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


Snow_Phoenix

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Snow_Phoenix
1 hour ago, Pjanssen said:

Are you planning to do anything about all of the bristle worms? I had them in my 14 and had to eradicate them for my own sanity. They may be beneficial, idk, but I had a few fish disappear and blamed it on the bristle worms. (they get big!)

 

56 minutes ago, growsomething said:

I had an anemone and sexy shrimp go missing,  and Paul B on r2r blames it on a gigantic bristle worm I had at the time.

I plan to trap them using a homemade bristleworm trap. Eradicating them completely will be impossible because I have to feed the tank heavily due to my dragonets. 

 

But I can periodically remove them & remove them manually from time to time - basically thinning the numbers back out. 

 

I'm not comfortable seeing so many of them on my rocks & sandbed, tbh. 🤢

 

And I notice occassionally smaller fish do vanish without a trace in my tank, and I've always suspected that the worms might in someway be responsible for it. 🤔

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On 6/26/2021 at 8:05 AM, seabass said:

Yeah, and the angelfish.

 

Seems like a lot of fish to me.  Have you tried peppermint shrimp?

 

I would agree with this. I would avoid more larger fish. I think what you have is enough for bigger fish and the angel is very pretty. 

 

I think Aiptasia eating filefish only get to 3.5 inches? So that would be a lot more appropriate than a copperband. 

 

I never had any problems with bristle worms and small fish but when I siphon the sand or clean out the sump I don't mind sucking them out. There is always more to replace them and culling numbers I figure makes more baby worms which I like better then the big ones. I suck out asternia's too even though I don't consider them a pest. 

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Snow_Phoenix
13 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

I would agree with this. I would avoid more larger fish. I think what you have is enough for bigger fish and the angel is very pretty. 

 

I think Aiptasia eating filefish only get to 3.5 inches? So that would be a lot more appropriate than a copperband. 

 

I never had any problems with bristle worms and small fish but when I siphon the sand or clean out the sump I don't mind sucking them out. There is always more to replace them and culling numbers I figure makes more baby worms which I like better then the big ones. I suck out asternia's too even though I don't consider them a pest. 

Thanks - I too, actually think the filefish is much better than the copperband. Copperbands are expensive, ship poorly and quite frankly, as you've said - it's quite a lot of fish (especially big fish) already.

 

The only two more fish I plan on adding is the filefish and a blenny (preferably another Starry). 

 

If I'm not mistaken, I currently only have 13 fish in this tank - but the foxface & angel will get quite big. 🤔

 

I have asterinas in my sump - but they mostly stick to the glass and munch on the film algae, so I leave them. I usually don't siphon the sand, per say, but I do stir it up and then siphon out the dirt that comes out of it. Maybe if I stir it up a bit more at night, I can quickly siphon out some bristleworms as well. I hardly see any worms out when the lights are on. 

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I moved my huge plate coral yesterday and the sand under it was MOVING (but you couldn't see the worms). It was freaky tremors movie moment lol - I think the wrasses eat them so they hide all in a piled up spot. I guess they are doing a good job turning the sand over at least. 

 

giphy.gif?cid=790b7611db9b7f9f74f7329c10

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Murphs_Reef
1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

I moved my huge plate coral yesterday and the sand under it was MOVING (but you couldn't see the worms). It was freaky tremors movie moment lol - I think the wrasses eat them so they hide all in a piled up spot. I guess they are doing a good job turning the sand over at least. 

 

giphy.gif?cid=790b7611db9b7f9f74f7329c10

Yeah the fairy wrasse may eat them

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Snow_Phoenix
17 minutes ago, Murphych said:

Is the sand Sifting Sea Star still around Snow? I got one in the end, had it 3 weeks. But always worried that I did the wrong thing as my sand is pretty free of life in big chunks 

Yeah, Patrick the sea star still exists! He moves around all over my sandbed - I catch him in different areas of the tank everyday. 🙂 

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

I moved my huge plate coral yesterday and the sand under it was MOVING (but you couldn't see the worms). It was freaky tremors movie moment lol - I think the wrasses eat them so they hide all in a piled up spot. I guess they are doing a good job turning the sand over at least. 

 

giphy.gif?cid=790b7611db9b7f9f74f7329c10

I remember watching Tremors as a kid. Used to give me nightmares. 🤣

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5 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Yeah, Patrick the sea star still exists! He moves around all over my sandbed - I catch him in different areas of the tank everyday. 🙂 

I remember watching Tremors as a kid. Used to give me nightmares. 🤣

 

Ya I was afraid to go outside on the grass for awhile after. I would like stick to the cement and hop across my moms garden logs. I don't think that would actually slow a giant worm down but as a kid I guess I figured it would! 

