Vhexy’s Box

[billygoat]

I'm a little late to the party, but sorry to hear about the troubles you've been having, and about your mysterious deaths. 😞 I hope everything stabilizes and gets back on track soon!

 

As for macros, my recommendation for a tank like this would be Gracilaria hayi, which may be what your LFS is marketing as Dragon's Breath (there are quite a few different red algae that fall under this trade name). It's grows quite slowly but not too slowly, can tolerate a wide variety of lighting and flow conditions, and should be easy to trim when the time comes for it. And I'll second @Wonderboy's observation that damsels make great inhabitants for smaller systems where they can dominate the scene as the only fish in the tank. Just make sure you get a variety that will remain small enough throughout its life, as some damsels can grow to rather large sizes.

 

Looking forward to seeing where the journey takes you. I'll be following along! 😊

[Christopher Marks]

How are things going on the reef these days @Vhexxen? Have you had any more trouble with your heater and tank temps? The thermostats on many aquarium heaters are not that accurate and can sometimes get stuck on. Stray current was one thought too, how old is the heater? Inspect for cracks or moisture intrusion.

[Vhexxen]

It’s been better, @Christopher Marks, but also worse.  The heater I bought in May, no cracks or anything.  It’s running through an ink bird now, and has been more stable since I dialed that in.  There’s encroaching cyano again because I’m just coming through the nastiest part of term and I’ve barely had the energy to feed myself!

 

macro is doing pretty well.  The red gracilaria doesn’t want to anchor but is slowly growing, and I picked up a little mushroom frag with a scrap of what I thought might be blue octodes.  It isn’t very blue now, just green, but it’s already about five times the size.  The textured shrooms are all enjoying life, and the purple/green acan... although not as much as the pectinia.  I think it might be officially encrusting rock by next month, and it always wants more food.  Pods are through the roof too.

 

as for fish.... well, I picked up a springers damsel earlier this month.  Took a few days to come out while anyone was nearby but always snatched food.

 

 Just shy of a week later, the damsel was dead.  I hadn’t even settled on a name.  No overt signs of trauma, no redness to the gills, no swelling or bloating.  Just gone overnight.  Again.

 

so maybe this will just be a crab and coral tank.  My hermits are very active, and are too well fed to care about the snails three to ten times their size (or the cowrie).  The two emeralds are well settled in as well.

[Wonderboy]

Sorry about the little damsel - good to hear everything else is growing though   :]