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


Snow_Phoenix

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Snow_Phoenix
48 minutes ago, seabass said:

Seems like you never take a break; I guess you're just a gluten for punishment.  But I commend your treatment of all of the fish that you get. 👍

Yeah, looking back - I have been conducting 2 (now going on 3) back-to-back (well, almost 😅) hybrid-TTM sessions for various fish. It is stressful, but I'm doing it to help the fish and minimize the risk of diseases entering the tank. 

 

I don't think it's possible to completely eliminate the entry of diseases/parasites, because that would require QTing *everything - inverts, corals, macro, rocks - maybe even sand (?) 🤔

 

I can't truly be overzealous in QTing anything/everything I purchase. But in the case of fish, I can at least help knock off the internal parasites/worms and treat any diseases they might have, while waiting for them to acclimate to captivity and build up their immunity. 

 

Most fish arrive weak at the store, but this batch appeared quite good. Even the tangs were chunky, robust and healthy. No outward signs of ich either. Some of the fish had begun eating pellets too! 😊

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Beautiful! I love skunk clownfish! If I ever had another tank I could have clowns in... it would be skunks. They are so underrated. The one you got is sooo pretty too! Is it wild caught? The colors are vivid. 

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Snow_Phoenix
9 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Beautiful! I love skunk clownfish! If I ever had another tank I could have clowns in... it would be skunks. They are so underrated. The one you got is sooo pretty too! Is it wild caught? The colors are vivid. 

Yep, wild-caught! All the skunks at the store were paired up with a LTA - they seem to love nems very much. I was offered a green-tipped LTA for a good price, but I hesitated because I was worried about the size & it walking into my wavemaker. I suppose it could occupy the central ledge at the back of the tank, but if it decides to move...:scarry:

 

I have to say - skunks are quite aggressive though. A customer boarded 3 clowns at the store - a full-grown maroon, a clarkii and a pink skunk. The skunk was actually picking on the maroon quite a fair bit. 

 

I noticed orange skunks are a bit more mellow. 🤔

 

I'll be checking up on the fish later - hoping they both made it through the night without issues. 

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Snow_Phoenix

Lady perching on the rocks:

 

20220605_100614.thumb.jpg.684e46722bf06d1518f0e1856c9ba42d.jpg

 

Two new sulky leathers:

 

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Blenny in QT appears okay, but the clown is not very active and still in her corner behind the fake plant. A bit worried there, but I'll try to feed them in a bit and hopefully they'll eat something. 😕

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Snow_Phoenix

Sulky leathers have slightly better PE today. 👍

 

20220606_101640.thumb.jpg.39f167a945936f650c05a29d74972e2c.jpg

 

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Dot the molly:

 

20220606_101646.thumb.jpg.e896cc2a05f128d06875b8bf8a7a14b8.jpg

 

PJ:

 

20220606_101559.thumb.jpg.2b15c60b0c6a5263f5df28e03fe19481.jpg

 

Hawke:

 

20220606_143421.thumb.jpg.88aaac9e41e19266e0862c67f7de328c.jpg

 

Cleo has gained a smidge of weight, but it's still not enough: 😕

 

20220606_143438.thumb.jpg.efb63686ebb53a9019b4793fd2706ea4.jpg

 

Cynarina is browning out. My levels are quite bad (just a guess) because of all the frozen & live food, and lack of WCs. 

 

20220606_143511.thumb.jpg.8d790e9ce7351f88f6fc88f06b8c641d.jpg

 

Also, the first cynarina I purchased is very badly retracted. I moved it to the back a bit, so that it is not under the lights directly, but it does look terrible. It's been going downhill for the past week, and I'm worried I will lose it. I didn't realize how bad it was until I scraped the glass today and had a clear view of everything inside. 😕

 

Quite relieved I didn't pick up any LPS from the store few days ago. The only way to sort this out is by doing a large WC on both the fuge and DT. I'll have to spread it out between 2 to 3 days too, because a thorough clean up will take several hours to accomplish. 🤔

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Snow_Phoenix
2 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

I love how they hang out together, so cute 

Me too! I truly wish my tank could accomodate a third; I really do. The main issue is bioload - these guys poop 💩 a lot! I can only imagine how messy it'll get as they become larger. 

 

Just waiting to add my clown & blenny to this tank - hoping those 2 will pull through QT okay. I dosed Prazi in their bin this afternoon, but they didn't eat (as usual). 

