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Snow_Phoenix
23 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Hopefully the new lenses help.  That really must be tough when you try to get some work done. 

It is. ☹

 

I managed to compile some coral-progress pics. Took a while because I literally had to skim through several hundred pics. Will upload shortly. 👍

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Snow_Phoenix

Coral growth and recovery progress update! 🙂

 

With the exception of the sunflower zoas, which have only been with me for half a month or so, here is the recovery of some of my coral frags over the past month in the pico (take note the lighting may vary from pic to pic because I was experimenting with different lighting modes to get the most accurate coral colors):

 

1. Acan regrowth/color up, toadstool growth & snowflake polyp growth:

 

IMG_20200531_204523_010.thumb.jpg.25220f9a21b2e783ab3e46a059acafa2.jpg

 

2. Sunflower zoas - from 3 heads to 6 heads in ~2 weeks:

 

IMG_20200531_204856_512.thumb.jpg.fd8379c7f10889da631669e58e4c7f0d.jpg

 

3. Second toadstool leather growth & color change:

 

IMG_20200531_205300_262.thumb.jpg.fca9b1d09fd1e01fd1da0f59f783f17c.jpg

 

4. Green leptastrea - was bleached in my nano with minimal PE. Now has returned to original bright green color with full PE in just a month: 🤗

 

IMG_20200531_205847_227.thumb.jpg.eb01cd899fa37ad110f7d04d793b4150.jpg

 

5. John Deere leptastrea. From mustard yellow to bright sunflower yellow with green skirts around the polyps:

 

IMG_20200531_210415_647.thumb.jpg.630200766903365d0e3cf46c28c4b299.jpg

 

More updates to come - especially regarding my green galaxea (that needs a bit more time to heal completely). 

 

Hope this will do. 🙂

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Starfishie99
4 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Coral growth and recovery progress update! 🙂

 

With the exception of the sunflower zoas, which have only been with me for half a month or so, here is the recovery of some of my coral frags over the past month in the pico (take note the lighting may vary from pic to pic because I was experimenting with different lighting modes to get the most accurate coral colors):

 

1. Acan regrowth/color up, toadstool growth & snowflake polyp growth:

 

IMG_20200531_204523_010.thumb.jpg.25220f9a21b2e783ab3e46a059acafa2.jpg

 

2. Sunflower zoas - from 3 heads to 6 heads in ~2 weeks:

 

IMG_20200531_204856_512.thumb.jpg.fd8379c7f10889da631669e58e4c7f0d.jpg

 

3. Second toadstool leather growth & color change:

 

IMG_20200531_205300_262.thumb.jpg.fca9b1d09fd1e01fd1da0f59f783f17c.jpg

 

4. Green leptastrea - was bleached in my nano with minimal PE. Now has returned to original bright green color with full PE in just a month: 🤗

 

IMG_20200531_205847_227.thumb.jpg.eb01cd899fa37ad110f7d04d793b4150.jpg

 

5. John Deere leptastrea. From mustard yellow to bright sunflower yellow with green skirts around the polyps:

 

IMG_20200531_210415_647.thumb.jpg.630200766903365d0e3cf46c28c4b299.jpg

 

More updates to come - especially regarding my green galaxea (that needs a bit more time to heal completely). 

 

Hope this will do. 🙂

those john deere’s seemed to grow quickly and they’re beautiful, maybe i’ll have to get my hands on a frag 

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Snow_Phoenix

I picked up my new zoas today! 😊

 

IMG_20200601_174716_033.thumb.jpg.2a304ac14246441d42c13542830f4d93.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_174813_845.thumb.jpg.42842b97aaa0364731b764bb50453fe2.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_174908_006.thumb.jpg.6b4ec253b01dea392628d47717eae10b.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_175026_936.thumb.jpg.23094096add5e540b86712d74cad7c51.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_175134_790.thumb.jpg.7b53688b52a21152b04ccf3eb70ac6e9.jpg

 

Had to shuffle some corals around to get this row:

 

IMG_20200601_175242_499.thumb.jpg.c49bd347aaf3f966c46e287f6e143b53.jpg

 

I think only 2 out of 5 of them haven't encrusted to the frag plug yet, so I'll try to gently remove them and glue them to the pillar rock. As for the other 3 frags that have already encrusted to the plug, I'll leave them be. 

