Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

Recommended Posts

The Zoa Tower:

 

IMG_20201214_174234_011.thumb.jpg.2f65a407329f1553c5b911218c449087.jpg

 

Will probably need to increase the intensity of the lights though because some of the palys and zoas on the tower are stretching. 🤔

 

Stripey has been working hard on keeping the wavemaker algae-free:

 

IMG_20201214_174341_743.thumb.jpg.06b27e218a6cb468c3a6d1d6f062bc41.jpg

 

IMG_20201214_174341_741.thumb.jpg.741f41a4e54bbf978765ca2c5e984b2b.jpg

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIxgpqtjIfw/?igshid=18da796wseavu

 

Setosa encrusting on the frag plug: 

 

IMG_20201214_174529_165.thumb.jpg.a3b8b2280d95f1aa014e2c8f656e90a3.jpg

 

Milli still on the road to recovery: 

 

IMG_20201214_174641_514.thumb.jpg.8771e72021a5f25ea0491c624c4d97df.jpg

 

Bubbly: 

 

IMG_20201214_174725_916.thumb.jpg.aae2c85947b068dba6532f7d219360ba.jpg

 

Harvey lurking:

 

IMG_20201214_174557_729.thumb.jpg.925168d1661e4e3892c294ac3ac87a6b.jpg

  • Like 2
  • Wow 1
Link to comment

So, a tiny hitchiker decided to show up on my Peacock Blues frag today - turned out to be an asterina starfish which was irritating the zoa polyps as it moved along the frag plug:

 

IMG_20201215_095624_165.thumb.jpg.de4ee814328b73180e91feb822359d35.jpg

 

IMG_20201215_095624_161.thumb.jpg.b12f2dd2de4f572e69ee6b2026bf92f9.jpg

 

It could actually move rather quickly:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIzP-KFDVaY/?igshid=1f0ul9lx2rl1d

 

And after observing it for a while, I removed it from the nano and transferred it to the refugium of my 60G. 

 

No damages on any nearby zoas so far, and the polyps opened back up as soon as the asterina was gone. I think it was mostly feeding off the algae coating the frag plug, but it irritates the polyps as it moves around, thus causing them to close up. 

 

I had to remove a similar-looking asterina in the past, and that one didn't harm my zoas either. But I still trasferred it to my fuge as a precaution. 🤔

 

Also, I think Memphis is trying to molt, but he seems to be struggling quite a fair bit: 😓

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIzQDgqjLGa/?igshid=9ltb9ygu5fym

 

I truly hope he makes it. I've grown rather fond of him. 😓

  • Like 2
Link to comment

I took some close ups of the fairy dust zoas/palys:

 

IMG_20201215_095518_640.thumb.jpg.4cb90532c2cd93254ccd6e5ee0fba161.jpg

 

IMG_20201215_095518_641.thumb.jpg.a9c843d85fbcb05f429f065751b3c02b.jpg

 

IMG_20201215_095518_652.thumb.jpg.cfd3441b76c47ddc3670a9b822e0e30b.jpg

 

I noticed one of the stems has this weird brown spiderweb-like pattern on it, but the coral appears okay and all polyps are fully open. 

 

A small corner of my green favites lost a bit of flesh after been thrown all over the sandbed by Sapphire:

 

IMG_20201215_095900_859.thumb.jpg.fe51a7d6de3e75b32f8d51d27998eacf.jpg

 

But I think it should heal up in time. 👍

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Celebrated my birthday today! 🥰

 

20201215_145239.thumb.jpg.8a27390654915a4de8a392b436abe1cc.jpg

 

My mum surprised me with a second, ocean-themed cake:

 

IMG_20201215_171532_186.thumb.jpg.ae2aae29b0ac908f120030d9c6adb2c8.jpg

 

Dinner with the family was wonderful:

 

IMG_20201215_200209_450.thumb.jpg.21d6068258f186b784187f75169ea9c5.jpg

 

Memphis might be gone, which is both unfortunate & heartbreaking, but at least my family is there for me. Phew. ❤

 

Tomorrow, I'll drop by my LFS to pick up some corals and my mini red carpet nem. Looking forward to browsing the frag tanks. 😊👍

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Update #1:

 

So I dropped by the LFS today to pick up the corals and nem I reserved about a month ago, and I shopped to my heart's content. 😄

 

The store had many new pieces and colonies that just came in, and this was pretty much my takeaway from it: :ninja:

 

IMG_20201216_145831_345.thumb.jpg.b618f5d98ae5da8b826b83aadbe4c100.jpg

 

IMG_20201216_150234_379.thumb.jpg.ab32e57cdbfe6737e3a26b293aba0e1a.jpg

 

But I also managed to pick up this ultra-cute/tiny scarlet hermit crab which was hiding out in a nerite snail shell:

 

IMG_20201216_150609_210.thumb.jpg.71dfdb5460dbbcdd2bdd31df53bb1413.jpg

 

