Jump to content
Cultivated Reef

Vicki's Biocube 14


phoenix91

Recommended Posts

Everything in my care got a special xmas meal :)

 

I use aiptasiax too, on the little ones it killed them dead but i've noticed the bigger one has come back so i'll do another round of killing probably this weekend. If that doesn't work i'll try kalkwasser or boiling water.

Link to comment
  • Replies 116
  • Created
  • Last Reply
I thought I was the only one that gave a special meal to my tank inhabitants on Christmas! lol

 

Btw, how are you killing the aiptasia? I'm using aiptasiaX but they don't die completely, just gets smaller.

 

I gave my fish mysis as well on Christmas :).

 

Hmm, AiptasiaX has worked very well for me. I even had one growing in the middle of a Paly colony and I was able to kill it with minimal damage to the paly's.

Link to comment
I use aiptasiax too, on the little ones it killed them dead but i've noticed the bigger one has come back so i'll do another round of killing probably this weekend. If that doesn't work i'll try kalkwasser or boiling water.

I've had a few come back after dousing with aiptasia x -- the trick seems to be really getting it into the mouth. One of the LFS guys uses a true hypodermic rather than the ones supplied and sticks it right in the side if he can't get at the mouth. From my last spree, I've had only one come back, and I'm not entirely sure this is even aiptasia -- it just looks a bit different from the pics I find online. It always returns at the base of a yellow ball sponge, too.

Link to comment

The last one i have that i can see is in a really awkward place. It took a bit of wiggling to get to it last time, it also help i have small hands. It's not big this time and looks a little ill so i'm guessing if i get it again it'll die. Going to try and kill it today since i need to turn the pumps off anyway to fix the outflow thing that i broke when i was messing with the direction of the flow. ooops.

 

Those two evil majano came back too so i guess i'll have to get kalkwasser to deal with them.

 

oooh, new corals either today or tomorrow, more likely tomorrow! Still haven't had time to go to the lfs to check out the fish, had quite a busy week. If my corals don't arrive today i might head along there this afternoon and check out their selection.

Link to comment

New corals :)

 

post-69752-1325815029_thumb.jpg

 

The 4 pieces on the sand are all new today. They're still pretty PO and the light was only on for a second while i got the photo. Will attach them to the rocks tomorrow in their permanent spots because the stupid snails keep knocking them around. Also WC panned because the 2 leathers immediately started to shed when added to the tank. They probably won't look too good for a little while until they get themselves sorted.

 

Better photos when everyone is happy.

 

Still haven't made it to the lfs yet, i might have to put it off again since it looks like i'll be having some medical bills coming up soon.

Link to comment

Well, coral drama but i'm waiting before panicking about it again.

 

However, i did take my trip to the lfs today, i promised myself i'd only look. Yeah right.

 

Introducing Darcy. Who is currently having a little spazz and trying to climb the filter intake.

 

post-69752-1325887229_thumb.jpg

 

post-69752-1325887246_thumb.jpg

 

Cute! Very tiny too. I was going to get him a buddy but apparently picassos are perculas and i couldn't remember if two was okay in a 14 g. He was all alone in a tank poor boy so i had to take him, also he was a steal.

 

I can always either get a bud for him at a later date or go with the ywg i wanted. win win.

Link to comment

Nice looking corals -- I hope they adjust well. I feel very fortunate to have a LFS close-by so the livestock isn't overly traumatized (though I did let a bag slip and crash to the floor once -- nearly had a fit afterwards!). Congrats on Darcy! S/he looks really pretty. Bozette was pretty little, too, when I got her, although she looked much bigger in my tank than in the 55 gallon at the lfs. And I'll tell you something -- I very nearly brought her back b/c her crazy, frantic, non-stop swimming up and down and up and down in the same freaking corner of the tank was WAAAYY distracting -- I couldn't stand it. Then, abruptly, after nearly a whole week, she settled down, realized that I was the one who fed her, and since has been the total little charmer that clowns are famous for being. Of course, you know the drama when I tried adding a buddy -- beat the living crap out of it, so I returned it. I so wish I'd gotten the attacks on camera -- I'd never seen anything like it, but I was so flummoxed by the behavior and worried about the new clown that I couldn't get my sh*t together enough to have a camera waiting for the next episode.

 

Looking forward to your continuing saga! And best wishes on the health issues. Hope the med expenses stay as reasonable as possible and that everyone is well afterwards.

