mcarroll Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 I can grow prickly pear here but I hadn't bumped into any info about the fruit's quality til now. Will have to decide if I have space for it though. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 You want a delicious high-yield and easy plant, forget that cactus and get a jelly-palm - butia eriospatha. 3 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 OT alert LOL Very interesting!! Is it incorrect to consider this a type of date palm? 1 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Not really, but date palms take decades to fruit lol, it's a type of jelly palm ^^ Paw Paw are another fruit to consider up in the northeast, pretty easy to grow and super cold-hardy (relative of the annonacae family, atemoya, cherimoya, soursop), Issiah kiwi berries and another favorite would be haskap berries or jostaberry, and of course mamey sapote can actually survive dips into freezing temperatures/"can" fruit in pots. OH and Monstera Delicosa has incredible fruit, but you HAVE to be very careful and read up on knowing whether or not it is ripe/safe to eat. Okay... fine, one more, look into Roseyanka persimmons, one of the most incredible hybrid varieties out there. Enough off-topic botany fun stuff though lol... ( I collect and grow tropicals/fruiting plants and have worked on olive, citrus, and coffee/tea/cacao farms) 2 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Gotcha...still reading! 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 Checked up on all three wrasses this morning - and they're doing fine. The yellow coris had another small meal of pellets while the other two just hung back and watched me watch them. I added 1 drop of PraziGold to 1 large bucket (~0.5G) of dechlorinated tap, then used 2/3rds of the mix to be poured into the QT. So basically I have a very, very dilute version of PraziGold in the bin, and also dropped the salinity back to 1.024 (evap. rate is very high in the bin and will need a daily top-off). The yellow coris's poop isn't stringy, but it's white and clumpy. My guess is intestinal parasites of some sort - maybe a knot of worms? I'm not sure. I didn't catch any of the fish flashing or showing signs of discoloration/lesions/nodules on their bodies though. It can be very difficult due to the lighting, but so far, I *think they don't have any external parasites. Also, I spotted an Acoel flatworm on one of the tentacles of my frogspawn today. I'm hoping Miu would find it and eat it - she seems to have the bristleworm population under control, and her belly is always full. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 49 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said: The yellow coris's poop isn't stringy, but it's white and clumpy Mysis can come out something like that, maybe other food too. What has he been eating? (Sorry if that's a repeat.) You seem both vigilant and observant, so be confident in those things. No visual indication of the target. No secondary behaviors. Normal eating. Those are the big three, right? The more time that passes without showing anything, the more odds are in their favor of there being nothing to worry about. Just need the mystery out of this poop. 🕵️♀️ 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 (This wouldn't be the first case of constipation to "pass through" the n-r forum this week, BTW. Get it? 😄 Humor aside...it's true, and maybe this is a mild case of constipation. Wasn't a wrasse in the other case, but it was another thick-sllime-coat fish, for whatever that's worth. ) 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 8 minutes ago, mcarroll said: Mysis can come out something like that, maybe other food too. What has he been eating? (Sorry if that's a repeat.) You seem both vigilant and observant, so be confident in those things. No visual indication of the target. No secondary behaviors. Normal eating. Those are the big three, right? The more time that passes without showing anything, the more odds are in their favor of there being nothing to worry about. Just need the mystery out of this poop. 🕵️♀️ 😄 I haven't had tried feeding them frozen yet, but today I will. I think the store was feeding them the same brand of pellets, but they weren't eating yet. I guess, as long as the fish behaves normally and eats normally as you've said - it should be okay. I'll still keep a watch on the poop though - and look out for any oddities in the rubyhead and the carpenter's. I caught them swimming between the PVC pipe and the cave few times (like swapping homes) but they're just very wary to swim out in the open. My pink streaked wrasse was the exact same way when I first brought her home. It took a week/two for her to fully come out of her shell and deem the bin safe enough for her to swim out in the open. And now that she's in my reef, she swims all over the place. