Rudy's New Pico Reef - Old School Pico Reef

[MetaTank]

1 hour ago, RudyEnt said:

Ok, I said I was going to wait but while at my LFS this guy (girl) was still in the bag and I had to get her.  So here she is my new addition.  A Ruby Red Scooter Dragonet.  So I asked them to find me a male to keep her company.

Oooh! I saw one of those the other day! I was so tempted, but then I remembered I’m too lazy to feed live food or hatch BBS to feed it...lol

 

Beautiful addition...do you know if it eats frozen food or pellets?

[RudyEnt]

On 5/21/2019 at 5:59 PM, MetaTank said:

Oooh! I saw one of those the other day! I was so tempted, but then I remembered I’m too lazy to feed live food or hatch BBS to feed it...lol

 

Beautiful addition...do you know if it eats frozen food or pellets?

 

On 5/21/2019 at 5:59 PM, MetaTank said:

Oooh! I saw one of those the other day! I was so tempted, but then I remembered I’m too lazy to feed live food or hatch BBS to feed it...lol

 

Beautiful addition...do you know if it eats frozen food or pellets?

She (Alee)  eats only live.  So I dumped in a bottle of pods and another of rotifers in order to keep the population high.  I am putting in 5ml of Phyto every other day to keep them viable and breeding.

[Wendy]

The red dragonets are so very pretty!

 

Your tank is looking nice filling in with corals (;

[RudyEnt]

Ok,  I really have to stop going over to my LFS.  Every time I go there I come home with something new.  In this case I came home with 5 additions.  I saw these two clown together and then three rock flowers on a rock so I got them all.  So what happens to the rock flowers when I get them home and into the tank.  They scattered, one you can see in the middle, the other on his way to the back of the tank and the third found a hole in the rock and went in.  It is the most beautiful hole, too bad you can barely see the flower.  I hope he comes out.  Well there you have it.  I also did my first water test since I was doing it to my other tank and glad to report that everything is going perfect.  I guess the one gallon a week water change is working great.  All are doing great.

[RudyEnt]

Update Time,

 

Well things are progressing fine.  Everything seems to be doing great and growing or at least opening up more than ever before.  Sorry for the late post but there was loss in my family and I have been away.  But even with me not being on top of the tank it has done great.  So as soon as I got back I did a one gallon water change(first picture).  As soon as I was done with the change it was like I had not even touched the tank.  Everything went about its business like normal, everyone happy.

[debbeach13]

Sorry about the family loss. When did you remove the sand? Just curious do you still have 2 clowns and a dragonet in there or has any one been moved to the other tank? Every looks good.

[RudyEnt]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Sorry about the family loss. When did you remove the sand? Just curious do you still have 2 clowns and a dragonet in there or has any one been moved to the other tank? Every looks good.

I took out the sand two weeks ago.  I was not happy with it.  As for the clowns I took the smaller one out and placed him in my big tank.  The other one was picking on him.  So I found a male dragonet and added him to the tank.  They are very peaceful and are getting along great.  I have even seem him expand his fins as he gets close to her.  Usually a very good sign.  I thing I noticed that she is not as red as before.  But that is good as the male I bought in is that color as well.  I will try to get a picture of them both together.  They don't stay put long enough for a picture.  My rock flowers are much happier now that I removed the sand.  For some reason they didn't like the black sand.  I may add some sand back but very thin to see if they like it.

[seabass]

1 hour ago, RudyEnt said:

As for the clowns I took the smaller one out and placed him in my big tank.  The other one was picking on him.

Likely, if separated, you won't be able to reunite them down the road.  The younger they are, the more likely they will bond.  The confined space might have been an issue.  If you plan to reunite them, I'd move the smaller one to the large tank too (and try again).

[RudyEnt]

On 6/20/2019 at 5:24 PM, seabass said:

Likely, if separated, you won't be able to reunite them down the road.  The younger they are, the more likely they will bond.  The confined space might have been an issue.  If you plan to reunite them, I'd move the smaller one to the large tank too (and try again).