Link to comment

Thanks. Corals looks pretty droopy still and now my tank is getting some lovely cyano. Another small wc scheduled. I'm thinking i'll do a wc per day/every other day for a little while and see if i can clear up some of the issues.

 

Darcy has now moved away from the powerhead and is hovering by the outflow at the back of the tank. Silly fish. he also wouldn't eat the new life spectrum pellets i bought, but that's okay, it just gives me another good excuse to go back to the pet store and spend more $. He's still doing a bit of that jazzy swimming fast all over the place and looking like he's freaking out. He also didn't want to eat today so i'll try again tomorrow. I figured i'd let him get a bit bigger and then try and add a smaller percula if i can find a nice one and see how it goes. Yeah, i read about your added clown mayhem, maybe the fact they were the same size caused the aggression.

 

Thanks.

Link to comment

I got both of my clowns at the same time, from the same tank, and the big one still harassed the living #### out of the little one for about a month. Now they're buds although the big one still reminds the little one who's the boss from time to time. Nothing more than a charge and the little one making itself into a C. Mine hang out in the corners at night too. Sometimes the top, sometimes the bottom.

 

As for eating, it took nearly a week before my little clown would eat. I finally soaked some pellets in garlic. Did you ask the LFS what it was eating? Maybe get some of that to try.

Link to comment

Same with my clown -- the first few days, the food had to be in a big chunk, and maybe she'd eat one, then continue freaking out. After Bozette calmed down, she'd eat anything, everything, a try, it only had to be floating in the water.

Link to comment

I think i'm going to let Darcy( who will eventually probably have to be renamed) grow slightly and then look for a smaller one to go with her. I think i might have had problem with her being so small adding another clown right now since she was alone in the tank and when i looked at the percs they were all around her size. Once she grows out a bit i can get a tiny buddy and maybe cut down on some of the aggression. You never know, i might find another cheap picasso :)

 

She ate a bit of brine shrimp today when i was feeding the frogspawn, i little bit got away and she lunged for it. isn't touching the pellets i bought (new life spectrum i think). I emailed the store i got her at and asked what they were feeding her. She's moving all around the tank now investigating and likes swimming in the flow from the powerhead right at the front of the tank.

Link to comment
She's moving all around the tank now investigating and likes swimming in the flow from the powerhead right at the front of the tank.

My clown likes that, too.

Link to comment

Decided to rename the new fish, she's now Lizzy since she will most certainly be a girl. I'll save Darcy for when i find her a buddy. I'll be on the lookout for another picasso if i can find one i like. If not then i'll go with a true perc. She's doing well, shes been exploring the tank. I've gotten her to eat a few little things, 1 pellet, a bit of mysis and some of the filter feeder food. She also looked like she was munching on the baby brine shrimp the other day.

 

The little bit of orange she had on her dorsal fin is gone already

 

post-69752-1326325118_thumb.jpg

 

Shes about 1 1/2 inch long, how old would that make her?

 

Tonight i'm planning on finally moving the frogspawn back slightly to see if i can stop it sending out long sweepers all the time. It's been fed and is growing nicely. Also going to move the devils hand which still doesn't look so great. I've been battling a little bit of cyano on the sand bed so another small wc is planned for tonight.

 

The pulsing xenia which disintegrated when added to the tank has rebounded and is taking off. If it covers part of that back rock i'll be happy.

Link to comment
The pulsing xenia which disintegrated when added to the tank has rebounded and is taking off. If it covers part of that back rock i'll be happy.

Yeah for the xenia! I've been dealing with cyano, too, and after a couple weeks of dimming lights, and trying to feed less, it's starting to seem under control. Rain is busy re-arranging the sand bed. I wish I had gotten video today (batteries went out on my camera, duh!) -- he would scoop a pile from his pit under the cheato into his mouth, swim through a hole in the rock, then spit it onto the rock below. He did this again and again, looking faintly belligerent. He's also started responding to me when I move around, like Bozette does -- I read somewhere on a reef-mag site that some gobies may learn from watching fish such as clowns to look for food when the big blurry human moves outside the tank. There was even a pic of a clown protecting a rainfordii goby from a yellow something. Very sweet.

Link to comment

My Goby has become far more personable over the last few weeks. Even to the point of letting me pet it a couple of days ago. Shocked me. It used to bolt into it's cave at the mere sign of movement outside the tank!

Link to comment

I quite like the xenia, it was supposed to be cloves (twice i've gone for cloves and come back with something else) but i like it, it's fast growing and interesting to watch.

