Snow's 10G Critters of Chaos (TOTM)

[banasophia]

Yes, wow that sounds like a lot of work! I love that gold spotted discosoma!! Your tank makes me want to add more types of mushrooms to my tank. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I performed a WC on the tank today. Most of the corals are still quite cranky *today, but I took several pics pre-WC *yesterday:

 

SPS:

 

 

 

 

 

Merlettis:

 

 

Trumpet coral:

 

 

 

^I accidently knocked off one of the trumpet coral frags today during the WC. I removed the melting zoa polyps from its skeleton before re-attaching it to Coralline Ledge. It's not very happy at the jostling around today. 😕

[Snow_Phoenix]

Other pics that I took yesterday:

 

Unfortunately, the interstellar shroom detached itself from this rock today:

 

 

So I quickly placed it at the bottom of Mushroom Mountain and put a few stick-shaped rubble around its edges to keep it in place. I hope it will eventually attach itself to the main base rock instead of becoming a free-floater. 

 

Geralt near the shrooms. 🦀

 

 

 

Jim the halloween hermit did a good job in munching the GHA around my pink yuma. He also had another successful molt recently. 🦀

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Zoa Garden yesterday:

 

 

 

 

 

One of the pinwheels zoa frags accidently became detached from the rocks today during the WC, so I had to re-glue it down to Zoa Ledge #1. 

 

I also binned the duncan frag today because there was no flesh left - all skeleton. 😕

 

Luckily my main duncan colony remains intact with 15 heads (mix of large & small ones). 

 

FTS taken yesterday:

 

 

 

 

I will take more pics once the tank settles down in a day or two. 

 

My LFS has bumblebee snails and pom pom crabs in stock, but I'm too tired to make the trip. Perhaps next time (?) 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Took some pics today. Jim the hermit:

 

 

Duncan coral:

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Ironman discosomas:

 

 

Green hairy shrooms from above:

 

 

Bicolor lobo:

 

 

Zoa Garden topview:

 

 

 

Garf bonsai seems to be finally growing out (albeit slowly) :

 

 

FTS today on 30/5/23:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Hi. It's been quite a while since I updated. I'm okay, if anyone is wondering.

 

The tank has been fallow for 81 days so far. Theoretically, I can add fish (after they've undergone QT) to the nano. 

 

But truth be told, a lot has been going on over the past month, and I lost interest in everything marine. 😢

 

The nano is in a dire state of neglect. It's been ~1 month since the last WC/last clean up of any sort. There's algae all over the glass, but my snail has been keeping it under control - so it's patchy in most areas. The colors of *all corals have completely gone haywire. Everything is muddy and most of the pieces are either lackluster/browned out. I've also lost a few shrooms and zoas/palys. 

 

I'm not even sure where to start to turn this thing around. I know it's a weird thing to say since I've been reefing for quite a while, but I genuinely am clueless on how to proceed. Everytime I even think about doing something simple (swapping out the floss, for example), I shrink back and stop. I'm unsure why. 😕

 

Right now, the system is running purely on manual dosing and top-offs. I feed the crabs and shrimp, and that's about it. I don't touch the tank otherwise. 

 

I've been feeling very down for the past month, and things did hit an ultra-low point around 10 days ago. I guess I'm still reeling/recovering (?) from that. 

 

However, I still have interest in my other animals, which I find strange. It's just the marine ones I'm struggling a fair bit with. 

 

I'll try to get things back on track over next week. Maybe do little things at a time. 

 

Sorry if there are no pics. 

[Woodini]

Such a cool tank! Kinda where I want mine to go. 
Snap out of it!

[debbeach13]

Hi Snow

I am glad to hear your OK. I was going to message you to check on you last week, then I saw you had been on here just not for an update.  I wish I had a great motivational quote for you. Unfortunately, I do not. There just are times when it just feels like work more than fun. I love both of your reef tanks and your posts about your other tanks and pets. You have a lot of critters in your care. 

