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Couldn't manage to do a WC today. Got hit by another nasty migraine. Will try again tomorrow. 

 

Some of my SPS don't look to happy - the purple digi will need to be trimmed because it's STNing from the base. 👍

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Morning. 😊

 

Lights were just turned on - most corals don't have full PE yet: 

 

IMG_20210226_084749_487.thumb.jpg.711ab2fa2bc68872089c145878ca75da.jpg

 

Sapphire was up early today:

 

IMG_20210226_084704_287.thumb.jpg.025a98af36160eb9b3f229dc8128b810.jpg

 

And so was Zen:

 

IMG_20210226_084534_132.thumb.jpg.53d3e357f764bad886d72b01284d73d0.jpg

 

IMG_20210226_084534_131.thumb.jpg.fce143210be09955c3c8a0b806e7eca2.jpg

 

Hunter was up early today too:

 

IMG_20210226_085002_236.thumb.jpg.fafa2337768357e3bdaec9afe859ddf9.jpg

 

IMG_20210226_085002_235.thumb.jpg.79a353a429f11be95514433d8457f8b1.jpg

 

His lateral lines are still showing: 

 

IMG_20210226_085002_238.thumb.jpg.e1b88aa7e9bf5913e490ed3d0129a88c.jpg

 

I wasn't able to feed him or any of my other dragonets properly yesterday because I was unwell, but he seems to be doing okay. 😔

 

I'm thinking of transferring over some macro from the fuge of my 60G to my nano to make two more mini macro forests as a safe haven for the pods. Will have to keep feeding frozen though - I have a sense Hunter might not adapt to pellets quickly (or at all, for that matter). 🤔

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Took a few pics of Hunter from above:

 

20210227_174605.thumb.jpg.8e8a0679ff0b74612105fd36037ad017.jpg

 

IMG_20210227_174521_910.thumb.jpg.d0b3ecebe540c322caaf632daaaa92ab.jpg

 

IMG_20210227_174521_904.thumb.jpg.c472745b20f0955e5d3945710a18afca.jpg

 

IMG_20210227_174521_903.thumb.jpg.24d92a9b6e156c119e6e4760eaaa3ab1.jpg

 

IMG_20210227_174521_906.thumb.jpg.41758644983228efcaacbda8682c0f6c.jpg

 

His body form still isn't too great and his training goes rather slowly, but otherwise, he is a very active fish. 

 

Prowler, my circus barred goby, actually came out in the open for several short seconds, but he darted back into his cave when I came up to the glass. 

 

Sapphire the damsel & Panda the clown are doing fine too. 👍

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Finally managed to pull off a 4G WC today! 😄

 

Corals partially out of water:

 

IMG_20210228_130908_136.thumb.jpg.890765a0cd6fe1280dacf665bbc19b14.jpg

 

IMG_20210228_130908_133.thumb.jpg.49bc3687ba8357937f0a60621f5249e3.jpg

 

Meteor shower cyphastrea is regaining color again, but turning...green (?) at the edges: 🤔

 

IMG_20210228_130908_137.thumb.jpg.90fdcbc00d0ea17a8dc589cccf5e25c8.jpg

 

My Zoa Garden at the present:

 

IMG_20210228_131222_249.thumb.jpg.ba99a2be4e3efccfeab8145a0015b8fe.jpg

 

 

 

IMG_20210228_184731_883.thumb.jpg.8eae1bbcc34c8c2713b83b5bd0761310.jpg

 

IMG_20210228_184731_874.thumb.jpg.adbe100af8e995c2fa49f523739e4b3f.jpg

 

IMG_20210228_131222_247.thumb.jpg.57b471eb8b9937944889cfe08ec670ab.jpg

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Other corals in the nanoreef:

 

IMG_20210228_184843_608.thumb.jpg.a69b851fc9ae2ae0a595c1ec3b763ad0.jpg

 

IMG_20210228_184843_607.thumb.jpg.ceb3676aa8a97a775348dae02a9d904f.jpg

 

IMG_20210228_131222_250.thumb.jpg.67fe283519694da6cd2f420f93f23a06.jpg

 

(Last pic was taken right after the WC, so the zoas were still a bit moody)

 

Growth is okay so far - many new polyps. They're now competing for space and growing into each other like a colorful mat - which was the look that I was going for when I added the zoa frags next to each other in the beginning. 😊

 

I also fragged off the base my purple digi and re-glued it on the rocks. Unfortunately, I've lost my cynarina (no flesh left 😔) and I also discovered my candy cane coral had fallen off the rocks and lost some flesh. It should heal up in time though (I hope). 👍

 

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Snow_Phoenix

Two quick updates:-

 

I just realized my shrooms have grown rather large in this tank, and look quite pretty in a pile: 😄

 