 

The movie IT really scared me too. I kept thinking blood was going to come out of the sink. 

 

The days before parental controls!! I guess I turned out ok anyways...

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Snow_Phoenix
9 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

Ya I was afraid to go outside on the grass for awhile after. I would like stick to the cement and hop across my moms garden logs. I don't think that would actually slow a giant worm down but as a kid I guess I figured it would! 

 

The movie IT really scared me too. I kept thinking blood was going to come out of the sink. 

 

The days before parental controls!! I guess I turned out ok anyways...

Thankfully, I skipped IT. One of my friends watched it as a kid and was very traumatized. She came to school looking like a zombie because she hadn't slept properly in days. 

 

As for Tremors - I used to speed-dash across patches of grass and exhale sharply whenever my feet touched the cement. Was so afraid I'd get eaten by the worm! 😆

 

Ah, the things we used to fear as kids! 

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Snow_Phoenix

Some of my CUC members were out today. 

 

Tux, the tuxedo urchin:

 

20210706_104010.thumb.jpg.4fef6519cac57b2f6a33a7d5e5aaa395.jpg

 

Monty the Halloween urchin:

 

20210706_103835.thumb.jpg.d22a4e3a18e6c39e924a99e0e2830306.jpg

 

Patrick the sandsifting starfish:

 

20210706_103819.thumb.jpg.067254fdb6ef2aff8067bbd95b76ed45.jpg

 

Cubert the conch snail:

 

20210706_103904.thumb.jpg.925cb071d4fa6a2d2baa338f6f8e666e.jpg

 

Turban snails:

 

20210706_103934.thumb.jpg.04e021a41c49c6f124b4932d2a06f94c.jpg

 

20210706_103953.thumb.jpg.bdb86f03a81d72ba4df28bfc168aae8f.jpg

 

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Snow_Phoenix

Illaron is very large now. He has actually surpassed Poseidon in terms of length and size, and is around ~5", which is quite large for a dragonet. 👍

 

20210707_174619.thumb.jpg.1957a2268e61f11b5859de9c244ead08.jpg

 

20210707_174658.thumb.jpg.954f0659ff7f8b6b3de2e63a7f95b3b7.jpg

 

20210707_174637.thumb.jpg.566a6b1a6d6c8005096ae15c21aaee2d.jpg

 

20210707_174724.thumb.jpg.5b99c2fce9ca560b953a683cfe47cd11.jpg

 

20210707_174819.thumb.jpg.1ffd9fa8ab045dd113176eca41fef3b9.jpg

 

I think I've lost Zoey. I haven't seen her for around 36 hours, and it's quite worrisome. 😔

 

So we're back down to 2 dragonets. 😔😔😔

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Snow_Phoenix

Prickles:

 

IMG_20210708_212209_236.thumb.jpg.371b1621710c57f2a568ed758796023d.jpg

 

I've been very sick for the last 5 days, but am slowly getting better. I've been neglecting the tanks for a bit, but I did a headcount and I just noticed that besides my mandarinfish, Zoey, my steinitz goby pair has also gone missing. 😔

 

To top it all off, Cubert the conch evidently died some time this week - I only realized his shell was empty today. Cubert has been with me since April 2020, but since he was literally plucked from the beach, I have absolutely no idea how old he truly is. 

 

My mum attributed it to old age though. Since Cubert was already fairly large and never truly grew in the tank, which means he *could* have been at max. size already. 🤔

 

I think I have 12 or 13 fish left. Not sure - need to check. 

 

My future stocking plans include more snails & some hermits for CUC, a small aiptasia-eating filefish & a blenny (preferably a Starry). 

 

No plans to do anymore dragonets, tbh. Too tired to train a new one atm. 😔

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Snow_Phoenix
11 minutes ago, seabass said:

Hope you get better soon.  That urchin is sweet.

Thanks, Seabass. It'll take a while to recover. I was extremely ill & bed-ridden in Feb, and it took 5 weeks before I could get back to my usual rhythm. This isn't as severe as Feb., but I'm mostly staying at home and trying to keep my mind stimulated. (Quite dangerous to step outside, since the Covid cases are still spiking up out of control).

 

I noticed something...strange about my tank recently. Would love your input on it.

 

A lot of my older wild-caught animals which are above 3 years of age are dying off. The ones below 3 years are still healthy, eating & behaving normally. Both my parents suggested that perhaps this is the lifespan of the wild-caught marine fish & inverts that I keep - because in truth, no one quite knows their actual ages.

