My Atlantis - Wild & Woolly May 2015 Pictures!

[eitallent]

I don't personally know anything about this product, but I just saw that Two Little Fishies has just come out with something called Goniopower. It's a food developed specifically to feed Goniopora. I know Marine Depot is starting to carry it, don't know about any other companies.

 

Thank you for sharing that info. I will look at that. I have been feeding frozen cyclopeeze, crushed up brine shrimp and baby brine shrimp. They look very "plumpy" today. Fingers crossed ::

 

[jedimasterben]

You may want to watch this video Ben ...

 

I've never seen any, across many different specimens - I've only seen the short 1/4" tentacles.

 

I've never seen any, either, on a chalice, until today. My Hollywood stunner grabbed a whole bunch of stuff floating by in a broadcast feed.

 

FWIW, I have only spot fed my candy canes once in the 7 months or so that I've had them. Mine seem to have adapted to the feeding that I do (which includes frozen and 2 different zoo/phytoplankton foods from brightwell), and I've seen them put up feeding tentacles in the afternoon. Otherwise, I've done nothing special...and they've grown/multiplied slowly but steadily (from 3 to about 7 right now). Given the number of clearly active filter feeders in my tank, I'd say there must be food sources other than what I am providing that supply the nocturnal feeders. I've never had problems with tested water params, though the recent algae bloom makes it clear that nutrients are there (despite not being able to keep chaeto alive!).

Corals will learn when to send out the feeders as they come to know your feeding schedule. Unfortunately my acans all have theirs out 100% of the time now (since I feed so often and so much at all times of day) and don't look nearly as nice as they used to.

 

I have been watching them closely when I feed. I have not seen tentacles yet. Do you turn off your pumps when feeding? I turn mine off and provide a really slow stream of food with a pipette. After a short period I turn on only the circulating pump. Afterwards I turn the pump on with the filtration. I figure that leaves the food in the water column for a while before it gets removed by the filters.

Nope, I don't turn anything off during most feedings, but when I do a big broadcast feed with phyto and other filter-feeder foods I shut off my return so that the skimmer doesn't pull a lot of it out. I try and leave it off for an hour or so, but most of the time it ends up being 3 hours or more because I forget.

 

Thank you for sharing that info. I will look at that. I have been feeding frozen cyclopeeze, crushed up brine shrimp and baby brine shrimp. They look very "plumpy" today. Fingers crossed ::

 

Never seen any look like that! Did you just feed them before?

[albertthiel]

I've never seen any, across many different specimens - I've only seen the short 1/4" tentacles.

 

Did you mean you had never seen their long tentacles Ben as from the response I could not determine what you meant, sorry ... mine will have short tentacles out sometimes during the day but the long ones only seem to come out during the middle of the night, not even 2 hours or so after the lights are out, but much later.

[eitallent]

Nope, I don't turn anything off during most feedings, but when I do a big broadcast feed with phyto and other filter-feeder foods I shut off my return so that the skimmer doesn't pull a lot of it out. I try and leave it off for an hour or so, but most of the time it ends up being 3 hours or more because I forget.

 

 

Never seen any look like that! Did you just feed them before?

 

I forget too. So I have started setting a timer so that I do not go to bed and leave them without flow!

 

It was sold as Goniopora. I have looked at lots of images on the the web and I have never seen any that look exactly like that either. This Goni colony is always fat-bottomed. When retracted it looks like Goniopora. So, IDK.

 

I may have found a glow in the dark, fat-bottomed mutant Goniopora from the reefs of the Marshall Islands.

 

Found this on wetwebmedia.com which is ID'ed as Alveopora. It looks close but the polyps on this one are farther apart than my colony.

[eitallent]

This is the first time I think I've heard of "scorched" Xenia.

Xenia is super hardy, I'd say there's a really good chance it'll bounce right back. Just give it a day.

 

Here is where I learned that I may have had my Anthelia/Xenia under too much light.This is the article here. (EDIT: Link fixed) It is very good and goes against some other recommendations for Anthelia.

[jedimasterben]

Here is where I learned that I may have had my Anthelia/Xenia under too much light. This is the article here. It is very good and goes against some other recommendations for Anthelia.

Fixed the link for you.

[albertthiel]

Here is where I learned that I may have had my Anthelia/Xenia under too much light.

