msscha's 24 gallon office cube

[Deleted User 3]

Dig it up!! I'm super curious!! lol. I always check my sand bed for fun things lol. Plus maybe it matches your other chiton and you have a pair !! lol

 

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!}

[markalot]

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!}

Any odd snail deaths or anything like that? I honestly have no idea what it is, but maybe one of the Polyclad Flatworms? There are a lot of them, some pretty darn good looking.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Polyclad+Flatworms&num=50&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=OoN5UdaEOqT90gG_9oBQ&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1410&bih=929

 

I think all are some kind of predator, though.

[gena]

Hi, msscha!!!! So glad you are back!!!! First things first...a big hug.

 

All the growth you are getting is awesome!!!! I wish I was closer to you, I need some green trumpet for my tank I have to admit, I'm a little sad you removed the mushrooms. But, I understand why. I'm secretly hoping they start growing back again

 

I hope those nudibranches do the job for you!!!!

[msscha]

Dig it up!! I'm super curious!! lol. I always check my sand bed for fun things lol. Plus maybe it matches your other chiton and you have a pair !! lol

Seriously? You check your sand bed? I thought the sand bed was sacrosanct, not to be messed with...archeology could be fun!

 

Hi, msscha!!!! So glad you are back!!!! First things first...a big hug.

 

All the growth you are getting is awesome!!!! I wish I was closer to you, I need some green trumpet for my tank I have to admit, I'm a little sad you removed the mushrooms. But, I understand why. I'm secretly hoping they start growing back again

 

I hope those nudibranches do the job for you!!!!

LOL! If I were at the office, Gena, I could show you at least 1/2 dozen pink shrooms still a-growin' on the sides! There's even a mysterious pale pink one that has taken up residence in the cave. It stays there, does not move, does not seek the light. Maybe it's a Yoda Mushie...Thanks so much for the hug; they are always MUCH appreciated!!

[msscha]

Any odd snail deaths or anything like that? I honestly have no idea what it is, but maybe one of the Polyclad Flatworms? There are a lot of them, some pretty darn good looking.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Polyclad+Flatworms&num=50&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=OoN5UdaEOqT90gG_9oBQ&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1410&bih=929

 

I think all are some kind of predator, though.

No snail deaths that I know of, Markalot, though many of the ones from Reef Cleaners seem no longer around, so maybe? I can't tell based on that page whether my creature matches since those are top shots and mine is a belly pic. Hmm. I still have my limpet and it's been growing steadily, so I'm thinking if that slug thing is a predator, it must stay off the rock. Here is a chiton belly shot -- could be may be?

[Deleted User 3]

Seriously? You check your sand bed? I thought the sand bed was sacrosanct, not to be messed with...archeology could be fun!

 

LOL! If I were at the office, Gena, I could show you at least 1/2 dozen pink shrooms still a-growin' on the sides! There's even a mysterious pale pink one that has taken up residence in the cave. It stays there, does not move, does not seek the light. Maybe it's a Yoda Mushie...Thanks so much for the hug; they are always MUCH appreciated!!

I can see around the edges and i explore when I do the periodic w/c with sandbed suction lol.

[msscha]

Although my basic parameters check out just fine (even ran them past the lfs in prep for the berghias), I have lost most of the coralline algae in my tank. The pink mushies scoured everything off the LR but even the back has lost its color. A calcium deficiency, perhaps? The last few months my mom was sick, I did nothing but feed and change water in terms of tank maintenance. No extra feed goodies, no supplements, nada. Thinkin' the baby just needs some TLC, the slow but sure kind, to get it turned around.

[msscha]

My berghia nudibranches arrived today in terrific condition -- both were alive, crawling on the side of the shipping vessel. Lisa from saltyunderground.com called to let me know that the plane had to be diverted because of fog, so we arranged for me to pick up the box from FedEx. Given how close it is to the office, it was easy-peasy to bop on over and bop on back. They are so cute! I do have pics, but since the whole thing happened late in the day, I haven't had the chance to upload them yet. Will do so tomorrow. I was so excited to add something new to the tank, too -- it's been quite a while since new inhabitants have found their way to my desktop . I am actually kind of sad that they are nocturnal, and their lives will be mostly revealed by the slow, steady depletion of aiptasia. I sincerely hope that since I have many aiptasia -- some of which are quite large -- and the berghias are quite small -- that they may live their natural lives out in the tank, perhaps even reproduce.

[msscha]

Berghia Nudibranch Adventure

 

I will post the berghia nudibranch photos now -- I wish there were a way to add tags to posts on NR -- that would make it a lot easier to find stuff on similar topics without using the search tool in all the different forums. In any case, here goes for the Berghia Adventure!

