Lula Mae's 1.6ish gallons of whatever I want to put in it--tank updates and news and stuff

[Lula_Mae]

1 minute ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

Snapped a few quick pics of my new additions.  I've got them in the holding tank at the moment (a miniature version of my 2.3 and 3ish gallon tanks, it is 1.6ish gallons on the outside...have not measured on the inside yet).

 

First, the new duster I picked up tonight!  He was open in the bag as I acclimated him.  Watching the girl trying to get him out was a bit hilarious and horrifying, she was trying to use a net! and then resorted to using the plastic boxes they hang on the tanks to put stuff in before bagging.  She was like, "I don't know much about the saltwater fish..."  Yep, I can tell!

He retracted when I put him in the tank but quickly came out.  He is so fluffy and gorgeous!  In the store his stripes looked a bit yellow, purple and white, not sure he is showing those colors under this light but you can definitely tell that there are lighter, darker and white stripes.

The paly has been grumpy and closed this afternoon but was open this morning.  Here is a pic to show what he looks like open...

And here are the new purple and greenish blastos, complete with a little baby head under the big one!

 

I've been trialing the ABI 50/50 bulb over my tank and like the color but have multiple layers of shading to keep from shocking the corals lol.  Not sure what I'll end up doing, I can only see half the tank as I've got a box in front holding the lamp that the bulb is in (table is too small for the lamp and the tank!) to elevate it above the tank.

 

[Lorekeeper]

Nice feather duster!

[money88]

wow I love the colors on that feather duster

[Lula_Mae]

9 minutes ago, Lorekeeper said:

Nice feather duster!

 

6 minutes ago, money88 said:

wow I love the colors on that feather duster

 

Thanks guys!  He's so pretty, the tips of his "fronds" curl backward, it really does look like an old fashioned feather duster!

[Rain24]

I see blastos! Woohoo!

 

That feather duster and new paly look awesome too. Glad you're getting some new inhabitants!

[HammerLover]

Are those feather dusters big or small ones? The big ones I think need feeding, right? And Im kinda hesitant to have them.

 

The new inhabitants look stunning! Glad that things are coming nicely now 

[Lula_Mae]

9 hours ago, Rain24 said:

I see blastos! Woohoo!

 

That feather duster and new paly look awesome too. Glad you're getting some new inhabitants!

Yes, pretty blastos!  (Who am I kidding, they are all pretty!).  Thanks, me too! 

 

8 hours ago, HammerLover said:

Are those feather dusters big or small ones? The big ones I think need feeding, right? And Im kinda hesitant to have them.

 

The new inhabitants look stunning! Glad that things are coming nicely now 

The original yellow and purple is a good sized duster (and has firmly adhered himself to the zoa rock lol).  The new one is not quite as large.  Their tubes are maybe 5 inches long altogether.  Not sure if they require feeding but they will do better with it, I haven't fed the main tank in a week or so and that duster is still doing great!  They need filter feeder type foods as far as I know.

[Weetabix7]

I LOVE the new additions!!!

You have LR in the holding tank, right? How long you planning on keeping stuff in there til switching it to the main tank?

How is the main tank looking by the way?

And how is the remaining trumpet head?

[gena]

On 4/7/2017 at 8:48 PM, Lula_Mae said:

Yikes!  Haha did the one try to eat the other?

 

Me too!  Good to know, wish I'd realized before I took the other blasto frag skeleton out. Oh, well, live and learn!

 

Shelby has been hiding all day but at least is alive.  Just dropped a pellet in for her to eat when she wants.

No, they didn't.  I was just reading back all the pages I missed.  I didn't realize you had a mini apocalypse happen in your tank.  I am sooooo sorry to hear that!!! I have a couple of more pages to go through still.  I hope everything is going well now!!!!

[gena]

Ok, all caught up.  Sooo sorry about Shelby and Shirley .  I love your new blasto.  Those puff up so prettily.  Blastos are the best .

[Lula_Mae]

3 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

I LOVE the new additions!!!

