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Fishfreak's foxy BC29: Brine Shrimp!


fishfreak0114

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fishfreak0114

A couple more pics.  I still haven't seen the second anemone shrimp or the Halloween hermit crab

 

I'm going to see if the caulerpa irritates anything here.  I think it's far enough away from the zoas

35458247710_8a77078116_k.jpgP7102169 by orb1915, on Flickr

35846154245_fc1231a75a_k.jpgP7102171 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I moved the mint trumpet (which was actually being stung by 2 of the duncans), and put the new one next to it.

35458246760_00b06aaa8d_k.jpgP7102172 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The red macro is filling a gap where the toadstool hangs over.  No corals like it there

 35846153475_97b8b93522_k.jpgP7102173 by orb1915, on Flickr

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fishfreak0114

Today alk was at 6.1.  It seems to drop between .2 and .3 dkh/day, but I need to do at least a week more of testing to confirm because I missed a couple days while I was away.

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fishfreak0114

Here's a video of my trip to the Vancouver Aquarium if anyone is interested.  And yes, at this point I'm just putting random Ed Sheeran songs to all my videos...

 

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Your nem shrimp are so pretty, and the pistol is so tiny!  The fishes are adorable, though the pink bar goby has a very serious face lol.  Nice haul overall!  Oh, and that red macro looks like my 'branching red macro' that I think might have been a species of laurencia?  Or I might be confusing it with another, I am pretty tired lol.

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fishfreak0114
24 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Your nem shrimp are so pretty, and the pistol is so tiny!  The fishes are adorable, though the pink bar goby has a very serious face lol.  Nice haul overall!  Oh, and that red macro looks like my 'branching red macro' that I think might have been a species of laurencia?  Or I might be confusing it with another, I am pretty tired lol.

I thought it was a pretty good haul :) I'll look up that macro tomorrow.  Whatever it is, it's pretty and I hope it does well.

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fishfreak0114

And here's my favorite pics from the aquarium

 

35718511981_2f2d5372c2_z.jpgP7081732 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511971_9b1e12271b_k.jpgP7081749 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511581_4807c39f15_k.jpgP7081751 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511391_c383634d7e_k.jpgP7081819 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511121_f8f46671fc_k.jpgP7081848 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510931_ddecb4d2a0_k.jpgP7081858 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510631_00f62e6e49_k.jpgP7081897 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508031_38cc67c5d3_k.jpgP7081914 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510391_a743200b1d_k.jpgP7081916 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510111_78fe6a9b00_k.jpgP7081966 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509901_c6dff65bca_k.jpgP7081976 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509671_beb77d26cf_k.jpgP7081985 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509411_95354b2a7f_k.jpgP7082024 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509151_c85c9e41bc_k.jpgP7082047 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

My favorite Monet painting I saw

35718508931_b532a8454e_k.jpgP7082076 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508561_a83a41ba46_k.jpgP7082086 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

And my favorite of Emily Carr's

35718508401_e4fdb165c3_k.jpgP7082090 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508111_63c85b95dc_k.jpgP7082118 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718507731_9ddeaad1e4_k.jpgP7082126 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The supplies I ordered are here!  I can't wait to get all the plates off the sand bed. 

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fishfreak0114

Well the frag rack was disappointing.  When I looked at the dimensions, I made sure it would fit on the side of the tank, but I didn't look at how far into the tank it went.  It was hurting the finger leather so I took it out.  Also, only half of my plugs fit in it.  Apparently the stems need to be super skinny.  What I found really weird was that some of the plugs that were the same brand as the frag rack fit, while others didn't.  All were from the same pack.  Anyways, I'm going to see if I can return it or if not, sell it.  I guess my sand shall remain cluttered <_< Unless I figure out how to DIY something with egg crate.  Pretty sure I have some kicking around...

 

Alk was testing at about 5.9 today.  My first test came out way lower, but the second and third were consistent.

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fishfreak0114

I'm so glad I kept my old magfloat.  Now if only I'd gone DIY in the first place.  I wanted a nice looking rack, but oh well.  I'd like to get start getting rid of the plates soon anyways.

 

 

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fishfreak0114

Quick update on the fish, they're all doing well still.  I plan on feeding today and a water change tomorrow.  I've been dosing prime daily, and I put in a media bag from my DT in hopes of carrying some bacteria over.  No signs of ich so far!

 

I just dosed alk for the first time!  I put in a very small dose, just to make sure I did my calculations and mixed it right.  My goal for the first dose is to raise it by 0.2 dkh (daily consumption).  Once I know if it works (I'll test in an hour or so), I can work on bringing alk to around 7.  I think that's around where I'd like it to stay. 

