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


Snow_Phoenix

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3 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

If anyone has any advice or guidance, I'm all ears.

Do what you really like, but keep it manageable.  You don't want to take on a chore that you feel obligated to maintain for several years.  Remember reefing should be fun.

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Hmm. Scrapping off the finger dragonet idea. So back to the original drawing board. And yes, I'm planning way ahead - but only because I'm quite worried. 😕

 

So...

 

2x dwarf lionfish

1x angry clownfish

1x hawkfish

1x scorpionfish/leaffish/waspfish

1x yellow foxface

1x starry/lawnmower blenny 

 

^Stocked! 😊

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Just now, seabass said:

Do what you really like, but keep it manageable.  You don't want to take on a chore that you feel obligated to maintain for several years.  Remember reefing should be fun.

I agree whole-heartedly with this. I loved my dragonets, but their consistent-care was definitely draining the life out of me. 😔

 

I just want a normal, simple tank which I can enjoy. It doesn't have to be super pretty either. Just something I can relax/meditate in front of on a daily basis. 👍

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I'll have to check back with my LFS manager regarding the fish prices. The cost for livestock has increased a lot over the past 2 years - hopefully lionfish are still affordable & within my budget. 

 

The rest usually range no more than RM 50 per fish, but once again, prices & availability are subject to change. 🤔

 

I think the tank will host a few large LPS, some softies and shrooms. Have to skip out on the zoas because Foxy the foxface will go for those. 🤔

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4 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I just want a normal, simple tank which I can enjoy. It doesn't have to be super pretty either. Just something I can relax/meditate in front of on a daily basis. 👍

Stick to this and you can't go wrong.

 

 

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Good news! My LFS got back to me & gave me a quotation for a dwarf fuzzy. It falls within my budget! :lol:

 

So when the time comes, I can put in an order for 2 fuzzies and slowly collect the rest along the way. omgomgomg

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1 hour ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

and slowly collect the rest along the way

You'll need good sized specimens, or you'll be buying expensive feeder fish.

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31 minutes ago, seabass said:

 

You'll need good sized specimens, or you'll be buying expensive feeder fish.

Noted and agreed. I was thinking of trying to get small lions around the range of <3" - it is possible, but honestly subject to luck, because the store doesn't/can't decide on which fish sizes they'll receive during a shipment. Fire clowns usually come into the store at almost full size - I've rarely seen one beneath 4". Maroon clowns can be either incredibly large (full grown 6") or incredibly tiny juvis.

 

Longnose hawks are usually >4". Waspfish like cockatoo wasps usually are around 3" to 4". Scorps are a bit harder to come by. Same goes for leaffish. 

 

I'll try my best to get everything within the 3" to 4" range because stocking would be easier. I'll add my foxface first into the DT though (once everything is okay), and she's already pushing 6"++ (?), so she should be okay. I am definitely a bit worried over someone eating someone else. Need to keep all the fish well-fed - hopefully it won't be too difficult to wean them onto mysis. 

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filefishfinatic
On 12/8/2021 at 5:13 AM, Snow_Phoenix said:

Finally found some super old pics of my first lionfish! Tank was a nano in 2016. 🥰

 

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FTS of that nano:

 

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He's so friggin' adorable. Hmm. Definitely leaning heavily on the predator setup now. 👀

do it. it would be cool to spawn lionfish and scorpionfish. it isnt hard either. i have spawned spiny eels before and they are so cool to watch them do courtship. it would be insane if you got a pair of weedy scorpions or you go to the ocean and collect some scorpions (mabye) they typically eat fish like cardinals & chromis and a blenny could become lunch.  you could catch your own live saltwater prey with a castnet, or get aquarium feeder fish (threadfin cardinals probably)  or get goldfish and inject with a lot of cod oil or selcon. 

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39 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

do it. it would be cool to spawn lionfish and scorpionfish. it isnt hard either. 

I have no intention of spawning anything. 

40 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

it would be insane if you got a pair of weedy scorpions or you go to the ocean and collect some scorpions 

You can't just dive into the ocean and grab a random fish from the sea. It's illegal, and you need a permit/license to do so. :sideeyes:

40 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

they typically eat fish like cardinals & chromis and a blenny could become lunch.  

