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Islandoftiki's Nuvo 30 Peacock Mantis Tank


Islandoftiki

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Some of the discarded pieces of the molt:

 

B89ECCE2-orig_zpsab55359c.jpg

 

3820DEB7-orig_zps22eb12f1.jpg

 

9E6C08E3-orig_zpsebc292e9.jpg

 

It's remarkable to look at these pieces up close and personal. The level of detail and all of the intricate shapes are stunning. There is some serious engineering going on here.

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Some of the discarded pieces of the molt:

 

B89ECCE2-orig_zpsab55359c.jpg

 

3820DEB7-orig_zps22eb12f1.jpg

 

9E6C08E3-orig_zpsebc292e9.jpg

 

It's remarkable to look at these pieces up close and personal. The level of detail and all of the intricate shapes are stunning. There is some serious engineering going on here.

 

Yes indeed and that is why it is such a super organism ... add to that its eyesight, and the fact that it can recognize others by smell and sight, and so much more and Mantis are really unique life forms. Thanks for posting them John and with your permission I will use those in the next Nano Reef Newsletter with is a double issue, right now up to 17 pages just on Mantis shrimp ...

 

Those who get it for free will be advised when it is available and those who do not get it for free can order a copy by sending $5 to my paypal account a.thiel@att.net as i is not available for direct sale via my web site.

 

17 pages so far full of information on everything that has to do with Mantis shrimp and plenty of pictures from various sources showing many different genera and species.

 

Lots of info on maintenance and care and on their Habits and interesting facts Mantis shrimp keepers should be aware of, like the smell recognition I mentioned and the change in color and many more.

 

Great shots of the pieces of the molt of the Peacock

 

Albert

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Ok, guys, check this out!

 

Look beyond the obvious stunningly beautiful colors and pay attention to all of the amazing forms and shapes of these pieces and imagine how each of these unusual forms have some practical and useful purpose in the mantis shrimp world. This is some seriously next level kind of biological engineering...

 

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Ok, guys, check this out!

 

Look beyond the obvious stunningly beautiful colors and pay attention to all of the amazing forms and shapes of these pieces and imagine how each of these unusual forms have some practical and useful purpose in the mantis shrimp world. This is some seriously next level kind of biological engineering...

 

 

This is truly an amazing video ... and indeed the range of colors is just amazing !

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This is truly an amazing video ... and indeed the range of colors is just amazing !

 

Did you see those gnarly spikes on the underside of the uropods? Are those for streamlining or defense? Maybe both.

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Did you see those gnarly spikes on the underside of the uropods? Are those for streamlining or defense? Maybe both.

 

Yes according to what I have read they are to assist in swimming and making rapid turns when needed but are also used in ritual fights that Mantis engage in, sometimes with a declared winner but sometimes with one of them not making it.

 

The newsletter is complete but I have to re-read it once more to double check. It is 19 pages and a large PDF.

 

I'll send you a copy via dropbox since you are entitled to a free one ... When I have reread it I will advise all who are entitled to it that they can download it, and as I said in a previous post those who wish to receive it ... see my earlier message on how to do so and receive a copy of it

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I like the way the color changes in one section alone. Before I left my mother-in-laws home today in KY I stopped into a local lfs and saw a 3 inch peacock for sale $69.99, but who luckily for me, was out in the tank so I was able to see one for the first time other than in video on on the site here. Lordy the head alone is extraordinary, then it shot up some sand to say it wasn't happy with it's back side and scrambled away. I love the detail.

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I did the very first water change on this tank since it was set up. Prior to doing the water change, I ran a full battery of tests (except pH).

Calc: 440
Alk: 7.0
Mag: 1350
Phos: 0.04
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

So far, so good. There was no detectable mini-cycle after the upgrade. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate remained 0 throughout the week.

The chaeto fuge is doing great. It's growing very well. The skimmer is just about broken in and is starting to produce skimmate.

All of the corals look happy. Betty looks happy, and Barney has stopped burying the corals in sand now that he's built his own little den at the back of the tank and he's not bugging Betty any more.

Betty's molt went well and she's looking great. She's a little lighter olive green now. She's been hanging out in her den a lot as she usually does for the first week or two after a molt. She's still munching away at bits of molt shell and has only taken krill once.

The tank looks amazing. I should have the light next week.

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Last night, my fiance and I pulled up a couple stools and just sat and watched the new tank for about 1/2 hour. Betty was back to her pre-molt interactiveness and doing her best to melt our hearts. She and Barney have come to terms and Barney has found his own personal favorite place in the tank. Barney has stopped burying corals in sand after excavating his own personal den, which he seems to be very happy with (this is not a damsel fish behavior that I, or anyone else I know is familiar with). He had built his own den in the former tank as well. He no longer covets Betty's den and hasn't tried to nip her in the butt or tail slap her in the face out of jealousy after that first day. I'm really happy with how they're getting along now. It's just like before the tank move. Happy critters.

