Felicia Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Your lions are bad a$$. The very first saltwater tank I started was a lion tank. They are the reason I got into the hobby and I always wanted a Fu Manchu. What do you feed them? Thanks! They're definitely very interesting fish. What types of lions did you have when you started? I had decided a Fu Manchu wasn't an option initially because they supposedly don't transition to aquarium life well and are the hardest to convince to eat frozen. I lucked out coming across my nice healthy one that was already eating frozen. He's actually the easiest one of my group of 3. The Fu Manchu eats frozen silverside chunks and jumbo mysis. The other two are still only eating live. They both eat freshwater ghost shrimp that I gut load with Ocean Nutrition 1 flakes and pellets. I haven't started weaning the antennata yet because she's still really shy. I have the zebra associating the feeding tongs with food and he shows interest in frozen, but won't go for it yet. Making progress with him though. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Biopellets don't work nearly as well for phosphate as they do nitrate. It takes approximately 15-20ppm nitrate to drop 1ppm phosphate in most tanks (some it takes MUCH! more than that, check out the talk Rich Ross did at MACNA last year about phosphate). People have had more luck with 'all in one' pellets that contain GFO, but it has its own issues with letting GFO into the tank so you gotta run its outlet through a fine mesh sock to catch it. Well I don't seem to have too much of a phosphate issue, but nitrates are an issue. I'm kind of really leaning towards giving this a try since it would make dealing with the reactor easier. Not like I couldn't always throw a bag of chemipure or something in the sump to handle some phosphates if needed. Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I experimented with VitC dosing which is a form of carbon dosing. I OD'd on it a few times though which lead to bacteria blooms with bleaching effects. That was not fun. I'm now using biopellets and have been very happy with the results. I started with very small amounts and waited 6-8 weeks before adding more. Another 6-8 weeks after that before adding any more. I'm now using about 40mL. My chosen brand is All In One. It does both nitrates and phosphates to a degree. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 I experimented with VitC dosing which is a form of carbon dosing. I OD'd on it a few times though which lead to bacteria blooms with bleaching effects. That was not fun. I'm now using biopellets and have been very happy with the results. I started with very small amounts and waited 6-8 weeks before adding more. Another 6-8 weeks after that before adding any more. I'm now using about 40mL. My chosen brand is All In One. It does both nitrates and phosphates to a degree. Good to hear. Glad you're liking biopellets. They seem like a pretty easy solution for nitrates. I have to go pick up ghost shrimp today for the lions, so I'll see if I can find some all-in-one biopellets. How long does 40 mL last you before you have to top off the reactor? 1 Quote Link to comment
RJWalters Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Thanks! They're definitely very interesting fish. What types of lions did you have when you started? I had decided a Fu Manchu wasn't an option initially because they supposedly don't transition to aquarium life well and are the hardest to convince to eat frozen. I lucked out coming across my nice healthy one that was already eating frozen. He's actually the easiest one of my group of 3. The Fu Manchu eats frozen silverside chunks and jumbo mysis. The other two are still only eating live. They both eat freshwater ghost shrimp that I gut load with Ocean Nutrition 1 flakes and pellets. I haven't started weaning the antennata yet because she's still really shy. I have the zebra associating the feeding tongs with food and he shows interest in frozen, but won't go for it yet. Making progress with him though. I had an antenna lion he was awesome. He would only eat live food as well. I just dont have the time for that kind of maintenance right now but some time later on I will hopefully get another lion until then I will just have to settle for reading about yours. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 I had an antenna lion he was awesome. He would only eat live food as well. I just dont have the time for that kind of maintenance right now but some time later on I will hopefully get another lion until then I will just have to settle for reading about yours. The goal is to eventually get them all weaned onto frozen, so they won't be much maintenance eventually. Plus its kind of fun to feed them live food and ghost shrimp are really easy. Got a fun gif of the antennata for you guys. 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Finally got a few decent shots of the antennata last night. She's starting to get less shy and is out and about more now. Here's the antennata with Draco. They get along well and often sit by each other on the rocks. And Draco was being a ham like usual, so I had to take some photos of him. He's way too good at posing for photos! The starry blenny was also being very cooperative for photos. Here's one of my two fighting conchs vacuuming the sand bed. And here's Falkor. 6 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Posing so perfectly! And I love your starry. I've never seen one and I always love the look on their faces. Behind the clam it looks like he's saying... OH, you mean me???? 2 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Starry blennies are so full of personality!! My ex had one named Walter. I miss that fish!! 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I think I would like a starry blenny or a Tailspot the next time I buy a fish for the reef. 2 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I always think of joelrhale when I see or hear starry blenny . Tank is looking gorgeous! