Dawn's pony garden.

[vlangel]

I forgot just how much uncertainty there is when you bring new fish home from a lfs.  P& J both looked so healthy until yesterday.  Then one of them had all their fins clamped down.  I immediately moved it to a QT but it was dead this morning. ? Bummer!  Hopefully the 2 that I have left stay healthy.  I am going to change the name of the remaining little one to PJ.

 

Also when I woke up I did not see Whiplash the blenny anywhere.  I have been covering the tank with towels until I make a cover but I was really nervous that he still managed to jump out.  I looked everywhere, even in the overflow box and sump for him but nothing.  Finally when I dropped a feeder shrimp in the tank out he darted from under the brown and green palys.  I guess he has found his sleeping spot.  Anyway, I was thrilled to see him.

[RIP Sebastian]

Sorry about the cardinal. :/

[vlangel]

7 hours ago, RIP Sebastian said:

Sorry about the cardinal. :/

Thanks Nick.  I was not really attached yet but still I don't like any of my creatures to die before their time.

[vlangel]

After this morning's upset thinking that Whiplash went carpet surfing, I bought what I needed to make a screened top.  Somehow I managed to get it finished between watching a DVD with my grandson and playing Uno.  I will not have the blue led moonlights on tonight so I will see how it goes.  Its definitely going to be more inconvenient to feed and clean the tank now.  What we wont do for some of our beloved creatures!

[Rene]

The one time I had a fish I was always worried about jumping!  Glad to hear you took care of it and you won't have to worry about it now. 

[vlangel]

9 hours ago, Rene said:

The one time I had a fish I was always worried about jumping!  Glad to hear you took care of it and you won't have to worry about it now. 

If I had skipped the blenny I would not have needed a top.  Seahorses, mandarins and cardinals aren't built to jump.  The blenny was just too cute though and I couldn't pass him up!  He is so perky and inquisitive.  All the other inhabitants are pretty chill but he adds liveliness to the tank so he's worth the trouble.

[Subsea]

On 2/24/2018 at 6:44 PM, vlangel said:

I could see pods in the bottle but of course once I poured them into the tank I never saw them again.  I have always seen pods walking on the glass even before I added the tisbes.

That answered your question of “How do I know if I have enough pods to feed mandarin?  If you see pods on glass during lights on with mandarin in the tank, you have enough pods.  For certain, the mandarin will eat pods everywhere.  Inside your display are mini refugiums, like the GHA in your seahorse tank.

 

PS.  I suspect that your refugium will feed your main tank.  How does your refugium get it’s raw water?  If it is unfiltered that should feed your pods.  Can you get a visual inside your refugium of the pod populations?  I suspect that live pods can go thru pump return impellers and inoculate your display to make up for predetation by mandarin.

As long as you see pods, you have enough.  The mandarins eyesight is much better than ours.

[vlangel]

 

5 hours ago, Subsea said:

That answered your question of “How do I know if I have enough pods to feed mandarin?  If you see pods on glass during lights on with mandarin in the tank, you have enough pods.  For certain, the mandarin will eat pods everywhere.  Inside your display are mini refugiums, like the GHA in your seahorse tank.

 

PS.  I suspect that your refugium will feed your main tank.  How does your refugium get it’s raw water?  If it is unfiltered that should feed your pods.  Can you get a visual inside your refugium of the pod populations?  I suspect that live pods can go thru pump return impellers and inoculate your display to make up for predetation by mandarin.

As long as you see pods, you have enough.  The mandarins eyesight is much better than ours.

Thanks Subsea, that is a very helpful gauge.  I only kept a mandarin one other time years ago when I had a 90 gallon but that mandarin wasted away.  I was not keeping macro algaes back then nor did I have a refugium.  (My current fuge is crawling with pods).  Finally the tank was new and my rock is now a decade older and more mature.  I just cringe at the thoughts of another mandarin slowly starving to death.  

[vlangel]

Today I super glued gsp on rock.  I kept finding it upside down and who know where, so it's not going anywhere now.  I hope it likes the places I chose.