 

Box arrived in great condition, with the container within thoroughly packed in styrofoam. The plastic container itself had an aquarium bag that was full to the top of the container with little to no air. It was extremely well packed! You can see the siphon sent with the package which made getting the nudibranches out of the bag and into the tank quite straightforward.

 

The Berghia Nudibranches looked great! They were both crawling around the bag, looking very alive and quite well.

 

SaltyUnderground provided very detailed instructions, provided both on their website and in an email message. I'd confirmed the day before that my nitrates were at zero and salinity was at 1.025, which is what SaltyUnderground keeps in their facility, too. My tank was definitely warmer than the bag water, so after drip acclimating for an hour, I floated them in the tank (with lights off) for about 15 minutes. Instructions state to turn lights and flow off, I imagine because the berghias are nocturnal and they are so very light! I also fed the tank before floating the bag (recommended in instructions). None of the fish showed any interest in the new neighbors. Because the lights were off, the berghias are tiny, and my camera is not that great, the photos in the tank are not terrific, but they are in there! I looked this morning, but didn't see them. I didn't expect to for the reasons mentioned above (small, nocturnal). But I will keep hoping!

 

 

 

Aiptasia Update: 5/15/2013

It's been two weeks since the baby nudibranches were re-homed, and as yet, I see no sign that the number of aiptasia has been reduced. Lisa did say to give it 2-3 weeks before making decisions, so I will give it another week or so before deciding this experiment has been a failure. There is perhaps one sign of success: while little aiptasia have grown, I have not spotted new baby aiptasias anywhere, so perhaps the little nudis are munching their way through the little ones first. I hope so.

 

Of course, if the mystery invert turns out to be a mantis shrimp that is actually still alive in the tank, the little nudis may have long since become dinner!

[eitallent]

I loved reading about your nudis. It is good to read a story where the nudis are a good guy and wanted, unlike most nudis we find in our tanks! It is good to know that The Salty Underground is an excellent company. I will check out their offerings. I am still looking for Molly Miller Blennies!

 

IDK if your leather is in trouble but it is strange how some softies just up and get sick looking. I am having a similar issue with my Xenia in the nano.

 

Thanks for your detailed post about the nudis. I enjoyed it!

[msscha]

A couple of experimental pics

 

Neon goby after lights out

 

Odd configuration of limpet, "bud" left from toadstool when it migrated completely onto the wall, and zoas for color

[Lalani]

Now that is one fabulous limpet!

 

[msscha]

Now that is one fabulous limpet!

 

Thank you!!

[msscha]

OMG -- the last few tank days have been a total CF! First, the tank has been running warm, and I've got algae everywhere. So, I put in some chempure elite because I think the current carbon-only didn't seem to be doing much. Even though I rinsed the bag pretty thoroughly, it dumped black dust EVERYWHERE in the tank! I rinsed it again and again...what would've happened had I taken them at their "rinse lightly" word? Fortunately, I had added filter floss so the carbon dust was gone by the next day, and the water did indeed, look clearer. Then, it was water changing day, so I had moved a mushroom to make better visual use of it and knocked my rocks all out whack. The trimma goby got stuck in its shell again, so I had to rip off half of it. Since, it's been sulking below in the cave, clearly terrified of anything that moves. I could not get the LR back in its previous arrangement, and I really don't know why. While the basic shape of the whole thing is the same, the top rock with the acans is now sitting perpendicular to the front instead of parallel, which is okay, I guess. As far as I can tell, the baby nudibranches haven't done anything with the aiptasia, providing they are still alive. I did manage to successfully get the neon green trumpet coral onto plug, and clearing up the front view a bit by moving a mushroom and placing the bigger piece a bit back and the smaller piece on the front rock. That gave me space to move the baby toadstool leathers up front where they can by properly appreciated.

 

When I arrived this morning, the tank looked clean and happy -- the fingerleather has recovered from whatever ailed it, the brown stuff is gone (I removed a bunch with a toothbrush) and the trimma was sitting on a rock ledge (until he saw me move). I feed the fish breakfast, glance at the tank, and Holy Hell -- there's some kind of green wispy stuff spewing from the macro I moved to the back. ARG!! I moved quickly to get all the macro I could reach out, and of course, knocked the dickens out of the rocks again. The water is no longer crystal clear...it has a weird haze, not too dark, though. Perhaps the macro went sexual? Is this because the nutrient level dropped too much to be useful? I am so freaking irritated right now !!!

