Jump to content
Innovative Marine Aquariums

Recommended Posts

Snow_Phoenix

Hey everyone, yesterday was a very difficult day for me - for those of you who are keeping up-to-date with my 60G thread, you'd probably know why by now.

 

But, I wanted to quickly update this thread because there have been a few changes between yesterday and today.

 

1. I picked up a Porcelain Anemone Crab yesterday! 🙂

 

I dropped by my secondary LFS and they had one last nem crab left on sale which was missing a few legs, so naturally I grabbed it:

 

 

This crab was a bit stubborn - every time I flipped it to get a quick look at the carapace under his body to determine the sex, it would try to flip back up the right way and attempt to pinch me (yikes!). Based on the general crabby nature, I just decided it might as well be a female, and I named her Piccolo. :rolleyes:

 

She was also extremely good at blending in - here she is, hiding behind my AOGs with only the tip of one claw barely visible lol:

 

2. Coral growth & recovery

 

The brown zoa colony I picked up has more open polyps now:

 

And I could have sworn one of the semi-opened polyps is green, which is interesting. Perhaps that was the original color of the zoas before they faded away into being brown? 🤔

 

Only time will tell.

 

As for my Peacock Blues & Tubbs Blues, both have new polyps coming up the sides, which is good:

 

You can actually see the tiny new semi-developed polyps kicking in. 👍

 

The Meteor Shower Cyphastrea is now encrusting down the sides of the frag plug - can't wait until it encrusts on the LR below:

 

3. I had to do an emergency transfer to save a fish yesterday - I managed to save Prowler, my circus barred goby in this tank:

 

Tbh, I think all my systems already have Ich, so ridding them of it is almost an impossibility. If you're wondering why I said this - just, jump into my 60G reeftank thread and read the last few posts. More specifically, the posts from yesterday. 😞

 

One slice of good news - Prowler made it through the night, and he's doing fine today. Currently snacking on pods and flatworms from the glass. I think he'll make a full recovery. I *might retain him in this tank. He did originally stay in this tank when it was set up for the O.S.P.R.C. last year. And I've had him for quite a while, so he's stable, and he doesn't touch corals. 

 

4. The Tenuis.

 

The O.P. Tenuis is doing quite well - it has still retained its blueness, but the polyps are still brown:

 

 

5. I traded in a fish today, for another fish (which went into my 60G) and a brown Acro frag (original colors are pink/green):

 

I'm not sure if it can recover its original colors, but I'm keen to try and nurse back to full health. I also accidently broke one of the tips while I was un-bagging it, so I glued the tiny tip to Coralline Ledge:

 

Overall, the SPS I currently have in this tank are doing *okay. The Montihat has flared out a bit more:

 

It's doing quite well in this little reef - I'm actually not keen on removing it - or any of the other pieces, for that matter. But eventually they'll outgrow this tiny tank, and my only option would be to move them to my 60G. 😕

 

But maybe, I could frag the pieces as they grow out, and always retain a small piece in this pico? That'd be an interesting thought. 🤔

 

(Sorry for the super-long update!)

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

The montihat still has a purple rim and is still growing: 🤗

 

IMG_20200801_152137_841.thumb.jpg.1ccefd251e1e13f2d5051f30dd1cce42.jpg

 

IMG_20200801_152137_842.thumb.jpg.2d6d8f8756e11f3409b956da46637557.jpg

 

I think my merlettis bopped out a new head: 🤔

 

IMG_20200801_153701_801.thumb.jpg.42a58fd9805445839d22c45f06f4cc12.jpg

 

Rainbow acans gaining more vivid colors:

 

IMG_20200801_153755_875.thumb.jpg.038c6d39e2e6a7e875b29c9cf46a9d8c.jpg

 

Poop brown acro stick is still poop brown, but the base that encrusted to the frag plug is a vibrant shade of green. 🤔

 

The base of the tenuis is still blue though! 🤗 :

 

IMG_20200801_154003_310.thumb.jpg.19fe468495aeab992ffe297dc96e3921.jpg

 

Harvey counting spirochaetes on the glass wall: 😅

 

IMG_20200801_152238_589.thumb.jpg.5fccb7ad4000f85817a7dcf2f1e5522b.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

Zoa Update! 😊

 

Orange zoas have developed two new (unopened) polyps: 

 

IMG_20200801_152046_416.thumb.jpg.ab5808bab27320a720714f7fb69cf823.jpg

 

This brown zoa colony I picked up is now fully open - love their little pink rings around the mouths: 🤗

 

IMG_20200801_151948_841.thumb.jpg.cbcd29e07847797510c2dd7a6a476c96.jpg

 

I still have no idea how I'm going to frag this - a bit hesitant to try, come to think of it: 😕

 

IMG_20200801_153552_627.thumb.jpg.89150385a5f662c970956d487d6df85e.jpg

 

Love the topview of the Pillar Rock a.k.a. Zoa Tower: 🥰

 

IMG_20200801_153849_359.thumb.jpg.542b9155c5b9577b80e5b34a572d0915.jpg

 

Sunflower zoas taken with & without yellow clip-on filter lens:

 

20200801_154202.thumb.jpg.e4323a6397b48c4e535826ff9c8c710e.jpg

 

20200801_154229.thumb.jpg.89a2e1cc26442e8440ddd4a5704b5d2f.jpg

 

I didn't spot Prowler at all today, which is a bit worrisome. But he is exceptionally good at hiding and staying hidden - so I think he still might be settling in. 

