undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I used to be REALLY into fish when I was younger, but once I hit HS I switched to larger more emotive pets. I'm currently in university studying to be a marine biologist and suddenly got the itch again. But this time I wanted a marine tank, now that I can not only drive by myself but also have my own finances. This tank started back in January of this year. She fully cycled in 1 month through a mix of patience and some added bacteria. Shes had only 1 ammonia spike, which led to a few zoa losses, and my first pair of clowns passed due to unknown circumstances (I believe bad quarantine from the store, I heard from an employee that they only QT for 1 week). My new clown (different store) is doing well. I've got a new batch of zoas and some GORGEOUS LPS. I'm ADDICTED to color and movement (title *teehee) and am already planning on expanding. I should probably start at the beginning though for anyone who might be interested. Day 1: Jan 22 - Bought used for $200 + $20 (delivery) Week 2: Started the ammonia cycle on day 1 using frozen brine shrimp cubes. Added Fritz zyme 9 on day 14 Quote Link to comment
DISQUALIFIED-QQ Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 oh heeeeyyyy another marine bio major!!!!!!!! 2 Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Week 4: Meet PRISCILLA (Cynarina) ... This is my PRIZED coral to date! I have literally cried over that fact that she got severely sick during her first couple of weeks. Later on you'll see her improvement but finding her forever spot has been trouble. A 1.5 wks into her arrival and my biocube light broke. The moonlights weren't working when I got them and then the artinic bulb broke and then the 10,000k bulb broke. Also one of the bassets was broken. Thats what you get when you buy used. Feeding time: Hungry Full Here is what she looked like when I purchased her online. Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Week 6: The Romeo & Juliet (Literally) Here are Romeo (WW) & Juliet (PBI), names given post-mortem. When I saw them in-store, 1 wk before, I was hooked. Juliet was a premium blacker ice clownfish and Romeo was a Wynoming White (false). I bought them together so that I would have a future breeding pair. 8 days into their adjustment, Romeo passed. I still to this day have no idea why, but Im guessing it has to do with an internal parasite. He never stopped his quick breaths and at one point had Juliet supporting him. When I woke up he was gone. 3 Weeks later, Juliet was gone. One moment she was swimming fine, the next she was trying to place herself under a rock ledge (bottom of the tank) and breathing heavily. I moved her to QT and she was doing a weird spasm swim and losing color. I tried everything I could with extra oxygen etc. but she was lost. Here are some cute pictures though of the two. Quote Link to comment
DISQUALIFIED-QQ Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Man that is tough luck! Hope you find your next pair soon. Your Cynarina looks pretty cool. Ever wanted to do Fungia a try? It's my favorite. Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Week 12: So over the 6 weeks. I lost 3 zoas (pictured in post above). It was the ammonia spike that did them in, and the iodine dip didnt help. Left them for too long compared to my other LPS (not all youtubers know what they're doing). I had an ammonia spike to 2 ppm, and had to completely empty the tank. I even thought I lost 'Pom-pom' the crab (yes I name my aqua-mates) because I removed all the rock work, inspected and NEVER found him, but found his shed exoskeleton and feared the worst. During week 10, out popped Pom-pom, excited for the feeding frenzy. I picked up 2 acans, a 'Dragon eyes or soul' favia, and Cherry Apple blastomussa for sale. One of my acans came with a bonus feather duster attached! I felt so lucky when she graced me with her feathers out of nowhere. I got a new clownfish, named PONGO. He looks like another false Wynoming White clown, but hes so adorable with his little spots. Before Juliet died, she & Pongo were getting along. Me STILL STRUGGLING w Pricilla!😤 Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 25 minutes ago, Diamonds x Pearls said: Man that is tough luck! Hope you find your next pair soon. Your Cynarina looks pretty cool. Ever wanted to do Fungia a try? It's my favorite. Yes! I'm allergic to land animals so the sea has alwasy been my calling. But honesltly, still hasn't stopped me from land animals. I honestly think shes one of the prettiest coral I've ever seen, and I hope to try Fungia when I get a bigger tank. Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 My new reef light FINALLY CAME! After a month of waiting! Last Friday, I picked up my new zoa order from the same reefer I got my previous zoas from. He blessed me with a few freebies due to hearing about my ammonia lose. This is Gino He does this every time! As of March 13th this is the current tank set up! I'm so proud. Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 My newest vertebrate is a Gold head sleeper goby. Full tank: Quote Link to comment
