Mitten_reef’s IM30L

[ninjamyst]

always want an angel but dont want to risk it...

[--chris--]

There are ways to mitigate that risk 🙂

 

If you can find one in a LFS, it might already be in and around corals.  Watch it for a few days.  

 

If you can't swing that, see if the LFS will let you buy it on condition you can get a refund or credit (more likely) if it eats coral.  Put some cheap frags in with it in QT or a breeder box if you don't QT and keep an eye on it.  

 

 

[mitten_reef]

So far so good on the Pygmy angel. I even saw him taking bites from a couple of small patches of algae that I have. He seems to be a bit afraid of the clown tho, didn’t quite expect that. 

 

Things are getting very very interesting on the starburst cap that was showing blueish streaks a month or so ago - will need to get out the good camera this wknd. 🧐🤨.  

 

[specore]

21 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

So far so good on the Pygmy angel. I even saw him taking bites from a couple of small patches of algae that I have. He seems to be a bit afraid of the clown tho, didn’t quite expect that. 

 

Things are getting very very interesting on the starburst cap that was showing blueish streaks a month or so ago - will need to get out the good camera this wknd. 🧐🤨.  

 

The clown should eventually learn to ignore the angel.  

[mitten_reef]

December full tank mess

 

 

tank can't seem to stay tidy for very long, ugh.

[mitten_reef]

starburst monti showing a few splashes (?) of green

[ninjamyst]

my starburst had a streak of green too...yours is more pinkish than my orange one though.

[mitten_reef]

[mitten_reef]

30 minutes ago, ninjamyst said:

my starburst had a streak of green too...yours is more pinkish than my orange one though.

I'm very interested in seeing whether or not it will start to spread around the plate, like grafted cap.  how long had yours been showing green - any growth or spread?

I have a tough time finding a good combination of bluefish settings and camera white balance get the right red in pics.  It's definitely more orange, but not by a lot - or at least not at the settings I look at daily.  the purple streaks taking over also doesn't help either.

[mitten_reef]

[mitten_reef]

 

[mitten_reef]

 

[DaveFason]

Looking good Rut. The starburst is one of my favorites. 

 

-D

[specore]

Looks awesome.  Are you slowly working towards BB there?  

[--chris--]

I am glad to see the FTS looks great still.  With the size of "frags" you gave me I was worried I cleaned you out!  

 

What is the name of the green encrusting monti and the acro you posted above?  The Oregon tort you gave me is starting to shift, deep purple near the polyps and forest green in the middle.  

[mitten_reef]

22 minutes ago, specore said:

Looks awesome.  Are you slowly working towards BB there?  

Thanks!  haha, not really, my sand is very shallow, and I recently turned up the flows, so now there are bare spots.  But I'm contemplating BB for sure, especially now that my third fish option is settled with pygmy angel, as opposed to any sand dwellers.

14 minutes ago, --chris-- said:

I am glad to see the FTS looks great still.  With the size of "frags" you gave me I was worried I cleaned you out!  

 

What is the name of the green encrusting monti and the acro you posted above?  The Oregon tort you gave me is starting to shift, deep purple near the polyps and forest green in the middle.  

I meant to check with you on your tank thread, I didn't notice that you mounted the green encrusting monti anywhere (tequila sunrise is the name I found for it). I sent one in the encrusting monti bag, but it was a fairly small chip compared to other pieces cuz I couldn't get much to come off of the rock.  let me know if you missed it and still want to try it out.  As I continue to plan my re-scape, i'll keep a chunky piece for you.  The tort that you received was a Cali tort, not OT (i'll have photos of them side-by-side up later).  My stash of cali tort frags have been gaining some green ever since they were moved down to the frag rack on the bottom.  cali tort LOVES light, and will become pretty much solid blue when placed in high light, as seen on the remaining nub near starburst (pic above).  I've been keeping an eye on how @Cannedfish's cali tort has changed since his second PrimeHD was added as well - almost solid blue there too.  I do find the two-tone version to be quite nice as well, so I might have to work in two separate locations of these guys for the future.      

[specore]

1 minute ago, micoastreefing said:

Thanks!  haha, not really, my sand is very shallow, and I recently turned up the flows, so now there are bare spots.  But I'm contemplating BB for sure, especially now that my third fish option is settled with pygmy angel, as opposed to any sand dwellers.

 

Just wondering.  I've been vacuuming mine very aggressively and am pretty sure I won't be replacing it as it thins.  Of course, that would eventually mean parting with the fighting conch, which would suck as they are one of my favorite creatures. 

[--chris--]

I got the tequila sunrise monti mounted, mid tank near the purple encrusting monti.  It was a perfect sized chip for my tank, don't worry about!  I need a better camera to document everything going on, the iPhone is not cutting it.  

 

What your hearing about the cali tort must be accurate.  With all the new frags added in different locations in the tank I dropped the light intensity to 10%/10% blue/white and have been slowly ramping it back up.  I am near my final setting now, but for the majority of the time it was in my tank it was pretty low.  

 

What is that neon green acro you gave me?  It has PE in the bag and has looked bang-up good since I mounted it.  The tort however is the only frag in the tank with no PE.  Maybe thats normal?

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, --chris-- said:

What is that neon green acro you gave me?  It has PE in the bag and has looked bang-up good since I mounted it.  The tort however is the only frag in the tank with no PE.  Maybe thats normal?

I'm pretty sure the green acro is the highlighter acro from Cultivated Reef (it came from there as part of a frag pack I ordered a couple years ago). 

 

Yeah, the tort is a bit finicky about PE in my tank as well, I can't tell you what best to bring out PE.  maybe some others who read this thread might charm in on what works for their tort.

[--chris--]

Does PE even indicate anything? 

[mitten_reef]

2 hours ago, --chris-- said:

Does PE even indicate anything? 

@HarryPotter Always has crazy PE on acros in his tank. And they grow wild in his tank. Maybe he knows. 

I’d say PE has multiple functions, chief among those are feeding and growing. 

[specore]

3 hours ago, --chris-- said:

Does PE even indicate anything? 

I think it's more an indication of overall health.  No PE doesn't necessarily mean they aren't doing well, but I think corals which are really thriving will show nice PE.  

[HarryPotter]

19 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

@HarryPotter Always has crazy PE on acros in his tank. And they grow wild in his tank. Maybe he knows. 

I’d say PE has multiple functions, chief among those are feeding and growing. 

 

Yeah I believe PE reflects coral health. Whether it is eating, or receded and not-so-happy.  Now some acropora species may naturally have very small polyps, but an acro with no PE is not a happy acro

[mitten_reef]

5 hours ago, --chris-- said:

Does PE even indicate anything? 

 

1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Yeah I believe PE reflects coral health. Whether it is eating, or receded and not-so-happy.  Now some acropora species may naturally have very small polyps, but an acro with no PE is not a happy acro

here's a little PE on the cali tort frags last night when taking photos

[mitten_reef]

@--chris--, here's the cali tort vs oregon tort top-down, CT at top-left and OT to the right of it. I thought I had better pics of them both. 

 

loving the size of that purple stylo "frag".