Diver's Paradise - The Original

[Felicia]

Excellent, some tank photos. Wrasse looks cool, hopefully he will eat the flatworms.

Yep, here's to hoping he is very hungry and likes the taste of flatworms! I'm so sick of the ugly little things.

 

I wanted to share these photos real quick. When I was cleaning the tank earlier, I decided it was definitely time to frag up the sour apple birdsnest again because it was taking over the tank. I didn't realize quite how insanely large it was until I pulled it up out of the water and realized it was the size of a dinner plate and insanely heavy. Talk about a colony! For an SPS, that thing really grows like a weed considering I frag off huge chunks of it every couple months. It was shading a bunch of other corals, so I copped it way down in size tonight.

 

Here's what it looked like right after I pulled it out of the tank.

http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_4603.jpg.html'>

 

The chunk on the right is what went back into the tank, while the pile on the left is what I fragged off of it. Its still a good sized colony and now my plate coral and zoanthids are getting more light. Give it a few months and it will be huge again.

http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_4607.jpg.html'>

[Arkayology]

Nice colony. I am having similar issues with mine.

Yep, here's to hoping he is very hungry and likes the taste of flatworms! I'm so sick of the ugly little things.

 

I wanted to share these photos real quick. When I was cleaning the tank earlier, I decided it was definitely time to frag up the sour apple birdsnest again because it was taking over the tank. I didn't realize quite how insanely large it was until I pulled it up out of the water and realized it was the size of a dinner plate and insanely heavy. Talk about a colony! For an SPS, that thing really grows like a weed considering I frag off huge chunks of it every couple months. It was shading a bunch of other corals, so I copped it way down in size tonight.

 

Here's what it looked like right after I pulled it out of the tank.

 

The chunk on the right is what went back into the tank, while the pile on the left is what I fragged off of it. Its still a good sized colony and now my plate coral and zoanthids are getting more light. Give it a few months and it will be huge again.

[Felicia]

Nice colony. I am having similar issues with mine.

Thanks! Its funny because I have another birdsnest that grows super slow. This particular one grows faster than just about anything else in my tank. Is yours the same kind?

[Arkayology]

Thanks! Its funny because I have another birdsnest that grows super slow. This particular one grows faster than just about anything else in my tank. Is yours the same kind?

Yup, the green birds nest. It seems to grow no matter what. Low nutrients or high, no light or high light, low or high alk. It's crazy. Your reminding me that I need to frag mine as it is about the size of a salad plate and starting to shade other acros.

[Felicia]

Yup, the green birds nest. It seems to grow no matter what. Low nutrients or high, no light or high light, low or high alk. It's crazy. Your reminding me that I need to frag mine as it is about the size of a salad plate and starting to shade other acros.

Weird that the green ones are such fast growers. I've noticed the same thing with it growing no matter what. I had a crazy alk drop that killed a bunch of my acros, but yet the green birdsnest was not only thriving, but growing. I kind of want to blame it for all my alk issues I definitely put off fragging mine too long this time around, but I was busy before the holidays and didn't want to deal with it.

[markalot]

Weird that the green ones are such fast growers. I've noticed the same thing with it growing no matter what. I had a crazy alk drop that killed a bunch of my acros, but yet the green birdsnest was not only thriving, but growing. I kind of want to blame it for all my alk issues I definitely put off fragging mine too long this time around, but I was busy before the holidays and didn't want to deal with it.

 

I'm up to 4 birdsnest now. The green with purple polyps (is that sour apple?) grows out of control in any tank I put it in. My orange with green tips (Guttatus) grows just a tad slower, Bird of Paradise even slower, and a pink I saved as just a stem is slowest of all.

 

Wait, 5 birdsnests. I am supposed to have one of those Ponape birdsnests and it seems to grow fairly slow so far.

 

I still want Seriatopora stellata (what live aquaria calls Pink, thick branch).

[Mr. Microscope]

Beautiful fish! Love the coris. You should check out podpimps tank. There's a small school of them in there.

[Felicia]

I'm up to 4 birdsnest now. The green with purple polyps (is that sour apple?) grows out of control in any tank I put it in. My orange with green tips (Guttatus) grows just a tad slower, Bird of Paradise even slower, and a pink I saved as just a stem is slowest of all.