 

@Lula_Mae, I looked up laurencia, but didn't find one that looked like mine.  I'm not overly concerned with what it is, but maybe one day I'll come across a name.

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fishfreak0114

I tested again a minute ago and got 5.9.  Dosed a second time, same amount as the first time.   Will test again in an hour or so.

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fishfreak0114

Now it's reading 5.7ish.  Maybe I'm just really bad at testing?  I'm going to do a slightly larger dose to see if there is a noticeable raise.

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fishfreak0114

Hmm.  I'm utterly confused.  If I did the math right (which I'm thinking I didn't?), by this time I would have dosed enough to raise alk by 0.8, but it's still at 5.7...

 

I made the frag rack, it's very sloped, oh well.  I'm just hoping it doesn't break overnight. It's definitely not the strongest.

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On 7/11/2017 at 4:31 PM, fishfreak0114 said:

And here's my favorite pics from the aquarium

 

35718511981_2f2d5372c2_z.jpgP7081732 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511971_9b1e12271b_k.jpgP7081749 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511581_4807c39f15_k.jpgP7081751 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511391_c383634d7e_k.jpgP7081819 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718511121_f8f46671fc_k.jpgP7081848 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510931_ddecb4d2a0_k.jpgP7081858 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510631_00f62e6e49_k.jpgP7081897 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508031_38cc67c5d3_k.jpgP7081914 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510391_a743200b1d_k.jpgP7081916 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718510111_78fe6a9b00_k.jpgP7081966 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509901_c6dff65bca_k.jpgP7081976 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509671_beb77d26cf_k.jpgP7081985 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509411_95354b2a7f_k.jpgP7082024 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718509151_c85c9e41bc_k.jpgP7082047 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

My favorite Monet painting I saw

35718508931_b532a8454e_k.jpgP7082076 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508561_a83a41ba46_k.jpgP7082086 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

And my favorite of Emily Carr's

35718508401_e4fdb165c3_k.jpgP7082090 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718508111_63c85b95dc_k.jpgP7082118 by orb1915, on Flickr

35718507731_9ddeaad1e4_k.jpgP7082126 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The supplies I ordered are here!  I can't wait to get all the plates off the sand bed. 

Dart frogs! :wub: I believe those are E. anthonyi.  I've wanted darts for a while now.  Someday I'd love to have some Ranitomaya fantastica, the true nominal form is incredible.  But I may go with much cheaper frogs to start out with lol.

 

On 7/11/2017 at 9:05 PM, fishfreak0114 said:

Well the frag rack was disappointing.  When I looked at the dimensions, I made sure it would fit on the side of the tank, but I didn't look at how far into the tank it went.  It was hurting the finger leather so I took it out.  Also, only half of my plugs fit in it.  Apparently the stems need to be super skinny.  What I found really weird was that some of the plugs that were the same brand as the frag rack fit, while others didn't.  All were from the same pack.  Anyways, I'm going to see if I can return it or if not, sell it.  I guess my sand shall remain cluttered <_< Unless I figure out how to DIY something with egg crate.  Pretty sure I have some kicking around...

 

Alk was testing at about 5.9 today.  My first test came out way lower, but the second and third were consistent.

If all else fails, try a suction cup soap dish (the flat-ish kind).  Won't hold really fat plugs but a lot of standard ones work fine.  You do have to watch out for biofilm forming on the suction cups cus it'll lose grip on the tank wall lol.

 

Regarding the alk test--could you take some water to the LFS to test?  Not sure why you're getting such weird results.

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fishfreak0114
  • 32 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:
    • Dart frogs! :wub: I believe those are E. anthonyi.  I've wanted darts for a while now.  Someday I'd love to have some Ranitomaya fantastica, the true nominal form is incredible.  But I may go with much cheaper frogs to start out with lol.
    •  
    • If all else fails, try a suction cup soap dish (the flat-ish kind).  Won't hold really fat plugs but a lot of standard ones work fine.  You do have to watch out for biofilm forming on the suction cups cus it'll lose grip on the tank wall lol.
    •  
    • Regarding the alk test--could you take some water to the LFS to test?  Not sure why you're getting such weird results.
  • I just looked up Ranitomaya fantastica and wow! :wub: Absolutely stunning 

^I don't know how to remove all those bullet points that I accidentally put in...oops :blush:

 

The rack has held up thus far so I'm happy.  I plan to post an ad on the local fb group a day or two before my next trip to kamloops/Kelowna so I can sell/give away some.  Then I can continue breaking them off the main skeleton.  The rack is near capacity right now.

