Pjanssen Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Yep! Love the history review and those curly q gorgonians-definitely want to find some of those. Glad to see your fire fish finally eating and settling in. This tank would for sure have been a contender in the 100 days contest! Lilly is so pretty. Do you have to brush her daily? 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Just went on Archetype Aquariums and they are sold out of all of their wire corals. 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 On 9/29/2017 at 11:21 PM, OldManSea said: Fascinating to see the illustrated history! Thank you! It was fun to take a walk down memory lane! 18 hours ago, gena said: Oh my gosh, how fun to see all of your tanks again . I absolutely love them all but the seahorse tank is my favorite. I just love those curly-q "gorgonians" . Next week at this time we'll be at RAP Thank you, Gena! Glad you enjoyed the photo history! I loved the seahorse tank, but looking back on it, it kind of looks like a hot mess to me. I've never been good with cubes. I feel like I did a much better job scaping and arranging the corals in the 40B. The predator tank was hands down my favorite and I think the 30 gallon Diver's Paradise may be my second favorite. So excited for RAP! I wonder who else from N-R is going? 15 hours ago, Lula_Mae said: Me too, I don't even know what they are called, but the spiral curly-q ones are so cool! 8 hours ago, Thunder Goose said: Those are Cirrhipathes aka wire corals. I've only seen them for sale at Archetype Aquariums. They are on my wish list! How'd they do for you, Dr. F? 7 hours ago, Pjanssen said: Just went on Archetype Aquariums and they are sold out of all of their wire corals. They're Cirripathes spiralis, or wire corals. They're in the black coral family and non-photosynthetic. They're one of those uncommon corals that there isn't a ton of care information about. They show up for sale every once in a while. It seems like they come in spurts. You'll find a bunch for a while and then you won't be able to find any for a while. After keeping them, I honestly wouldn't recommend them unless you're an expert at non-photosynthetic corals. They're one of those things like yellow and reg finger gorgonians that seem to be doing great for a while and then very slowly start to not do well and waste away. I lost a couple and had a few that were still hanging in there when I took the seahorse tank down, but they were definitely struggling. Eddie (Zia) got several as well and had the same issues. I know some people are successful with NPS corals, but I think it works best if you have a devoted tank that gets fed a TON and has a ton of filtration and huge water changes. Personally, I avoid NPS corals now, especially in small tanks where a ton of feeding just leads to water quality and algae issues. The spiral wires are super cool and pretty, but I think they're best left in the ocean, honestly. 7 hours ago, Pjanssen said: Yep! Love the history review and those curly q gorgonians-definitely want to find some of those. Glad to see your fire fish finally eating and settling in. This tank would for sure have been a contender in the 100 days contest! Lilly is so pretty. Do you have to brush her daily? Thank you! Yeah the firefish seemed to suddenly decide she is good to go. Weirdly, it seems like the addition of the clownfish sparked her deciding to stop being so shy. She seems to like the clownfish and wants to hang out with them. I really should brush Lily at least once a week just to help remove some of her excess hair, but she hates being brushed. She prefers to do all her own grooming. Its funny because she lets me trim her nails, clean the sleep from her eyes, and clean her ears without any major complaints but she hates being brushed. Luckily she does not mat at all even though she's long haired. Her hair is like the texture of baby bird down. Its so fluffy but doesn't get into mats or tangles. I am trying to brush her more though because she has hairball issues from swallowing so much hair. I'm working on convincing her to let me brush off some of the shedding hair instead of her licking it all off. 4 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 I'm glad you mentioned that the spiral corals are difficult, because I was dead set on spending a couple hundred dollars on a few based on Archetype Aquariums description! "Spiral corals are fairly easy to care for with a proper diet. They're carnivorous by nature and will thrive on a meaty diet of small mysis, brine, rotifers and cyclop-eeze." "Care Level: Easy""Diet: Carnivorous" Now I'm glad that they were/are out of stock 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 8 hours ago, Pjanssen said: I'm glad you mentioned that the spiral corals are difficult, because I was dead set on spending a couple hundred dollars on a few based on Archetype Aquariums description! "Spiral corals are fairly easy to care for with a proper diet. They're carnivorous by nature and will thrive on a meaty diet of small mysis, brine, rotifers and cyclop-eeze." "Care Level: Easy""Diet: Carnivorous" Now I'm glad that they were/are out of stock Yeah, I spent quite a bit of money collecting several of those before I realized that they were difficult to keep. I am sure its doable, but I wouldn't call any NPS coral "easy". Doing enough feeding to maintain NPS corals in an aquarium system is a bit of a feat considering the amount of waste. Some people do it well, but I definitely put NPS corals in the difficult/advanced category in terms of care. I think there isn't a lot of good care information on the wire corals available because they're not super common in the hobby. Its too bad they aren't photosynthetic because they are super cool. They're like bright Dr. Seuss corals. I got my weeping willow toadstool leather from Legendary Corals yesterday. I was able to meet them at my LFS