Madcat's Fluval Evo 13.5 - new shrimpy

[Lula_Mae]

Lighting spectrum makes a huge difference in how things appear!

[Nomoreammo]

Hermits die. Snails die. Fish die. It's all part of reefkeeping, as sad as that sounds.

 

As you said, I would try mysis. I feed my platinum snowflake clown entirely mysis and he loves it. 

 

Looking forward to your next update.

[haleschristine]

My baby clown took a bit to eat as well - my LFS recommended a certain brand of super tiny pellets. He said it's the same type they eat when they're being bred. Now, I'm not sure how true that is.... but it worked.

 

I can't think of the name off the top of my head but I'll let you know when I get home.

[fishfreak0114]

My clowns didn't start eating for over a week.  I remember being kind of panicky because I was about to leave for a two week vacation and they still wouldn't eat, but just a day or two before I left they accepted food and after that they took whatever I gave them.

[Madcat]

Good News: Jeff ate! I squirted some mysis at him and he was like, "I know what that is!" I kept the shrimps coming and at one point he lunged for a particularly large morsel when the baby clown, on one of his hyperactive rounds of the tank, saw it and intercepted it. Then spat it out. Then sucked it up. Then spat it out again. Etc. All while poor Jeff watched sadly. lol

 

Good News #2: Obviously the baby is eating too, though that was the only mysis he ate (pretty sure he ended up eating most of it in the end). He started eating his little baby pellets yesterday. He's a good boy. I was debating names like Darwin, Newton, and Webster, but I sent a picture to my sister and she said he looks like a puzzle piece, and now I'm thinking Puzzle. He remains super cute and he sleeps on my magnet cleaner.

 

 

(He's less puzzle-like on that side.)

 

Good News #3: The Saddest Trumpet Coral ate! I've watched it in the dark and never seen feeder tentacles, so today I placed a mysis very carefully on its mouth. It definitely "absorbed" it. Maybe there's hope! (In this pic it's rotated so the head with the more distinct mouth is on the bottom, but I rotated it back after realizing I can't feed it from that angle if it's not grabbing food itself.)

 

 

Good News #4: My snail didn't die! He surfaced today during the mess I made of mysis feeding. Not sure what's up with him - it looks almost like he did lose the end of his snoot past the kinky part, and now perhaps is regrowing it? He looks hale and hearty and I gave him a shrimp. I haven't seen him in days.

 

 

Bad News: Edouard did die.  The body parts on the sandbed were him. I can't think what happened, unless his body just fell apart naturally. His shell's still in there as a tribute to him. I'd like to get another scarlet hermie or two. Maybe I can find them for less than $12 each next time.

[jesseatam]

Sorry about Edouard 

[Lula_Mae]

23 minutes ago, Madcat said:

Good News: Jeff ate! I squirted some mysis at him and he was like, "I know what that is!" I kept the shrimps coming and at one point he lunged for a particularly large morsel when the baby clown, on one of his hyperactive rounds of the tank, saw it and intercepted it. Then spat it out. Then sucked it up. Then spat it out again. Etc. All while poor Jeff watched sadly. lol

 

Good News #2: Obviously the baby is eating too, though that was the only mysis he ate (pretty sure he ended up eating most of it in the end). He started eating his little baby pellets yesterday. He's a good boy. I was debating names like Darwin, Newton, and Webster, but I sent a picture to my sister and she said he looks like a puzzle piece, and now I'm thinking Puzzle. He remains super cute and he sleeps on my magnet cleaner.

 

 

(He's less puzzle-like on that side.)

 

Good News #3: The Saddest Trumpet Coral ate! I've watched it in the dark and never seen feeder tentacles, so today I placed a mysis very carefully on its mouth. It definitely "absorbed" it. Maybe there's hope! (In this pic it's rotated so the head with the more distinct mouth is on the bottom, but I rotated it back after realizing I can't feed it from that angle if it's not grabbing food itself.)