Seriously, he was so adorable! I've decided to name him Minion. 😅

 

I picked two more empty nerite shells for him to switch into as well:

 

IMG_20201216_150609_215.thumb.jpg.88ed257e724f0353f343e920b42a5255.jpg

 

He's quite shy, but very vivid in terms of color. 😊

 

Also finally picked up my mini red carpet nem: 

 

IMG_20201216_181125_727.thumb.jpg.5691771428a2f0aedba92d3ea2166a7e.jpg

 

And these were the other 9 assorted frags that I picked up too:

 

IMG_20201216_151813_211.thumb.jpg.fd1757fc7f25acac833089704f16d5a1.jpg

  • Wow 1
Link to comment

Update #2:

 

This was a freebie frag that my LFS gave me - under the store lights, it was green with yellow polyps, but in my tank, the base is a washed out shade of purple and the polyps are green (my yellow filter lens totally killed all the colors though 😭) :

 

IMG_20201216_181125_743.thumb.jpg.529a7e60365c7b9ca578cff8e3d4a4a5.jpg

 

IMG_20201216_181125_729.thumb.jpg.d6f8e09d3c2dc86a374ba05e10031667.jpg

 

Also bought a healthy dual-colored blasto:

 

IMG_20201216_181125_722.thumb.jpg.4ab799a1591add45e88cb8ed04a3624a.jpg

 

Got some Midas & Skittles zoas for the Zoa Ledge: 😊

 

IMG_20201216_181125_742.thumb.jpg.6af8a4345277c46a63e2af4df42fb218.jpg

 

Also this nice green encrusting monti:

 

IMG_20201216_180846_317.thumb.jpg.7688a52219f2fccf92e4ac01f9de4aae.jpg

 

20201216_180949.thumb.jpg.348b7a0d8d43f51aa7fd2d61baa3588c.jpg

Link to comment

Update #4:

 

LFS tempted me to try out a neon yellow tenuis (under my lights, it appears neon green) : 😅

 

IMG_20201216_180846_273.thumb.jpg.29a3f560a1f3632201b47b4f2d9dbf1d.jpg

 

IMG_20201216_180846_279.thumb.jpg.72035443218f813c0b10bececdc3d8b4.jpg

 

And also this neon yellow spongodes - which looks neon green with purple (?) polyps: 

 

IMG_20201216_180846_256.thumb.jpg.3b8d94faac2d2b5049beacde20f86eec.jpg

 

IMG_20201216_180846_269.thumb.jpg.d110c044f90dfed4189aa03028368711.jpg

 

Here's how the pieces looked like at the store:

 

IMG_20201216_182006_246.thumb.jpg.fb4dc93c00adbd51d505a009dfcefd2d.jpg

 

IMG_20201216_182006_234.thumb.jpg.2fa779a5a74716dba1292f547a800289.jpg

 

I was also offered a krakatoa polyp, but it's still way out of my budget:

 

IMG_20201216_182006_275.thumb.jpg.a034057434ca0f6c6b945cac590db35b.jpg

 

Maybe one day, but not today. I'll just admire it from afar for now. 😅

Link to comment

I'll try to take better pics tomorrow under more intense blues. Right now, everything looks too pale and washed out due to the clip on filter, but the coral colors - especially the tenuis & spongodes looks very vivid in real life. 👍

  • Like 1
Link to comment
12 minutes ago, sr2z said:

Wow... your LFS must be very satisfied with you as a customer.

I hope so! I don't mind supporting them for as long as I'm still in the hobby. They've been very nice to me for the past ~10 years. 😅

  • Like 2
Link to comment
53 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

This reply is from yesterday. Not sure why it didn't post. Happy Birthday. The cake from Mom is sweet. Have fun at the LFS. Sorry about Memphis.

 

Those corals are going to be great additions. 

The site was very glitchy yesterday, so that could be why. 

 

Thanks for the wishes - and yeah, I loved her cake. It's very tasty too, and I had a lot of fun at the LFS. I was at the store for ~1.5 hours, picking out an assortment of frags. 😛 

 

I managed to get a tiny new crab - a scarlet legged hermit from the LFS today. If you scroll up a few posts, I've posted two pics of him. He's very cute. And currently throwing a tantrum in my tank by lying upside down with his legs hanging out. :lol:

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I increased the blues temporarily to (hopefully) take better pics of the new corals today, than I did yesterday:

 

I think the red monti cap is definitely too large for this tank. It looks like a fast grower too, so I might have to move it to the 60G in Jan. next year anyway. Perhaps I'll frag a small portion of it and keep the fraglet in this tank, while moving out the main frag to the large reef (?). I'm undecided: 🤔

 

IMG_20201217_095540_655.thumb.jpg.c92cfc4498f58e7e422dec0b672054ad.jpg

 

Spongodes & tenuis side-by-side:

 

IMG_20201217_095540_662.thumb.jpg.378da261cfbd2c19732d523ea6a4f9aa.jpg

 