 

Also, the mysterious oily film on the surface of the water came back. Ugh. Had to manually mop it up with some paper towels, but there was still a thin layer left behind, which made topview shots a bit blurry and dull. 

 

Full dual WC coming up tomorrow (tentatively). 👍

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

Update #2: Montis & Other Corals. 

 

IMG_20200802_132747_758.thumb.jpg.89ea651b843b739ec971725e46e9ff18.jpg

 

IMG_20200802_132747_760.thumb.jpg.bad044da4f1fb9a6f9256ed384f3e22f.jpg

 

IMG_20200802_132913_006.thumb.jpg.ccef5898a32b40c7e73d8a328c79f19f.jpg

 

IMG_20200802_133029_200.thumb.jpg.7e0de7b67e7770ef984664f59776bbb7.jpg

 

IMG_20200802_133822_565.thumb.jpg.f8dcd5e1408131a5c9e54e417f94ab34.jpg

 

IMG_20200802_133927_747.thumb.jpg.b0bc983527b577b49f4727e08aa8bca7.jpg

 

I'm starting to think my meteor shower cyphastrea isn't a *meteor shower, but something else. Polyps are stubby but bright orange. And the base is blue. 🤔

 

Also, the chili pepper monti is still new and still needs time to color up. It's a bit dull otherwise, as compared to the montihat below it. 👍

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

Update #3: Coralline Ledge & FTS (Topview). 

 

Coralline Ledge is at full capacity: 🤗

 

IMG_20200802_133326_763.thumb.jpg.1cc1b67b70b0a406bb62a42972c7c4dc.jpg

 

20200802_134540.thumb.jpg.8088688f8b99477303ca3d0708446c19.jpg

 

FTS Topview on 2/8/20:

 

20200802_134525.thumb.jpg.aab910998ce5fb6862fa630750a0cade.jpg

 

20200802_134406.thumb.jpg.10db719952067c5c9600fb6760786140.jpg

 

All of these were taken under my old Aquazonic lights. I'm a bit disappointed in the new Chihiros lights - I tested it out just now, and the most ideal setting doesn't have the white LEDs turned on, and if I do use the light at full power with all the LEDs (including the white ones), it's too bright and overshadows the blue, red & green LEDs, which is not ideal for coral growth or color (basically everything looks brown and beige - like how a FW light has effect over a reeftank). 

 

Even after I messed around with the dimmer, I still couldn't get the settings I wanted. I suppose it is okay as a back up light, but not a main one. So I'm sticking on to my Aquazonic LEDs for the time being. 

20200802_134600.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment

Gorgeous! Though, IMO, it's almost a little too much. It feels to me like you need some sort of textural punctuation, to break up all the round shapes and semi-pastel colors. You should look at some of the more pico-friendly macroalgaes, like codium (especially short codium) and halimeda, and see if you like the look of them. I especially think codium would make a really nice contrast, it's a dark-colored macro shaped a bit like a narrow SPS. It's relatively slow-growing, unlikely to go sexual, and pretty tolerant of just about all reasonable conditions. Its main potential issue is algae growing over it, and you sure don't seem to have any problems with that. 

 

What zoa/paly is that, directly below the blasto in your last picture? The one with the green skirt and the purple and orange ringed center. And, directly to the left of the purple people eaters- is that a tightly packed zoa colony, or something else? 

Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix
6 hours ago, Tired said:

Gorgeous! Though, IMO, it's almost a little too much. It feels to me like you need some sort of textural punctuation, to break up all the round shapes and semi-pastel colors. You should look at some of the more pico-friendly macroalgaes, like codium (especially short codium) and halimeda, and see if you like the look of them. I especially think codium would make a really nice contrast, it's a dark-colored macro shaped a bit like a narrow SPS. It's relatively slow-growing, unlikely to go sexual, and pretty tolerant of just about all reasonable conditions. Its main potential issue is algae growing over it, and you sure don't seem to have any problems with that. 

 

What zoa/paly is that, directly below the blasto in your last picture? The one with the green skirt and the purple and orange ringed center. And, directly to the left of the purple people eaters- is that a tightly packed zoa colony, or something else? 

I actually like the constant circular shapes - I find it very pleasing to the eye. Codium & halimeda are difficult to come by here - we usually get them as hitchiker macros at the store. 