 

 

Good News #4: My snail didn't die! He surfaced today during the mess I made of mysis feeding. Not sure what's up with him - it looks almost like he did lose the end of his snoot past the kinky part, and now perhaps is regrowing it? He looks hale and hearty and I gave him a shrimp. I haven't seen him in days.

 

 

Bad News: Edouard did die.  The body parts on the sandbed were him. I can't think what happened, unless his body just fell apart naturally. His shell's still in there as a tribute to him. I'd like to get another scarlet hermie or two. Maybe I can find them for less than $12 each next time.

Puzzle is a great name for him!  He's so cute!  And sorry about Edouard.  Everything else looks great!

[Madcat]

30 minutes ago, jesseatam said:

Sorry about Edouard 

Thanks. He was just a hermie but I liked the little dude.

 

18 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Puzzle is a great name for him!  He's so cute!  And sorry about Edouard.  Everything else looks great!

Thanks! That means a lot.

 

It seems like everything has been doing pretty well, so I haven't felt the need to rush out for test kits or supplements yet, but I'm starting to look into it. I figure alk and calcium are two tests I need on hand for my LPS. Is iodine a must-have? (So expensive!) Any particular supplements you guys would recommend if it seems like I need them? ...Anything that will make my corals grow faster? Patience is hard.

[Lula_Mae]

8 minutes ago, Madcat said:

Thanks. He was just a hermie but I liked the little dude.

 

Thanks! That means a lot.

 

It seems like everything has been doing pretty well, so I haven't felt the need to rush out for test kits or supplements yet, but I'm starting to look into it. I figure alk and calcium are two tests I need on hand for my LPS. Is iodine a must-have? (So expensive!) Any particular supplements you guys would recommend if it seems like I need them? ...Anything that will make my corals grow faster? Patience is hard.

For tests (I don't test but here's what I'd get if I did, and probably will eventually lol) I would just worry about alk, calcium, and magnesium, and I wouldn't rush to get them, just do weekly or biweekly water changes and buy them as you can afford them.  Get a quality brand like Salifert or I think Red Sea is another recommended brand, not cheap API.  Some also get a phosphorus kit and it seems you need a low-range kit as the standard (API? I think) kit doesn't go low enough.  Weetie started using Seachem's Reef Plus and I have tried it out and between that and live phytoplankton, my corals seem to like it!  Reef Plus has trace elements and such.  Mostly, though, you don't want to dose (e.g. a 2-part) if you're not testing for it because you don't want to create parameter swings.

 

And it's always a bummer to lose a creature, however humble.

[fishfreak0114]

The only tests I have are alk, calcium, and magnesium, all of which are Salifert.  I like how easy the instructions are to follow.  The clown is adorable, I'm glad that he ate!  And Jeff!  Sorry to hear about Edouard.

[TinyOcean]

Love the name Puzzle! And your thread always keeps me entertained with how you describe your animals. I can just picture them in my head with your descriptions and I just laugh. It's awesome! 

Also I am so very sorry about Eduardo but he knows he was loved. 

[Nomoreammo]

Where do you live in Ontario that a scarlet legged hermit crab costs $12?

 

They should be like $4 at most.

[Madcat]

On 8/17/2017 at 11:07 AM, Nomoreammo said:

Where do you live in Ontario that a scarlet legged hermit crab costs $12?

 

They should be like $4 at most.

GTA. I got Claudette and Edouard from Big Al's Mississauga.

 

On 8/16/2017 at 11:25 PM, TinyOcean said:

Love the name Puzzle! And your thread always keeps me entertained with how you describe your animals. I can just picture them in my head with your descriptions and I just laugh. It's awesome!  

Lol, thanks! My coworker said the same thing when I was telling her about Jeff last week, she was like, "Only you could give a fish so much personality."  You should hear me talk about my hamsters.

 

Thanks for the testing tips! "Buy them as you can afford them" sounds like real good advice to me, lol.

[Lula_Mae]

19 minutes ago, Madcat said:

GTA. I got Claudette and Edouard from Big Al's Mississauga.

 

Lol, thanks! My coworker said the same thing when I was telling her about Jeff last week, she was like, "Only you could give a fish so much personality."  You should hear me talk about my hamsters.