IMG_20210301_183416_667.thumb.jpg.c0d9e76b6d7978956c14d2443e4271ef.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183416_665.thumb.jpg.b1598ce4eb96a916e965f59233745108.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183416_664.thumb.jpg.89f41329420a8448744eaf6916f90da6.jpg

 

Harvey peeking:

 

IMG_20210301_183123_631.thumb.jpg.34cc155c903a465d5266e63d30b48935.jpg

 

Angled shot of part of my Zoa Garden: 🥰

 

IMG_20210301_183250_355.thumb.jpg.5b63fff15d37486e55cfc2dbac156b77.jpg

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Snow_Phoenix

Took a few angled FTSes for a change: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_682.thumb.jpg.eaad8af53998df915e9181dab2b3eccf.jpg

 

20210301_183744.thumb.jpg.c16fce1b841d51d6c4c228bdb7168422.jpg

 

20210301_183826.thumb.jpg.7233e805675cf475873c607c75afa344.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_680.thumb.jpg.1052b430e5bcbd8ec618602d567c5b20.jpg

 

Direct FTSes: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_695.thumb.jpg.74c2bbbaf4dd98dda77e2ed5b97b7871.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_692.thumb.jpg.de8f78141eb5109cb553d7bd0110a6f0.jpg

 

20210301_183939.thumb.jpg.67c46c391c8a8e4fe26be83c8a749719.jpg

 

Love the amount of growth and color I'm currently witnessing. Can't wait for it to grow out more - especially the SPSes. 🥰💦

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4 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Took a few angled FTSes for a change: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_682.thumb.jpg.eaad8af53998df915e9181dab2b3eccf.jpg

 

20210301_183744.thumb.jpg.c16fce1b841d51d6c4c228bdb7168422.jpg

 

20210301_183826.thumb.jpg.7233e805675cf475873c607c75afa344.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_680.thumb.jpg.1052b430e5bcbd8ec618602d567c5b20.jpg

 

Direct FTSes: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_695.thumb.jpg.74c2bbbaf4dd98dda77e2ed5b97b7871.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_692.thumb.jpg.de8f78141eb5109cb553d7bd0110a6f0.jpg

 

20210301_183939.thumb.jpg.67c46c391c8a8e4fe26be83c8a749719.jpg

 

Love the amount of growth and color I'm currently witnessing. Can't wait for it to grow out more - especially the SPSes. 🥰💦

Absolutely beautiful 

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Murphs_Reef
5 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Took a few angled FTSes for a change: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_682.thumb.jpg.eaad8af53998df915e9181dab2b3eccf.jpg

 

20210301_183744.thumb.jpg.c16fce1b841d51d6c4c228bdb7168422.jpg

 

20210301_183826.thumb.jpg.7233e805675cf475873c607c75afa344.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_680.thumb.jpg.1052b430e5bcbd8ec618602d567c5b20.jpg

 

Direct FTSes: 

 

IMG_20210301_183654_695.thumb.jpg.74c2bbbaf4dd98dda77e2ed5b97b7871.jpg

 

IMG_20210301_183654_692.thumb.jpg.de8f78141eb5109cb553d7bd0110a6f0.jpg

 

20210301_183939.thumb.jpg.67c46c391c8a8e4fe26be83c8a749719.jpg

 

Love the amount of growth and color I'm currently witnessing. Can't wait for it to grow out more - especially the SPSes. 🥰💦

Wow!!!!

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Snow_Phoenix

Took these pics in the morning, when the tank was still waking up:

 

IMG_20210302_105608_588.thumb.jpg.06d5015d58d9f17b900d3c11c3a546c7.jpg

 

20210302_105733.thumb.jpg.182da604cc7e038041c30a754ecbf740.jpg

 

20210302_105642.thumb.jpg.6a8645682a6e5ebabb9994fc325f8c83.jpg

 

20210302_105706.thumb.jpg.69a0ffac0c519f7e07333db83967925b.jpg

 

I like the random prolifera growth in the final pic. The actual prolifera clump that I have in this reef is in the opposite end of the tank, next to the filter intake. 😅

 

Waiting for the district barriers to be eased so that I may visit my primary LFS again. Would love to pick up more zoas - especially the blue hornets, if those are still available. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Snow_Phoenix

Hi everyone. I'm okay, but still am recovering. Drove for the first time in over a month recently, and hopefully I'll get to drive again tomorrow. 🙂

 

As for my tanks, I *almost shut my nano down, but I spoke to my mother and she did tell me not to make any decisions while I'm sick and tired. I'm glad I listened to her, because the nano is still here, although it's a bit neglected.

 

I've lost track over how long it has been since the last WC, but it's been 3+ weeks, by my estimation. The tank is mostly chugging along based on dosing & top-offs only - all of which are done daily manually by me. 