 

I was originally thinking of getting an ultra-small gorg. for the pico - to create the branching effect, like you've mentioned, but I was worried my tank would be too clean for it. 😕

 

And I do have algae issues actually, but I scrape the glass quite frequently, and the snails usually tackle the ones covering the rocks. Actually, if you scroll back up and see some of the zoa pics, you can see some green film algae which I couldn't scrape off near the sandbed. 🤔

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

He's alive! 

 

IMG_20200803_095044_984.thumb.jpg.da0ae2369bcc05e421bc43ed17e6728c.jpg

 

I know it's a really bad pic, but it is difficult to film a very elusive fish. I was worried he'd died when I didn't see him yesterday though. But I spotted a small pile of sand under Coralline Ledge - something that couldn't have been created by my shrimp, stars or crab. 

 

Just glad he's okay. I'll have to target feed the shadowy alcove at the back of the tank to make sure he gets enough food to eat. 👍

  • Like 4
Link to comment

Oh, good, there he is!

 

A gorgonian could definitely make a nice addition. Though I think they're hard to keep in picos, in general, since it can be hard to keep the place clean enough with all the food they like. It may be worth a try with a very small colony. 

 

You do have a very nice assortment of circles. I like a bit more texture variation, but I like a bit more than I see in a lot of tanks, including some of the TOTM ones. It looks really nice, either way. And you don't have to worry too much about coral fights, since a lot of the places where corals are going to meet will just be zoas complaining for space.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix
52 minutes ago, Tired said:

Oh, good, there he is!

 

A gorgonian could definitely make a nice addition. Though I think they're hard to keep in picos, in general, since it can be hard to keep the place clean enough with all the food they like. It may be worth a try with a very small colony. 

 

You do have a very nice assortment of circles. I like a bit more texture variation, but I like a bit more than I see in a lot of tanks, including some of the TOTM ones. It looks really nice, either way. And you don't have to worry too much about coral fights, since a lot of the places where corals are going to meet will just be zoas complaining for space.

Forgot to answer your earlier question - the coral next to the blastos are sunflower zoas. And the ones next to the palys is an orange leptastrea. 😊

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

Harvey checking out the blastos:

 

20200804_153218.thumb.jpg.8485f08b4871153348e82b5848620860.jpg

 

IMG_20200804_153133_703.thumb.jpg.e4ce5149044ee7e391ccfa3ce50960dd.jpg

 

Merlettis have more new mini heads: 🤗

 

IMG_20200804_153516_916.thumb.jpg.d99ba8f52edb87f3234ecf34d6ce1d82.jpg

 

Tubbs blue spreading out with more polyps: 🥰

 

IMG_20200804_153336_617.thumb.jpg.7a3464572b6ab881e52e033a422edbd9.jpg

 

The bald spot on the previously pox-afflicted zoa frag has now been completely covered by new polyps:

 

IMG_20200804_153424_819.thumb.jpg.29dc6093bb2b624c1d51f66147f7ac1a.jpg

 

^I'm very glad this frag made a complete turnaround. I'm hoping it'll cover the frag plug completely by the end of this year. 😊

 

Also, I've decided to move the brown acro frag out of this tank within the next WC. It's actually blocking the light from getting to the blasto colony below. My concern is trying to scrape the glue off the back wall once I remove the frag - might need to use the end of the algae scraper for that one. Or a razor blade. 🤔

 

I really hope it doesn't leave a mark. Should have thought this through instead of happily gluing sticks to my glass. Yeesh.😕

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix
11 hours ago, Tired said:

Oh, that's pretty cool. I wonder if it's a behavior similar to anemone hosting, or if the crab just has a really good spot to hide? 

I think it simply feels 'safe' to be in that spot. When the zoas are open, it's barely visibly, so I'm assuming it likes to stay hidden. 🤔

 

It's not behind the zoas today morning though. I checked. I think it might be molting, but I'm not sure. Going to do a WC shortly. 

Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix

Corals before WC this morning:

 

IMG_20200806_103126_961.thumb.jpg.0f0c2d09ba6596be30b65506c28eb41d.jpg

 

IMG_20200806_103609_757.thumb.jpg.ec4a617f0a7beeabd42212ab2202ee8b.jpg

 

IMG_20200806_103609_755.thumb.jpg.167c9ff67c43e76e38d2f7237852cd4a.jpg

 

Orangish-red zoas have bopped out a new semi-developed head:

 

IMG_20200806_103517_793.thumb.jpg.d72e8c71dc49aaab07003d560f39285d.jpg

 

Lots of tiny baby turbo snails over the rocks and glass:

 

IMG_20200806_103324_289.thumb.jpg.af7084178f25dfb234047bf3223f21b2.jpg

 

They're actually hitchikers from my macro. I have tons of these tiny guys in the fuge of my 60G too. 😊

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...