 

Thanks for the testing tips! "Buy them as you can afford them" sounds like real good advice to me, lol.

Lol I don't believe in going into debt for a hobby! Now about those hamsters...I think you should share pics! 

[Madcat]

6 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Lol I don't believe in going into debt for a hobby! Now about those hamsters...I think you should share pics! 

My hamsters are so sex, you wouldn't believe how sex my hamsters are. Are you ready for this?? Meet Peanut Butter and Anchovy:

 

 

 I'll try to find pictures of them looking like semi-normal animals after work.

[Nomoreammo]

1 hour ago, Madcat said:

GTA. I got Claudette and Edouard from Big Al's Mississauga.

 

Yikes. I can't believe they're charging $12 per hermit. 

[TinyOcean]

3 hours ago, Nomoreammo said:

 

Yikes. I can't believe they're charging $12 per hermit. 

Awww man and I was hoping big Al's in Barrie would be cheaper than my lfs in Sudbury. The prices are stupid. What are the coral prices like Madcat?

[Lula_Mae]

4 hours ago, Madcat said:

My hamsters are so sex, you wouldn't believe how sex my hamsters are. Are you ready for this?? Meet Peanut Butter and Anchovy:

 

 

 I'll try to find pictures of them looking like semi-normal animals after work.

Looks like semi normal hamsters to me!  Are they Syrians?  Wondering cause I've almost never heard of them getting along beyond sexual maturity, and would be neat if yours do!  Also, Peanut Butter and Anchovy! Great names!

[Madcat]

3 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Looks like semi normal hamsters to me!  Are they Syrians?  Wondering cause I've almost never heard of them getting along beyond sexual maturity, and would be neat if yours do!  Also, Peanut Butter and Anchovy! Great names!

Thanks!  And gosh no, they're Campbell's hamsters and (I assume) littermates. (Look at that pic, how could two such dorks not be related?) Syrians should never be co-housed past maturity. It's only recommended to co-house Phodopus (dwarf) hamsters from the same litter, and even then with caution. I think Peanut Butter and Anchovy get a lot of enrichment from each other. But I take a lot of precautions: they live in my bedroom where I can hear if they kick off in the night; they live in a 40 gallon long tank where they have plenty of space; they have two wheels and a food dish big enough for both of them to sit and move around in (very important); all their hides and furniture either have multiple entrances, or one entrance big enough for them to pass side by side. Simple things like bottlenecks can cause fights with some hamsters; also, if a fight starts, you don't want one hamster to be able to corner the other. Cohabbing my hams is not something I take lightly! I put a lot of thought into it.

 

These two are very passive and get along well. Occasionally I will hear Anchovy cry and find Peanut Butter sitting on him. That's the worst they've done to each other.  Still, I keep a spare tank on hand just in case. You never know!

 

This is my favourite picture of Anchovy (aka Hamchovy, aka fatty bean). He's so cute he looks like a cartoon character with a handlebar mustache.

 

 

Anchovy most likes to sleep on his side with his face plastered to the wall. This was an instance of rare dignity:

 

 

Peanut Butter is very difficult to photograph. He's like Bigfoot. He's my good squishy boy who likes to climb up on his hide closest to my bed for attention, then sprawl out and wrap his little mitten paws around the edge of my hand when I pick him up. He's a clingfish!

 

 

(Anchovy photobomb in the corner, lol.)

 

I also have Tinker, who hates me, probably because I named him Tinker. Truly, he wishes a fiery death upon me. I have to handle him with mini-gloves because otherwise he'd take my fingers off. He has one eye, the other one was surgically removed due to him having glaucoma. He's blind in the remaining eye. He also has a big internal mass. His vet was surprised in June that it hadn't affected him much yet. He's on pain meds now, but he continues to tear around his tank, climb his furniture, base jump off it, maul Milkbones, and generally be a lunatic. Really he could go any day, but we've been saying that for at least a month now, so... Here's the cranky old man ham:

 

 

I love my Tinkers. I kiss him on his little soft head every day. And every day he smacks me in the face furiously with his paws.  Hamsters are great.