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Snow_Phoenix

Hawke on the lookout for trouble:

 

20220607_112134.thumb.jpg.23083166d1f3978d246d1178cc59e254.jpg

 

20220607_111822.thumb.jpg.2013a04f8a80421cbe3116c1ce149574.jpg

 

Just realized PJ has blue lipstick! :lol:

 

20220607_112217.thumb.jpg.f86967db87b102490148068ccb00d915.jpg

 

Stardust, the molly:

 

20220607_111757.thumb.jpg.970df0d1a3fbe9cd213584fb848df384.jpg

 

Sally, the other molly:

 

20220607_111902.thumb.jpg.63b694a12b6ce2094d6ace06c738a816.jpg

 

Cleo: 🥰

 

20220607_111741.thumb.jpg.f062d9ec18aecc7e20232626fafcf976.jpg

 

Foxy: 🥰

 

20220607_112009.thumb.jpg.b772653f02dfc30a96bfd3c5c52e7c30.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Really hoping this will grow out well. The mother colony at the store was gorgeous:

 

20220607_112036.thumb.jpg.1bbd929601a28d7b41abc996e5da18e8.jpg

 

The polyps are still stubby, but at least it looks better than yesterday:

 

20220607_111720.thumb.jpg.0f67e39e763e125c281ab322ef861ba4.jpg

 

^What it is truly capable of growing into:

 

20220606_151257.thumb.jpg.60b105e4d796b8ac82abc212f6dcd16c.jpg

 

One last lion pic! 🥰

 

20220607_111809.thumb.jpg.d90e174ac837dda0fdd1830f6d6bbe12.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Next phase of hybrid-TTM completed today! 😊👍

 

20220607_142058.thumb.jpg.6ce3c72e9ccb53837e0b415ff5fc0524.jpg

 

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I discovered why I was having issues in my main DT - turns out one of the smaller mangroves had shriveled up and began to decay in my sump. 😕

 

I noticed this particular propagule started having issues around ~2 weeks ago, despite being misted daily and supplemented with ChaetoGro. I thought the scrunched up leaves were just old ones which would fall, and give way for new shoots. 🤦‍♀️

 

Definitely should have pulled it out a week ago at least! 

 

The rest of the mangroves are very healthy and growing continuously. I think I'll seed the fuge with more live pods again next month. 🤔

 

I tried to pick up more urchins while I was at the store recently, but the last 2 tuxedos were already reserved by another customer. I'll have to wait for a new shipment. I have turf algae on the rocks, which is impossible to yank off by hand or forceps (tried and failed before). My current urchin seems to be making progress at removing patches of it. So does the molly crew and my Foxface. 

 

If the blenny makes it through QT, I think he'd enjoy grazing on the rocks in this tank and thicken out. I'll try dropping in a few seaweed pellets in QT. Hope he eats at least 1 of them. He's been rejecting everything I've given so far, but I haven't tried out *all the types of food that I have, including the seaweed strips. Perhaps I'll wrap one around a rock using a rubber band and drop it in - I figure it can't hurt to try...(?) 🤔

 

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Snow_Phoenix

Took these pics under yellow filter lens, earlier in the evening, when the blues weren't too strong. 👍

 

Weeping willow toadstool leather frag:

 

20220607_162640.thumb.jpg.6025f762982be4a39428ca08fd0412e6.jpg

 

Neon green kenya tree:

 

20220607_162652.thumb.jpg.14e737ccd0024b73cb98448a6fd88f54.jpg

 

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20220607_162856.thumb.jpg.2b27b5a8e5f777a26108fa7b91a30ff6.jpg

 

Scattered clumps of GSP on the back wall and rocks:

 

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The tiny pink kenya tree that never grew: 😭

 

20220607_162726.thumb.jpg.dea49c828e46f0dedcde221883f8b47d.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Pics from now on taken under a mix of yellow or orange filter lens at 2 different times - early evening & late evening. 👍

 

Lions! 🥰

 

20220607_162929.thumb.jpg.ee45d2393d3efeb6d265c75c5f5c047d.jpg

 

20220607_162829.thumb.jpg.522babdcb874f6f1f1690c57fd43618f.jpg

 

20220607_173157.thumb.jpg.ecca6f283d3a792bcf8e509a1318903b.jpg

 

Neon polyps with flowery ends: 🥰

 

20220607_173149.thumb.jpg.da4bf1f38e4dae4cb6ef9aef453ec2c3.jpg

 

Little yuma:

 

20220607_162840.thumb.jpg.db618ecb4d82473bc07e355a49992464.jpg

 

Cloves:

 

20220607_173309.thumb.jpg.b10f917ecf55c137433bbdab1ad0ec3c.jpg

 

Cynarina (under heavy blues & orange filter lens) :

 

20220607_173259.thumb.jpg.f6454590d08f78ffef811bbb1adb8cb2.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Puffy this morning:

 

20220608_095226.thumb.jpg.76191c1a7855983412d676a0265e5d1e.jpg

 

Grow, grow, grow! 🥰 :

 

20220608_095547.thumb.jpg.6368a231c00f5272250b79ca11960c20.jpg

 

More polyps! 😊 :

 

20220608_095536.thumb.jpg.581f923b5f3ff085ed945338cf1e8d8d.jpg

 

Corals look much, much better after the dead mangrove removal. More PE, and more spread out. 👍

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Snow_Phoenix

A small slice of good news from the fish in QT: the clown has developed a rather hearty appetite and eats all the pellets I throw in. The blenny however, is still quite stubborn and refuses food. Day after tomorrow will be the next phase of TTM + either a peroxide or methylene blue bath (MB was suggested by Humble on his forum). I'll have to dig through my storage to see if I have any MB left, otherwise it's back to using peroxide. 