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 A small slice of good news: My rubyhead began eating today. I fed the wrasses a frozen mix consisting of cyclops, shrimp juice, mysis, brine, bloodworms and BBS. The yellow coris accepted everything, but the ruby favored the bloodworms over everything else. It was nice watching him accept some food for a change. The Carpenter's is still very wary of anything I put into the bin, and regards any kind of food with suspicion. I hope he eats soon - I'm considering hatching some live BBS for all of them some time next week - just as a treat of sorts. I'll be tentatively doing a 100% on the bin in 2 days (Tue). My 60G is in need of some maintenance - there's film algae over the glass and on some patches of the sand, but nothing overly-ugly just yet. A good scrape and stir should get everything sorted back to normal again. I still don't trust the water, although it has finally turned clear. I'm giving it a few more days. Will need to WC eventually. 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 As my latest topic line editing goes: I need to know. Can Chemicals released/sprayed during an A/C unit servicing crash my tank? I'm tentatively waiting on someone to fix my A/C next week (he might even come tomorrow), because my unit is leaking very badly in my bedroom. The 60G mixed reef is in my bedroom, roughly 6' feet away from my A/C unit. My father just barged into my room and told me to cover everything up with tarp and towels/blankets until the servicing is done, and better yet, turn on the ventilator (I have a small one in the ceiling of my bedroom) and open the windows when the serviceman/men is/are here. He also told me to tell the guy(s) to handle any cleaning of the A/C unit in the front porch, away from all my tanks and my bird and dog, because the chemicals are apparently strong enough to kill them (especially my bird), and strong enough to possibly cause a tank crash. Now I'm extremely worried. I need my A/C unit fixed - but at the same time, I want to minimize the risk of losing anything/everything I have worked hard for, and am caring for in my home. The 60G included. Will a layer of thick tarp and two towels be enough to block out any chemicals from leaching into the water from the top? Also, the sides and back panel of my cabinet has holes in them, but I was thinking of taping over several layers of newspaper to cover the gaps. This is all temporary, until the servicing is done and there is no chemical 'smell' in the air. I might be overthinking it, but now that my father has warned me, I am very anxious. Anyone has any suggestions or advice? 😞 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Um... I have no idea what the regulations in your country are like. If your AC is leaking they're going to likely replace/patch a part, the gasses contained within the units are traditionally-inert and only really dangerous to our atmosphere, even older chemicals like freon aren't particularly dangerous. Those used when cleaning an AC unit can be extremely irritating to airways if not used properly but are mostly self-cannibalizing/catylizing organics/enzymes, predominately peroxide-based, so I could see some argument there but even then I've never heard of issues. It doesn't hurt to put up a barrier over your tank and to perhaps move your birds to a different room however as my feet are only sole-wet in the HVAC industry and technicalities stateside, can't speak a peep for things across the puddle much less in asia. 2 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 45 minutes ago, Amphrites said: Um... I have no idea what the regulations in your country are like. If your AC is leaking they're going to likely replace/patch a part, the gasses contained within the units are traditionally-inert and only really dangerous to our atmosphere, even older chemicals like freon aren't particularly dangerous. Those used when cleaning an AC unit can be extremely irritating to airways if not used properly but are mostly self-cannibalizing/catylizing organics/enzymes, predominately peroxide-based, so I could see some argument there but even then I've never heard of issues. It doesn't hurt to put up a barrier over your tank and to perhaps move your birds to a different room however as my feet are only sole-wet in the HVAC industry and technicalities stateside, can't speak a peep for things across the puddle much less in asia. Thank you for your response. I was worried about freon more than anything. I actually currently have a small pail over my radio, because the water leak is right over it. I think the issue is a mixture of condensation + leak in the tubing inside the A/C itself, but I'm not an expert in this. I'm keeping my bird in the library, but I'll stuff the gap under the door with some newspaper/cloth just in case. (Will turn on the ventilator and fan in that room though). Will definitely cover my tank with something just in case. I'm still a bit nervous about it - I know some substances can leach into the water (disinfectants, glass cleaners etc.) and cause crashes. I'm just uncertain about A/C gases. 😕 Quote Link to comment