 

What do you think? 🤔

 

I know fish that are harvested from the wild & transported here aren't exactly good, and sometimes don't go through the proper channels. In fact - most of the fish arrive at the store either dead, sick or full of parasites. Very rarely do you truly get a wild-caught fish from Indo that's super healthy. So I'm not sure. My aquacultured clowns seem to be faring better. Still going strong & are very healthy. 

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debbeach13

I think it is amazing that any wild caught fish survive the ordeal they go through before finding their way to a home aquarium. You are correct we never know their age so it is hard to judge if there is no change in the tank parameters. We have to consider they passed just because they got old. The owner of a LFS that I went to for years and when I was setting up my first reef tank he said "Be prepared for unexplained death" There will be times that every thing is going great and something dies and you will never actually know why it is part of this hobby.

 

I hope you feel a little better every day.

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Snow_Phoenix
12 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I think it is amazing that any wild caught fish survive the ordeal they go through before finding their way to a home aquarium. You are correct we never know their age so it is hard to judge if there is no change in the tank parameters. We have to consider they passed just because they got old. The owner of a LFS that I went to for years and when I was setting up my first reef tank he said "Be prepared for unexplained death" There will be times that every thing is going great and something dies and you will never actually know why it is part of this hobby.

 

I hope you feel a little better every day.

I understand, and thanks for the clarification & well wishes, Deb.

 

A lot of times, I've purchased marine fish (which appear seemingly 'healthy' at the LFS - active, vibrant, eating etc.), only to have them die in QT within 24 to 48 hours later - especially wrasses. I also recall how sometimes, when a fish dies in QT, the 'color' of their scales leaches off in rivulets on a piece of damp tissue that I put them on (to examine them, right before disposing the body) - almost as if the fish has been...dyed to look vibrant. I know this doesn't make any sense - but I've encountered this issue several times - once again, all with wrasses, and mostly fairy types. 

 

I find the tiny nanofish like small gobies & blennies to be hardier, as compared to large fish like tangs, angels, butterflies etc. Wild-caught clowns here always, always come with one disease or another - especially Ich or Brook. 

 

It's honestly a gamble whenever you purchase any sort of fish from the LFS here. No matter how well the fish is kept/treated at the store, it can and will still die on you unexpectedly. 😞 

 

FW fish are different though. Most of the FW fish we get here come from farms or are aquacultured locally/Thailand. Some are wild-caught, yes, but for the most part - depending on the store, they're usually quite healthy. And *if* they become sick, and the disease is caught early, usually you can treat them quickly enough so that the fish can recover (unless it's dropsy or tumors). My catfish is still going strong, and I'm personally amazed. He's slightly over 6 years now - raised him from 0.5" and he's roughly 7" to 8" now. Granted, he's a hybrid, so genetics might be in his favor there. My leopard eel would have lived longer too, had he not developed tumors. I was proud and happy to have 6 good years with him though - he was an amazing fish. 

 

I actually find FW fish way easier to keep. They're less demanding too, and can adapt very easily to aquarium life. And seemingly tolerate parameter fluctuations better. 

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Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how to explain what is going on within your tank.

 

Being wild caught, one hopes that they weren't caught with cyanide.  It's illegal, but some people still take the risk.  Fish often die within weeks (many die before they can even be sold); those that survive might suffer from organ damage which shortens their lives.

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Snow_Phoenix
1 hour ago, seabass said:

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how to explain what is going on within your tank.

 

Being wild caught, one hopes that they weren't caught with cyanide.  It's illegal, but some people still take the risk.  Fish often die within weeks (many die before they can even be sold); those that survive might suffer from organ damage which shortens their lives.

Truth be told, I myself don't know if any of the fish in the stores here have been caught using cyanide or not - not even the store owners themselves know, actually. I've seen unboxing of fish shipment from the Indo-Pac region. For every live fish, there's at least 5 dead fish with it. It's quite...sad, actually. I remember once they unboxed a styrofoam box full of bagged fish squeezed into it, and one of the bags had 'exploded' in the box, and a dead blue ribbon eel had slipped out of the bag and died within the box. Was the saddest thing ever. 😢

 

The true reality of our hobby - when it comes to acquiring wild-caught fish, is actually very ugly indeed. When you see it firsthand - how the fish are packed and crammed, for hours/days, being shipped from overseas to a local area, it's quite heartbreaking. And the ones that do survive and make it to a hobbyist's tank, are actually either 'strong' or incredibly lucky. 

 

Truly wish we had more aquacultured fish options here. Especially dragonets. 

