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Fusion 20...March Update


TatorTaco

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7 hours ago, TatorTaco said:

Do yours occupy barnacles or just any hidey-hole they can find?  Do they share the same spot? Do they alternate their spots, or find one place and stay there? 

 

What has your experience been with barnacle blennies so far? 

For the first couple of months they tried out a bunch of different spots.  They spent some time in the barnacles, but also tried a bunch of holes in the rocks.  They actually spent a lot of time perching random places, not even in hiding, but their camouflage is so good they're almost harder to find when they're out in the open lol. 

 

Once they paired up, one of them (I think the male - I haven't found much about their mating behavior)  went through a color change and is now much darker than the other.  He now basically occupies one barnacle 24/7, and tends eggs when they're there.  The other one mostly perches on a rock during the day, and spends the nights in a connected barnacle.  She's got a couple of favorite spots, but every once in a while I'll find her on the opposite side of the tank.  

 

They settled in pretty quickly, and ate pretty much anything right from the start.  I'd definitely recommend frequent small feedings - these guys are always hungry.  Really the most fun part about them is how food hits the water and suddenly you've got tiny rockets flying all over the tank.   

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Thanks @sublunary!  I don't have an autofeeder, so I've only fed once a day.  I'll start googling good brands and try to get one ordered soon.  Feel free to recommend one.  In the meantime, I'll feed before and after work.  

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On 1/7/2021 at 1:05 PM, TatorTaco said:

Thanks @sublunary!  I don't have an autofeeder, so I've only fed once a day.  I'll start googling good brands and try to get one ordered soon.  Feel free to recommend one.  In the meantime, I'll feed before and after work.  

I don't actually use an autofeeder. I tend to flick a couple of pellets in whenever I'm around the tank.  Sometimes that's before and after work, sometimes it's more during the day if I'm home.  They aren't like anthias that need the multiple feedings every single day.  They just appreciate food a lot lol

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  • TatorTaco changed the title to Fusion 20... Videos of Barnacle Blennies' Feeding Response.

It’s soooooo fun watching them feed! Like, I look forward to feeding them while I’m still at work. It reminds me of firework accident videos where fireworks are going off haphazardly and everyone is frantically running around. 
 

Parents can relate: you know how you buy your kids (or cats) the most amazing present and they spend more time with the packaging boxes than the actual present? That’s how I feel about the barnacles in the QT tank. I’ve already put the barnacles in the tank and I’m just convinced they won’t be used. 

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I'm still trying to figure out how to work Youtube.  Below is a slow-mo video I tried to take last night. Again, make sure you bump up the video quality since they're itty bitty fish. 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got a notification that I set up on my phone that today is this tank's SECOND BIRTHDAY!  

 

giphy.gif

 

 

Lots of lessons learned with this tank, and I look forward to many more to come.  If I could go back and change anything from this tank, it'd be the aquascape - I have too much rock and I'm running out of space for new frags.  

 

Yesterday the clownfish nipped me for the first time when I got too close to their torch coral.  Jerk.  

 

All 6 barnacle blennies are accounted for.  I can't wait to get them in the tank, but I have no clue how I'm going to do it.  Their natural instinct is to hide, and I'm not sure how to get them out of the rocks they inhabit in the QT tank to move them to the DT.  I get the feeling this is going to be a nightmare.

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So, I'm not detail oriented.  White specs appeared on the glass and I just assumed it was pods.  Upon further review, it appears I've introduced hydroids to the QT tank?  Any idea how this will affect me moving the barnacle blennies to the display tank? 

closer.png

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  • TatorTaco changed the title to Fusion 20...Nothing Special

Fish Update:  I made sure to feed twice a day, never saw any aggression from each other or other fish, and have a tight fitting lid.  Still, I don't think any of the barnacle blennies are still alive.  That's a $200 setback and I was super excited to have them.  So, I'm back to having the 2 clownfish that host my torch coral in the back of the tank and my YWG that whores itself between two different pistol shrimp.  My tank definitely needs a bit more activity.  I once had a tailspot blenny that was quite fun.  Maybe I'll do that again?  Or, an open water swimmer like a possum wrasse?  Planaria worms are such an eyesore (to me) in the tank. I wish I could find a yellow corris wrasse to help with that. I'm concerned once I get a fish, it won't touch the worms or it'll be a gigantic PIA to remove. 

