Snow's 2.6G Little Monsters Picoreef - Retired!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Mopped up this film already:

 

 

Usually when bubbles start accumulating on the surface, it means I need to get the paper towels out. The film wasn't too thick this time around though, so it was easy to clean up. 

 

Also replaced the floss and topped up the water. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Green leptastrea is making a very swift comeback - got some color coming back in, and the polyp regrowth is very good: 🤗

 

 

 

Meteor shower cyphastrea regrowth is also quick, although not as quick as the leptastrea:

 

 

Sunny D from above: 🥰

 

 

Red finger leather has already attached itself to one corner of the Zoa Tower:

 

 

The Zoa Tower from above:

 

 

I think I figured out my main issue with the rasta not opening up. I glued it on a shadowy crevice and from a top view, it cannot be seen at all, so I *think it hasn't been receiving any light. 😕

 

So I'll reglue it at the top/front, and if the blue hornets close up for any reason, I'll do the same. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Quick question for all of you. If you have a pico full of corals and have a bit of room left to accomodate one or two small SPS frags, which one of these would you pick, and why: 

 

 

 

 

^Pics from my LFS. Frag #3 is naturally the most expensive/largest of the lot - but oh, that color! 🥰

[Ratvan]

2nd, absolutely love the colour and growth pattern

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 minute ago, Ratvan said:

2nd, absolutely love the colour and growth pattern

Weirdly, the first two frags are affordable and in total equal slightly more than half the price of the third frag. They're small too, which makes them ideal for the pico. 🤔

 

(Also, I've never had a red stick before, so there's that too). 

 

Can't wait to see all 3 pieces in person tomorrow! 🥰

[debbeach13]

2 small affordable frag is what I would probably do. OR number 2 and if it does good after a couple weeks splurge on #3 if still available. I would justify the extra money knowing that the pico is getting full and I can be picking about the last few corals.

[Snow_Phoenix]

54 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

2 small affordable frag is what I would probably do. OR number 2 and if it does good after a couple weeks splurge on #3 if still available. I would justify the extra money knowing that the pico is getting full and I can be picking about the last few corals.

That actually sounds like a plausible/logical idea. I wish to see the frags in person first, though. Just to check if they are indeed healthy - no tissue recession, bleaching, damaged sections etc. I'm always skittish when making online purchases just by looking at pictures. I always prefer holding the item first, or at least studying it up close before buying it. 

 

All three pieces are wild though. Color retention in wild pieces is much more difficult than aquacultured pieces. But I do like the idea of having a red stick - it's something different, and something unique. But if I pick up Frag #1 & Frag #2, I don't think I'll have any more room for a third frag. The back wall is getting pretty full - and I need to leave some gaps at the sides so that my scraper can go into the tank easily without knocking into anything. 

[debbeach13]

Sorry if I wasn't clear both options were only 2 frags. 1 and 2, or 2 then 3 if still available. I also thought you were going to the store. Yes being able to really check them out at the store would make the choices easier if any thing undesirable is spotted. Online is much more difficult just going by a picture.

[Snow_Phoenix]

13 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Sorry if I wasn't clear both options were only 2 frags. 1 and 2, or 2 then 3 if still available. I also thought you were going to the store. Yes being able to really check them out at the store would make the choices easier if any thing undesirable is spotted. Online is much more difficult just going by a picture.

Oh, sorry - I meant I really am going to the store. I have to, to pick them up. But we can make online reservations/payments to 'book' a frag and then we go and pick it up ourselves. I believe customers out of state can actually have frags posted to them via express shipping, but it's a huge DOA risk over here since our climate is tropical - it's basically really hot & humid all year around, and posting anything live is always dangerous. 

 

Right now, I just expressed interest in the three frags and texted the store manager directly. I told him I'll be coming in tomorrow to see the corals first though. Will be trading in a small frag of purple death palys as well. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I dropped by the LFS in the morning but frag #2 was already sold when I got there. 😓

 

Frag #3 turned out to be a lot duller than what was shown in the pics, and also was too large for the pico. 😕

 

Frag #1 was okay, but the colors were much more lighter/paler in person than what was shown online. It turned out to be a milli, since it was relatively affordable, I bought it. I also spotted another brownish milli frag which was originally supposed to be pink, according to the worker. The frag was healthy, but had poor PE and of course, the color was terrible. 

 

But I figured I'll give it a try in my pico. Brown/discolored frags have made nice comebacks in this tank so far, so this milli just *might color back up for me (or not). 🤷‍♀️

 

I also picked up a new nem crab which is missing a leg:

 

 

And.....a fish:

 

 

(Yes, that is what you think it is. )

 

My tank glass is very filthy, but here are the new residents when I first added them:

 

 

 

Memphis, the male crab: 😊

 

 

Sapphire, the blue damsel:

 

 

And Harvey screaming in the frontlines: 😅

 

 

A quick note about Sapphire: he's already readily eating pellets. He also darted into Prowler's cave when I first added him to the tank, but popped back out and is now hovering near the Zoa Tower. I noticed something...unusual about this fish at the store. He wasn't swimming laps around the tank like the tangs he was roomed in with, but just sat in one corner, hovering. 🤔

 

He only became animated when the worker fed the fish some pellets. His behavior is pretty much the same right now in my pico. His colors became intense blue once he adjusted to the tank, but he doesn't linger far from his *spot. 