 

Hate to say it, but I actually ran out of space. ☹

 

Once the God of War favia and green galaxea heals in full, I can remove those two frags and insert them back into the 60G. So that should leave behind a *bit of space for 2 or 3 new frags to take its place. 

 

As of right now, I have 50 different types of corals in the pico (you have Ratvan to blame for this - several posts back, he encouraged it 🤣), and am planning on inserting more macro at the back. 😊👍

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2 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I picked up my new zoas today! 😊

 

IMG_20200601_174716_033.thumb.jpg.2a304ac14246441d42c13542830f4d93.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_174813_845.thumb.jpg.42842b97aaa0364731b764bb50453fe2.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_174908_006.thumb.jpg.6b4ec253b01dea392628d47717eae10b.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_175026_936.thumb.jpg.23094096add5e540b86712d74cad7c51.jpg

 

IMG_20200601_175134_790.thumb.jpg.7b53688b52a21152b04ccf3eb70ac6e9.jpg

 

Had to shuffle some corals around to get this row:

 

IMG_20200601_175242_499.thumb.jpg.c49bd347aaf3f966c46e287f6e143b53.jpg

 

I think only 2 out of 5 of them haven't encrusted to the frag plug yet, so I'll try to gently remove them and glue them to the pillar rock. As for the other 3 frags that have already encrusted to the plug, I'll leave them be. 

 

Hate to say it, but I actually ran out of space. ☹

 

Once the God of War favia and green galaxea heals in full, I can remove those two frags and insert them back into the 60G. So that should leave behind a *bit of space for 2 or 3 new frags to take its place. 

 

As of right now, I have 50 different types of corals in the pico (you have Ratvan to blame for this - several posts back, he encouraged it 🤣), and am planning on inserting more macro at the back. 😊👍

Now that's a proper landmark. 50 Frags in a Pico. 🤣

 

Pretty Zoa's, really like that 4th Frag. Which is odd for me

 

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Snow_Phoenix
7 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Now that's a proper landmark. 50 Frags in a Pico. 🤣

 

Pretty Zoa's, really like that 4th Frag. Which is odd for me

 

That 4th one is actually very bright pink under all blues. At my LFS (look at the frag next to the one I circled - that's the pink one I picked up): 😊

 

20200528_182240.thumb.jpg.ab132b59c394aa2da5f74900fdc77914.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix
8 minutes ago, SaltyGallon said:

Looks like everything's doing well! 🙂

 

That striped starfish reminds me of a clown loach lol

Thanks! It's a banded serpent starfish and I like it very much. :happy:

 

Clown loaches are adorable when they're little. But they can grow incredibly large, and are very thick-bodied (and sleep a lot too) so I've never had one. :biggrin:

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Snow_Phoenix

Fed the corals today morning. A mix of zooplankton, phyto, frozen pods, reef roids, selcon and Vit. C. The larger corals and stars received chunks of diced shrimp. 😊

 

20200602_130827.thumb.jpg.c79d007af68cbd6bf4c527e0c52577fa.jpg

 

IMG_20200602_130732_076.thumb.jpg.f8994a185980c841604f926396b437c3.jpg

 

IMG_20200602_130732_078.thumb.jpg.927f568cc84c146be1d359cb936db84d.jpg

 

IMG_20200602_130732_085.thumb.jpg.f585b72e778212317c4cc41936c0b7d2.jpg

 

IMG_20200602_130732_077.thumb.jpg.35dc979d72ed20e322da2b07c0275c4c.jpg

 

IMG_20200602_130732_092.thumb.jpg.7595cfa0e04f94681d12a6ff075e5e65.jpg

 

Nitrates and phosphates might spike up a little after this, so I'll probably do a WC tomorrow or the day after. 

 

I still need to glue the new zoas on the zoa tower/pillar rock, and tackle my aiptasia issue. 

 

I *almost purchased a fire shrimp for this pico yesterday, but held back. I think I'd rather do a male/female pair of white spotted nem shrimps instead, once livestock orders are available again. I'm still hesitant with the fish/shrimp/crab stocking in this tank. Everytime my mind settles on something, I seem to want something else. 😔

 

So here are my options I keep volleying back and forth from:

 

1. Fish (*one only):

 

•YCG

•GCG

•Hi-Fin goby

•Yasha goby (expensive)

•Pictus blenny (haven't seen one for years)

•TSB

•Neon goby (have never seen one here)

•Pygmy perchlet (love this!)