Feb 2018 FTS

View from the pew, ha ha!

[Sharbuckle]

Wow do you ever keep the back glass clean! 

[vlangel]

14 minutes ago, Sharbuckle said:

Wow do you ever keep the back glass clean! 

Nope, never.?

[teenyreef]

So beautiful! I love all the new fish, but I'm sorry for the losses. It's such a luck of the draw thing sometimes with new fish. Hopefully the two pajama cardinals will get along. When I got my Bangaii Cardinals, they started off well, swimming around in a nice little school, but slowly but steadily they turned on each other until only the largest was left. I felt like I was watching Highlander "There can be only one!".

[vlangel]

10 hours ago, Sharbuckle said:

Wow do you ever keep the back glass clean! 

Sorry Sharbuckle, I misread your quote and thought you were saying, "wow, do you ever keep your back glass clean?" but now this morning I realize that you were asking, "how do you ever keep your back glass clean?"

The answer is I use my long handle metal scrapper on it every single week.  When you have seahorses you have to be willing to get your hands wet, (even though the water is only 70°F, ughh!).

[vlangel]

7 hours ago, teenyreef said:

So beautiful! I love all the new fish, but I'm sorry for the losses. It's such a luck of the draw thing sometimes with new fish. Hopefully the two pajama cardinals will get along. When I got my Bangaii Cardinals, they started off well, swimming around in a nice little school, but slowly but steadily they turned on each other until only the largest was left. I felt like I was watching Highlander "There can be only one!".

Yes, now I am remembering that the first 2 weeks with new fish is always risky.  Usually for me if they make it through the initial period then its good.

 

I wanted bangaii cardinals but I knew they were like that.  Pajama cardinals are susposedly more gentle natured so I am hoping that they get along.  And I bought 2 little ones to face Jammies, the big one but alas, the best laid plans....

 

Whiplash, the snyder weaver blenny was the best find!  He is so fun.  He is like a nosey neighbor who just has to know everything that is going on in the tank.

 

Yin and Yang are there for their beauty.  They are always out however looking for pods.  Its so nice to see more going on in the tank.

[kimberbee]

On 2/27/2018 at 6:32 AM, vlangel said:

mandarins... aren't built to jump.  

Fake news! 

 

My mandarin jumped and became fish jerky (3 years ago). I miss him. 

[vlangel]

8 hours ago, kimberbee said:

Fake news! 

 

My mandarin jumped and became fish jerky (3 years ago). I miss him. 

Ha ha, well I just learned something new!  I am sorry to learn at your mandarin's expense. :-(

[vlangel]

 

I got a new galaxy phone and it takes better pics than my prior phone or my tablet.

[vlangel]

 

Whiplash surveyinging his kingdom.

[Felicia]

Love those cirri! And Whiplash is super cool. 

[Rene]

Great pictures!  The new phone does make a difference. That blenny is adorable, I love the googly eyes. 

[Subsea]

“Google eyes”.  Cute.

 

Love the.new pictures.

[vlangel]

2 hours ago, Felicia said:

Love those cirri! And Whiplash is super cool. 

I love Delilah's cirri too.  She's exotic.  Whiplash is just fun.  He's checking out everything.

I adore my ponies but the new fish make the tank more interesting.

[vlangel]

1 hour ago, Rene said:

Great pictures!  The new phone does make a difference. That blenny is adorable, I love the googly eyes. 

Thanks Rene.  I have not even played around with any camera settings but now I have more options.  It will be fun shooting pics.

 

I like Whiplash's googly eyes too.  They articulate independent of each other just like the seahorses.  His inquisitive personality is so cute.

[vlangel]

1 hour ago, Subsea said:

“Google eyes”.  Cute.

 

Love the.new pictures.

Maybe instead of Whiplash, I should have called him Google Eyes?  

 

Thanks subsea.  As I play with it more I will see if I can improve my photos more than just a little.  They need all the help they can get.

[vlangel]

This morning I woke up to Eve sitting on the food bowl.  Poor thing thinks she is starved!

 

I will try to get some good shots of the tanks this weekend.