 

Coral Update:  I've written SPS off in my tank.  Maybe I'll try again with a different tank, but I've lost all interest in them due to my lack of success.  The frags that I didn't kill off were traded in to my LFS for credit.  A couple are still in my tank and I just can't be bothered to mess with them.  I miss the movement and ease I had with softies and LPS.  I purchased about a dozen zoa frags online and I'm excited to watch those spread as time goes on.  I had a duncan coral that hasn't opened well for me for a really long time.  I ended up pulling out a powerhead since I didn't think I needed the extra flow and it turns out, my duncan coral was just getting too much flow.  That's a fun "win" to have.  I'm thinking about moving/removing my gorgonian on the left side of the tank and putting a neon green sinularia in it's place.  Thoughts? I'll try to get an updated FTS soon.  

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  • TatorTaco changed the title to Fusion 20...March Update
  • 5 months later...
On 8/15/2021 at 8:59 PM, mipster said:

I am in love with your cabbage leather.... I need one... And I say this after I just spent too much money coral shopping lol 🤣

It's a great coral and easy to care for.  Mine is a pastel/pink but I saw a neon green variant a few weeks ago and it was equally pretty. 

 

 

On 8/11/2021 at 7:13 PM, gena said:

Need an update!!!!  😊

I know I'm due for an update.  When I look back to see at how great the tank was doing compared to now, it makes me so sad - everything has gone downhill and it's nowhere close to it's former glory. Since I'm starting up a bigger tank, maybe I should take this one down and just move the corals that I like the most over - it'd make sense and save me a ton of money on lighting. Maybe I could turn the 20 into a QT tank?  

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4 hours ago, TatorTaco said:

 

 

 

I know I'm due for an update.  When I look back to see at how great the tank was doing compared to now, it makes me so sad - everything has gone downhill and it's nowhere close to it's former glory. Since I'm starting up a bigger tank, maybe I should take this one down and just move the corals that I like the most over - it'd make sense and save me a ton of money on lighting. Maybe I could turn the 20 into a QT tank?  

Personally I would just move everything over. But I like just having one tank to fuss over. I'd hang onto the tank though, if you have room to store it.  You never know what it could become one day.  And you might regret getting rid of it.  I'm not getting rid of anything anymore LOL.  

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13 hours ago, gena said:

Personally I would just move everything over. But I like just having one tank to fuss over. I'd hang onto the tank though, if you have room to store it.  You never know what it could become one day.  And you might regret getting rid of it.  I'm not getting rid of anything anymore LOL.  

This makes a lot of sense, but how would I handle my aquascaping in the new tank?  From a planning perspective, I'm not sure how I'd start that process - do I frag/break as much stuff as possible in the Nuvo 20 and move it to the sandbed in the Reefer to acclimate?  Do I do it all in 1 or 2 days, or over the course of a few weeks?  I don't plan to to start cycling the Reefer until today or tomorrow using Dr. Tim's stuff. 

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1 hour ago, TatorTaco said:

This makes a lot of sense, but how would I handle my aquascaping in the new tank?  From a planning perspective, I'm not sure how I'd start that process - do I frag/break as much stuff as possible in the Nuvo 20 and move it to the sandbed in the Reefer to acclimate?  Do I do it all in 1 or 2 days, or over the course of a few weeks?  I don't plan to to start cycling the Reefer until today or tomorrow using Dr. Tim's stuff. 

That's what I've done.  Just take a hammer and chisel (or screwdriver...shhhh...don't tell anyone LOL), and starting breaking the rock until the pieces fit.  Wait until the new tank is cycled and then start hammering away and moving stuff over.

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I just used the same rocks, fill the new tank up, plan to put the old rocks and coral into its' new scape, guesstimate where I can toss the old rock, and then move everything over same-day.

If you want to just move the corals over, yeah you can just frag them and treat them as you would any new frag.

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