A.m.P Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Freon is heavier than air and non-reactive (which can make it dangerous to animals in the same way any heavy gas can make breathing difficult in chronic and HEAVY exposure, but is not toxic or really absorbed by animals in any meaningful way), I don't know much about its' ability to pass into fluids, but it's also not widely used anymore as Puron has mostly replaced it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Glad the wrasses are perking up! When I had flashers they were always more shy then the other wrasses at first.... once acclimated they became more bold and would flash my other fish. If you are going to add them 1 at a time I would add the most peaceful of the bunch first. 3 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 10 hours ago, Tamberav said: Glad the wrasses are perking up! When I had flashers they were always more shy then the other wrasses at first.... once acclimated they became more bold and would flash my other fish. If you are going to add them 1 at a time I would add the most peaceful of the bunch first. Noted. I am mostly glad that at least 2 of them have begun eating. I think I might add either the ruby or the carpenter's first once the QT period is over. Yellow coris will most likely go in last. Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 I just checked on all 3 wrasses for the morning. The yellow coris appears to be swimming oddly - he is tilted nosedown at a 60° angle and can't correct himself. He is also looping around in a circle as he swims. 😥 The other two are okay - the ruby tried pellets for the first time but didn't like it. I am concerned over the coris though. I think it *might be a swim bladder issue but I am unsure. 😔 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 Okay, so I figured out what caused the wrasse to deteriorate. I fed the QT quite heavily yesterday. I have this cylindrical black floss-sponge that covers the intake of my HOB. Turns out it traps a lot of gunk, including uneaten fish food. There was a lot of dirt caught under the PVC pipe and plastic cave as well. So I did a full 100% emergency WC today and cleaned out both the bin and filter, and got rid of the sponge intake. I am not sure if the coris will recover but I hope he does, because this was a mistake on my part. 😓 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 So Jerk the hermit has apparently detached and shoved my new purple encrusted monti frag into an orange shroom I salvaged from the pico. 🙄 The shroom ended up partially melted and the monti has a large white bald spot in the middle of the frag. Ugh. I had to isolate both pieces but I think I might lose the shroom. I did some cleaning of the glass and sand today - might I have been a tad too aggressive with my scraper because I accidently sliced off a few frogspawn tentacles. Thankfully, the coral overall looks okay - I just gave it an unwanted haircut. 😓 On a slightly happier note, the yellow coris is almost back to normal and began eating again. His balance has almost returned and I think he should be okay by tomorrow. It is a good thing the WC helped. 3 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 It's here! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 Servicing done and I had to unwrap this just now: Some of the corals are a bit shrunken due to the lack of light. But my cynarina and lobo appears okay: Also caught Miu foraging for bristleworms at the back of the tank: And Lola taking a break on one of the rocks: And here were two of my shrimp at night: And a yellow hibiscus from our garden: Checking on the wrasses shortly. 😊👍 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 My montis have finally fused at the base: One of my fav. chalices: A sideshot view of the left panel of LR covered in shrooms and zoa frags: Side-topshots of the tank: Topshot today: Full tank shot (FTS) today: (Sorry about the reflection - that is the light from my pico). All 3 wrasses have started eating pellets since today in QT. The ruby and Carpenter's are still shy, but look much better. Yellow coris is completely back to normal. There is a bit of sad news though. My deformed (but hyper-aggressive) Clarkii clownfish passed away sometime during the night in my nanotank. She would have turned 3 this Dec., but I think her lifespan was significantly shortened because she had several deformities (and probably some internal ones as well). She was a strong fish with a lot of spunk though, and I miss her already. 