 

To my knowledge, he hasn't even explored the other half of the tank yet. Weird little guy. Huh. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Mild PE in the new milli just now:

 

 

Coral corner: 🤗

 

 

Playing peek-a-boo with Sapphire:

 

Tank overall today:

 

 

WC coming up tomorrow! 😊

 

Oh, and to keep up with the increasing demands of various corals in the tank, I've also increased my daily dosing of Ca, Mg & kH. 👍

 

[Ratvan]

Sapphire is so cute

[Snow_Phoenix]

2 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Sapphire is so cute

Indeed he is! 😊

 

Probably the most skittish damsel I've ever met though! 

 

Add-On: I just did more research and found out that based on the markings of my damsel, it's a 'she' and not a 'he' like I originally thought. So yes, Sapphire is actually female. 🙂

[Ratvan]

49 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Indeed he is! 😊

 

Probably the most skittish damsel I've ever met though! 

That doesn't last long

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, he'll definitely fit right in:

 

 

😅

 

(He's alive, btw. Just throwing a massive tantrum because I turned the lights off a little early today.)

[Snow_Phoenix]

That new milli frag appears to have better PE at night (?) :

 

 

How curious. Not sure if it is the super-fuzzy sort, but I'll keep an eye on it. 🤔

 

(Also should have used less glue to mount it to the wall. Eh. 😅) 

[debbeach13]

Great new additions. Are you almost done stocking yet? 

[Snow_Phoenix]

22 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Great new additions. Are you almost done stocking yet? 

Yeah, pretty much. Prowler stole my yuma yesterday though. I want it back. 

 

I think anything added in the future will be mostly zoa/paly polyps. And maybe that one neon green nepthea that caught my eye at my primary LFS. I actually have space for another monti and one last stick, but I'm reserving those spaces for anything ultra-special that grabs my interest. (Must be affordable and fall within the budget too!)

 

I'm hoping to visit my primary LFS again this weekend. This time, for the first time ever, I'll be driving there alone. 

 

I've memorized the route, but the problem is coming back. There's a large circus that I have to pass through to get back to one of the roads which branches back to the main highway - it's very dangerous. So many cars trying to squeeze into the lane without any care in the world. So I'll have to be extra careful.

 

My plans may/may not fall through. Not sure if word has spread over there yet, but Msia is currently being hit hard by a second wave of Covid. It's spreading like wildfire for the last few days. So many cases, in all states. Govt. *might declare another lockdown if this keeps up, and we'll be back to square one in March - where the rules were ultra-tight, and paranoia was rife. 😞 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Coming down with early stages of what might be possibly mumps - left side around the back of the ear hurts & is swollen. Hurts even more while chewing. Pico WC might be pushed back a couple of days until I recover. 

[Ratvan]

5 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Coming down with early stages of what might be possibly mumps - left side around the back of the ear hurts & is swollen. Hurts even more while chewing. Pico WC might be pushed back a couple of days until I recover. 

Hope its not, thats a nasty infection. Get plenty of rest and drink plenty

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Hope its not, thats a nasty infection. Get plenty of rest and drink plenty

Damn, I so do *not feel good. Will definitely drink a lot of water and rest. Thanks, Ratvan. 

[debbeach13]

2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

It's spreading like wildfire for the last few days.

Hope it stops or slows down. We also have some new cases. Sorry you are not feeling well. Rest when ever you can.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I'm still experiencing a bit of swelling, but the pain has reduced by 50% - I think sleeping for ~9 hours helped. Hopefully the swelling and pain will be completely gone over the next few days. I developed very mild fever last night, but it vanished overnight. I actually was vaccined for mumps when I was a kid - it's mandatory here in Msia. But my immune system is not as strong as it was once before because I'm on a lot of meds for different types of ailments, so I guess I'm more susceptible than the average person. 😕

 

Health issues aside, if I'm feeling okay, I'll proceed with WCing the tank today evening. Tank is doing okay - Sapphire has finally discovered the 'other end' of the tank and is out exploring:

 

 

She's actually a gem. My father wasn't too keen on me adding a damsel to the tank because they're terrors - but I have no plans on stocking up more fish or inverts, so I *think Sapphire should be okay. The glass walls are quite filthy though - definitely needs a good scrape later. New milli has better PE today morning, and the brown milli is also showing some mild PE. Nothing is declining so far, so that's good. 🙂 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Had to eventually take a painkiller, but at least I managed to get my WC done today evening! 🤗

 

Tank under aquazonic lights without chihiros light & clip-on yellow lens filter turned on/used: 

 

 

Had to re-glue the brown milli to the back wall because it fell off while I removed the Zoa Tower to scrape the sides of the glass, but the critters seemed to appreciate the WC. 😊

 

Benny: 

 

 

Memphis:

 

 

Sapphire:

 

 

Sapphire was a bit scared because this was her first ever WC. I had to change my method of draining the tank - usually I try my best to drain it all the way to the bottom before re-filling it, then drain 50% & re-fill to the top. 

 

This time, I made sure that I left at least 1" of water above the sandbed at all times, so that Sapphire would still have enough water to swim around in an upright position. Since I drain/re-fill x2 very quickly, the fish (including Prowler) have to put up with the small amount of water for five seconds, at the most. 

 

I do try to make sure that none of the non-coral livestock are exposed to air - especially the stars. Sapphire was breathing a bit hard and dulled out after I finished the WC, but she was back to normal within ~15 mins. 

 

I kept the Aquazonic lights on for a bit to make sure she was swimming okay, and once she was back to normal and being a vibrant shade of blue, I turned the lights off. She's dulled out again, but since it's night time, that's expected. 

 

I plan on feeding the tank some rotifers soon. Maybe tomorrow or the day after. 🤔

[debbeach13]

Glad you are feeling a little better.