 

Unfortunately the nearest LFS that does salt is an hour and a half away, and I'm not even sure if they offer testing.  I think I'm just bad at testing, although I usually get fairly consist results when testing multiple times in a row.  With further additions of alk today, I've got it up to around 7. Instead of shooting for a specific number, I think I'll just test regularly and make sure my dosing is ballpark 7. 

 

 

 I did a water change on the QT today.  They're all still happy and healthy.  I plan to QT for 2.5 weeks ish.  I'm really only looking for ich.  So far, the pink bar hasn't eaten while I'm watching, and I've discovered that the neon and yellow line love mysis, but are picky when it comes to mussel and flake.  

 

The pink duncan has been somewhat retracted lately.  I thought it was just because Jacques likes to hang out there, but turns out there were 5 vermetids on/near it!  They have been tweezed to nonextistance :P I need to go hunting again.  

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19 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:
  •  
  • I just looked up Ranitomaya fantastica and wow! :wub: Absolutely stunning 

^I don't know how to remove all those bullet points that I accidentally put in...oops :blush:

 

The rack has held up thus far so I'm happy.  I plan to post an ad on the local fb group a day or two before my next trip to kamloops/Kelowna so I can sell/give away some.  Then I can continue breaking them off the main skeleton.  The rack is near capacity right now.

 

Unfortunately the nearest LFS that does salt is an hour and a half away, and I'm not even sure if they offer testing.  I think I'm just bad at testing, although I usually get fairly consist results when testing multiple times in a row.  With further additions of alk today, I've got it up to around 7. Instead of shooting for a specific number, I think I'll just test regularly and make sure my dosing is ballpark 7. 

 

 

 I did a water change on the QT today.  They're all still happy and healthy.  I plan to QT for 2.5 weeks ish.  I'm really only looking for ich.  So far, the pink bar hasn't eaten while I'm watching, and I've discovered that the neon and yellow line love mysis, but are picky when it comes to mussel and flake.  

 

The pink duncan has been somewhat retracted lately.  I thought it was just because Jacques likes to hang out there, but turns out there were 5 vermetids on/near it!  They have been tweezed to nonextistance :P I need to go hunting again.  

Yeah, the Ranitomaya genus are stunners--they're called "thumbnails" or "thumbs" because they're literally about as long as a thumbnail.  Josh's Frogs has some pics of some with other objects (like camera lens covers) on their individual pages and it's amazing how tiny they are!

 

I'm an hour away from a salt store--I feel your pain lol.

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fishfreak0114

Time for an FTS with all the new stuff and the frag rack!  Excuse the rack's crookedness :blush:

35107303934_ac65a9002a_k.jpgP7142187 by orb1915, on Flickr

35815174151_1f2d653c7a_k.jpgP7142216 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The white spot shrimp has been sighted multiple times now.  Still no sign of the ghost, so I'm thinking it may have died

35947484065_55691da6d3_k.jpgP7132178 by orb1915, on Flickr

35558863230_7d41459dc1_k.jpgP7142214 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The baby plates are enjoying the extra light, as well as not being constantly walked on and flipped over.

35815196061_16fc61a586_k.jpgP7142195 by orb1915, on Flickr

35138058173_b26cf7b8f5_k.jpgP7142240 by orb1915, on Flickr

35815160841_49dceb8b78_k.jpgP7142241 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

Had to throw in some blasto pics.  I love how they all smoosh together when they're puffy

35558883710_fa856d81cf_k.jpgP7142204 by orb1915, on Flickr

35947438575_67bb50c77c_k.jpgP7142250 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776938222_8739802b8f_k.jpgP7142253 by orb1915, on Flickr

35947427145_31c350619d_k.jpgP7142260 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776932962_8a739c3f17_k.jpgP7142261 by orb1915, on Flickr

35947422075_c708128969_k.jpgP7142266 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776924622_696cceda6d_k.jpgP7142267 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

35558879570_af744ec45c_k.jpgP7142207 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776981432_28cc83ad85_k.jpgP7142208 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776958332_a5088f15c3_k.jpgP7142217 by orb1915, on Flickr

35138076653_984d13e0f2_k.jpgP7142225 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776952852_c2f6a28f88_k.jpgP7142232 by orb1915, on Flickr

35138068163_3378bd283b_k.jpgP7142236 by orb1915, on Flickr

35776946702_efd6d107bf_k.jpgP7142238 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The dendro is well on the way to a full recovery

35107243624_b4506d3810_k.jpgP7142268 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

The lobo continues to recede, despite regular feeding and iodine dips.  I don't know what else to do.  Suggestions?