You have LR in the holding tank, right? How long you planning on keeping stuff in there til switching it to the main tank?

How is the main tank looking by the way?

And how is the remaining trumpet head?

Thanks!  Lol yes, there's a good sized chunk in there, you can see it behind the blastos.  Not sure, I've got a few things coming from drgibby, should be on Friday...will be my last major purchase for a while lol.  I just took a pic of the trumpets and will upload it shortly.

 

2 hours ago, gena said:

No, they didn't.  I was just reading back all the pages I missed.  I didn't realize you had a mini apocalypse happen in your tank.  I am sooooo sorry to hear that!!! I have a couple of more pages to go through still.  I hope everything is going well now!!!!

Thanks, yeah it was pretty rough.

 

1 hour ago, gena said:

Ok, all caught up.  Sooo sorry about Shelby and Shirley .  I love your new blasto.  Those puff up so prettily.  Blastos are the best .

Me too, who knew pom poms could be so violent!?  And given how Shelby acted towards Shirley, I am very suspicious that she may have helped herself to my blastos that went missing. Crazy crab!  My husband pointed out that since she was removed from the tank, everything seems to be doing better LOL!

[Lula_Mae]

Here's what the trumpets look like now.  The head on the right I had cleaned out almost completely because it was so badly infected.  The "surviving" head on the right has gone from turquoise to brown to now the whitish-clear color you see here.  The head on the right, that I had cleaned out, looks like it maybe regenerated some tissue?  And I think it has even more than it did last night.  I've been dropping a little iodine into the tank every couple days but haven't done a water change yet.

 

Also, the main tank looks ok, it needs a good cleaning and water change lol.  The GSP have been extending happily and the paly in there is starting to open back up, finally.  Not sure what made it so grumpy.  Meanwhile my new paly is again closed up. Temperamental things!

[Lula_Mae]

P.S. just noticed the GSP has white edges around the mat!  It's growing!

[Weetabix7]

17 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

P.S. just noticed the GSP has white edges around the mat!  It's growing!

 

Hooray!!!!

I'm honestly not sure what to think on the Trumpet, from the pic. 

Sorry I couldn't be more help w/that one. 

Be careful about dropping iodine in a small tank, can really throw things off. It works better as dips. 

[gena]

2 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Thanks!  Lol yes, there's a good sized chunk in there, you can see it behind the blastos.  Not sure, I've got a few things coming from drgibby, should be on Friday...will be my last major purchase for a while lol.  I just took a pic of the trumpets and will upload it shortly.

 

Thanks, yeah it was pretty rough.

 

Me too, who knew pom poms could be so violent!?  And given how Shelby acted towards Shirley, I am very suspicious that she may have helped herself to my blastos that went missing. Crazy crab!  My husband pointed out that since she was removed from the tank, everything seems to be doing better LOL!

Pom pom crabs seem pretty chill and peaceful, but they are still crabs, and crabs are bad LOL.  I have found pieces of coral being used as faux poms .  Sorry about the trumpets.  They are very hardy so I have hopes for them pulling through.  At least the one with more flesh.

[Lula_Mae]

5 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Hooray!!!!

I'm honestly not sure what to think on the Trumpet, from the pic. 

Sorry I couldn't be more help w/that one. 

Be careful about dropping iodine in a small tank, can really throw things off. It works better as dips. 

Yeah I had expected to lose them so I wasn't being too careful lol.  Reckon I should start paying attention!

 

3 hours ago, gena said:

Pom pom crabs seem pretty chill and peaceful, but they are still crabs, and crabs are bad LOL.  I have found pieces of coral being used as faux poms .  Sorry about the trumpets.  They are very hardy so I have hopes for them pulling through.  At least the one with more flesh.

Haha yeah my first pom pom crab swiped a ric and carried it around till it was tiny, white and shriveled (he was always hiding from the evil zebra hermit).  I had pulled the trumpets out and stuck them in a little betta tank with an air line/air pump turned low; the deadest head had been covered with a brown gelatinous blob that I was afraid was brown jelly disease.  At what point do you think it would be safe to return to the main tank, or should I keep it as is for now?  I think the right hand head has even a little more flesh on it now than earlier!  Though it's all clearish-white and not its gorgeous turquoise.