[Lula_Mae]

2 hours ago, Madcat said:

Thanks!  And gosh no, they're Campbell's hamsters and (I assume) littermates. (Look at that pic, how could two such dorks not be related?) Syrians should never be co-housed past maturity. It's only recommended to co-house Phodopus (dwarf) hamsters from the same litter, and even then with caution. I think Peanut Butter and Anchovy get a lot of enrichment from each other. But I take a lot of precautions: they live in my bedroom where I can hear if they kick off in the night; they live in a 40 gallon long tank where they have plenty of space; they have two wheels and a food dish big enough for both of them to sit and move around in (very important); all their hides and furniture either have multiple entrances, or one entrance big enough for them to pass side by side. Simple things like bottlenecks can cause fights with some hamsters; also, if a fight starts, you don't want one hamster to be able to corner the other. Cohabbing my hams is not something I take lightly! I put a lot of thought into it.

 

These two are very passive and get along well. Occasionally I will hear Anchovy cry and find Peanut Butter sitting on him. That's the worst they've done to each other.  Still, I keep a spare tank on hand just in case. You never know!

 

This is my favourite picture of Anchovy (aka Hamchovy, aka fatty bean). He's so cute he looks like a cartoon character with a handlebar mustache.

 

 

Anchovy most likes to sleep on his side with his face plastered to the wall. This was an instance of rare dignity:

 

 

Peanut Butter is very difficult to photograph. He's like Bigfoot. He's my good squishy boy who likes to climb up on his hide closest to my bed for attention, then sprawl out and wrap his little mitten paws around the edge of my hand when I pick him up. He's a clingfish!

 

 

(Anchovy photobomb in the corner, lol.)

 

I also have Tinker, who hates me, probably because I named him Tinker. Truly, he wishes a fiery death upon me. I have to handle him with mini-gloves because otherwise he'd take my fingers off. He has one eye, the other one was surgically removed due to him having glaucoma. He's blind in the remaining eye. He also has a big internal mass. His vet was surprised in June that it hadn't affected him much yet. He's on pain meds now, but he continues to tear around his tank, climb his furniture, base jump off it, maul Milkbones, and generally be a lunatic. Really he could go any day, but we've been saying that for at least a month now, so... Here's the cranky old man ham:

 

 

I love my Tinkers. I kiss him on his little soft head every day. And every day he smacks me in the face furiously with his paws.  Hamsters are great.

I love your description of the hammies!  I'd only ever heard one instance of Syrians being housed together but have never really seen such colorful hams down here so I wondered!  I'd love another hammie (or a mouse, mice are great too) but the cage I use is a big storage tub I modified and right now it's Violet's home (the hedgehog).  I could still get a little male mouse as I've got an empty cage waiting for a resident and they need far less space than hammies do.  Used to have two mice and a pretty Syrian girl.  Ah, I miss my little rodents!

[Madcat]

11 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

I love your description of the hammies!  I'd only ever heard one instance of Syrians being housed together but have never really seen such colorful hams down here so I wondered!  I'd love another hammie (or a mouse, mice are great too) but the cage I use is a big storage tub I modified and right now it's Violet's home (the hedgehog).  I could still get a little male mouse as I've got an empty cage waiting for a resident and they need far less space than hammies do.  Used to have two mice and a pretty Syrian girl.  Ah, I miss my little rodents!

I love rodents. Rats are dearest to me, but I love all small critters. Can't have rats right now so I just spoil the heck out of my hams.

 

18 hours ago, TinyOcean said:

Awww man and I was hoping big Al's in Barrie would be cheaper than my lfs in Sudbury. The prices are stupid. What are the coral prices like Madcat?

I find they vary. Like I paid $25 for my Frost Berry blasto frag at Canada Corals, and saw very similar sized frags for $15 at BA the next week (that's when I bought my red blasto, which was $20). The Euphyllias are usually $25. Duncans are about $7-8 per head. Then they have some real ugly zoa colonies for like $60. So, some are a good deal, and others seem way overpriced. I mostly look at the cheaper smaller stuff so can't recall everything else.

