Snow's 60G Secret Predatory Sanctum 🐲🐉 - Shutting Down

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some quick shots of Tic, my zebra barred dartfish today:

 

 

 

 

 

He's actually an amazing fish. Very pretty, too. Currently the 2nd largest fish in my reef (~6"), after Thanos. 🤗

 

Bella eating pellets today:

 

 

Poseidon on the hunt:

 

 

 

 

Eating pellets:

 

A vid taken during a feeding session today - quality isn't too good though: 😅

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

And this is what BJD does to corals: 😭

 

 

I cleaned out the skeletons thoroughly with a lot of warm water. Then I put them in the fuge - they'll be in here permanently from now on:

 

 

R.I.P. corals. 😭

 

This was how they looked like at their best:

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

On a lighter note, I found Spyder wandering over the filter floss area of the sump. Relocated him to the fuge using a brine shrimp net - he actually covered himself in more macro, or more specifically, my dragon's breath:

 

 

 

I think the red color suits him. 😊👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Thanos taking refuge under the pearl bubble today:

 

 

I had to tinker around with my light settings today. Increased the UVs and blues a *bit, but put it in acclimation mode. My cup coral was very unhappy with the changes. 

 

If it remains closed up for the next few days, I'll scale back to the original settings I've been using (Saxby with extra whites) for over a year. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Update #1:

 

Topview of Spyder resting on a bed of macro:

 

 

 

 

A closer look:

 

 

 

 

Dude really needs to stop decorating himself with cyano. I don't need *that algae to be propagated throughout my sump! 🙄

 

A different angle:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Update #2:

 

Miko being as cute as ever:

 

 

Parent red devil shroom stretching for light. Once the new light comes in, hopefully all the shrooms will be content:

 

 

A different type of decorator in my reef: 😂

 

[ECLS Reefer]

4 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Update #2:

 

Miko being as cute as ever:

 

 

Parent red devil shroom stretching for light. Once the new light comes in, hopefully all the shrooms will be content:

 

 

A different type of decorator in my reef: 😂

 

but the Cyano gives him such a pleasing red color 😂

[WV Reefer]

12 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Update #1:

 

Topview of Spyder resting on a bed of macro:

 

 

 

 

A closer look:

 

 

 

 

Dude really needs to stop decorating himself with cyano. I don't need *that algae to be propagated throughout my sump! 🙄

 

A different angle:

 

Those close ups are great. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

34 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

but the Cyano gives him such a pleasing red color 😂

Noooo, don't encourage him!

25 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Those close ups are great. 

Thanks! 😊

[WV Reefer]

3 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Noooo, don't encourage him!

 

 

iT’s CaLlEd fAShUn SwEeTiE

[Snow_Phoenix]

Race you to the finish! 😂 :

 

 

Om nom nom nom: 😋

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Tic turned one in my reef yesterday. Can't believe I missed it, but...happy belated birthday, Tic! 😊 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

🥰

[Snow_Phoenix]

Thanos on the lookout for trouble:

 

 

[A.m.P]

Dragon's breath looks great, but I wish it were really possible to keep it in one place for any length of time. It's turned into a tumbleweed carpet in my main tank, doesn't seem to bother any of the LPS (my blasto has literally flopped open around and engulfed pieces) but it gets caught under rocks lol.

[Snow_Phoenix]

56 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

Dragon's breath looks great, but I wish it were really possible to keep it in one place for any length of time. It's turned into a tumbleweed carpet in my main tank, doesn't seem to bother any of the LPS (my blasto has literally flopped open around and engulfed pieces) but it gets caught under rocks lol.

Mine grows in a small clump, but I agree about the 'tumbleweed' effect. It doesn't seem to be attached to anything. And now that I have a decorator crab who fancies anything red-colored on the loose, it's pretty much free game. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Update #1: Poseidon. 😊

 

'Does this make my butt look fat?' 😅

 

 

^Why angles matter when taking a pic. 😊

 

Having a secret meeting with Bella: 😮

 

 

The 'butterfly' reflection: 🥰🦋

 

 

 

I'm not sure if he can get any 'longer' than this. He seems to be maxed out at 3". But he has grown chunkier. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Update #2: Thanos.

 

The Big Guy lounging on the rocks:

 

 

I have no idea how he manages to put up with the smaller fish in the tank: 😅

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Update #3: The Hunters.

 

After setting aside their initial differences and frequent posturings at one another, these two now follow each other around the tank and hunt for pods together: 😊

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still not too pleased over Illaron's weight. From a sideview, he looks okay (no lateral lines to be seen), but from a topview, he's not as fat as he could be. ☹

 

Bella is still okay, but she has proven to be a more aggressive eater than Illaron. And she seems to be adapting very well to prepared food. With Illaron, it's a 50/50. He still prefers frozen pods over pellets, and I can't really blame him since he *is a dragonet and that's his staple. Hmm. 🤔

[debbeach13]

I am amazed at how well feed most of your dragonets look. You certainly try to give them a well balanced diet.