 

2. Shrimp:

 

•Fire shrimp

•Cleaner shrimp

•GCBS (seasonal)

•White Spotted Nem Shrimp

•Saron shrimp

•Candycane Pistol Shrimp

•Yellow Pistol Shrimp (rare)

•Tiger Pistol Shrimp (rare)

 

3. Crab:

 

•Porcelain Anemone Crab 

•Pom pom crab 

 

So many choices, and possibilities. 🤔

 

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I wouldn't suggest a blood/fire shrimp. They're often aggressive towards other shrimp. Cleaners in general can be an issue. 

 

Stick with a candycane pistol in a pico, the other shrimp will make a huge mess and would like more space to build in. They're prettier, anyway, and their smaller size means they're less able to steal frags. 
(Don't get me wrong, though, little buggers will still try.)

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Snow_Phoenix
21 minutes ago, Tired said:

(Don't get me wrong, though, little buggers will still try.)

^Yeah. My previous Candycane stole one of my very expensive mushrooms once. 😞

 

They're cute though. Might stick to the original idea of a Hi-Fin/Candycane Pistol pair or a YCG - just hope the prices won't spike up dramatically once the borders reopen. I can't imagine paying over RM 100 for a YCG. 😞

 

 

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Snow_Phoenix

Tubbs blue zoas just popped out a new polyp today: 🤗

 

IMG_20200603_194458_589.thumb.jpg.5b3902a4726e3ab0dd1c44842d590a58.jpg

 

This things still hasn't regained much color, but it has developed new polyps at the base. I thought I saw splotches of very light blue here and there, but I could be mistaken: 🤔

 

IMG_20200603_194558_399.thumb.jpg.b5801cdf2d24bab7e5157c3441370a1f.jpg

 

Anyone knows how long it takes for an almost bleached cyphastrea to regain its original colors? I'm curious. 🤔

 

The blue peacocks and AOGs have not popped out any new polyps yet. I'm actually tempted to just leave all 5 of my new zoa frags grow out by themselves on the sandbed - to create a *mat-like effect:

 

IMG_20200603_194647_163.thumb.jpg.2ffbc26172ac7a763918738d67555d34.jpg

 

I suppose I could glue the older zoa frags to the zoa tower/pillar rock. Also, check out how invasive my grape and cup caulerpas have become. They're literally growing *through my zoas! 😳

 

IMG_20200603_195038_171.thumb.jpg.f913ac1c931244baabc51052505c123e.jpg

 

New tricolor blasto head spotted - still ultra-tiny:

 

IMG_20200603_194743_685.thumb.jpg.75c9bf974ffa6bd0e7816cc6e9fc5745.jpg

 

Baby bullseye shroom has now developed some green coloring in the center:

 

IMG_20200603_194845_964.thumb.jpg.b268d8a9cfb85348767d53b930bba283.jpg

 

Duncan jr. is very happy after being fed some shrimp yesterday:

 

IMG_20200603_195148_202.thumb.jpg.760ef46f0cfe38665dae2d2b2da6116b.jpg

 

Planning to do a WC tomorrow (supposed to be today, but had to run some errands and wound up exhausting myself). 👍

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Snow_Phoenix
7 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I love all your comments with the picture. So much going on in your tiny tank.

Thank you for your kind comments, debbeach! 🙂

 

And yes, there is a lot of going on in this pico. I think I haven't even discovered half of what's truly going on in there. 

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Oh, nice! Free fish snacks! 

 

I have what I believe are acoel flatworms. They surged a bit when the tank was new, but never got to be a real problem, and then ebbed on their own. I have a scattering of them still, especially in lower flow areas, not hurting anything. I like to watch them slide. 

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Snow_Phoenix
3 minutes ago, Tired said:

Oh, nice! Free fish snacks! 

 

I have what I believe are acoel flatworms. They surged a bit when the tank was new, but never got to be a real problem, and then ebbed on their own. I have a scattering of them still, especially in lower flow areas, not hurting anything. I like to watch them slide. 

Yeah, I noticed these ones popped up just ~1 week ago. So far they haven't bothered anything, nor grown to plague-like proportions, so I let them stay. 😊

 

I think they might vanish as the tank ages though. Or be eaten once I add a tiny fish to the tank. 🤔

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From what I read about them, they sometimes grow to plague proportions, but I suspect it's mostly from the tank being overfed. They don't hurt anything unless there's so many they crawl all over your corals and bug them. Mine occasionally bother 1 zoanthid polyp, briefly, before crawling off of it. My reading also said that they tend to surge in new tanks where they're present, then fade, sometimes disappearing completely- though I suspect that's just because people stop noticing them any more. Sometimes I think they're gone, then spot a couple. 