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Nice pics of the lion! Thank you! They make life easy by being really good photography subjects. They move slowly and gracefully so that I can get clear shots. Posing so perfectly! And I love your starry. I've never seen one and I always love the look on their faces. Behind the clam it looks like he's saying... OH, you mean me???? Starry blennies are so full of personality!! My ex had one named Walter. I miss that fish!! I think I would like a starry blenny or a Tailspot the next time I buy a fish for the reef. The starry blenny seems to always steal the show! He just has too much personality. He's so brave with all the predators. I was feeding the other day and all 3 lions were clustered around the tongs because they know they mean food. The blenny just moseyed into the middle of the circle of lions and snatched Mushu's jumbo mysis off the tongs and then moseyed off. The lions were all just like, "What on earth just happened?" I always think of joelrhale when I see or hear starry blenny . Tank is looking gorgeous! Oh yeah! He did have a really awesome starry blenny. I remember his blenny always made me want one. I had a starry back at the beginning of the 30 gallon that was also an amazing fish, but then it managed to jump out of the tiny gap in my lid around the AC70. Decided not to get another one until I had a perfectly snug lid like I do now Thanks, Gena! I guess you see that squammy clammy is quite the favored perch now. The clam is still doing amazingly well. 3 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Good to hear. Glad you're liking biopellets. They seem like a pretty easy solution for nitrates. I have to go pick up ghost shrimp today for the lions, so I'll see if I can find some all-in-one biopellets. How long does 40 mL last you before you have to top off the reactor? IDK, they last a long time it seems. Months I think. Though, I've been having issue with everything getting coated by calcium in my sump lately. I'm working on that. lol, I have three ghost shrimp in my son's tank. They're a lot of fun to watch and interact with. They'll jump on your finger just like a cleaner shrimp. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 IDK, they last a long time it seems. Months I think. Though, I've been having issue with everything getting coated by calcium in my sump lately. I'm working on that. lol, I have three ghost shrimp in my son's tank. They're a lot of fun to watch and interact with. They'll jump on your finger just like a cleaner shrimp. You think the calcium has something to do with the biopellets? I wonder why that would happen. We'll see how they work for me. I picked some out last weekend and plan to get them set up in my reactor some time in the next couple of days. I try not to notice that they're cute before I catch them by their tails with my feeding tongs and feed them to the hungry lionfish 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Oh yeah! He did have a really awesome starry blenny. I remember his blenny always made me want one. I had a starry back at the beginning of the 30 gallon that was also an amazing fish, but then it managed to jump out of the tiny gap in my lid around the AC70. Decided not to get another one until I had a perfectly snug lid like I do now Thanks, Gena! I guess you see that squammy clammy is quite the favored perch now. The clam is still doing amazingly well. I was the same...wanted a starry like Joel's . I can see Squammy is doing REALLY well. I bet it loves all the attention . 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I was the same...wanted a starry like Joel's . I can see Squammy is doing REALLY well. I bet it loves all the attention . Squammy does close up its mantle a bit when its getting sat on, but most of the time its crazy extended! Seems to really be doing well. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Just a quick video of feeding the predators. Sorry for the quality, but its hard to film while I'm feeding the lions. 3 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Cool! They're a lot smaller than I thought. That blenny dwarfs the lions. lol! 2 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 This tank... That video... So beautiful!! Love reading this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I agree w/ Mr. Microscope. Never really got the scope of how little they were. 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Cool! They're a lot smaller than I thought. That blenny dwarfs the lions. lol! I agree w/ Mr. Microscope. Never really got the scope of how little they were. They are smaller than you'd think, but the video is actually really deceptive. Since I was filming down at an angle and the blenny was up at the top, it made him look way bigger. If you don't count the fins on the lions and just look at body, the blenny is about the same size as Draco (dwarf zebra) and the antennata. However, when they puff their fins out, they almost double in size. Mushu however is pretty large. He's the biggest SW fish I've ever owned. In terms of body size, he's twice the size of the other two lions. He was just all the way at the bottom in that video so the perspective made him look WAY smaller than he is. Found a good photo for size perspective. As you can see, Mushu (left) is about twice the size of Draco (right). Then you can see the size of the blenny in the middle. This tank... That video... So beautiful!! Love reading this thread. Aw! Why thank you! Glad you are enjoying the thread 3 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Cool shot! It looks like that blenny can hold his/her own. Wow, Mushu is big. Is that a current picture? Clam appears to be gaping. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Just a quick video of feeding the predators. Sorry for the quality, but its hard to film while I'm feeding the lions. [Youtube] That poor shrimp LOL. I wouldn't even try lowering your nitrates/phosphates. I would wait to see what the clams can do for you! If your derasa is gaping I would be concerned with lowering nutrients. 1 Quote Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Yeah that clam does not look happy to me Love the lion fish though! 1 Quote Link to comment
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