to pick up the toadstool, which was nice. Its super healthy and opened up immediately and has some awesome long polyps. Its not as green looking as in their photos, but that could have to do with my white lighting or just adjusting to the different lighting. Its mostly brown now, but I can see hints of green in the polyps, so I have a feeling once it adjusts to my lights that it will take on a more green color. Its super cool either way! I also got a long polyp toadstool from Pacific East Aquaculture. They're both different a super cool. I'm liking having a variety of different toadstools. The long polyp ones add so much nice movement to the tank. In other exciting news, KP Aquatics announced this morning that they are back open for business! I jumped right on that announcement and placed an order. They're out of stock of a lot of things at the moment and trying to restock, but in good news, they had the things I wanted in stock. Here's what I ordered: 3 Orange Ricordea Rainbow Ricordea Green and Purple Ricordea Fluorescent Green Ricordea Knobby Sea Rod (nano size) Purple Sea Rod (nano size) Yellow Sea Whip (nano size) Pederson Anemone Shrimp I can't wait to get this order! I'm always impressed with orders from KPA. 9 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Excellant choices Felicia. I can't wait to see your tank when your order comes in from KPA! You're not wasting any time filling that cute little tank of yours up. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 9 hours ago, vlangel said: Excellant choices Felicia. I can't wait to see your tank when your order comes in from KPA! You're not wasting any time filling that cute little tank of yours up. Thank you, Dawn! Yeah, I knew exactly what I wanted to put in this tank, which is making stocking it go super quickly. At this point I know what I like! I'm hosting the Official Nano-Reefs Creative Containers Contest! Check it out! Everyone should enter! It will be a lot of fun and its low cost since you just need a container (3 gallons or less) and some very low tech equipment that you may have on hand already. We also have some amazing prizes provided by our generous sponsors! I'm excited to see everyone get their builds started! 5 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 6 hours ago, Felicia said: I'm hosting the Official Nano-Reefs Creative Containers Contest! Check it out! Everyone should enter! It will be a lot of fun and its low cost since you just need a container (3 gallons or less) and some very low tech equipment that you may have on hand already. We also have some amazing prizes provided by our generous sponsors! I'm excited to see everyone get their builds started! I. Just. Can't.! 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 17 hours ago, Pjanssen said: I. Just. Can't.! Sure you can! You kicked butt in the last contest! 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 I miss my lionfish, so.... .... .... .... .... .... Also, here's a fun photo of the porcelain crab from last night. He's found a spot under a rock overhang where he likes to chill. 5 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Softeies, Gorgs, Rics, Crabs, Shrimp...perfect! My Pederson's is a month over 1 year in my tank...which is getting old for these little guys. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 11 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said: Softeies, Gorgs, Rics, Crabs, Shrimp...perfect! My Pederson's is a month over 1 year in my tank...which is getting old for these little guys. All the things I love! Glad you like the combo! I'm glad to hear your Pederson's shrimp is doing well. I've always wanted to get one. I'm hoping this one will do well for me and will hang out on the ricordea garden I am creating. I'm hoping he will get along with the skunk cleaner shrimp since they should end up establishing two separate territories. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Just now, Felicia said: All the things I love! Glad you like the combo! I'm glad to hear your Pederson's shrimp is doing well. I've always wanted to get one. I'm hoping this one will do well for me and will hang out on the ricordea garden I am creating. I'm hoping he will get along with the skunk cleaner shrimp since they should end up establishing two separate territories. Hmmm, your Pedersons might visit the Rics, but none of mine ever established territories in my Ric garden (they preferred to hang out with the stony corals and LR). Contrary to the Pedersons, my Venus Anemone Shrimp would only hang out in the Rics. These are great, too, but I've found them not as long lived as the Pedersons, unfortunately, averaging ~6 months or so. For any of these shrimp, I'd suggest feeding a minimum of 2x/day as they seem to metabolize the food rather quickly and females turn much of it into near continuous egg production. 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Nano sapiens said: Hmmm, your Pedersons might visit the Rics, but none of mine ever established territories in my Ric garden (they preferred to hang out with the stony corals and LR). Contrary to the Pedersons, my Venus Anemone Shrimp would only hang out in the Rics. These are great, too, but I've found them not as long lived as the Pedersons, unfortunately, averaging ~6 months or so. For any of these shrimp, I'd suggest feeding a minimum of 2x/day as they seem to metabolize the food rather quickly and females turn much of it into near continuous egg production. Well the Pedersons is welcome to live wherever he'd like as long as he doesn't get into the scarlet cleaner shrimp's territory, which is under the rock arch. I'll be interested to see where it picks to hang out. The porcelain anemone crab should also in theory hang out in ricordea, but so far he hasn't shown any interest and just hangs out on his rock overhang. My goal is to get a bunch of small, compatible invertebrates in this tank. I've got my eye out for a pom pom crab and small serpent starfish right now. Good advice about the feeding. I'll start throwing in a pinch of food in the mornings before work once I get the Pedersons shrimp. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Awwww...what a cute lionfish . 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 7 minutes ago, gena said: Awwww...what a cute lionfish . Yep, he's cute and fluffy and can't sting anyone. 3 Quote Link to comment