 

IIRC, wrasse eat flatworms, but most fish won't go after them too much. Too hard to pick up, I guess. 

 

As far as fish, a trimma goby would be a nice pick. I have one, a white-spotted dwarf goby, and he doesn't move much. He sits in one of three close-together spots until something scares him, then sits in either a hidden sitting spot or somewhere in the rockwork I can't find. He's also fed himself entirely off of thinning out my amphipods for the past few months, which is highly appreciated. 

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Starfishie99
52 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

So many pods on the glass today morning (and a few acoel flatworms too!) :

 

IMG_20200604_094255_222.thumb.jpg.565033e515f457139aea2b8ac6095529.jpg

 

IMG_20200604_094255_223.thumb.jpg.3204da164cf7dc9b40c9e6641f32797e.jpg

 

20200604_094326.thumb.jpg.d9bf2136b68aeb913ed8d4a647e9890b.jpg

 

Definitely a very interesting sight to wake up to:

 

 

🤗

wow never knew what those were, ive oh seen one or two in my tank but they’re so adorable, honestly i thought they were dangerous 

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The tiny bug-things are copepods, the little, flat, sliding ones are the flatworms. Copepods are algae-eaters and detritivores (gunk eaters) that make some of the best food in the world for tiny fish, acoel flatworms are generally harmless but provide no real benefit aside from a bit of added biodiversity. I think the acoels eat whatever substances (algae, bacteria, etc) that they crawl over, but don't use me as a source on that, I don't remember for sure. 

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Snow_Phoenix
2 hours ago, Tired said:

From what I read about them, they sometimes grow to plague proportions, but I suspect it's mostly from the tank being overfed. They don't hurt anything unless there's so many they crawl all over your corals and bug them. Mine occasionally bother 1 zoanthid polyp, briefly, before crawling off of it. My reading also said that they tend to surge in new tanks where they're present, then fade, sometimes disappearing completely- though I suspect that's just because people stop noticing them any more. Sometimes I think they're gone, then spot a couple. 

 

IIRC, wrasse eat flatworms, but most fish won't go after them too much. Too hard to pick up, I guess. 

 

As far as fish, a trimma goby would be a nice pick. I have one, a white-spotted dwarf goby, and he doesn't move much. He sits in one of three close-together spots until something scares him, then sits in either a hidden sitting spot or somewhere in the rockwork I can't find. He's also fed himself entirely off of thinning out my amphipods for the past few months, which is highly appreciated. 

I can't get a trimma here. I actually love neon gobies, but everytime my LFS orders one in, it always turns out to be a blueline sabertooth fang blenny (mimic blenny) - a predatory fish that is pretty, but bites the scales or flesh of other fish. 

 

So only reasonable options are the tiny shrimp gobies (which don't move around much) or clown gobies (cute and perch all over). Tiny clown blennies would be ideal too. 

 

I actually have a variety of nanofish in my 60G - a TSB, a GCG, a tangaroa, a steinitz goby pair etc. --> either of which would be okay in the pico (except maybe the steinitzs), but I don't want to move them. They're quite happy/established in the big tank, and I've had some of them for ~2 years already. 

 

My tangaroa used to be paired up with a candycane pistol shrimp until the shrimp died. He's now mostly out in the open and lives under my blasto garden. 

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Oh, blueline fangblennies are beautiful! Shame they get too big for the tank, otherwise you could just have one little biter.

 

I had to look clown blennies up, and I'm not familiar with them, but they look like grazers. Their mouths look like they're meant to be picking at algae all day, which makes me think they may not be ideal for a tank without much grazing space. 

 

If you can't get trimmas, can you get an eviota? 

 

Antenna gobies/high-fin gobies/red-banded gobies/barberpole gobies/they of the many names are great little fish, I can't recommend them enough for tiny tanks. Though I wonder if one would get spooked, living in a tank with serpent starfish in the available boltholes. 

 

Clown gobies come with the benefit of being immune to anemone stings, but I doubt you plan on many strong-stinging anemones in a 3gal tank.

 

 

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