I am NOT going to deliberately feed any future predators in my tank with other fish. Geez. :furious:

 

42 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

you could catch your own live saltwater prey with a castnet, or get aquarium feeder fish (threadfin cardinals probably)  

I don't think you realize this (or maybe you do, but don't care), but you can't just grab some 'prey' animal from the ocean and drop it into your tank. It's very ill-advised, given the amount of parasites and diseases that tag along with said 'prey'. Feeder fish also usually come with diseases - threadfin cardinals are NOT feeders, they're treated as marine livestock in shops here. 

 

 

45 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

get goldfish and inject with a lot of cod oil or selcon. 

At this point, I'm more concerned than irritated. Please don't tell me you're actually suggesting I *inject a LIVE animal with cod oil or selcon and then feed it to another fish. There's a line between 'over-enthusiasm' in this hobby and being downright awful. You just crossed the line. 

I know it's a free forum, and everyone is entitled to their own thoughts/opinions, but I'd respectfully request you stop dropping *disturbing 'ideas' and 'suggestions' in my thread. 

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This tank, exactly 2 years ago from today (was fighting BJD during this time - you can see how shrunken my elegance truly was)

 

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My refugium 2 years ago:

 

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Really miss it when it was like this. 😔

 

Hopefully this restart will bring about a more promising future for this tank. Quite nervous to take it in a completely different direction, but excited as well at the prospect of keeping corals and fish again. 💦

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Bought this extremely thick piece of styrafoam yesterday:

 

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Decided to measure out the piece needed to brace the 10G QT-observation tank:

 

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There's already a lining of linoleum over the table used to support the tank previously:

 

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Once the piece was cut out, I just placed it over the linoleum. 👍

 

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Brought the tank back into the house:

 

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QT set up! 😊

 

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I think the fake plant takes up to much space though, so I'll try to get a tinier one. 

 

Also added floss and a few nanoquartz blocks to the sump:

 

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Tank isn't wet yet, but it will be soon & I'll start cycling it. Checked the motor & it was functional. 👍

 

Since I'm starting off with dry rock, it'll take 1++ month (or more) to cycle fully. By the time the cycle is done, I'd most likely moved my foxface back into the 60G DT upstairs. 

 

But future fish can be observed & QTed in this tank once they undergo 2 weeks of TTM. 

 

Since the tank is quite small, it can probably hold a max. of 2 fish at a time (or maybe 3 nanofish). So any future stockings for both of my reeftanks will be slow & relatively spaced out. Hoping to reduce the chances of any disease outbreaks in the future using this method. That, and improve fish stability/health, which will contribute to their longevity in the DTs. 👍

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Need to delay filling up the QT. My dog started having breathing issues this morning, so I'll be observing/staying with her. The vet is fully booked for today, but I did manage to get an appointment for tomorrow. 😕

 

She's a senior dog, so we're quite worried. All other pet-related work will have to take a backseat until we have her treated for her respiratory issues. 

 

My marine tanks are okay, but my nano's glass is covered with algae (can easily be scraped off). It's not dangerous to any of the inhabitants, just unsightly. 

 

Foxy the foxface is doing quite well in the QT bin in the sideporch. Her appetite has perked up quite a fair bit - I'm feeding her a mix of pellets 4x a day (small helpings each time) to help her regain all the lost weight during the hybrid-TTM. She has definitely grown thicker, but I'd like to get her super chunky like before. 😊

 

The 60G is chugging along well on its own. The few inverts I have in there are doing okay on their own. The mangroves (all except one, which looks withered) have developed shoots and most have developed leaves. The fuge is dirty though, but I'll only perform a WC around ~1 week before I re-add Foxy to the DT. 👍

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I am glad your Foxy is improving and hope your dog will get better.  I have two Foxy's one is a foxface and the other is my dog.  She is my loyal companion and my service animal.  We had an emergency vet visit with her last week.  She is older also and had injured her back somehow.  She has bulging discs in her back, so we are limiting her jumping and movement for a while.  It just means she gets to set in my lap a lot more, so we are both enjoying it.  I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her.

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35 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

I am glad your Foxy is improving and hope your dog will get better.  I have two Foxy's one is a foxface and the other is my dog.  She is my loyal companion and my service animal.  We had an emergency vet visit with her last week.  She is older also and had injured her back somehow.  She has bulging discs in her back, so we are limiting her jumping and movement for a while.  It just means she gets to set in my lap a lot more, so we are both enjoying it.  I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her.