[markalot]

 

When I arrived this morning, the tank looked clean and happy -- the fingerleather has recovered from whatever ailed it, the brown stuff is gone (I removed a bunch with a toothbrush) and the trimma was sitting on a rock ledge (until he saw me move). I feed the fish breakfast, glance at the tank, and Holy Hell -- there's some kind of green wispy stuff spewing from the macro I moved to the back. ARG!! I moved quickly to get all the macro I could reach out, and of course, knocked the dickens out of the rocks again. The water is no longer crystal clear...it has a weird haze, not too dark, though. Perhaps the macro went sexual? Is this because the nutrient level dropped too much to be useful? I am so freaking irritated right now !!!

 

Whatever it was you caught it, so hopefully all will be ok.

[msscha]

It's a couple of hours later, and the water has cleared enough that I am not horrified to provide a new FTS. I think the overall look is more balanced. There are lots of little bubbles on things...I suspect this is due to cyanobacteria, meaning my phosphates are high (again). Mama Toadstool is not as open as she's been, but the trumpets are looking happy despite yesterday's trauma. Weird -- I just looked at the tank again, and though this picture was only taken a few minutes ago, Mama Toadstool's polyps are once again retracted. This usually indicates food in the water -- maybe she's snacking on the macro spores? I can only hope!!!

 

FTS 5-08-2013

 

Mushroom Mound (looks better today b/c all the shrooms are open)

 

Baby Toadstools up front -- they might be kids by now!

[eitallent]

Holy Moses! When it rains it pours.

 

The first time I used a bag of the Chemi-Pure carbon I could not believe how much dust came out while I was rinsing it! Not only that but the black dust was stuck to my skin in what seemed to be an oily residue. I did not like that. I am not sure I will use it again.

 

A similar incident happened to me with the rocks. Marty Feldman had disappeared and I did not see him in the back chambers when I first looked for him. I moved the rocks to look for him and could not get everything back to the way it was!

 

Hopefully the floss will catch the macro gametes and the chemi-pure will absorb any resulting nutrient or toxin release. : :

 

Edit: Just saw your FTS post. It looks great!

[msscha]

Thank you, Eitallant! Tanks seems fine this morning: water is clear, trimma is out in his new spot, and coffee is done brewing, so I can avail myself of a second (and third) cup! I honestly think I have too much LR in the tank, and am really enjoying having coral babies, so am thinking that when I get the chance, the chunk in front is going to go. I'll keep the smaller trumpet frag until my gorgonians arrive, then it is time to swap. Or sell, or whatever it is one does with frags. I've also decided that if my new duties at work get approved by admin AND I get a new office space, then I will upgrade to a BC 29...I also need a new car, so I will have to balance those priorities !!

[eitallent]

Hey, congrats on the possible new job upgrade!

A new car is useful, but a new tank is definitely more fun (in my opinion)!

 

Also, with new duties comes more responsibility and the increased need for relaxation with a bigger tank! See how I justified that upgrade for ya! You are welcome!

[das awesome]

WOW! Your tank is looking great! How often are your rics splitting? Mine take forever! Also, how often do you change your chemipure? I keep hearing mixed things and since your tank is so splendid looking, I thought I'd ask you.

[msscha]

Thanks so much, das awesome! I change my chemipure elite every couple of months. I know it says that it lasts longer, but I prefer not to risk it. Right now, my tanks wants desperately to grow brown algae, so I'm not sure if I'm a good role model...OTOH, my corals are growing like crazy, so something is going right! My rics used to split very slowly -- the LEDs changed that. Now, it seems they split every month, though I didn't actually track their progress after the lighting upgrade. They also put more energy into splitting -- at least, that is what I think is happening. The rics used to open up really big...now, they usually stay wavier, but split more frequently. The effect is a ruffle of rics rather than a carpet .

[msscha]

Mystery Invert Molt!

 

I came into the office this morning to find this molt sitting pretty atop my LR -- it's got to be an inch long! I think it is a mantis shell, but where is the invert itself? How does something this large NEVER get seen? Clearly, it's time for some nighttime reconnaissance ...

 

[msscha]

(I am reposting these photos from earlier so the nudibranch conversation remains its own thread -- stupid of me to post other photos in that to begin with! )

 

 

Other photo news

 

A sideview showing nice range of colors.

 

An unexpected Sexy/Limpet portrait!

 

Acan babies!

 

 

Fingerleather -- in trouble?

[msscha]

Payday Friday Pictures

 

Not that anything was actually paid for today, but there is something about a full checking account, however fleeting, that inspires celebration!

 

Sexies on a Date

 

Fingerleather is getting GINORMOUS

 

Coral -- Color and Texture

 

Trumpets fragged!

 

Zoas -- doing well and taking over their neighborhood

 

Another baby toadstool -- from stump left when Big Mama adhered solely to side of tank

 

Sideviews -- closer, further away

 

 

Hanging Blasto Garden

 

 

[markalot]

Very nice to see the new pics! Can't stop staring at the Blastos.