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


Snow_Phoenix

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Snow_Phoenix

Took some oppurtunity to take a few topshots of the reef today while I was cleaning the glass and basting the rocks/stirring the sandbed 😊:

 

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And here is a full topshot view:

 

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I am thinking of picking up a green Cynarina coral next to occupy the empty space opposite the red symphyllia. I might also pick up a torch and a bicolored hammer coral in the future. (Might change my mind on the hammer)

 

Right now, I am going after colonies, not frags. I *might fill up the sides on sandbed with various types of shrooms. Anything colorful within reasonable prices - nothing overly fancy. 

 

I debated doing a clam in this. But I think the tank is too young, and once I have a clam, I will have to use an auto-doser. I figured it is too much hassle. 

 

I will beef up my CUC, of course. Need to pick up more snails and maybe 2 to 3 more hermits. I'm going light atm. 

 

As fish, I think I'm done stocking with the brotulid and coris in the QT. I will make an exception for something truly special, like a pygmy perchlet or/and another ornate leopard/exquisite wrasse. I have decided to skip out on the coral beauty, it is too much of a risk. 

 

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Snow_Phoenix

A few coral snapshots - my Elegance:

 

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My frogspawn colony:

 

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Goblin on my finger leather coral:

 

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A quick top shot again: 

 

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Short vid during feeding time yesterday evening 😎

 

 

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Snow_Phoenix

Hmm - I'm not sure why my images and video turned out grainy in my last post. Really sorry about that. 

 

If you want to see up-to-date tank pics of the 60G with better clarity, just look through my Instagram. It's open for the public, so anyone can view it anytime.

 

Anyhow, here's a quick pic I took of George in the sump - he's actually thickened, the little chunker. My guess is that he has been snacking on some aiptasia and sponges in the fuge. He constantly amuses himself by swimming over my baffles and all over my fuge and pump compartments. :lol:

 

And here's Thanos having an evening pow-wow with the UCs. I had to reglue the frag to the rock, in a different position, after it fell yesterday by accident.

 

I love my new Elegance. So wavy and so much motion!

 

All my livestock is present and accounted for - I do a routine check every morning and every evening before the lights turn bright/dim down. I know it sounds very paranoid-like, but I'm constantly worried over this tank and I'm generally very anxious by nature. Especially since the tank is fairly new, and I already have a variety of things in there. But everything appears to be doing alright, and I always check on the corals first - if anything is melting or dying, that's when things are heading south.

 

My brotulid and yellow coris are doing alright in the QT. Yellow coris has internal parasites though, so I'm revving up the med. dosage tomorrow. Good news is that he seems to be pooping it all out, and he's also started to actively chase after pellets. I was worried he'd either jump out of the QT or perish prematurely - wrasses have always been tricky for me. 

 

 

 

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As a heads up, I've read ALLOT of bad press concerning blennies, clown gobies, and Clams (To the point some keepers no longer consider the latter reef-safe or the former clam-safe). Nipping, shredding, inevitable death by picking or annoying, etc. I'm sure you're well aware, but figured I would say something just in case ^_^ Also I agree with the doser, I have to manually dose calcium and alk twice a day in my nano and that's just for a little baby maxima >_<

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Snow_Phoenix
1 hour ago, Amphrites said:

As a heads up, I've read ALLOT of bad press concerning blennies, clown gobies, and Clams (To the point some keepers no longer consider the latter reef-safe or the former clam-safe). Nipping, shredding, inevitable death by picking or annoying, etc. I'm sure you're well aware, but figured I would say something just in case ^_^ Also I agree with the doser, I have to manually dose calcium and alk twice a day in my nano and that's just for a little baby maxima >_<

Yeah, I'm quite aware of it. And although I've never seen my GCG nip anything in the tank (coral or inverts), I have seen my Starry take a peck out of the rock surfaces and the biofilm growing on the back wall. Considering how huge Thanos is, I'm sure he can take out a clam in a day. And clams are very expensive here. I decided it just wouldn't be worth it. Might as well stock up on corals instead. Thanks though, for the info and tip! 🙂 

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No, thank you for all the awesome pics of your tank, couldn't in good conscious not at least mention something. Clams are definitely pricey, mines got me freaked out about putting just about anything else in the tank XD

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Snow_Phoenix
1 hour ago, Amphrites said:

No, thank you for all the awesome pics of your tank, couldn't in good conscious not at least mention something. Clams are definitely pricey, mines got me freaked out about putting just about anything else in the tank XD

Haha, I imagine so! I used to keep 2 tiny crocea (one blue and one purple) in my nano many years ago. They did surprisingly well before I shut down the tank and sold them. I did dose Ca and kH manually everyday though. 