Sharbuckle Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Great choices for your coral order. Seems like you guys have a way better selection of gorgonian to choose from. Rarely find any variety in the great white north. Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Just now, Sharbuckle said: Great choices for your coral order. Seems like you guys have a way better selection of gorgonian to choose from. Rarely find any variety in the great white north. Thank you! Yeah, the photosynthetic gorgonians that are easy to keep in aquariums predominantly collected from the Caribbean. I don't see them come into local stores very often. The best way to get them seems to be to order them from collectors in Florida. There has been some success with aquaculturing them, but there seem to be limited suppliers. Pacific East Aquaculture has some of the photosynthetic gorgonians. Coral Morphologic used to be the main supplier and my LFS used to get some from them periodically, but they got out of coral aquaculture and are now focusing on reef videos and art or something like that. They're easy to aquaculture, so I really wish people focused more on aquaculturing them and making them more widely available. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 OMG that cat is beautiful! Nice corals and clowns too lol Also, what is that sponge-like thing wrapped around your wavemaker? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 10 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said: OMG that cat is beautiful! Nice corals and clowns too lol Also, what is that sponge-like thing wrapped around your wavemaker? Thank you! And Lily (the cat) says thank you as well. She has a tendency to outshine the tank which is totally ok, because she's adorable. I'm not sure what you're referring to in terms of the "sponge like thing". The pump in the back left corner of the tank is an MP10, but it does not have the foam guard on it or anything. The return nozzle in the front right corner of the tank has the Innovative Marine Spin Steam nozzle attached to the outlet with an adapter sleeve. That nozzle is for creating random flow from the return. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 9 minutes ago, Felicia said: Thank you! And Lily (the cat) says thank you as well. She has a tendency to outshine the tank which is totally ok, because she's adorable. I'm not sure what you're referring to in terms of the "sponge like thing". The pump in the back left corner of the tank is an MP10, but it does not have the foam guard on it or anything. The return nozzle in the front right corner of the tank has the Innovative Marine Spin Steam nozzle attached to the outlet with an adapter sleeve. That nozzle is for creating random flow from the return. I think I was referring to the “foam guard”; in one of your older tanks. Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 6 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said: I think I was referring to the “foam guard”; in one of your older tanks. Oh, yeah there is a foam guard you can put on the MP10 if needed. I had it on the MP10 that was in my seahorse tank because I was worried about them hitching to the MP10 and injuring their tails. Generally you only need to use the foam guard if you have tiny fish or tiny shrimp that can get sucked into the MP10. Quote Link to comment
Lisa166 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Love those coral choices! I'm looking atn making a ric garden. Are they hard to keep? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 13 minutes ago, Lisa166 said: Love those coral choices! I'm looking atn making a ric garden. Are they hard to keep? Thank you! Ricordea are very easy to keep and a great "beginner" coral. They're corallimorphs, which is the same order of corals/anemones as the rhodactis and discosoma mushrooms. So basically they have about the same care requirements as the mushroom corals, which are soft corals and considered very easy to keep. There are two types of ricordea: ricordea Florida and ricordea Yuma. Both have pretty much the same care requirements. They can do fine in low lighting, but will have brighter colors in more moderate lighting. They don't need super intense lighting though, and they're generally placed down at the bottom of the tank. They also like lower to moderate flow. https://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/Articles_Product_Care.asp?idNews=8 My plan for this tank is to keep only super easy corals. So if you like anything I have or add, go for it because it'll be easy to keep! 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 14 hours ago, Felicia said: All the things I love! Glad you like the combo! I'm glad to hear your Pederson's shrimp is doing well. I've always wanted to get one. I'm hoping this one will do well for me and will hang out on the ricordea garden I am creating. I'm hoping he will get along with the skunk cleaner shrimp since they should end up establishing two separate territories. My Pederson's is my favorite thing in the tank right now. Your stocking plans sound a lot like what I'm contemplating for when I get the 15L set up! 12 hours ago, Felicia said: Yep, he's cute and fluffy and can't sting anyone. the lionfish! Funny, my hedgie plushies are a lot softer than Violet's quills too! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
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