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

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

Wait until the Lions work out that they can eat the Mollies in the tank, you will see them lurking and stalking them for most of the day, even once they have already eaten. 

 

Those distendable jaw photos are gorgeous. I am still working on getting a slow motion shot of Swim Shady eating like this 

Yeah, she's actually stalking the smaller 2 mollies already. I think she might try to go after them at night. We'll see. 👍

[debbeach13]

Sounds like Lady is enjoying her new surroundings! It may not have been your plan, but she looks great in there.

[Snow_Phoenix]

49 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Sounds like Lady is enjoying her new surroundings! It may not have been your plan, but she looks great in there.

I agree. She seems very happy too. Constantly exploring all nooks and crannies of the reef. Once the tank is filled in with more corals, I think she'll love it even more. 🥰

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just returned to my room to find both new juvi mollies missing and Lady's belly bulging! 

Was quite happy, until I realized one of the mollies was actually dead and pinned to my overflow - I tried to dislodge it with a chopstick to remove it, and then dispose it, but as soon as I prodded it, it was blown off by the flown and became lodged in a crevice at the back of the tank. So now I have 1 dead guppy and 1 dead molly stuck there. 🤦‍♀️

I can't risk turning on the lights because it'll spook all the fish in the tank (it's late night atm), and I don't think it's a wise idea to go about prodding the back of the rocks, where my foxface sleeps either. I'll try to find a way to retrieve the bodies tomorrow - if the bristleworms and nassarius snails leave anything behind, that is. 

 

But (!), Lady did eat one molly - the tiny silver one. I checked the other dead molly and I noticed it was bent awkwardly a little and missing some scales. I have a feeling Lady did try to go for it, but threw it back up because her belly can't accommodate that much at a go. 

 

I won't be feeding her for the next 2 days, at least.

 

However, I will feed Lily 2 small guppies tomorrow in QT, right before the next TTM. I only have 2 more rounds of TTM to go, and I'm quite relieved, actually. 

 

Since I won't be heading back to the LFS for the next few weeks (possibly a full month, at least), I have some downtime to rest after this QT session is over. The extra time will also allow me to focus on my other setups and animals too. 🙂 

[Snow_Phoenix]

CUC took care of the dead molly and guppy overnight. No trace of the bodies anywhere. 👍

 

Hawke:

 

 

 

PJ: 

 

 

Cleo:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Took these under *orange lens, hence the strong brownish hue over everything. Cynarinas:

 

 

 

 

 

I truly can't wait to collect more of them in different colors. I have enough space on the sandbed to accomodate 3 more, so I'm planning on getting a red one and a green one. The third one will be bicolored (preferably). 🥰

 

Bonus pics:- 

 

One of my fav. FW fish of all time - the Marble Loach: 🥰

 

 

 

Also, two of my discus (I have 8 ) :

 

 

🥰👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Next phase of hybrid-TTM complete! Lily ate two guppies today. 🥰

 

 

 

^Yeah, she's tiny. 🥰

 

The new QT bin:

 

 

Last Prazi dose will be 2 days from now, and last TTM will be in 3 days - whereby I'll be transferring her into a breeder box in the 60G. 

 

A bit relieved the TTM is coming to a close because I *just ran out of IO salt today. I've managed to order a new mini bucket of IO online, but it'll take a while before it reaches home. 

 

I'm also down to my last 3kg of Fritz RPM salt, so I'll have to order another box as well. It's quite costly, but has proven to be the most ideal mix for my nano (Red Sea blue bucket comes in at a close second). 

 

IO is also used for the 60G. No ill-effects from this mix, but it does have a tendency to be a bit unstable, parameter-wise, after mixing. That, and it clumps up quickly in the bucket and leaves residue. Otherwise, it's not too bad and quite cheap compared to the other brands here. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Foxy and friends! 😊

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just picked up some kepah (clams) from the supermarket. These ones are a different type than the ones I previously tried tossing into the tank, and still have their shells attached to them:

 

 

Hopefully Cleo the copperband will try to pick at these. I only purchased a few because I wasn't sure if she'll go after them, and didn't want to waste them. 