 

I can't wait for this Hybrid-TTM session to be over - mostly because I'm worried the blenny would starve to death before he has a chance to be added to my 60G, which is full of algae for him to graze on. 😕

 

He's not emaciated, but he's definitely very thin. 😞 

At least the clown is still quite chunky. Her colors are still vibrant too. 🙂 

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Snow_Phoenix

Lady last night:

 

20220609_000432.thumb.jpg.7f4233bc6db7e46235773a776ba3270b.jpg

 

Lily today: 

 

20220609_122645.thumb.jpg.c774ae157e74e2e41ea0227710ab72a3.jpg

 

Cleo (and yes, sadly, my cynarina - the older, unhealthier one - is wasting away. 😔 ) :

 

20220609_122633.thumb.jpg.f1801c948f794bc749d3503653780298.jpg

 

Hawke:

 

20220609_122514.thumb.jpg.535c5f5684f6efd0af0c8a31bdfe23ed.jpg

 

I see new polyps around the rim! 🥰 :

 

20220609_122524.thumb.jpg.b93e1b0e9f210bf13e0503d674d25c1e.jpg

 

Cynarina:

 

20220609_122621.thumb.jpg.007838ee13c70918160931715ce6e139.jpg

 

The lone purple monster polyp (with a second polyp finally coming in) :

 

20220609_122340.thumb.jpg.d51fb306e41a737f6b56dcd8de574e91.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Peroxide bath and TTM for the two new fish coming tomorrow. I'm thinking of naming the clown Aquilla. 🥰

 

No name for the blenny yet, but I have a few playing around my head. 🤔

 

I *might mix up the SW and set up everything in advance tonight too. Mostly because tomorrow morning will be a busy day (car trouble, so it needs to be sent to the service center), and I don't want to miss the 72 hour window for the TTMs. 

 

I also looked back at my calendar and the last time I WCed this tank was on 17/3. Yikes! :scarry:

 

I'm supposed to WC this tank at least once every 6 weeks. Guess I was swamped with all the other pet work + continuous slews of QTs/Hybrid-TTMs, that I neglected the welfare of this tank. Quite irresponsible fishkeeping on my part, so I'll strive to manage my time more wisely in the future - although any health issues that crop up in between can throw a wrench into things. 😕

 

The algae I don't mind, but the corals I need to take care of. If I could turn around a nano full of sick corals into what it is today, I *know I can turn this tank back around into a healthy tank again. 👍

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debbeach13

I just got my internet fixed last night it was running so slow I wasn’t seeing any pictures. Which is no acceptable when viewing your posts. LOL

Don’t over do it. We all fall behind every once in a while. 

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Snow_Phoenix
52 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I just got my internet fixed last night it was running so slow I wasn’t seeing any pictures. Which is no acceptable when viewing your posts. LOL

Don’t over do it. We all fall behind every once in a while. 

Deb, I think it was a site issue too because I couldn't access the site and had to re-upload pics several times for it to go through. I even turned my internet on/off and it didn't work. I could access other sites, including FB, Instagram and Shopee (our version of EBay) without trouble. 

Luckily I didn't have any problems uploading today. Could have just been a server issue for a few hours. It does happen from time to time. And sometimes pics do get flipped upside down after being uploaded - but I notice this tends to happen *mostly when the pics are uploaded from iPhones or iPads. 🤔

Anyhow, I have more pics on my Instagram (link is in my signature), if you just want to skim through it without too many words wedged in between. The profile is set to public, so you can view it anytime. (Also, it might contain a mix of other pics of my pets and my garden too! :happy:)

 

I do agree on not overdoing this. Turning around a 10G is easier than a 60G (with a 23G sump) based on the volume alone. With my nano, I can WC 80% of the tank weekly/biweekly without too much trouble. With the 60G, that's almost impossible for me. Mixing up the amount of SW needed for such a large WC on a weekly basis alone would probably exhaust me deeply. 

I can do smaller WCs, I suppose - let's say, 10% a WC or biweekly. It's what I'm aiming for long-term. 6G of new SW a week isn't too difficult to handle if I pace myself. But I do perform total sump clean-outs once every 4 to 6 months. I'm thinking of ditching the disposable floss and using sturdier, pond filter mats which can be re-used after rinsing. At least those don't come apart in SW and last longer ---> and they also trap dirt way, way better! :happy:

 

I tested the use of pond filter mats in my overhead filter boxes of my discus & predator tanks, and it's much better. I also used two small strips for my SW tidepool crab tank, and the filter mat hasn't frayed, and has actually prevented sand particles from clogging the filter intake in that tank.

 

There's definitely a *lot of adjustments, big and small, to be made. I don't expect to see a 'pretty' or 'clean' tank anytime this year or the next, actually. This will take time. And I'm willing to wait. 👍

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