 

I read that Rain had been making a nice mess in your tank. Just redecorating to get it how he likes it. It's good that he's starting to respond to you. Lizzy seems to be trying to respond to me, but then uncertainty and fear gets in the way. I was sitting watching her the other day and i put my hand up to the side of the tank and she slowed down her frantic swimming to come and look at my fingers. Hopefully she'll calm down more soon. I would also be really happy to see her eating consistently.

 

If i can't find another clown i like to pair with Lizzy i might go for a goby or some kind. They seem like fun little fish with massive personalities. Redstang, It's awesome that your fish let you pet it. I tried to pet my puffer once and he bit me, luckily he's only an inch long so it didn't hurt.

Link to comment

NEW CLOWN!

 

I went and got my picasso a friend today. I picked a vivid percula; (what a farce that was, it ended with the store worker calling his boss to make sure the fish had been correctly labelled). I usually try to go to John when i'm in that store, but he was busy so i ended up with another guy who seemed uncertain about what type of clown he was selling me and tried to assure me that picassos were ocellaris clowns not percula.

 

Anyway, i picked the smallest int eh tank, it seemed the most well mannered to be honest, plus it came right up to the side of that tank and stared at me. I knew it was the one.

 

So i got it home and put the bag in my tank to get up to temp and started to change out small portions of the water. The whole time i was watching the picasso to see what it would do. After about an hour or so the picasso was swimming right next to the bag and every time it changed direction so did the new fish. When i put the new one in the tank there was no aggression, no fin nipping or chasing. They just went about their business right next to each other like they've always known each other.

 

I'll keep an eye out for future aggression but my hopes are high that they'll get on very well.

 

I tried to get a shot of the new one by itself but i couldn't.

 

post-69752-1326656341_thumb.jpg

 

post-69752-1326656366_thumb.jpg

 

post-69752-1326656376_thumb.jpg

 

Darcy and Lizzy, don't know which is which yet but whatever.

Link to comment

That is so way awesome! I wonder if that fact that Lizzy hadn't quite calmed down helped a bit. Also, the floating in the bag was smart. I didn't do that -- stupid me! I love Picassos -- the lfs has some, but they were pricey and percs, not ocellaris, so a no-go anyway. I was there Saturday and one pair was still in the store, waiting to be picked up by the owner. They are beautiful. Congrats :happydance:!

Link to comment

Thanks! yes, they are very pricey but i lucked out with her, maybe because the pattern isn't what you'd expect from a picasso so she was on sale. I don't drip acclimate so floating the bag was the only choice i had, it seemed good, gave them time to eye each other up with a nice barrier between them. When i released the perc i was on hand with a net and bucket just in case but nothing happened.

 

I think they're getting on because they're both still so tiny, around 1 1/4in, although the new perc is a tiny bit bigger it seems to be doing the submissive dance. I checked on them last night and they were both nestled in the same corner although this morning i did see one fin nip from Lizzy.

 

How long did you wait before trying to add another clown to your tank? How big is bozette?

Link to comment

New Photos.

 

Devils hand leather appears to be recovering. It'll stay where it is for the next few days and then be moved higher in the tank.

 

post-69752-1326762577_thumb.jpg

 

New fts:

 

post-69752-1326762691_thumb.jpg

 

Moved the frogspawn and the powerhead and this thing still reaches. I think i just have a very confused bit of frogspawn in my tank, it thinks it's a torch.

 

post-69752-1326762776_thumb.jpg

 

Titan the turbo sporting a fetching gha hair do. About 5 minutes after this i took him out for a good scrub with a toothbrush, he loved that!

 

post-69752-1326763026_thumb.jpg

Link to comment

Thanks. It reminds me of a Flintstones house :) I only put it in on saturday and so far it looks okay, i put it in to help the pod population. So far so good. I'll shake it off when i do weekly wc's and it should be fine.

Link to comment

More photos, just because :)

 

Pulsing xenia.

 

post-69752-1327016087_thumb.jpg

 

Moved the devils hand up to its permanent spot, it's looking much better and was quite puffed up today. I also spotted the picasso hovering around it checking it out, possible host candidate?

 

post-69752-1327016110_thumb.jpg

 

post-69752-1327016183_thumb.jpg

 

Perc clown is eating pellets and baby brine shrimp so far, i bet it'll go for brine and mysis too when i feed that. Watching them it seems like even thought this clown is slightly bigger it is more submissive to the picasso. How long until they choose which sex they'll be? There's very little chasing or nipping and they are mostly staying in the same areas as each other.

 

New fts on the first page.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...