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So this is how big my Elegance can get on a good day:

 

 

(Take note that the coral isn't pressed up against the glass, so it's far larger than the spread of my fingers) :happy:

 

This was my LPS today, when the lights were dialed down for the evening (running on heavy blues) so they're not as large and fluffy as they can get per norm:

 

 

 

One of my brittles last night - the red one has completely retreated into the rock, but I'm quite sure it's alive - just in hiding. This is the pink/gray fuzzy one:

 

 

And Goblin last night: 🙂

 

 

I have a mixture of good news and bad news. Good news: 60G is chugging along fine and all fish and coral look good. Bad news: My little yellow coris didn't make it in QT - it was acting odd yesterday, and I found it dead in the bottom of the bin today morning. 😞

 

I did however, spot my brotulid, which looks fine, but has not accepted any prepared food. I've increased the Prazi-dose to full, since the wrasse did come with intestinal parasites. The brotulid should be in QT throughout this week, and tentatively moved into the 60G on Monday. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Snow_Phoenix

I have some bad news. Around 3 days ago, one of my dartfish went carpet-surfing. My remaining male, Tic, has been very elusive ever since then. Considering how quickly zebras waste away when left alone, I am considering ordering a new zebra to accompany him again. 

 

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As for the rest of the tank, thankfully there has been no other deaths or accidents. In fact, one of my skeletal lobos made a full comeback and is puffier than ever:

 

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And yesterday, something weird happened. I caught Crabcake attempting to host Lola: 😮

 

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Today she has moved back to the softie:

 

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And here is Henri this morning:

 

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(Sifting the sandbed for microfauna)

 

And here is Thanos, of course:

 

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And my clown pair, Nero (now female) and Sushi:

 

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My frogspawn was a little bit stressed today afternoon - I think I *might have overdosed Calcium. Either way, am keeping a tight watch on everything overall just in case. 

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Snow_Phoenix

I pulled my brotulid out of QT today with the original intention of adding it to my DT. Thankfully, I checked on the fish using a torch before putting it in my 60G:

 

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The fish was covered in dozens of prazi-resistant flukes! 😱

 

If that wasn't nightmarish enough, the flukes had actually eaten some patches of scales and left lesions around the gills, head and jaw. 

 

I tried a FW dip but the brotulid was twisting and going belly up just a min. into the dip so I had to stop. I returned the fish to the QT bin, which I presume is infected anyway. None of the equipment used to handle the brotulid is being used to handle my reeftank.

 

Personally, I don't think the fish will make it. But I did 2x dose Prazi today, although I think it is ineffective. I will be sterilizing all the equipment, PVC pipes and cave used for the QT. 

 

The reason I never realized how badly infested this fish was was because it was constantly hiding in the QT, and the flukes are only visible under bright light. Given how gloomy my QT LED is, I totally missed out on this.

 

But I am glad I QTed my fish before adding them to the major DT. Past experience has taught me to be extra cautious, especially with wild-caught fish. 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

That actually looks painful. Poor little guy. So glad you caught it before putting him in the DT.

I believe it is. 😞

 

He swam alright when I put him back in the QT. I'm not sure what else I can do to remove the flukes. Since I can't FW-dip him and Prazi is having nil effect, I'm stuck. Maybe I'll shoot Humblefish a message later and ask for advice - if there's another way to get the flukes off him. 

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Oh wow...the prazi resistant ones I had years ago were really nasty too. I was able to get the with a super high dose but it wasn't great for the fish....some of them puked... seriously... And fallow period didn't work for them so I had to tear the tank down.

 

There is another med I remember reading about but idk if it would be available there. Humble wrote about it before.

 

Fish tend to go crazy in a FW dip but belly up would scare me. Idk maybe the peroxide experiment? 😮

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Snow_Phoenix
12 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Oh wow...the prazi resistant ones I had years ago were really nasty too. I was able to get the with a super high dose but it wasn't great for the fish....some of them puked... seriously... And fallow period didn't work for them so I had to tear the tank down.

 

There is another med I remember reading about but idk if it would be available there. Humble wrote about it before.

 

Fish tend to go crazy in a FW dip but belly up would scare me. Idk maybe the peroxide experiment? 😮

Thankfully he's the only fish in the QT bin - I'll up the dosage again tomorrow. He's surprisingly still alive and swimming normally. Quite strong, for a fish. 

 

I'm not sure if the peroxide experiment will work (or harm him more) since he has open sores. It's crazy how many flukes are on him. A few of them did scuttle over his body when I dipped him in FW, but he's too stressed in FW. 

 

Looks like he'll take a while to recover - and I hope he does. 😞

 

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Quick update on my brotulid: He's still miraculously alive! I've tripled to dose of Prazi - half of the flukes are dead at the bottom of the bin, but the other half are stubborn clingers.

 

I went to my LFS today - they had a similar outbreak of flukes with their dragonets - and the fish were successfully treated with Mardel's Quick Cure. My worker-friend gave me a small bottle of it, and I memorized the instructions, so tomorrow I'll be treating my brotulid with this new med. in a new & smaller QT tank. He's strong, for a little guy, I'll give him that. 

 

In the event that he makes it, I'll keep him QTed for 4 to 6 weeks, just in case. 

 

On a happier note, the 60G is doing okay - I have some nice, puffy LPS:

 

^(Psst. Remember this brain coral? Jerk almost killed it, but now it has bounced back, and it's puffier than ever)

 

I do target feed my brains chopped raw shrimp. In the case of the larger symphyllia, which has dozens of tiny mouths, I simply place 3 to 4 pieces of chopped shrimp on various parts of the coral and turn my pumps off for about an hour. The corals will ingest the shrimp by themselves.