 

Wait, 5 birdsnests. I am supposed to have one of those Ponape birdsnests and it seems to grow fairly slow so far.

 

I still want Seriatopora stellata (what live aquaria calls Pink, thick branch).

That's a lot of birdsnests! The sour apple is solid green, so I'm pretty sure its different than the one you have with purple polyps. Seems like the green ones are just the fast growers. I've got a pink one with purple polyps that grows really slowly compared to my green one.

 

Here's a photo of mine. It doesn't really have any purple, jut some areas aren't as green and you can kind of see the pinkish/tan base underneath which the light makes look purple. Its mostly just a tealy green.

http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_4772Edit.jpg.html'>

 

Beautiful fish! Love the coris. You should check out podpimps tank. There's a small school of them in there.

I honestly have never been a huge fan of wrasses, but decided I had to do something about the flatworms. I didn't want one that would get too big for my tank (melanarus) or be too aggressive (sixline) so I decided the yellow coris would be the best since its also a nice pretty pop of yellow. I'm actually really liking the little guy. He's super vibrant and he seems to have a good personality so far. There aren't too many active, open water swimmers you can put in a 30 gallon and so far he seems like he's going to be out and about a lot of the time. Now I kind of want a school of them I'll have to check out podpimps tank! Thanks!

[Felicia]

The new wrasse was out and about this morning before I left for work, so it seems like he's settling in ok. I always think its a good sign when they make it through the first night.

[markalot]

That's a lot of birdsnests! The sour apple is solid green, so I'm pretty sure its different than the one you have with purple polyps. Seems like the green ones are just the fast growers. I've got a pink one with purple polyps that grows really slowly compared to my green one.

 

Here's a photo of mine. It doesn't really have any purple, jut some areas aren't as green and you can kind of see the pinkish/tan base underneath which the light makes look purple. Its mostly just a tealy green.

 

 

So I need at least 2 more Birds to complete my collection.

[Felicia]

So I need at least 2 more Birds to complete my collection.

Next time I need to frag this one I can send you a decent sized chunk if you just want to pay shipping.

[markalot]

I'll take a picture of my ORA gutattus ... or guttatas, and we'll see if it might be the same thing. It kind of looks the same, but then again it doesn't. I appreciate the offer!

[Felicia]

I'll take a picture of my ORA gutattus ... or guttatas, and we'll see if it might be the same thing. It kind of looks the same, but then again it doesn't. I appreciate the offer!

It could very well be the same. I've seen the one I have called by quite a few different names. If it isn't the same and you want a frag, then you're more than welcome to one. I usually end up throwing away most of the frags since it grows so fast.

[markalot]

That's a lot of birdsnests! The sour apple is solid green, so I'm pretty sure its different than the one you have with purple polyps. Seems like the green ones are just the fast growers. I've got a pink one with purple polyps that grows really slowly compared to my green one.

 

Here's a photo of mine. It doesn't really have any purple, jut some areas aren't as green and you can kind of see the pinkish/tan base underneath which the light makes look purple. Its mostly just a tealy green.

 

Here is a pic of mine. Similar, but I can't tell. Oh, and how could I forget about my 6th birdsnest, the neon green polyp that is pretty much the centerpiece of the tank now. Anyway, my ORA guttatus

 

[gena]

That birdsnest is giant!!!!!

 

Loved the video of the wrasse. He looks like quite the active fish .

[RollaJase]

That was one intense bridsnest! I have never had any luck with birdsnests but want to give it another shot soon .

[Felicia]

Sorry for the lack of photos tonight guys! The tank wasn't cooperating. All the fragging and serious cleaning I did yesterday really made everything PO'ed. A bunch of stuff wasn't opened all the way up today as a result. Hopefully tomorrow it will all be happy again so I can get some nice photos and hopefully a video if I have time!

Here is a pic of mine. Similar, but I can't tell. Oh, and how could I forget about my 6th birdsnest, the neon green polyp that is pretty much the centerpiece of the tank now. Anyway, my ORA guttatus

 

They do look very similar, but I can't tell for sure. They may very well be the same thing. This is the issue with corals having different names sometimes.