 

This small bunch only cost me RM 0.58. Very cheap! 😊

 

The only flipside is that these aren't available all the time at the supermarket, and are seasonal. If Cleo truly loves these, I'll pick up more & toss them in the freezer. 👍

 

Will drop in one clam into the tank tomorrow. It's very late now. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Lady this morning. 🥰

 

 

 

Hawke:

 

 

Beast mowing down algae:

 

 

Puffy cynarina: 🥰

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pic drop! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really need to do something about this. 😕 :

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just arrived! 😊

 

 

 

More salt for future QTs and the 60G. 👍

 

I strained my shoulder today though, so WCing the 60G will have to wait. Just need to rest this one out before I can tackle any heavy lifting. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just came into my room and noticed the clam I dropped into the tank this morning is wide open and completely clean. I remember watching Cleo take a few tentative nips at it on and off throughout the day, but I'm unsure if *she was the fish that truly finished it, or maybe my nass snails got it it first (?).

 

I'll try dropping in another clam tomorrow/day after and observe her again. If the clam is cleaned out, I'll try to acquire more at the supermarket (hopefully there'll be some left).

 

Another option is purchasing lala (also a type of clam).

 

(A tiny fun fact: Lalas are incredibly delicious if cooked well with the shells. It's truly yummy! )

 

If Cleo is truly into clams, then it looks like this will be her staple until I can slowly wean her to accept more prepared frozen food like brine and mysis. She still loves live pods though, so I guess I'll have to seed the tank with fresh pods on and off as well.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Good night. 🥰

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some fishie pics! 🥰

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cynarina:

 

 

Cleo's losing a lot of weight, unfortunately. I'm pumping a lot of food into the DT, but sometimes I'm afraid it simply isn't enough for her. ☹

 

 

I will keep trying though. 😓

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some of the crabs have molted in the tidepool tank overnight. 🦀

 

 

One guy is still trying to find a suitable shell to get back into. 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd1_yg1L1x3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Snow_Phoenix]

Clam on the rocks! 😊👍

 

 

Lady perching on my wavemaker:

 

 

[LazyFish]

Lady has realy nice markings. I've seen a few variations but hers are very nice. Honestly dont know why we call them lion fish instead of tiger fish lol. Maby the fins are like a lions mane. Shes very photogenic. I love the shot of the lurking upside down under that rock arch.

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, LazyFish said:

Lady has realy nice markings. I've seen a few variations but hers are very nice. Honestly dont know why we call them lion fish instead of tiger fish lol. Maby the fins are like a lions mane. Shes very photogenic. I love the shot of the lurking upside down under that rock arch.

Thank you - I really like her markings too! Lily is almost similar - but she has one stripe on the right side of her body that has a small break in the lines. That's the only way I think I'll be able to tell her apart from Lady once they both share the same tank. 

I really beginning to appreciate the beauty of lionfish in general. Their fins might be tipped with venom, but they're also very elaborate and look gorgeous when they undulate. Also, these fish can perch absolutely anywhere lol. I now have to watch out for Lady (and Foxy!) whenever I stick my hand in the tank for maintenance. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Tomorrow, Lily will be moved from QT to a breeder box in the 60G. The Hybrid-TTM is already coming to an end for this round, and I'm very, very relieved. My right arm is still sprained, but the pain has lessened. I'll probably be unable to clean out the QT bin, but I think it should be fine if left untouched for a few days.

 

I'm also *tentatively planning to head down to the FW LFS tomorrow to pick up more feeders - mostly shrimp, guppies and tiny mollies. Lady hasn't eaten properly ever since I ran out of live shrimp few days ago. She was temporarily sated with a juvi molly, but hasn't had anything else since. 

 

Although lions can go for long periods of time without food, I don't feel comfortable leaving any of my lions (or any animals under my care, for that matter) devoid of basic things like food/water, proper home/tank/cage etc. So I'll try my best to get to the store tomorrow (unless I'm in too much pain). 

 

This should put everything back on track again. 👍

The clam I tossed in today was virtually untouched - I'll have to bin it tomorrow or else it'll foul the water. I noticed both my copperband and foxface actively teaming up and hunting down bristleworms in my tank. Cleo uses her snout to yank out a worm from the rocks - if it's small enough, she swallows it, but if it's too big, she tosses it on the sandbed. Then Foxy zips in and quickly eats up the worm. 