 

Tried the link but it does not lead anywhere ... can you post the actual link .. thanks

[eitallent]

Fixed the link for you.

 

TY! I also fixed it in the original post.

 

Tried the link but it does not lead anywhere ... can you post the actual link .. thanks

 

Hi, Albert. I fixed it.

[eitallent]

Update:

 

Water condition is good and holding

pH 7.9, alk. 9.6, Ca 420ppm, SG 1.026 Temp 77.5 F

 

The food container refugium is working out well so far. I have noticed that the tank is teeming with tiny copepods. I have a bit of green algae growing. I am hoping that Ozzie the Emerald crab will find it soon.

 

I admire the different colors of the coralline algae.

 

Red and green coralline algae? Is this coralline algae?

 

Here is my patch of lawn that Ozzie needs to mow!

[Weetabix7]

I like that dark purple coralline.

[msscha]

I admire the different colors of the coralline algae.

 

Red and green coralline algae? Is this coralline algae?

My coralline has much the same pattern -- different shades of purple, some leaning to lavender, others to fuchsia. I get that "whitish" color, too, as well as the light green. Someone a long time ago (it may have been jedimasterben) told me that coralline starts green, then becomes a different color...the stuff on the back tank wall starts white, then gradually purples up. In other places, the coralline will fade to grey rock. The "new" rock that the acans sit on at the top of the tank used to be pretty plain -- it has gradually becomes encrusted and it seems to include green parts, too!

[albertthiel]

Here is where I learned that I may have had my Anthelia/Xenia under too much light.This is the article here. (EDIT: Link fixed) It is very good and goes against some other recommendations for Anthelia.

 

Yes I did see that article and in fact I posted it on my thread just a few days ago ...

 

Seems to indicate a few different things indeed that what is normally found about them.

[eitallent]

I like that dark purple coralline.

Yes so do I. It reminds me of royal velvet.

 

My coralline has much the same pattern -- different shades of purple, some leaning to lavender, others to fuchsia. I get that "whitish" color, too, as well as the light green. Someone a long time ago (it may have been jedimasterben) told me that coralline starts green, then becomes a different color...the stuff on the back tank wall starts white, then gradually purples up. In other places, the coralline will fade to grey rock. The "new" rock that the acans sit on at the top of the tank used to be pretty plain -- it has gradually becomes encrusted and it seems to include green parts, too!

 

 

thanks for passing on that info. I love all the color variations. It makes for interesting tank gazing. The bright red patches have little fingers growing on it instead of the smooth texture of the purple. Do you have the red coralline algae in your tank too?

 

Yes I did see that article and in fact I posted it on my thread just a few days ago ...

 

Seems to indicate a few different things indeed that what is normally found about them.

 

I am glad you saw that article. I was shocked when the Anthelia started turning white and curling up because everything I read until that article states that it likes high light levels. Not so with the colony in my tank.

[pschom]

I like algae too...except when I have to scrape it off the glass. Stuff spreads like crazy after a while. It is cool to see the different algae you get. And seemingly out of nowhere a random macro will pop up and go away, it's place taken by another. And you didn't even put these things in there. They just appeared. That's very peculiar to me.

[eitallent]

I like algae too...except when I have to scrape it off the glass. Stuff spreads like crazy after a while. It is cool to see the different algae you get. And seemingly out of nowhere a random macro will pop up and go away, it's place taken by another. And you didn't even put these things in there. They just appeared. That's very peculiar to me.

 

Things exist that are invisible to the naked eye until they take hold and grow enough for us to notice. It is very mysterious, and this is why I like my magnifying glass!

[eitallent]

Foraminiferans

 

I think the red, prickly growths I see are actually foraminiferans which are neither animals or plants. It looks very much like the picture in this article on HH on chucksaddiction.com. <-- link to article

 

It also looks like this image from Dr. Shimek's article on foraminiferans. <-- link to article

 

Here is the image from my tank with the suspected area in a circle.

[pschom]

That's right 'ferans' I couldn't remember the name. Something eats them if I recall.

[albertthiel]

Foraminiferans

 

I think the red, prickly growths I see are actually foraminiferans which are neither animals or plants.

Here is the image from my tank with the suspected area in a circle.