 

And here's Gary:

 

And Lola:

 

Here's a quick nightshot of my Saron going completely green as camoflage:

 

Thanos going white in what I presume is a territorial display:

 

 

And lastly, short vid with several of my fish in it:

 

Also put down a small deposit for a dual-toned cynarina today, and I booked a red Gorg. (my first ever!) as well. Will pick them both up either by the end of this week or the next. :happy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I went coral shopping today! Check out all these lovely frags:

 

 

And this massive RBTA in one of the LFS's main DTs: 😮

 

 

I also brought home a clump of seagrass for my fuge and George loves it! I did a bit of background reading on green filefish, and apparently juveniles sleep in seagrasses to camoflage themselves long enough to rest and avoid predators. George turned a nice shade of green once I placed the seagrass in the sump, and I'm hoping it'll make him feel more comfortable in there, especially since he's the only fish in the sump.

 

As for the coral frags, I brought home: 1x blasto mini-colony-frag, 2x mushrooms, 3x zoa frags, 1x green nephtea (?), 1x green clove polyp frag and 1x purple encrusting montipora. I also picked out a green alveopora frag but my LFS manager forgot to pack it - but he didn't charge me for the frag, and told me to come over to the store to get it if I can (most likely not anytime soon because the trip to this particular store is long and difficult, so I only swing by the shop once every three to four months or so). 

 

I still have yet to pick up my red gorg and dual-colored cynarina from the LFS closer to my home. I think I'll pick up the cynarina some time next week, and the gorg the week after. 

 

I didn't pick up any fish or inverts. I was very, very tempted to pick up a small Lubbock's wrasse and a cleaner shrimp, but I refrained. My battle with the brotulid still isn't over yet, and the fish is still being treated in my QT. He's gotten worse today, but is still alive. 😞

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I went coral shopping today! Check out all these lovely frags:

 

 

And this massive RBTA in one of the LFS's main DTs: 😮

 

 

I also brought home a clump of seagrass for my fuge and George loves it! I did a bit of background reading on green filefish, and apparently juveniles sleep in seagrasses to camoflage themselves long enough to rest and avoid predators. George turned a nice shade of green once I placed the seagrass in the sump, and I'm hoping it'll make him feel more comfortable in there, especially since he's the only fish in the sump.

 

As for the coral frags, I brought home: 1x blasto mini-colony-frag, 2x mushrooms, 3x zoa frags, 1x green nephtea (?), 1x green clove polyp frag and 1x purple encrusting montipora. I also picked out a green alveopora frag but my LFS manager forgot to pack it - but he didn't charge me for the frag, and told me to come over to the store to get it if I can (most likely not anytime soon because the trip to this particular store is long and difficult, so I only swing by the shop once every three to four months or so). 

 

I still have yet to pick up my red gorg and dual-colored cynarina from the LFS closer to my home. I think I'll pick up the cynarina some time next week, and the gorg the week after. 

 

I didn't pick up any fish or inverts. I was very, very tempted to pick up a small Lubbock's wrasse and a cleaner shrimp, but I refrained. My battle with the brotulid still isn't over yet, and the fish is still being treated in my QT. He's gotten worse today, but is still alive. 😞

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoping the brotulid pulls through. 🤞🏻

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2 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Snapshot of Zani the GCBS:

 

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Something nice to wake up to every morning:

 

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The tank looks humongous from that view. 😄

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So I have to ask, in your experience would you say that the Hector's Goby is particularly difficult to keep, or do they essentially have the same requirements as a Mandarin but with a smaller appetite and bioload? (eating the same microfauna and being difficult to wean onto prepared foods?)

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Snow_Phoenix
20 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

So I have to ask, in your experience would you say that the Hector's Goby is particularly difficult to keep, or do they essentially have the same requirements as a Mandarin but with a smaller appetite and bioload? (eating the same microfauna and being difficult to wean onto prepared foods?)

I would classify them as a 'mini-mandarin' in some ways - hard to wean onto prepared, constantly pecking at the sand or rocks for food. Mine still hasn't accepted prepared. But I think the tank is large enough and has enough microalgae areas to act as grazing spots. Henri has grown longer and is still very lean though. 

35 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

 

The tank looks humongous from that view. 😄

😄

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Snow_Phoenix

Brotulid just passed away around 2 hours ago. :sad:

 

It was in very bad shape - the flukes had eaten its fins down to stubs, and there were open sores all over the dorsal region of its body. Easily the worst parasite infestation I've encountered in my years of fishkeeping. I've sterilized all equipment/bin/plastic PVC pipes/caves with boiling hot water + soapy water + vinegar and left it out to dry under the hot sun. Anything that was disposable has been thrown away (floss/intake sponge etc.).

 

 

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  • Snow_Phoenix changed the title to Snow's 60G Secret Predatory Sanctum 🐲🐉 - Shutting Down

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