I honestly had no idea Foxfaces even ate bristleworms, but I guess I'm learning something new everyday. 🤷‍♀️

(This would also explain my lack of bristleworms lately - looks like this explains where they all disappeared off to!)

[Snow_Phoenix]

Transferred Lily to the 60G this morning. Lady has been eyeing her, but no mock charges so far. 👍

 

 

 

Also picked up a whole bunch of feeders from the store today. 

 

 

 

 

 

Once Lily has been released into the DT, I will no longer purchase any guppies but will focus on purchasing ghost shrimp & mollies instead. I was very lucky this time - they had mostly juvi-sized mollies on sale and *most of the adult feeders were sold off. 

 

Altogether, I only spent RM 10 on feeders today, which is okay. 👍

 

I'll try to drop a few shrimp into Lily's box and the 60G (for Lady) later today. The mollies will need to be acclimated to SW before I can release them into the 60G, and I'm honestly too tired to do so today. 

 

But in the upcoming days, I'll acclimate them in small groups of 5 to 6 fish every 3 days or so, and drop them in the DT for Lady to hunt. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some clearer pics of the feeders, taken at night (nil reflection) :

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner for the ladies:

 

 

Dinner was certainly an exciting affair. I dropped 2 shrimp and 2 mollies in Lily's box first, then dropped the rest in the DT for Lady. 

 

Lily had her fill with 2 shrimp & 1 molly. The leftover molly was swimming around in her box and...*that was the only molly Lady wanted to eat! 🤦‍♀️

 

After 5 mins of trying to fruitlessly coax Lady away from the box and go after the other tiny mollies in the tank (she was so stubborn that she perched on the box and simply refused to move), I decided the best course of action was to let her have it. 

 

It was not easy trying to get a tiny fish out of a box with an angry lionfish in it, while another lionfish tries to zoom towards you because she thinks you're trying to steal her dinner. 🤦‍♀️

 

Needless to say, I didn't get stabbed by either fish, and in one of those rare moments in my life, was actually *not clumsy. I succeeded in yanking out that molly and watched Lady hunt it down and swallow it. After a few seconds, she finally realized there are more tiny fish at the waterline and nabbed another one. 

 

As for the ghost shrimp, they seemed to be hiding in my rocks. I saw both my hawkfish and cardinal team up to take one down, but the shrimp were fast. And sneaky. Very, very sneaky. 

 

I guess that concludes tonight's adventures in the predator tank. 😊👍

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Guess someone found one of the shrimp after all! 👀

 

 

(You can see the antenna poking out of her mouth)

[Snow_Phoenix]

The reality of feeders - a lot of them have a tendency to die within a day, so I always purchase in bulk/extras:

 

 

Dropped a few mollies & shrimp in the tank for the lions:

 

 

How I differentiate both my lions - Lily's a misbar. Her final stripe is broken:

 

 

Lady isn't a misbar. Her second final stripe (white) is full, with the very last one simply being a brown patch:

 

 

Also, personality-wise, Lady is calmer, more shy and apt to swim off when I scrape the glass. Lily is bolder/defensive and quick to erect her dorsal spines. She is the one fish I truly have to watch out for once I release her from the box. 

 

Lily after eating a shrimp: 🥰

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Romancing between the plastic: 😏

 

 

 

 

(Actually no; Lady just wants to get into the box because she spotted some still-alive feeders in there. 😅)

 

Cleo hunting for bristleworms:

 

 

 

PJ: 🥰

 

 

Bulging belly:

 

 

Just scraped the glass & stirred the sandbed. My large orange fancy lyretail molly went missing last night - presumably eaten by one of the other fish, or maybe even died (?) and was finished off by the CUC. 🤔

 

Currently down to 6 large mollies - all dalmations, with some having a brownish hue, others silverish. I believe most are male though. 2 of them truly stand out - Dot, the speckled male fancy, and another male I named Stardust, because his coloration is unique with orange, silver & black hues (plus he's a butthead too). Haven't named the rest - but three of them look like a Ben, Sally & Dotty (female) to me. Last guy seems to be hard to name for some reason. Eh, I'll figure something out. 🤷‍♀️