Yes that is what they look like

[eitallent]

Skipper, the Citron goby, is a p-i-g! High in the water column, atop his rocks, Skipper scans his territory for food.When he spies shrimp swirling around on the current he comes alive, darting around to catch as many tasty morsels as he can. Even when he is stuffed he takes shrimp in his mouth and then spits it out, takes it back and spits it out again. Karloff, the Peppermint shrimp, sees this gluttony and tries to steal the discarded shrimp. Skipper will not have any of that uppity behavior from a mere shrimp and chases him back below the arch.

 

Meanwhile down in the wavy sand bed little snorkels attached to Nassarius snails begin to twitch. They smell promise in the water. The calm surface of the sand erupts with half a dozen little snail detectives looking for clues. They will find the dead body snagged on a grain of sand or rock and clean up the crime scene efficiently and quickly. One unfortunate Nassarius snoops around too closely to an anemone's tentacle full of venomous harpoons. His snorkel becomes snared in the grip of the hungry anemone. When the scuffle is over the little detective glides away with his life intact but a much shorter snorkel.

[msscha]

Great story! I love those "day in the life of" snapshots.

[albertthiel]

Skipper, the Citron goby, is a p-i-g! High in the water column, atop his rocks, Skipper scans his territory for food.When he spies shrimp swirling around on the current he comes alive, darting around to catch as many tasty morsels as he can. Even when he is stuffed he takes shrimp in his mouth and then spits it out, takes it back and spits it out again. Karloff, the Peppermint shrimp, sees this gluttony and tries to steal the discarded shrimp. Skipper will not have any of that uppity behavior from a mere shrimp and chases him back below the arch.

 

Meanwhile down in the wavy sand bed little snorkels attached to Nassarius snails begin to twitch. They smell promise in the water. The calm surface of the sand erupts with half a dozen little snail detectives looking for clues. They will find the dead body snagged on a grain of sand or rock and clean up the crime scene efficiently and quickly. One unfortunate Nassarius snoops around too closely to an anemone's tentacle full of venomous harpoons. His snorkel becomes snared in the grip of the hungry anemone. When the scuffle is over the little detective glides away with his life intact but a much shorter snorkel.

 

Wonderful ... and you should become an Author ... great story and so well written and I can compare what you wrote to what Magnet does ... but he does not always manage to get as much as he would like because of the Lantern Basslet (he really has to go ! he is getting too big and a little to boisterous and energetic to my liking)

 

And here is a link to a good article on Foraminiferans

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/rs/index.php

[eitallent]

Great story! I love those "day in the life of" snapshots.

Wow. Thank you for your praise. I had fun putting that together.

[eitallent]

Wonderful ... and you should become an Author ... great story and so well written and I can compare what you wrote to what Magnet does ... but he does not always manage to get as much as he would like because of the Lantern Basslet (he really has to go ! he is getting too big and a little to boisterous and energetic to my liking)

 

And here is a link to a good article on Foraminiferans

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/rs/index.php

 

Thank you Albert, but I will leave authoring to you!

 

I read Dr. Shimek's article (well almost all of his articles I find I read) and found it very interesting. It is so hard to imagine an organism that is neither a plant or an animal. I have many forams in my sand bed as well as the red spicule forams on the live rocks. I find little clumps of sand glued together by the barely visible disc.

[albertthiel]

Thank you Albert, but I will leave authoring to you!

 

I read Dr. Shimek's article (well almost all of his articles I find I read) and found it very interesting. It is so hard to imagine an organism that is neither a plant or an animal. I have many forams in my sand bed as well as the red spicule forams on the live rocks. I find little clumps of sand glued together by the barely visible disc.

 

Yes Dr. Ron does write some interesting articles and has a lot more of them on his web site but many of the better ones you actually have to buy .. $6 in most cases. I did get a few but due to the copyright restrictions on them I cannot republish the content of them unfortunately.

 

You can find his website at: http://www.ronshimek.com and besides those articles he does have some interesting info on his blog, although sometimes a bit short and not with much detail but it is worth checking out nevertheless.

[eitallent]

My LFS had a sale yesterday. I purchased some frags and of course there were a few aiptasia for Karloff to clean up and he did so with gusto.

 

Here is a video of Karloff on a new rock. He is very thorough! I purchased the three mushroom but the LFS gave me the whole rock with the mushrooms. The rock itself has an SPS, Porite coral, that I will probably not be able to keep alive. I do not think the lighting I have is sufficient for it.