[TinyOcean]

1 hour ago, Madcat said:

I love rodents. Rats are dearest to me, but I love all small critters. Can't have rats right now so I just spoil the heck out of my hams.

 

I find they vary. Like I paid $25 for my Frost Berry blasto frag at Canada Corals, and saw very similar sized frags for $15 at BA the next week (that's when I bought my red blasto, which was $20). The Euphyllias are usually $25. Duncans are about $7-8 per head. Then they have some real ugly zoa colonies for like $60. So, some are a good deal, and others seem way overpriced. I mostly look at the cheaper smaller stuff so can't recall everything else.

Omg! I paid like way more than that for some of my corals. Good thing I have to drive through barrie next week haha so definitely stopping in at BA.

[Madcat]

8 hours ago, TinyOcean said:

Omg! I paid like way more than that for some of my corals. Good thing I have to drive through barrie next week haha so definitely stopping in at BA.

It's definitely worth a visit in Mississauga. Never been to the Barrie location so can't speak for them. You can get quite a bit of variation between stores.

 

Baby Puzzle is becoming quite the piglet! It took a few days, but now he gobbles ALL the pellets. Sometimes I see Jeff poking his head out and eyeing them if Puzzle scoots away for a minute, and he's darted up toward the pellets a couple times, but I've never seen him make it all the way to the surface. It would be nice if he started eating surface pellets; I'm still having little luck with him otherwise. I'll give him some more mysis tomorrow before my water change. I suspect he's eating algae of some kind, A. because I've seen him pecking at my rocks, and B. because he could poop for the Olympics, both in size and quantity. Like... this fish never stops pooping.

 

Speaking of, my rocks are turning greenish/brownish on top. I took a toothbrush to them and it didn't do much. Normal, I hope/assume?

Also, I came home from work yesterday to discover a mass diatom invasion... yuck... ugly tank is ugly. It cleared up real fast last time... fingers crossed it does this time.

 

So I really cannot get a clear picture of this tiny thing, but it's new and it's on the torch coral my coworker gave me, and it LOOKS like the world's itty bittiest torch head, but I didn't think that was where new torch heads appeared...

 

 

It's not a feather duster or anything. It has little rounded nubbies. Wish I could get a clearer pic!

[jesseatam]

The growth on the torch could be a type of anemone maybe, look up majano anemones and aiptasia to compare pics.

[Madcat]

11 hours ago, jesseatam said:

The growth on the torch could be a type of anemone maybe, look up majano anemones and aiptasia to compare pics.

I definitely don't think it's aiptasia. I'm gonna keep an eye on it... maybe it's friendly.

 

Today was mysis day! Everyone was so happy. Especially Jeff!

 

 

Except when Puzzle would sit in front of the pipette with his mouth open and steal Jeff's shrimps. That clown is a smart cookie.

 

Cuteys:

 

 

Jeff looked maybe a little bloated afterward? I tried not to feed him too much. (He also took TWO dumps right after eating. This guy...) Anyway, does this look normal?

 

 

Both snails came out during mysis time, including Kinky Snoot, who I hadn't seen since last mysis day. While they were feeding, the paler snail came over and suddenly shoved Kinky Snoot over! He also jammed his, uh... "feeding tube" into Kinky Snoot. When he disengaged and crawled away, Kinky Snoot just lay on his side for awhile. Then he got up and slunk away. Maybe that's how his snoot got kinked and/or broken off - he got assaulted.

 

 

Poor Kinky.  (On the right. You can see Pale Snail's weird tube weapon. Also, poor ugly tank.)

 

The Saddest Trumpet ate again today, and in fact, I carefully placed a small piece of mysis on the second head, since it DOES have a mouth, even if the head itself is misshapen. I can't tell you how, but it ate the shrimp. I'm so curious as to what this coral might look like if it recovers. It's such a weird-looking little thing, I can't picture it being normal.