😭 I will be doing a deep clean on the nano before I decide to do something with it. I am tempted to grab my Falco back from the store (I had to give him up because my Clarkii nearly killed him) and re-set up the nano just for him. But right now, I am juggling several things, and I am not sure if resurrecting my SW tank would be a good idea, and if this is best for my fish (just because you can, doesn't mean you should, you know?). I am tempted to just let it sit idly, and maybe grow out some macro in it later or even change it into a betta tank. For now, I am still keeping the pumps running. 😔 6 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Feeding time video: Jerk the Immortal hermit: Gary the starfish: Big enough, or shall we go bigger? The 60G is doing well - I'll probably do a WC some time next week. The three wrasses in QT are doing okay too. The coris is the most active and stable of the three, so I will most probably add him to the 60G by either end of this week or early next week. The ruby will go in after the Coris, and lastly, the Carpenter's. The Carpenter's is currently the most sensitive of the three. I need him to stabilize properly in QT first before moving him. My concern with that particular fish is that it is extremely jumpy. Even while I was WCing the bin today, it flipped out of the holding bucket. It's quite worrisome to see him so easily spooked like that. I ordered a leopard wrasse from my LFS few days ago. If my attempt with these 3 go well, then I think I might pick up 1 to 2 more wrasses (Lubbocks & Leopard/Filamented Flasher & Leopard/Exquisite & Leopard ---> most likely this choice) and call it stocked. No dragonets in this tank, sorry. Poor thing won't be able to compete with my wrasses or my Hector's goby. I need more snails too. And would like a large, peaceful shrimp (Cleaner/Fire) that doesn't hide all the time. Love my current critters though. This tank isn't exactly smooth-sailing, but the larger volume gives me a lot of wiggle room to do a lot of things I had never dared to do in a nano. My father still wants a yellow tang in this. I said no. He wanted a lionfish too. I also said no (!!!). Maybe after he's retired, I will humor him by setting up a predator tank downstairs (light years away, thankfully) with two lions. He really loved my fuzzy when I had him years ago. 🤔 4 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 10, 2019 Author Share Posted August 10, 2019 Guess who finally decided to come out of their shell today in QT? 😊 Yep, that's my Carpenter's in the background. The yellow coris is bursting full of personality. He's always nosy when I snap a pic lol. As for the 60G, here are a couple of shots of Gary's underside: Thanos: Mixed Mushroom mountain (can you see the 'S' for Shrooms?) Henri: Goblin and his new couch: I am waiting in the sales of some secondhand items to acquire enough finances to get my first gorg. Truly can't wait to bring my first large NPS home. 😊 4 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Since it's Sunday today and it's been around 10+ days since my purchase of the wrasses, I thought I might as well add one to my DT. My original plan was to go with the yellow coris first since he's the boldest and most stable of the three. But then I thought...what if I add the most sensitive of the lot instead? I think it's no question that my QT bin is bare and small, and probably a stressor for three fish which usually are very active swimmers by nature. So I chose to add my Carpenter's to my 60G first. Here's basically how it went: (When he was first added, he was super-shy and hiding behind my largest symphyllia. Then he came out and hung under the major arch of my rockwork on the far left of the tank) He was definitely super-skittish, but eventually learned to enjoy the flow. (Then I caught him swimming with Tic, my zebra dart, at the *front of the tank when I returned to my bedroom after lunch): He adapted fairly quickly! And now he's out swimming at the front of the tank, although he's not exploring the rockwork yet (my guess is that this will take time - him being comfortable, I mean): I've decided to add my Rubyhead next week. Since the yellow coris seems to be the least bothered by being in QT, I figured it can stay in the bin longer. The Ruby, on the other hand, is constantly hiding. I think, if given the proper environment, it too will begin swimming out in the open like my flasher. In the meantime, what does Thanos think of the new addition? 🤔 'Meh. He can stay.' 4 Quote Link to comment
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