RedCrow Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 10 hours ago, undertheseaquarium said: And my first pair of clowns passed due to unknown circumstances (I believe bad quarantine from the store, I heard from an employee that they only QT for 1 week) Always assume the worst when new livestock is purchased. Even animals that look healthy in store can become sick from the stress of moving. The only reliable quarantine is the one you do yourself. For what it’s worth, I rarely quarantine my fish, but I also understand the very real risks involved in not doing it. Looks like your off to a good start btw Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 8 hours ago, RedCrow said: Always assume the worst when new livestock is purchased. Even animals that look healthy in store can become sick from the stress of moving. The only reliable quarantine is the one you do yourself. For what it’s worth, I early quarantine my fish, but I also understand the very real risks involved in not doing it. Looks like your off to a good start btw I knew QT was important but I had a false sense of hope. I found my old 20G freshwater tank and converted it to a QT tank after the first fish died. And thank you, I cant wait to see what happens from now to my move in the next few months. Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Wheres there is one.... there may be more! Yesterday, I was walking by the tank and saw this funny star shape on the back of the wall. I suspected but couldn't really tell if it was until later on, when it was on my return nozzle. It was this little asterina starfish. Well I plucked that guy off instantly and have him contained in a glass jar, floating in the tank. At first I was keeping it, just in case there were more, because it was missing 2 arms. But now I'm interested in the binary fission (splitting) of this star for reproduction. It would be interesting to see if I could keep a population handy for a future Harlequin shrimp. It was either attached to the zoas or splatter hammer. Also, I accidently poked my hammer by when I was dosing the tank with Red Sea Energy 😥. I moved it because Priscilla was tensing up, but now its back in its original place. It seemed happier there but I felt SOOO sad. Quote Link to comment
DISQUALIFIED-QQ Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 Culturing asterina to support harlequin shrimp? Now you're onto to something! Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted March 23, 2020 Author Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/15/2020 at 11:16 PM, Diamonds x Pearls said: Culturing asterina to support harlequin shrimp? Now you're onto to something! Had to get rid of the astrea, I couldnt find any good care guides for them and definitely dont want to feed them my zoas. Update: I've decided that its time for a tank upgrade, well my rash decisions and Canadian tax break have decided. For the past month and a half, I've been planning on upgrading my tank to a more suitable size. Not that theres anything wrong with the Biocube, but I've always wanted a refugium/sump and had NO prior knowledge on how to run one. Plus I was a little hesitant because Im moving in 3-4 months, but now is the perfect time, for me. I found a nice Red Sea Reefer 350 cabinet system I like, coming April 1st. I'm excited!!!!! She is too! Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 So excited! Finally got my new tank! The Red Sea Reefer 350. It was sooo hard to move and I even bought a rock wall but I don't feel well tryna put that back in. The amount of bristle worms and other pests that I found from breaking off pieces just turned me off. Sucks cause there are some nice encrusting corals on there but its honestly not worth. I've been slowly cleaning EVERY piece of equipment because it only had 1.5 years of use but looked a mess, no offense,I expect it to return to that during my first year.. But my heart would break if I lost anything due to laziness. 1 Quote Link to comment
RedCrow Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Bristle worms are not pests. They’re a vital part of the ecosystem. I’d welcome them to your new system. Also just a tip: get that rug out from under the stand before you full with water or you’ll never get it out lol 1 Quote Link to comment
undertheseaquarium Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 Thanks for the info and advice. I'll try moving tonight, it's finally set up day 😊 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.