 

That birdsnest is giant!!!!!

Loved the video of the wrasse. He looks like quite the active fish .

Its not giant anymore It gets big pretty often and I just cut it back to keep it from taking over. That's the biggest I've ever let it get though.

 

He was out an about all evening, so he seems like he's going to be a great fish. I definitely wanted another active swimmer like my coral beauty. Luckily he seems to get along just fine with my coral beauty too. I was worried she might nip at him but she leaves him alone and he was following her around earlier which was cute. I thought Midas Blennies were super yellow, but they have nothing on this yellow wrasse! He is like dayglow and such a crazy pop of color in the tank. He was near the YWG tonight at one point and I couldn't get over how drab he makes the YWG look. I am really surprised by how cool of a fish he is! Now if he will eat flatworms too, then its just win win!

 

That was one intense bridsnest! I have never had any luck with birdsnests but want to give it another shot soon .

Try a green one! They're indestructible and grow like weeds

[Zia]

Hi! Welcome back!

Glad to see this display fared well in your absence The new coris wrasse is a stunning addition, great choice. Hope he makes a dent in the FW before he gets to hooked on a easy frozen meal. Either way, great color very peaceful cool looking fish. It just blows me away on the growth you get out of this tank without running a sump or a skimmer on it Gurls gotz skillz! That BN is unreal in size and color, luv it!

[Felicia]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the serious photo delay. Its been a busy weekend. Photos are on their way tonight

 

In the meantime, I have a general update. If you guys can't tell by my serious lack of updates on this tank, I've been a bit bored/unhappy with it and have been enjoying the seahorse tank much more. I think I finally figured out my issue with it. I'm a perfectionist and I loved seeing this tank all filled in and lush looking. After the alk fiasco, the SPS section (top of the arch) has been a giant mess and now I have frags up there again with visible frag plugs and a bunch of the rock showing. Also, the SPS that are there still haven't recovered entirely and just aren't looking the best. The rest of the tank looks great, but the one area looking so bad is just making me unhappy with the tank.

 

I kind of had the stick addiction and was really loving the SPS for a while, but honestly they're too much work and just not as rewarding as LPS, softies, zoas, etc. They grow slow and just don't have the movement and lushness for the other corals. I've been in this hobby 2 years and 4 months now, and I think I'm finally learning to focus in on what I like in terms of corals instead of just getting a bunch of everything. I love all the movement, color, and lushness in the seahorse tank and I want some of that in the main tank. I've also realized the other tanks I really love on here (like Gena's) are definitely heavier on the LPS/softy side with lots of lush, puffy coral and movement.

 

After realizing all this, I'm thinking a re-do of the top of my arch in my seahorse tank is in order. I think I'm going to try to sell off all the SPS frags and just keep my big Bali slimer, sour apple birdsnest, possibly the yellow acro colony, and then my montis. I've decided that the newly freed up space at the top of the arch is going to be a mini euphyllia garden. I love how fluffy they are and the movement they have and I've always wished I had space for more than just my one frogspawn. I figure I'll put a couple nice euphyllias on the top of the arch and those will give it back the lush, grown in look very quickly. I'd like to splurge on one really nice piece like a bright orange one and then have a couple other colors and varieties. What do you all think of this idea?

 

I went ahead and picked up a small one head frag of torch coral today to start it off. I've got to get rid of some SPS before I can get any more. Here's the little torch I picked up today. Nothing super special, but I liked the colors and I've never had a torch. Here it is:

http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/photo-10.jpg.html'>

[Felicia]

Hi! Welcome back!

Glad to see this display fared well in your absence The new coris wrasse is a stunning addition, great choice. Hope he makes a dent in the FW before he gets to hooked on a easy frozen meal. Either way, great color very peaceful cool looking fish. It just blows me away on the growth you get out of this tank without running a sump or a skimmer on it Gurls gotz skillz! That BN is unreal in size and color, luv it!