Hang in there and please take care of you first.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I finally got around to WCing and cleaning up the tank today. Lost a few coral pieces. My Jack-O-Lantern lepto has STNed a bit - basically there's a trail of white bisecting the coral right down in the middle.

 

Most of the coral colors are way off. Also, the Sunny Ds have mostly melted away, but I managed to salvage one large remaining polyp and glued it down on Zoa Ledge #1. I also siphoned out a few red flatworms from Mushroom Mountain.

 

All my non-coral inverts are doing well (2 crabs, 1 snail & 1 shrimp).

 

Surprisingly, the only coral that has thrived in the chaotic mess is my duncan - it's up to 19 heads now, 2 of which are still tiny and forming. One of the pavona pieces have grown out quite a fair bit too. It's strange that some of the corals loved how 'dirty' the tank was, and how most didn't. 

 

I'll try to take some pics once everything has settled down tomorrow. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pics as promised today. The STN areas I posted about earlier:

 

 

A lot of polyps have melted away. 😞

 

 

Muddy-colored garf bonsai:

 

 

Discolored yumas:

 

 

My hermit says hello. 🦀

 

 

An interesting grayish sponge that developed over the past few weeks:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Shrooms:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acans:

 

 

Favia:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Bicolor lobo:

 

 

19-headed duncan:

 

 

Lime green monticap:

 

 

Leptastrea:

 

 

 

Trumpet coral:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

The one piece that actually grew out well during the past month - the pavona:

 

 

 

 

A lot of new ripples and layers. 🤷‍♀️

[debbeach13]

All and all I think most of the coral looks pretty dam good.

[Snow_Phoenix]

33 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

All and all I think most of the coral looks pretty dam good.

Thanks, Deb. Just needs time to recover and bounce back. Once everything is steady again, I'll focus on restocking the zoas and *maybe picking up a fish or two. 

[sam_the_reefer]

16 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Pics as promised today. The STN areas I posted about earlier:

 

 

A lot of polyps have melted away. 😞

This looks like it was from coral warfare than from husbandry.  

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, xellos88 said:

This looks like it was from coral warfare than from husbandry.  

They decided to wake up one day and choose violence, huh? Sigh. 🤦‍♀️

 

To think both these pieces used to get along very well ever since I placed them next to each other. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

My duncan was very happy yesterday evening. Took a few pics of it from different angles. 👍

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

The FTS doesn't look as good as it was in the past, but here it is regardless:

 

 

 

 

You can see a lot of empty patches on the rocks here and there. All signs of shrunken/melted polyps of various corals. Zoa Garden was one of the worst hit - it requires continuous, meticulous care, and I was doing everything but *that over the last month. 😕

 

It'll take a while for the system to bounce back (as always). Just need some time and patience. 

 

Today is Day #90 of going fallow (3 months). Any parasites/diseases that were previously in there should be technically dead (?) by now. 

 

I'd love to add a new clown to the tank, but still am thinking about it. Any fish that'll go in will need to be QTed though. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Finally seeing some signs of recovery in the lepto:

 

 

Color has started to return in some pieces as well:

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Took a few more pics before lights out earlier. My duncan:

 

 

 

Shrooms:

 

 

Discolored ironman discosomas:

 

 

Rainbow brain:

 

Today's FTS looks a smidge better than yesterday. 👍

 

 

 

[JamesQ]

Tank is looking sweet dude!

[Lebowski_]

Those ba-dunc-a-duncs are looking great, very puffy and extended. Seems like there are a ton of heads now, too.

[Snow_Phoenix]

10 hours ago, JamesQ said:

Tank is looking sweet dude!

Thank you. 😊

 

7 hours ago, Lebowski_ said:

Those ba-dunc-a-duncs are looking great, very puffy and extended. Seems like there are a ton of heads now, too.

Yes, 19 heads (17 large, and 2 little ones) so far. 😅