I feel you on that last sentence. Both my first dog, Snow, & my current dog, Duchess were/are my emotional support dogs. When I lost Snow to cancer in 2013 (we had to put her down), I took it very badly. But after working through the proper grieving process, I can finally move on, although I'll never forget her. 

 

Duchess is 9-years-old and she's pretty much a lapdog too. We enjoy each other's company, and she helps me find a more consistent emotional balance. She's still quite spry for her age though - but we're trying to limit her activities for today (she loves running/jumping/playing). Hopefully it's nothing too serious tomorrow, and something that can be treated with antibiotics. 🐾

 

What type of foxface do you keep, if you don't mind me asking? Yellows are quite common here, although we do get magnificent foxes, as well as yellow & scribbled rabbits. Most of the time, the fish come in at almost max. size at the store, but I was lucky with Foxy being much smaller. 😊

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I think my foxface is what they call a one spot or rabbitfish.  I have had this one just over four years.  He was 3 or 4 inches long when I got him and is about 6 inches long now.  He is in my 75 with 8 other smaller fish.  I need to post a picture of it sometime.  Half of the tank is covered in metallic branching GSP and the other half is kenya tree, hairy mushrooms and a few zoas.  It is my wild child.  I need to find someone who is interested in GSP.  It just about covers the side wall of my 75 every 4 months.

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42 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

I think my foxface is what they call a one spot or rabbitfish.  I have had this one just over four years.  He was 3 or 4 inches long when I got him and is about 6 inches long now.  He is in my 75 with 8 other smaller fish.  I need to post a picture of it sometime.  Half of the tank is covered in metallic branching GSP and the other half is kenya tree, hairy mushrooms and a few zoas.  It is my wild child.  I need to find someone who is interested in GSP.  It just about covers the side wall of my 75 every 4 months.

A 75G? Sounds awesome! I've been trying to grow GSP on the back wall of my nano, but growth is slow. I'd love to see your tank. Sounds truly wild - and nice! 😊

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4 out of the 7 shoots are growing really well:

 

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1 shoot looks black and withered - looks like I have to bin it. 2 shoots are so-so. I've figured out the best placement for quicker growth in the sump - they need to be 'planted' in the second filtration compartment (where the roll of floss is), and not in the fuge itself. Also, the 1 shoot I placed next to the pump isn't getting enough circulation in that compartment, so it's not growing properly. High- flow with slightly off-centre lighting seems to work best for these guys. 

 

And they do much, much better when planted in a sand in a bottle, as opposed to just wedging them between rocks. 😊

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QT tank is finally wet! 😊

 

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It's still quite bare, but with a bit of tiny fake plants, it should look better (and also allow future fish to hide behind). 

 

I also added several squirts of pods & mysis as a food source for the bacteria. Had to use a glue cap to break the tip of the bioptim vial (tried breaking the second tip, but couldn't this time, so I resorted to shaking the vial until the liquid dribbled out one end. 😅 ). 

 

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Also put an acrylid lid over the tank to prevent my bird's feathers from accidently getting into the water:

 

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No lights for now, because I didn't see the need for it. I'll add the lights only when the fish are in in the future. 😊👍

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If you are considering a predator tank then you may want to take a look a Marine Betta. They are hardy and disease resistant as long as you start with a healthy eating specimen. They are long lived, shy, and beautiful. They do not need a lot of swimming space and will appreciate caves. I have a captive bred one I am growing out. 
 

He/she is like an inch right now. 

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2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

If you are considering a predator tank then you may want to take a look a Marine Betta. They are hardy and disease resistant as long as you start with a healthy eating specimen. They are long lived, shy, and beautiful. They do not need a lot of swimming space and will appreciate caves. I have a captive bred one I am growing out. 
 

He/she is like an inch right now. 

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I absolutely love the look of a marine betta! LFS has one occassionally. They can be quite shy indeed, but they're stunning. I think it'll appreciate the shadowy overhang (under the central ledge at the back of the tank) too. Will definitely keep an eye out for one. 😊

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Tam! 😊👍

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Currently considering these future possibilities:- 

 

Cockatoo wasp:

 

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Weedy scorp:

 

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Leaffish scorp:

 

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(Pics from Google) 

 

Will have to check which ones are available, and if the store can order one for me in the future. Will have to check the prices too. Scorps are usually pricey. 🤔

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

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