By the way I think I should clarify why I took out the black sand.  I was getting weird readings on my water test.  Add that to my flower anemones that were not opening.  I had the idea that there was something with the sand so I removed it.  Once I did and made my first water change after that all my readings where normal.  I am still doing a gallon a week water change.  So since removing the sand everything got happier.  

 

I totally agree with the fact that it could be it is a small tank.  So I am testing it out by bringing in a different ocellaris.  I bought one yesterday to see if they get along.  I will give them a couple of days to adjust to each other.  I will take a picture today and post it tomorrow.  If they start to pick on each other then I know I have an aggressive fish and I should leave her alone.  

 

So on another note I was able to sort of get a picture of both my dragonets.  It seems that she can change color as she got a little more red then she has been but nowhere near as red as she was.  So you can see him on top of the rock and she is on the foreground.  I have not had this type of dragonet before so everything they do is new to me.  I have a  green mandarin and a spotted mandarin in my large tank that I have had for over 5 years.  By the way they are both very fat as I have a large population of pods in my refugium with only those two to consume them.  

 

I have enjoyed building and learning with this pico tank that I may add a slightly larger one in my office next to my planted freshwater tank.

[Wonderboy]

Nice, fat RFA! glad it's looking happy after you got the sand figured out. That macro looks quite content, too. It's interesting that you can watch the dragonets interact with minimal obstructions and such close viewer and specimen proximities - are you still dosing the pods and phyto? They look good; I have seen them in all assorments of red in different systems, too - from pale pink to sometimes dark burgundy. I think that it's the different lighting we all use. I incorporated a red LED above the DT that houses my female just to bring out warm colors in the tank - she is the brightest one I have seen, but I'm 100% sure why - contributing factors would be dermal photoreception, diet, and/or just spectral perspective. Oh last thing, +1 to adding another tank at the office 

[RudyEnt]

4 hours ago, Wonderboy said:

Nice, fat RFA! glad it's looking happy after you got the sand figured out. That macro looks quite content, too. It's interesting that you can watch the dragonets interact with minimal obstructions and such close viewer and specimen proximities - are you still dosing the pods and phyto? They look good; I have seen them in all assorments of red in different systems, too - from pale pink to sometimes dark burgundy. I think that it's the different lighting we all use. I incorporated a red LED above the DT that houses my female just to bring out warm colors in the tank - she is the brightest one I have seen, but I'm 100% sure why - contributing factors would be dermal photoreception, diet, and/or just spectral perspective. Oh last thing, +1 to adding another tank at the office 

Thank you.  Yes I am still adding pods but not as much.  I dose phyto to promote their multiplying.  In another week or so they should if they are not already start reproducing on their own.  I removed the filter pad and only have a coarse sponge as a habitat for spawning.  Yes, they are so interesting to just watch.  I have never had these type of dragonets before and now I am wondering why not.  I love them.

[RudyEnt]

Update time,  It seems that the new clown is getting along with the original.  By the way the one I took out and moved to my other tank is doing fine.  No one is picking on him.  As for everything else it is going good.  Corals look like they are happy and growing ( I think, at least they are opening up more).  As you can see from this picture I am getting more algae on the glass so I have to clean it more often.  It may have to do with the extra phyto I have been dosing.  So I am going to cut back a bit on the dose and see if it does the trick.  The other thing is my rock flowers are always on the move.  They don't seem to stay in one place for too long even though I have been direct feeding them.  Overall I am really enjoying this tank.

[RudyEnt]

Well I am trying something new for the first time, I am hatching baby brine shrimp to feed my fish. I gave it shot the other day and they loved it. I was surprised that the dragonets went after then as well. So here is an update picture.

[RudyEnt]

Wow, as an update something almost catastrophic happened.  As I am cleaning the tank glass yesterday I bumped the light and it fell into the water.  I freaked and thought it was going to electrocute everything but it turns out that the power cords are at least water resistant and I was able to get it out of the water safely.  Onto the bad.  The LED cluster matrix of the light is not waterproof.  I thought I got to it fast enough to dry it out and it was working for awhile but about three hours later the light started to fault.  I still have most of the white and the blues but all of the rest of the colors are dead.  More than likely the rest of the light will go soon.  So I had to order a new one.  As for the fish they are all still fine.  One of the red monti got hit by the light and broke.  I will be glueing that piece back onto the rock.  All in all it could have been worse.  After I finish glueing the coral back I will take a new picture to post.