 

All of them are wild-caught here. And most of them perish prematurely in the stores because they starve themselves to death, and cannot/would not accept any prepared or live food. The demand for dragonets are very high here - because they're very beautiful and exotic-looking. But the long-term success rate with them is fairly poor. 

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Critteraholic

@Snow_Phoenix   So sad about your fish.  I hate not knowing what has killed one of my critters.  Sorry you have been ill. Hope you get better soon!

 

On 7/5/2021 at 12:09 PM, Tamberav said:

Ya I was afraid to go outside on the grass for awhile after. I would like stick to the cement and hop across my moms garden logs. I don't think that would actually slow a giant worm down but as a kid I guess I figured it would! 

😝  Now you're making me feel old.  For my generation, it was Jaws.  Scared my husband so badly he wouldn't go swimming in the ocean. 😆

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Dragonettes live 10+ years, not sure about the others. Most fish reef fish seem long lived. 
 

Recent surprise to me was possum wrasses are 10+ too. 
 

Overly vibrant fish can be a sign of cyanide caught fish. The cyanide actually makes them more colorful and ofc… kills them. Best to avoid fish who’s colors seem unreal. 

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Snow_Phoenix
9 hours ago, Critteraholic said:

@Snow_Phoenix   So sad about your fish.  I hate not knowing what has killed one of my critters.  Sorry you have been ill. Hope you get better soon!

 

😝  Now you're making me feel old.  For my generation, it was Jaws.  Scared my husband so badly he wouldn't go swimming in the ocean. 😆

Thanks for the well wishes. 

8 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Dragonettes live 10+ years, not sure about the others. Most fish reef fish seem long lived. 
 

Recent surprise to me was possum wrasses are 10+ too. 
 

Overly vibrant fish can be a sign of cyanide caught fish. The cyanide actually makes them more colorful and ofc… kills them. Best to avoid fish who’s colors seem unreal. 

I figured as much. But I remember my LFS posting a few weeks ago about their mature yellow coris which died after 3 years. It just began gasping on the sandbed one day and eventually passed. Their system is quite mature, and most of their fish are old and quite large for their species. And their sump is interconnected to two other main frag tanks (besides their DT, and runs across the length of half of the store, so it's very large, and full of macro & a lot of coralline encrusted LR.

 

I'll observe the rest of the fish in the tank for any oddities. My GCG is still alive and I believe slightly over 3-years-old now. So that makes him my oldest marine fish atm, followed by my female black clownfish. As for dragonets - my LFS does have a female spotted that is around ~4-years-old, and around Poseidon's size. Evidently it's not trained to accept prepared, but there are tons of pods in their frag tank, so it survives on those, and is quite thick. 

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Snow_Phoenix

Look who came back from the dead! omgomgomg

 

IMG_20210709_174158_447.thumb.jpg.7842035fceae46c08cdb394314ddb11a.jpg

 

IMG_20210709_174158_449.thumb.jpg.f705dbd84f4a552e95761304b192e950.jpg

 

Found only one dude though - I think the other is gone. 😕

 

Casper the tangaroa showed up too:

 

IMG_20210709_174158_451.thumb.jpg.1c931c23a4eed2d46120565363c2e81d.jpg

 

If I'm not mistaken, Casper has been with me since 2019 (or was it '18? Need to check. 🤔) so he's part of the older batch of fish. He appears to be in good shape though. 👍

 

Pyro now lives under the upturned cup coral skeleton:

 

IMG_20210709_174051_040.thumb.jpg.d8375e678d05f2f7c40652d4d2444a3d.jpg

 

He's still very elusive though, and refuses to clean any of my fish that swims up to him. He used to clean Thanos very frequently though - perhaps he's still waiting for my blenny to show up. 😔

 

Also - just a random messy pic:

 

IMG_20210709_174219_837.thumb.jpg.f40aae99bd88736e779b744105a38b38.jpg

 

^Way too many things going on in that snapshot. Good news is the foxface has gained some weight, and the angel looks okay too, although it might take a while before both of them thicken out fully. 

 

Poseidon is still chunky though, so that's a plus. 👍

 

And a small add-on on the future livestock restock list: a cleaner shrimp. Cleaners are quite bold and active, plus have very low bioloads, so I *think* adding a small/medium-sized one to the tank shouldn't hurt. 

 

My Saron shrimp vanished about a month ago, so I think it has finally died. I believe I've had it since 2018, so that's quite long for a shrimp. 

 

The only other truly long-living invert in my tank is Tux, my tuxedo urchin. I've had him since 2018, and he's still going strong. Could be because my rocks have plenty of algae, so he has a constant supply of food. 👍

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