Saw a few blue polyps on the Superman monti, but the green monti still doesn't have full PE:

 

IMG_20201217_095540_671.thumb.jpg.4239d269ddd1dd9eaa8dcb1f80ae70ff.jpg

 

I think the freebie frag will color up in the future. Right now, it does look dull, but I'm eager to see *if it can become bright:

 

IMG_20201217_095540_673.thumb.jpg.87c0d17c3d1dc6ee8e5d5ac7a5faf8e9.jpg

 

And here's my first problem for the day - these are my Skittle polyps, which have opened up:

 

IMG_20201217_095635_806.thumb.jpg.10719355180849220a36c2cd85aad985.jpg

 

But...my Midas zoas were missing! 😱

 

I looked everywhere for it and couldn't find it. So I had to lift up the Zoa Ledge and I found it! But after re-gluing the Midas to the Zoa Ledge, the whole rock slipped from hands (my hands were very wet, and the rock was slippery) and flipped, and landed zoa-first on my blasto colony in the tank. 😨

 

Worst, it took out a whole branch of my forest fire digi with it. 😭

 

I managed to quickly flip the Zoa Ledge back up and re-position it properly in the tank. Some of the zoas were pissed (don't blame them, I'd be mad too if my face gets smushed against a blasto) but no lasting damage from what I can tell. The forest fire digi was another matter though. I temporarily re-glued the broken branch next to the original frag, but it's too close to the neon spongodes, so I'll have to move it towards the back later. 😓

 

As for the original digi frag, it did show some PE just now, but the extensions were mild and the stick isn't as fuzzy as before. Hope it heals up in time. I'm rather fond of it. 😕

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Sapphire flipped the orange zoas: 😂

 

IMG_20201217_172011_116.thumb.jpg.56b6a19ef33898acaffdbeb560aafbb2.jpg

 

Digi frag & fraglet:

 

IMG_20201217_172011_096.thumb.jpg.4436066a0efc226aa4dc71d229b2bc1d.jpg

 

Mini carpet nem: 🥰

 

IMG_20201217_172011_088.thumb.jpg.9685dce3c8e42323cfa9692d096f2f01.jpg

 

Zoa Ledge is quite full now (and I think my new Midas polyps appear to be Butt Munchers again 😅) :

 

IMG_20201217_172125_474.thumb.jpg.2fcc6fbbc653815af2295c4c50d28186.jpg

 

^The Incredible Hulks appear to be trying to open up. I really hope they do. 👍

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Checked up on the new corals - new tenuis is doing well: 

 

IMG_20201218_102546_288.thumb.jpg.b3094c0474b8f53373941af4b56b8785.jpg

 

Starting to think this green encrusting monti is a lepto of some sort. Was pretty sure it had polyps at the LFS, but the surface looks very smooth. Upon closer inspection, it has striations - like my Jack-O-Lantern lepto. Guess I'll have to wait & see what it truly is: 🤔

 

IMG_20201218_102546_291.thumb.jpg.be21be4c926873cf909bfc6dc229a8eb.jpg

 

Also, that freebie monti frag has gained a stronger pinkish-purplish base, and the polyps are greener. 😊

 

Freebie frag day before yesterday:

 

IMG_20201216_181125_729.thumb.jpg.bfa5a54c845a4bf9642379e8725bfef5.jpg

 

Today:

 

IMG_20201218_102402_871.thumb.jpg.75ed74a77e7968cefc664917d16b9869.jpg

 

The lighting is the same - I didn't adjust it. Waiting for it to color back up more - hoping it'll surprise me & become very bright in the upcoming weeks. 😊👍

 

Back to my older corals - orange leptastrea:

 

IMG_20201218_102546_290.thumb.jpg.162ac37443ee0a4f4fadd7dfbdb5d3a9.jpg

 

Mushroom buddies:

 

IMG_20201218_102546_296.thumb.jpg.9234d1ab87e0ecd3fd396cd3db13f5be.jpg

 

Bubbly yuma:

 

IMG_20201218_102546_298.thumb.jpg.1ef0404603b6b37e8347608ea6d7bbf7.jpg

 

Glass needs to be cleaned, and sandbed needs to be stirred. Tomorrow is the weekly WC day, but I *might WC the tank today. 

 

I haven't seen Minion the hermit - he's so small and I have a sense he's in the back of the rocks, somewhere. Hope he's okay. 😕

 

I'm thinking of pulling out another small LR piece from my 60G's fuge to help elevate the Zoa Ledge a bit more (on the far left, where the area is a bit shadowed). Some of the zoas & palys on that side of the Ledge are stretching a bit because the rock is sloped and positioned slightly away from the light. So I just need a very small, flat piece of rock to *brace the left side of the Ledge and reduce the sloping. 🤔

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • Snow_Phoenix changed the title to Snow's 10G Critters of Chaos (TOTM)

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...