share to the ongoing cycle. Sounds kind of corny, but that's the way I like to think of it. We are sad at my house at the moment. I will be sad a long while. Thank you for asking. Quote Link to comment
eitallent Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 We are sad at my house at the moment. I will be sad a long while. Thank you for asking. I understand. Hugs... Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Wow -- this looks so cool! I wish one of the venues were closer to my house -- Coral: Rekindling Venus Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hello, NR! I feel like I have to offer some kind of greeting/apology, but the last month has been terribly difficult. Today, finally, I feel semi-normal, and I don't know if it is the kindness of breathing space or grief-generalized-as-anger, but I felt strongly today about doing some serious tank work. I haven't done much with the tank for ages...and for the last few months, feeding and water changes were about it. Today? My inner warrior took control! First, for those interested in the gloves, I did use them, and while they did not help with fine motor movements, they were absolutely essential and much appreciated as the stuff I was doing meant long minutes with the hands in the tank, totally teeing off every inhabitant, and getting up close and personal with those the can cause trouble. On a side note, as I was cleaning up, I quickly put my hand in to grab a dislodged piece of coral, and felt a terrific, short punch of hot electricity. I pulled my hand out, saw no marks, put it back in and finished the job. Took about 20 minutes for the tingling to go away, and I have no idea what caused it. I did brush against the finger leather, but that was all...that is also the coral still most unhappy. Here is today's adventures, as told through pictures! LEDs should come with a cautionary note: Warning! Much Life to Appear! This was the state of my tank two hours ago. I let the macro grow, pruning it here and there, but otherwise, not really do much. A few days ago I noticed both LOTS of bristle worms and at least one brittle star in the tangled vines. Still, it is too much, and taking over the tank. My goal was to remove the huge clump of macro and relocate some to the back. In the process of doing so, I located the brittle star, a beautiful red/white one, which looks weird brown in the picture b/c the pic sucks The macro was a tangled mess that finally pulled loose en masse, and you can kind of see all the bristle worms -- I don't mind losing these because I still have dozens in the tank. So, here is how the tank looked when Step #1 was completed. I think it looks cleaner, clearer, there is still a spot of the macro in the back and this was the piece the brittle star was clinging to. BUT -- see all those damned pink mushrooms??? There are close to 10 of them altogether, and it is time for the little buggers to be gone. Enter Frag Basket! The expert among you are already snickering or shaking your heads. Yes, I know. I had to figure it out the hard way...but wait! We haven't reached that part of the story yet. Got the first mushie out with not too much effort because it had recently moved and wasn't firmly attached anywhere. When I grabbed it, a smallish bivalve of some sort shook loose. You'll see it at the end! Mushrooms are a PITA to remove -- couldn't just get the others off, so had to begin moving rocks, taking out pieces of LR, and scraping them off by hand. I didn't know whether to laugh or scream! This pic shows the mushies as little squishy bits of pinkish-purple. The brown blob is not a mushroom, but some kind of other creature. Thought this was a casualty, but it turned out to be already dead. In fact, it was a hitchhiker on the LR, but I thought it was still alive because something where this located kept moving. Maybe it's mommy bivalve? A pile of mushies! Now, onto the water change. Did about a 40% change since I managed to so thoroughly piss off everything in the tank today. FTS after everything moved, trimmed, replaced, etc. Notice the blue on the edge of the basket? That's because the holes were so big the mushies began escaping immediately -- duh!! 3 mushies pushed out immediately, and I had to retrieve them, glue a patch, and get them all back in the basket. Geesh. Nursery or Graveyard? What a mess! The newly found bivalve/mollusk The trimma is an unhappy camper because he had out-of-tank adventures today. When I pulled one of the rocks out, the trimma was hiding inside. He flopped onto the desk top and had to be rescued and restored to his water box. He has not left the back corner yet. Finally, something to watch! The "leg" of the toadstool (kind of like the monopods in The Voyage of the Dawntreader!) split from its base. The main toadie is attached to the side of the tank, where it seems quite happy (it's already opened back up and Cleo the Clownfish is quite happy to swim freely beneath its waving arms again). The piece that is left over is still attached to the LR and if this works like the last few bits left behind, then this will eventually grow into its own toadstool -- woo hoo! And that is today's saga! 4 Quote Link to comment