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I did the very first water change on this tank since it was set up. Prior to doing the water change, I ran a full battery of tests (except pH).

Calc: 440

Alk: 7.0

Mag: 1350

Phos: 0.04

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

So far, so good. There was no detectable mini-cycle after the upgrade. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate remained 0 throughout the week.

The chaeto fuge is doing great. It's growing very well. The skimmer is just about broken in and is starting to produce skimmate.

All of the corals look happy. Betty looks happy, and Barney has stopped burying the corals in sand now that he's built his own little den at the back of the tank and he's not bugging Betty any more.

Betty's molt went well and she's looking great. She's a little lighter olive green now. She's been hanging out in her den a lot as she usually does for the first week or two after a molt. She's still munching away at bits of molt shell and has only taken krill once.

The tank looks amazing. I should have the light next week.

 

Sounds like a winner .... and glad to read all went well ... and yes that Damsel's behavior is somewhat odd indeed but then in this hobby stranger things have happened.

 

BTW I posted some links to some more videos on Mantis on the FG group Nano Reef Aquariums ...

 

Last night, my fiance and I pulled up a couple stools and just sat and watched the new tank for about 1/2 hour. Betty was back to her pre-molt interactiveness and doing her best to melt our hearts. She and Barney have come to terms and Barney has found his own personal favorite place in the tank. Barney has stopped burying corals in sand after excavating his own personal den, which he seems to be very happy with (this is not a damsel fish behavior that I, or anyone else I know is familiar with). He had built his own den in the former tank as well. He no longer covets Betty's den and hasn't tried to nip her in the butt or tail slap her in the face out of jealousy after that first day. I'm really happy with how they're getting along now. It's just like before the tank move. Happy critters.

 

+1 for sure .... and I can imagine it was an enjoyable half an hour ... !!

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It's kinda fun that I have some of my very first corals in this tank. Down and to the left of the green slimer acropora is my first hitchhiker mushrooms. These are my very first corals. When I got them they were transparent with no color and about half the size.

 

28C8B56E-orig_zps9f52f52d.jpg

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Look familiar?

 

P1000841_zps8a332c40.jpg

 

;) Thanks for the idea!

 

Oh man. I can't even tell you how heavy my tank stand is now. There's no question that you could easily mount a car on top of that stand.

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Well that jug holds 20 gallons of water.

 

And I have two of them.

 

The top shelf will be RODI, and feed to the bottom for mixing salt water. The RODI unit will be mounted to the left side of the top shelf, and a Danner Mag-5 will be used to pump either RODI or SW up to the tank via a hose. As much as I'd like to hard plumb that, the only way to get out of the laundry room and over to the tank would be through the garage and then the crawl space. Then I'd have to insulate the piping and get a bigger pump to overcome all the extra backpressure... Maybe someday, but not now.

 

(Why do I keep posting stuff for my build in other people's threads? )

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How about a proper FTS?

 

ED4BFBEA-orig_zps8757a17f.jpg

 

Very nice .... looking really great after the move ...

 

Oh man. I can't even tell you how heavy my tank stand is now. There's no question that you could easily mount a car on top of that stand.

 

Ready to withstand an attack by the Navy Seals I think :)

 

It's kinda fun that I have some of my very first corals in this tank. Down and to the left of the green slimer acropora is my first hitchhiker mushrooms. These are my very first corals. When I got them they were transparent with no color and about half the size.

 

28C8B56E-orig_zps9f52f52d.jpg

 

Gee they sure have grown a lot then ... and nice color now too

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Update:

 

The other day, I spotted a couple of sprigs of bryopsis that popped up on some of the rock that was in the 20 gallon tank, so I'm doing the Kent Tech M things. I've done this before with perfect success on another tank. I'm going to be raising the mag up to 1800 and letting it come down naturally as I do water changes. I'm up to 1650 over the last couple days and the bryopsis is starting to die back already. Everything else in the tank looks perfect. It looks like the rocks from the unilt 20 gallon tank are going to be leaching some phosphate for a little bit as they have some minor hair algae growth on them that isn't present on the rock from the 10 gallon tank. I'll be extra vigilant on keeping the phosphates down for a while until the tank matures a bit.

 

I'm kinda wondering if lanthanum chloride would get phosphate out of rocks. I don't have any experience with the stuff.

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