[Rain24]

I was wondering what you had the trumpets in. I thought it was a plastic food container or something. What do you do for a heater? I want to be semi prepared in case I need to have an emergency hospital tank.

[Lula_Mae]

28 minutes ago, Rain24 said:

I was wondering what you had the trumpets in. I thought it was a plastic food container or something. What do you do for a heater? I want to be semi prepared in case I need to have an emergency hospital tank.

I actually don't have a heater in there... but it's been 80+ degrees the last couple days in here (been floating ziplock bags with ice cubes occasionally in the tanks to keep them 83 or lower).  For a cheap heater, maybe look at the little Tetra preset heaters (can find at Walmart)--it's what's in the little tank with blastos/feather duster/paly, and what I had in the big tank to start with.  I wouldn't want to use them long term with pricey corals (in case of cheap heater malfunction) but for short term it should be fine--all of mine have kept the tanks rock steady at 78~ degrees.  Could also use for heating water change water!  I believe Brandon used one for years in a vase, if I remember reading right.

[gena]

15 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Yeah I had expected to lose them so I wasn't being too careful lol.  Reckon I should start paying attention!

 

Haha yeah my first pom pom crab swiped a ric and carried it around till it was tiny, white and shriveled (he was always hiding from the evil zebra hermit).  I had pulled the trumpets out and stuck them in a little betta tank with an air line/air pump turned low; the deadest head had been covered with a brown gelatinous blob that I was afraid was brown jelly disease.  At what point do you think it would be safe to return to the main tank, or should I keep it as is for now?  I think the right hand head has even a little more flesh on it now than earlier!  Though it's all clearish-white and not its gorgeous turquoise.

If that's the only LPS in the main tank, I don't see a problem with putting it back in. 

[Rain24]

21 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

I actually don't have a heater in there... but it's been 80+ degrees the last couple days in here (been floating ziplock bags with ice cubes occasionally in the tanks to keep them 83 or lower).  For a cheap heater, maybe look at the little Tetra preset heaters (can find at Walmart)--it's what's in the little tank with blastos/feather duster/paly, and what I had in the big tank to start with.  I wouldn't want to use them long term with pricey corals (in case of cheap heater malfunction) but for short term it should be fine--all of mine have kept the tanks rock steady at 78~ degrees.  Could also use for heating water change water!  I believe Brandon used one for years in a vase, if I remember reading right.

Oh yay! I can get something for the tank without having to drive all the way to the LFS? YES! I'll probably be looking for that at Walmart soon.

 

And yeah, looks like you don't need a heater at all! I totally remember having to float bags with ice cubes for my old tank. Ah...memories.

[Lula_Mae]

On 4/13/2017 at 11:46 AM, gena said:

If that's the only LPS in the main tank, I don't see a problem with putting it back in. 

Ok, that's good.  I guess now my biggest concern is whether the flow in there is gonna be too much for it. I have the air bubbler turned pretty low!

 

23 hours ago, Rain24 said:

Oh yay! I can get something for the tank without having to drive all the way to the LFS? YES! I'll probably be looking for that at Walmart soon.

 

And yeah, looks like you don't need a heater at all! I totally remember having to float bags with ice cubes for my old tank. Ah...memories.

Lol of course after I said that, the temps dropped and it got to 69 overnight!   Dropped one of those little flat heaters in until the temps warmed up.

 

Yesterday hubby took me to the shore and we clambered over rocks and saw various macroalgae, nerite snails, and a crab or two!

 

Also, I got a package today and now there are things acclimating...one at a time!  #picoproblems

[Lula_Mae]

Update time!  But first, quick question-in the middle of the pic, directly below the biggest blasto head in the center, between the small head on the left and the bigger one on the right--is that a tiny new blasto head starting to form?