35107240854_51914f1b63_k.jpgP7142269 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I don't think the head of the trumpet that was stung will recover

35558872070_3c4bdcf5c4_k.jpgP7142209 by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I'm still trying to think of a name for this guy

35558867920_c65741b65c_k.jpgP7142212 by orb1915, on Flickr

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fishfreak0114

You know, I though ORA fish were supposed to eat just about anything, but the two won't eat krill either.  Mysis it is...

 

Alk had dropped to 6.1 by yesterday.  That seems like a really fast drop.  I ended up dosing a randomly selected amount that will hopefully give it a little boost.  I'm getting sort of frustrated, because sometimes my dosing seems to have no effect whatsoever, yet I as able to raise it to 7.  And then it dropped back by the next day.  Maybe I'm just missing something?  I'll re-read the instructions when I get home.  I'm in Kelowna for the weekend (but with my dad so no getting rid of plates), and last night we went to the drive in an hour away from Kelowna.  What a blast!  They were playing a double feature of Despicable Me 3 and Transformers 5.  We didn't get back to my grandma's until 3am!

 

Back at my mom's house, we have family visiting from Poland.  That includes my two little cousins, ages 6 and 10 (I think).  Naturally, the cat was terrorized, the gecko was woken up, and rules around all my fish tanks had to be set in place.  I'm so worried about my reef, I keep texting my mom to make sure everything's ok.  I can just picture them "feeding the fish" with human food, or some other catastrophic event.  One of them knocked over my frag rack yesterday, the little girl I think, and my mom said she went for the magnet again.  And the boy loves starfish, so I took an asterina out for him to hold.  The lid was up, and he plunged his hands into the tank!!!!  My mom had to step in and tell him that that wasn't allowed because I was frozen in horror :lol: Worries aside, I'm super happy to see them!  It's been three years since we visited them in Poland.  Because I like pictures (can you tell?), here's my latest baking creation.  Yesterday was the girl's 6th birthday, so I made these chocolate with raspberry frosting unicorn cupcakes.  She loved it!

 

35973352345_2b7fb3feef_k.jpg20170715_120028_resized by orb1915, on Flickr

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fishfreak0114

I was kind of worried about the neon goy tonight, but I've decided he's alright.  He was really fat/bloated looking.  He's swimming fine, however, and acting normal. I fed a blanched pea in case he is constipated.

 

Tomorrow I really need to do a water change on the QT, as well as several of my freshwater tanks.  Water change for the reef this weekend :)

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fishfreak0114

The neon goby was super adorable today.  He clung to my hand and nibbled a bit during the water change :wub: I think next Wednesday or Thursday is the day they'll go in.

 

I still haven't figured out the whole alk think, I guess it'll just be trial and error.

 

I hadn't trimmed the GSP in ages, an it spread to the rock!  I think I'm going to leave it for now and see if the mushrooms can keep it in check.  One thing I have considered for a long time is putting GSP on the back wall of the tank and getting rid of the island.  I'm not sure if it would make the corals pop more (because most towards the back are pinkish) or make them disappear.  Thoughts?  It would be nice to free up that sand space, and expose the rock behind.  Room for a euphyllia or something.

35645598390_8b98ca4462_k.jpgg by orb1915, on Flickr

 

As expected, the head of trumpet that was stung couldn't make a comeback.  So I had two heads for the longest time, then it finally split to three and like a week later I'm back to two :rolleyes:

35645598340_6c717d4efa_k.jpgh by orb1915, on Flickr

 

Progress pic of the dendro

35645598140_5d481fb5fb_k.jpgk by orb1915, on Flickr

 

I've been looking at the Fluval EVO 5 lately.  I'm actually considering setting up another tank.  I'm really just trying to figure out if I can afford it, what I would put in it, and if I really want another salt tank.  Because it is more maintenance than freshwater, and I have my hands pretty full as it is.  I would have to take down a freshwater, because I have a 6 tank limit at my mom's house, but that's alright.  I could just take down my betta's 3g, and move him into my 5g planted :P If I got another tank, I'd put it on the table right next to where I sit on the couch.  This requires some serious thought.  If it happens, it won't be for quite a while.

 

And for those of you with freshwater planted experience:

Any suggestions for plants to go on either side of the red ludwigia?  And are there any red plants that don't need much light?  I plan to replace the alternanthera reineckii because it hasn't grown at all in 6 months, but I don't know with what.  Sorry for the post-water change haze.

35993768206_b42cc8043a_k.jpgbest by orb1915, on Flickr

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fishfreak0114

I forgot to mention, but the ghost anemone shrimp lives!  I had a pleasant surprise when I when to trim the GSP this afternoon.  That must be where it lurks.

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