 

As for the tank's inhabitants - overall, it's not too bad. I'm seeing growth in some pieces like my zoas, but in other pieces like certain (not all) SPS, the growth has slowed down quite a fair bit. I had some issues with my Ponape birdsnest. It has actually grown into a colony, but it was starting to STN at the base for the last few weeks, and I had to frag it today to save it. Either my hands were not strong enough or the coral was simply too thick at the base because I had a very hard time cutting it and ended up creating a dozen frags (2 pieces are right next to each other in the pic, but there are actually 12 frags) :

 

 

 

The 'tips' a.k.a. smaller frags were too small to be glued down, so I managed to only re-glue around 8 to 9 frags back on the rock. It doesn't look very pretty, but I'm hoping it'll grow out again in time:

 

Also, I have a bit of sad news. My Zanzibar shrimp, Zen, went through a very bad molt yesterday. 😞

 

He survived it, but lost most of his legs, main claws and part of his antennae. I think the stress of the molt was too much, because he eventually died today morning: :tears:

 

 

I have no idea how old he truly is because he was previously in another reefer's tank before being sold through my primary LFS, where I picked him up. I miss him already - he was an amazing and pretty chill shrimp which got along with everything else in my reeftank. 

 

I will keep an eye out for another zanzibar shrimp (or the equivalent - like a blue CBS or yellow CBS) in the future. 

 

Also, another slice of bad news. I lost Harold the porcelain crab as well a few days back, although I'm not sure why. I just woke up one morning and he was very inactive - within a few hours, he vanished, and I haven't seen him since. Unless he's hiding (which I doubt), I think he's gone too. 😞 

 

But inverts aside, I've been struggling a lot with Hunter the mandy. Initially he was doing okay and eating live and frozen, but after a while he just...stopped. He occasionally pecks at the rocks, and is now grossly thin. I was trying to transfer him to the 60G, but was unsuccessful in my attempts to catch him. Couple that with the fact that my health fluctuates everyday, and I pretty much just let him be.

 

 

 

But yesterday, a small miracle happened during the routine evening feeding session - he ate pellets! 😮

 

After being stubborn and *not eating for weeks, he finally decided to give it a go. Despite his prominent lateral lines, his belly was quite full and no longer sunk in by the end of the day, and I was quite astonished. I'll try to drop in more pellets today on the Zoa Ledge, and hopefully he'll eat more of it today as well. If I can get him stable and eating prepared again, then I can try to bait him with frozen food again as well. 

 

It will take months for him to regain some healthy body fat though. And until he does, he'll remain in the 10G, where I can monitor him more easily. 

 

I noticed I have two tiny pesky aiptasia that have settled between my Tubbs Blue & sparkling red zoas, so I'll try to smother them with a blob of coral glue tomorrow. As for now, I'm letting the tank sit as it is. Once I'm strong enough, I'll WC it. 

 

 

 

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I was thinking about you yesterday. When you do not post I know your not feeling well. So glad you didn't take the tank down. I hope you feel better soon. Sorry the tank sounds like it has had some troubles and it is sad about the losses. You can worry about that later. Take care of you first.  

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Snow_Phoenix
18 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

I was thinking about you yesterday. When you do not post I know your not feeling well. So glad you didn't take the tank down. I hope you feel better soon. Sorry the tank sounds like it has had some troubles and it is sad about the losses. You can worry about that later. Take care of you first.  

I think the hardest bit about running this tank atm is keeping up with the needs of the dragonet - I'm failing quite badly in that aspect, because I didn't/couldn't dedicate as much time & effort as I could to keeping it properly. 😞

 

I did consider giving Hunter away, but will do so only to my primary LFS. And since that store is too far from my home, and I'm now only starting to drive again, it'll take a few more weeks before I can make the trip to the LFS. I'm honestly not sure if Hunter can make it until then. He's lost so much weight. 😞

 

The only upside is that he's reasonably active and still very curious about everything in the tank. I really, really should have waited to get another mandy. 

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Snow_Phoenix

I managed to perform a 4G WC this morning, and also do some much-needed routine maintenance like swapping out the floss & carbon, basting the rocks, stirring the sandbed & scraping the glass. 

 

Tank looks much better, but some of the zoas are a bit scrunched up. I'll try to take some pics later, after the evening feeding session.

 

I'm tentatively planning on driving to my primary LFS some time next month to pick up a small species of shrimp (a zanzibar, if I can) and maybe a few more zoa morphs. I don't have much cash on me though - I've overspent terribly over the last 1.5 months, so I'll have to go on a very, very strict budget. If I do have enough leftover money, and the blue hornet zoa is available at the store, I'll try to pick up a frag. Otherwise, I'll wait and save up again to get anything - corals are a luxury, not a necessity. 

 

I'll keeping working on Hunter. Since I'm recovering and getting my strength back, I should have more time to re-dedicate myself to all my tanks. I'll also have to WC my 60G tank - but will probably have to split the WC into two sessions so that I don't overstretch myself. 

 

Otherwise, tank-wise, I think both tanks are tentatively okay. 👍

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

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