[debbeach13]

Too bad about the light. Glad you and the coral are safe.

[Ratvan]

On 7/13/2019 at 5:52 PM, RudyEnt said:

Well I am trying something new for the first time, I am hatching baby brine shrimp to feed my fish. I gave it shot the other day and they loved it. I was surprised that the dragonets went after then as well. So here is an update picture.

I'm assuming this is some gravity fed drip feeder?

[RudyEnt]

On 8/6/2019 at 8:51 AM, Ratvan said:

I'm assuming this is some gravity fed drip feeder?

Nope, Nothing that nice.  It is just a hatching container for the brine shrimp.  Although I am trying to design one that would dose and grow both phyto and pods at the same time and feed it to the tank.  The idea came from Devin at ReefDudes and it sounded like something that would work.  So I am not sure if he finally did it or not but I am going with his original idea and trying to create it.  I got most of it done but I have not started the culture.  By the way I will be trying it on my 150g tank not this little guy.  But if it works I would have a sustainable production for both tanks.

[RudyEnt]

On 8/6/2019 at 8:47 AM, debbeach13 said:

Too bad about the light. Glad you and the coral are safe.

Thank you.  We are.  I just glued the coral back on.  A little cloudy from messing with it but everyone is fine.

[RudyEnt]

Update time.  Everything is going great.  My Frogspawn has expanded to nearly double its original size and it looks like it is getting ready to split a head.  My red macro I had to trim multiple times as it has grown to more than double its size.  My monti is doing well again even after I broke it when the light fell in the water.  The rock flowers are opening up huge and looking great.  I really hope they spawn.  So I was at my LFS getting some Amino acids for my large tank and came across this little guy.  It is a Yellow Coral Goby.  He is from Okinawa.  I had to get him as he is from where my style of martial arts is from.  Pluss he just looks pretty cool yellow that stands out among the red in the tank.  I got him four days ago and he is doing great and getting along with my other fish.  Oh, sorry for the blurry pic the glass is dirty I have not cleaned it in a week.  Let me know what you think.  I am going to clean the tank today and take a picture of it again.

[RudyEnt]

Update,  after a water change and a little cleaning everyone is healthy and happy as can be. 

[Tired]

Looks pretty cool! Any plans to add any sand back, or is it not worth the trouble? 

 

Have you noticed any increased aggression from the clowns as they grow? Seems like a pretty small tank for them. 

[RudyEnt]

On 9/7/2019 at 11:12 AM, Tired said:

Looks pretty cool! Any plans to add any sand back, or is it not worth the trouble? 

 

Have you noticed any increased aggression from the clowns as they grow? Seems like a pretty small tank for them. 

I was considering adding the sand back and ask in the main forum if I should.   Not sure since everything is growing well and doing fine. 

As for the clowns they could not be better.  Since I removed the one that was picking on the other and moved him to my other tank and added the new one.  They have been fine.  I guess it was an aggressive one but he is tiny in my other tank.  So he can't pick on anyone there as he is the smallest fish.

[seabass]

17 hours ago, RudyEnt said:

I was considering adding the sand back and ask in the main forum if I should.   Not sure since everything is growing well and doing fine. 

I'm personally not a fan of black sand.  Not that I don't think it looks nice (when clean), but that many people seem to complain about it for various reasons.

 

I do like the natural look of white sand.  Just an inch deep, so it's easy to keep clean.

[RudyEnt]

7 hours ago, seabass said:

I'm personally not a fan of black sand.  Not that I don't think it looks nice (when clean), but that many people seem to complain about it for various reasons.

 

I do like the natural look of white sand.  Just an inch deep, so it's easy to keep clean.

I have dry white sand as well from my other tank that I never used.  But my main concern was that my rock flowers did not react well to the black sand.  I wonder if there is something in it that they don't like.

[Tired]

It could be the fine particles in the black sand were too sharp. It seems to be a sharper sand overall than most white ones.