 

Now with that out of the way...I got a package today from @drgibby who is sadly breaking down his tanks.  I got a few pieces out of his four-gallon pico; three of his rics, a piece of branching GSP, and a little frag of his gorgeous pipe organ that he cut for me.  The big green ric slimed up like crazy which had me worried, but drgibby says it tends to do that whenever it's moved.  I moved the AquaClear onto this tank for the carbon just in case.  So without further ado, here's some pics!

 

The rics!  Up top is the green, left is the orange rainbow, bottom is the blue.  I'll most likely pull them off the frag plugs to make a ric garden in the corner again.  What can I say, I like it!

 

The pipe organ with polyps starting to peek back out, and branching GSP in the background.  You can see the grandis paly is still being kinda grumpy.  I did another Lugol's dip yesterday.

 

Happy duster!

 

My little stomatella decided to come out for a visit!  @Rain24, I think he must be related to Benjamin, because guess what he did next?

Yep, he's spawning!  (Note the little white swirly cloud of...joy...below him)

 

Awkward angle FTS (still have the trumpets in front of this little tank lol)

 

Speaking of the trumpets, they have more white...flesh, or whatever...on the right hand head today.  I thought I took a pic but can't find it so it'll have to wait till I turn lights on tomorrow lol.  Corals are weird.

 

I also took a quick pic of the main tank so everyone can see it.  It's a side shot as the lamp is sitting on a box that blocks the view of the right side of the tank.  You can see the grandis paly finally decided to open back up!  And the zoas have skinnier stalks now.  I hope they are starting to return to the pretty aqua color they were when I got them because I sure wouldn't have bought uh, dirt...brown zoas!  Superman mushroom is happy as is feather duster.  The other night I realized the palm macroalgae had little green bubble algae beads all the way up and down it so I took it out and carefully removed the scourge by hand.  My blue scroll has abandoned the back of the tank for the floor and looks pretty ragged.  Not sure what its deal is but not sure it's gonna make it at this rate.  Branching macro is still ok and there are a few sprigs still left of the ochtodes including one stuck to the floor lol.  

 

The GSP is grumpy in this pic cuz I had just flipped it back over--it kept flipping in the current.  The tank is a lot more white than this but I haven't downloaded Snapseed or anything to correct the white balance.  Just noticed the duster is retracted in this pic lol.  Also, the foraminaferans on the blastos appear to be growing!

 

[Weetabix7]

On the Blasto, that might be a baby head, but I can't tell for sure. 

Sorry!!

They look really happy and healthy though, which is great!!!

In fact, everything in there looks pretty good. 

 

Looks like things are improving in the big tank as well. 

I'm SO happy to see things improving for you!!!

 

Oh, also, finally got all my new Macros organized tonight, and I have 3 Pico sized clumps of one of the prettiest red ones. 

It's a hardy one too. 

I've seen it called both Graciliara Hayi and Red Titan. 

[Lula_Mae]

13 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

On the Blasto, that might be a baby head, but I can't tell for sure. 

Sorry!!

They look really happy and healthy though, which is great!!!

In fact, everything in there looks pretty good. 

 

Looks like things are improving in the big tank as well. 

I'm SO happy to see things improving for you!!!

 

Oh, also, finally got all my new Macros organized tonight, and I have 3 Pico sized clumps of one of the prettiest red ones. 

It's a hardy one too. 

I've seen it called both Graciliara Hayi and Red Titan. 

Thanks, I fed the blastos a couple of Shelby's crab pellets the other night, the big head was like OM NOM NOM and the slightly smaller head was like EW WHAT IS THIS?! and spit it out! 

 

Me to, I am super glad about it!  It has sure taken long enough. 

 

I think the one I'm most interested in is the dragon's breath but I am not in a rush if there are no clippings right now, I am happy to wait a little while.  Would love to see what else you've got in the macro tank!   I will probably look to add macros in maybe May or so. 

 

My new GSP and pipe organ are opening up this morning!  Can't wait to see them fully open!