Hey Eddie! Thanks for popping in This tank is still a bit of a mess, since I've been neglecting it for the seahorse tank, but its good overall and I'm working on making it better and re-igniting my interest in it. I think its due for some changes I've been watching the coris wrasse and he swims around and picks at the rocks and things, so hopefully he's eating the flatworms. There seem to be less of them on the glass today, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. Hopefully he's eating them and can keep them more at bay. I don't mind them that much if there aren't tons of them everywhere. I'm really loving the coris and I almost considered buying a second one, but they get big eventually so probably not a good plan. I think I may get a starry down the road since I love blennies and I'm blenny-less right now. Thanks, Eddie! That birdnest is just a weed though, so don't give me the credit. I kill lots of other SPS My tank seems to do better with zoas/palys and LPS corals and then the REALLY hardy SPS corals.

[hypostatic]

Nice tank! And the photography isn't bad either!

[Felicia]

Nice tank! And the photography isn't bad either!

Thanks! All photography is with my little Canon Powershot

 

Ok, so I'm going to apologize for the lack of photos again! I have a headache and have decided to go to bed early. I'll try to do the photos tomorrow evening after work for you guys! In the meantime, I'd love some feedback on my idea to change it up a bit in this tank

[markalot]

Hi everyone! Sorry for the serious photo delay. Its been a busy weekend. Photos are on their way tonight

 

In the meantime, I have a general update. If you guys can't tell by my serious lack of updates on this tank, I've been a bit bored/unhappy with it and have been enjoying the seahorse tank much more. I think I finally figured out my issue with it. I'm a perfectionist and I loved seeing this tank all filled in and lush looking. After the alk fiasco, the SPS section (top of the arch) has been a giant mess and now I have frags up there again with visible frag plugs and a bunch of the rock showing. Also, the SPS that are there still haven't recovered entirely and just aren't looking the best. The rest of the tank looks great, but the one area looking so bad is just making me unhappy with the tank.

 

I kind of had the stick addiction and was really loving the SPS for a while, but honestly they're too much work and just not as rewarding as LPS, softies, zoas, etc. They grow slow and just don't have the movement and lushness for the other corals. I've been in this hobby 2 years and 4 months now, and I think I'm finally learning to focus in on what I like in terms of corals instead of just getting a bunch of everything. I love all the movement, color, and lushness in the seahorse tank and I want some of that in the main tank. I've also realized the other tanks I really love on here (like Gena's) are definitely heavier on the LPS/softy side with lots of lush, puffy coral and movement.

 

After realizing all this, I'm thinking a re-do of the top of my arch in my seahorse tank is in order. I think I'm going to try to sell off all the SPS frags and just keep my big Bali slimer, sour apple birdsnest, possibly the yellow acro colony, and then my montis. I've decided that the newly freed up space at the top of the arch is going to be a mini euphyllia garden. I love how fluffy they are and the movement they have and I've always wished I had space for more than just my one frogspawn. I figure I'll put a couple nice euphyllias on the top of the arch and those will give it back the lush, grown in look very quickly. I'd like to splurge on one really nice piece like a bright orange one and then have a couple other colors and varieties. What do you all think of this idea?

 

I went ahead and picked up a small one head frag of torch coral today to start it off. I've got to get rid of some SPS before I can get any more. Here's the little torch I picked up today. Nothing super special, but I liked the colors and I've never had a torch. Here it is:

 

 

I agree with the rewarding part, and I bet this tank will look great being more 'flowy' with the euphyllias. Hopefully you'll get some that don't try and kill everything. My goal is to get the colored sticks like I've seen others get just once in my life, then I can scratch that goal off the list and move on. If only all acros were as easy as the slimer!

[Mr. Microscope]

Like like like! I've been in the hobby about the same amount of time and as you know, I recently came to the same conclusion. I can't wait to see what you end up with (just beware, I don't think torches play nicely with other euphyllia). Good luck with the transition!

[MarieH]

Hi There, yes please some fts if you will. Thanks. Love the coris. I love starry blennies too...I saw one once and regret not getting him. I also am not the biggest fan of sps, I read so much about what it takes to keep them happy and I think its too stressful to be bothered and costly to lose. I really like the orange tip or orange polyp torch, very eye catching. I only saw one here once. I hope you get excited about the 30g again with the new plan for it.