das awesome Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Sounds like a lot of work you just did today. The tank still looks great! Just curious, since you have led's now, ever thought about getting any sps corals? Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Awesome update, glad to see you're still active and the tank is still alive! Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Sounds like a lot of work you just did today. The tank still looks great! Just curious, since you have led's now, ever thought about getting any sps corals? Thought about it, but I don't run a lot of flow in my tank, and from what I've read, flow is really important. My lfs has been having supply difficulties lately, but I've already paid for some photosynthetic gorgs so I can have some of the that sps look without killing the coral! Should be coming in soon, as they've reported that their suppliers are starting to stock again, and I'll probably start with a few smaller pieces rather than the large ones. That's okay since the toadstool and fingerleather are plenty big, and I've really enjoyed watching the coral grow. In fact, I've now got two baby toadstools that are probably old enough to go to a new home and can already see some budding stocks where the big one broke off from the rock. I need to get myself to a reef club meeting and start selling . Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Awesome update, glad to see you're still active and the tank is still alive! Hi, Markalot. Feels good to be back, too. I'm happy to see that this morning, everyone is looking good and the mushies aren't obviously rotting. I found a baby feather duster on the empty mollusk shell (the one that's in the frag basket) -- and its one of the really pretty blue/red/white double feathered kind (I have at least 2 larger one of those -- yay for propagation!). I would hate to lose that feather, but it would make a nice bonus for someone who can keep filter feeders happy and would like to start some in their own tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Good to see you back. Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 msscha I really like the cleaner look. I actually like that macroalgae because it grows quickly, easy to remove, which means more nitrates being removed. Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 A few more pictures to explain the state of affairs. Why the mushies had to go! Fourth of July Feather Duster -- my fave ever hitchhiker from the very beginning of tank. Now have two others in the tank. Fingerleather lookin' fluffy! Sexies on Parade A sponge of some sort (the white tit sponge? lol! ) Has been growing under that rock since the beginning. Yesterday's rescaping efforts exposed it to view for the first time. Pic is with flash so it can be more clearly seen; it's a creamy white color. Everyone looking okay this morning! msscha I really like the cleaner look. I actually like that macroalgae because it grows quickly, easy to remove, which means more nitrates being removed. Thank you. I like the macro, too, for much of the same reasons -- I hope it does well in the back of the tank (the light should still be sufficient). When left alone for weeks, it hosted its own mini-eco-system and while that was really cool, it was more aggressive than what this size tank appreciates. Every time I threw it out, I felt guilty. Such a happy plant deserved a new home, but I don't have an network of fellow reefers to pass it onto! I will ask the lfs if they'd like some the next time I need to prune. Good to see you back. Thank you! 2 Quote Link to comment
eitallent Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 DOH! I cannot believe I did not get email notifications for your posts, msscha! I am subscribed and this thread is the very FIRST thread I subscribed to ever! I will have to investigate what is going wrong so I do not miss any more posts. I have been thinking of you frequently and decided to post a greeting today. I am so glad I did because here you are and your tank looks as wonderful as ever! I am glad you are back and posting. I love the cleaned up look and especially to be able to see the sponges. I also love the way your desk drawer serves as a water jug platform! Very convenient. Thanks for sharing your adventures. Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 DOH! I cannot believe I did not get email notifications for your posts, msscha! I am subscribed and this thread is the very FIRST thread I subscribed to ever! I will have to investigate what is going wrong so I do not miss any more posts. I have been thinking of you frequently and decided to post a greeting today. I am so glad I did because here you are and your tank looks as wonderful as ever! I am glad you are back and posting. I love the cleaned up look and especially to be able to see the sponges. I also love the way your desk drawer serves as a water jug platform! Very convenient. Thanks for sharing your adventures. Hello, Etaillant! Sorry for taking so long to respond -- classes just ended yesterday, so I am feeling a good bit of relief even though I still have much grading and one final to deal with (the final exam is at 7:30 a.m. -- who the heck planned that??). The tank is doing well, though I had an "accidental fragging incident" (i'll post pics separately). I've also decided to go with the berghia nudibranches to take care of my aiptasia problem. New adventures all around . Most fun is that today is my son's birthday, and because he is an introverted child, instead of a big party we are spending the weekend at Disney -- Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Animal Kingdom on Sunday. I am so psyched!! I haven't been to Magic Kingdom since the mid-80s and this is the first time we've taken the kids to Disney . 2 Quote Link to comment