[ECLS Reefer]

Did you ever try that nyos gold pod stuff? I’ve started using that, frozen cyclops, frozen brine and the nyos brine too in a concoction for the mandys and now the little scooter I have. They all eat it like it’ll run away if they don’t get it first. The scooter especially loves it. Both mandys have gotten fat on it. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

56 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I am amazed at how well feed most of your dragonets look. You certainly try to give them a well balanced diet.

Thanks, Debbeach. I think the scooters still have a long way to go though. I feel like they can get chunkier, and I do try to overfeed my tank to make sure each fish gets enough to eat but it can be challenging sometimes. I mix up the frozen and pellets, but I'll keep exploring other options. Most of the wet markets here are still closed - I used to go to them to buy female flower crabs - dragonets go nuts for fresh/frozen crab roe. 😊

 

24 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Did you ever try that nyos gold pod stuff? I’ve started using that, frozen cyclops, frozen brine and the nyos brine too in a concoction for the mandys and now the little scooter I have. They all eat it like it’ll run away if they don’t get it first. The scooter especially loves it. Both mandys have gotten fat on it. 

My LFS had only the dry pellets (NYOS brand), but one of the online stores used to have gold pods. I hesitated on buying it because it was very expensive and the site didn't offer an expiry date for the product. But if I can find it on the shelf from a physical store, I'll try to get it. And double-check the price - NYOS products overall can be quite expensive here - a bit out of my budget, to be quite frank. 😔

 

Right now I'm feeding the dragonets NLS pellets, Formula One pellets from Ocean Nutrition (ON), frozen mysis by Hikari, frozen pods (enriched with spirulina) by NOA, frozen artemia (frozen with yolk sac still attached) by NOA, frozen cyclops by ON, frozen brine (adult) by ON & Hikari and last bit of frozen flower crab roe (harvested myself). The amount of feeding I do drives my nitrates up like crazy, but as long as the fish are healthy and stay that way, I'm okay with it. 👍

[ECLS Reefer]

23 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Thanks, Debbeach. I think the scooters still have a long way to go though. I feel like they can get chunkier, and I do try to overfeed my tank to make sure each fish gets enough to eat but it can be challenging sometimes. I mix up the frozen and pellets, but I'll keep exploring other options. Most of the wet markets here are still closed - I used to go to them to buy female flower crabs - dragonets go nuts for fresh/frozen crab roe. 😊

 

My LFS had only the dry pellets (NYOS brand), but one of the online stores used to have gold pods. I hesitated on buying it because it was very expensive and the site didn't offer an expiry date for the product. But if I can find it on the shelf from a physical store, I'll try to get it. And double-check the price - NYOS products overall can be quite expensive here - a bit out of my budget, to be quite frank. 😔

 

Right now I'm feeding the dragonets NLS pellets, Formula One pellets from Ocean Nutrition (ON), frozen mysis by Hikari, frozen pods (enriched with spirulina) by NOA, frozen artemia (frozen with yolk sac still attached) by NOA, frozen cyclops by ON, frozen brine (adult) by ON & Hikari and last bit of frozen flower crab roe (harvested myself). The amount of feeding I do drives my nitrates up like crazy, but as long as the fish are healthy and stay that way, I'm okay with it. 👍

The bottles ask for refrigeration after opening and stay good for a while if kept that way. And they’re lasting me quite a long time since I mix them with frozen and saltwater with a tiny bit of selcon. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

6 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

The bottles ask for refrigeration after opening and stay good for a while if kept that way. And they’re lasting me quite a long time since I mix them with frozen and saltwater with a tiny bit of selcon. 

Noted. I add one drop of Selcon to every frozen mix prior to feeding the fish. I noticed if I add too much (let's say - three drops or so), I immediately get green film algae covering the rocks the next day. Do you have that problem too? 

[ECLS Reefer]

1 hour ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Noted. I add one drop of Selcon to every frozen mix prior to feeding the fish. I noticed if I add too much (let's say - three drops or so), I immediately get green film algae covering the rocks the next day. Do you have that problem too? 

No but I’ve noticed now that I’m culturing my own Phyto, feeding pods from it and then feeding those to the tanks (all three have a pod dependent fish) I’m getting more film algae on the glass. It’s more red/brown so I’m not sure if it’s diatoms or actual Phyto.

[Snow_Phoenix]

The Big Guy says hello:

 

 

Nothing much to report on the reef - things are looking okay for now. I dropped by my secondary LFS today though. Got a chance to film their 4-year-old Mandy:

 

Also saw this beautiful betta cruising their DT:

 

 

And their platinum maroon pair were really enjoying the gonis: 🥰

 

They had some limited fish in stock and mostly, these cute 3" bannerfish swimming all over the place:

 

Only walked away with a pale green monticap today. But I placed it in my pico first, to let it heal. Once it has colored back up, I'll move it back to this tank, and hunt around for a red monticap next. 👍