eitallent Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hello, Etaillant! Sorry for taking so long to respond -- classes just ended yesterday, so I am feeling a good bit of relief even though I still have much grading and one final to deal with (the final exam is at 7:30 a.m. -- who the heck planned that??). The tank is doing well, though I had an "accidental fragging incident" (i'll post pics separately). I've also decided to go with the berghia nudibranches to take care of my aiptasia problem. New adventures all around . Most fun is that today is my son's birthday, and because he is an introverted child, instead of a big party we are spending the weekend at Disney -- Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Animal Kingdom on Sunday. I am so psyched!! I haven't been to Magic Kingdom since the mid-80s and this is the first time we've taken the kids to Disney . A final exam at 7:30 am?! I am sure all your students are wonder if there is a sadist planning these things! I am looking forward to your pictures. They are always wonderful. TY Happy Birthday to your boy! Both my children are introverts and they become drained, physically and emotionally, at parties, even their own! Disney is a magical choice. You will have sooooo much fun. Truth be told adults probably secretly enjoy Disney more than the kids! Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Last week's adventure in fragging..was, unintentional! I know, seems unlikely, but there I was, simply trying to readjust the trumpet coral which had tipped -- it was getting pretty top heavy. In the process of doing so, the stem snapped off the plug altogether -- arg ! I had my big yellow gloves on b/c the aiptasia is so thick that I was getting stung, so I just grabbed the whole thing out to re-glue it. When I did so, I noticed the branching was quite distinct, with at least one branch whose stalk was "dead" like the one holding the big clump. So, leaping into the unknown, I took a scissors and cut that branch off! By this time, the coral was extremely PO-ed, and sliming all over the place which turns out to be deleterious in impact when trying to re-glue onto a plug. I tried for about 5 minutes, then decided the coral was better off in the tank recuperating than on my desk getting covered with glue. I placed both pieces back in the tank, the big one where it was and the second on the sand nearby. Neither are attached to plugs, which I want to take care of this week, but only after I re-read Stevie's awesome thread on fragging. Sigh. The picture right after they were placed in below. One week later, both are recovering nicely, plumping throughout the day, seemingly well. Whew ! The other current tank stories are that the frag basket is still there, pink shrooms and aiptasia growing nicely. It is going to the lfs tomorrow (I hope). The tank itself is a trap for algae and I don't like it's huge bulk. I would prefer something shallower, so the next one I will pick out in person instead of through Amazon. Also, as indicated above, I have an aiptasia explosion in the tank. They are everywhere, so that I am quite careful about being gloved before I touch anything. The last treatment with aiptasia X did nothing that I can see. No one locally has peppermint shrimp, so I am going with berghia nudibranches. I ordered them from Salty Underground yesterday and they should be here Monday or Tuesday. I ordered 2 of the smaller ones and am looking forward to seeing what happens. I will document it, too, so we have the info as a resource. Finally, there is some creature in my tank...I have no idea what it is, but am very much hoping it is a chiton of some sort. It looks like an alien! In the picture below, all that can be seen is the shell, and in case you're wondering, yes, that sucker has since moved...it IS alive! Newly Fragged Trumpet Coral Frag Basket Aiptasia Mystery Creature Happy Inmates -- filter feeder, blasto, acan in the hole! 1 Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hmm -- I am doing my monthly chemiclean treatment which requires removing GFC bag...so I did, and set it on a plate (I am using loose granules, so will replace them). I just looked at the bag and it is COVERED in dead mini brittle stars and some tiny bug or amphipod looking thing. I had no idea! I am curious what this means for the health of the tank. Quote Link to comment
Lalani Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Nice stuff! Mystery creature looks like a chiton. Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Nice stuff! Mystery creature looks like a chiton. Hi, Lalani! Thanks muchly -- ID forum suggests chiton, too. So glad it is not of the albino-alien family! Quote Link to comment
Deleted User 3 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 What is ^^^^^^^^ the pink thing in your substrate at the bottom ? Quote Link to comment
msscha Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 What is ^^^^^^^^ the pink thing in your substrate at the bottom ? hahahahah! I was wondering if anyone would ask that! I have NO IDEA. It's big looking, though! Maybe that's the belly of the chiton? {sounds like a name for a punk band or a lost greek myth!} Quote Link to comment
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