Snow's 10G Critters of Chaos (TOTM)

[Snow_Phoenix]

58 minutes ago, xellos88 said:

Surprised the Leptastrea and other SPS have managed to grow that close to the Pavona. Mine used put out some nasty stingers. It died when I upgraded my lights. 😞 

Nice mix of LS and colors!

Sorry to hear you lost it - I feel you on that one! 😔

 

Coral wars aren't fun. But for some reason, some types seem to get along well with others. The leptastrea is actually an active grower and I have to trim it. It did sting the edge of my pavona a little, so I broke the dead tip off and moved the pavona away a bit. Space seems to be the greatest constraint (and issue) in this tank. 

 

Thanks for the compliment! I love having a mix of random shapes and colors in there. 🥰

[Snow_Phoenix]

Zoa Garden:

 

 

 

 

Duncan:

 

 

GSP cluster:

 

 

Bullet. 🥰

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Shrooms:

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPS:

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Trumpet coral and Sunny Ds:

 

 

 

FTS today on 12/2/23:

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Hi, everyone. I managed to swing by my LFS and pick up a pair of GCGs as well as 14 frags (11 zoas/palys & 3 shrooms) for this tank. 🙂

 

Here are pics of the fish at the store:

 

 

 

Here's the pink yuma that I've been eyeing on for the last 4+ months or so, and finally had the courage to bring back home today:

 

 

All the frags at home:

 

 

The gobies acclimating at home:

 

 

Both of them are not chunky or thick, but are not emaciated either. The store was out of live food, so I'm hoping for the best and will try to immediately wean them onto prepared tomorrow onwards. One of them vanished as soon as it went into the nano, and I decided to name him Houdini. The second one was more bold and I named her Dahlia. 🙂

 

As for the frags, I can't keep track of all of the zoas (by name) that I picked up today, but I do recall these ones being in the mix: Blue Agave, Radioactive Dragon Eyes, Eagle Eyes, Sunflower, Candy Apple, Oompa Loompa etc.

 

The shrooms are: Pink (Big Bubble) Yuma, Reddish-Orange Yuma & Interstellar Rhodactis.

 

I traded in 7 different types of corals from my tank to acquire all of these, and even had to top off some additional cash to get the frags. 

 

Not everything is open yet - some of the polyps are very small, and I'm unsure if they'll survive or melt away. 😞

 

It will probably take a full week or more before all the new zoas and palys stabilize. The yumas are not fully expanded either. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Dahlia up close:

 

 

Size difference between Dahlia and Pickle! 😮

 

 

Dahlia settling in - can you spot her? 👀

 

 

 

Houdini:

 

 

 

The only way to truly tell the difference between the two of them is the sideview shape of their heads. Houdini's front is more curved, blunt and larger, Dahlia's is slightly more tapered and refined. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

The first night is the hardest because this is when a new fish either makes it - or doesn't. I couldn't risk QTing them because they'll waste away too quickly and mostly likely starve to death in QT. For the best interests of both fish, I decided I might as well add them to the nano directly. 

 

Also, here were the two new yumas right after being added to the nano:

 

 

They're relatively small - especially the reddish orange one on the right. 

 

Blue Agave & Oompa Loompa, with shrunken-and-not-fully-open-yet radioactive dragon eye on the lower right of the pic:

 

 

Interstellar shroom:

 

 

I apologize if the pics are grainy - I'm too tired to upload them directly from my phone, so I'm simply copy-pasting them from one of my social media profiles. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

And a few unique things I spotted at the store today:-

 

A fully-grown Midas blenny (it's thick, not emaciated - the lighting gives the illusion that its lateral lines are visible, but in RL, the fish is healthy and chunky) turned in by another local reefer:

 

 

Giant black sea cucumber crawling up the glass:

 

 

Various random corals:

 

 

 

 

The lepto frag I turned in months ago is massive now! 😄

 

 

Giant bullseye rhodactis:

 

 

The trip definitely wore me out, but I think it was worth it. I really enjoyed browsing through all the various livestock at the store, and had a nice, long chat with my LFS manager-friend. Also met another local reefer there, and he seemed pretty nice too. 🙂 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I looked back at the pics of my frags while they were at the LFS and could identify some of the zoa/paly morphs - there's still one which I'm not certain about. Tentatively, I cross-checked my pics with findings online, but I'll have to wait until the zoas open up 100% to be completely certain they are what they are.

 

Some are obvious, others not so much.

As of now, I have 96 varieties/morphs/types of corals in this tank. Planning on collecting more shrooms and zoas in the future. 🙂

 

I also recalled something about the pink yuma - they call it 'Big Bubble' or 'Godzilla' yuma over here. Supposedly it has the capability of 'bouncing' in time. The interstellar discosoma also can 'bounce' according to my LFS. It'd be interesting to see how the shrooms progress in this tank. 

Oh! And I spotted both of my GCGs. Both are fine for now. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Houdini popped up throughout the day, but no sign of Dahlia. She might be simply hiding, but I'm unsure. 😕

 

Houdini:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The white dots in one of the close ups isn't ich, but some sort of sand particles - I double-checked to be sure. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Bullet was very inquisitive today:

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some of the new polyps have opened up too. I'm still not sure what the one with the bright orange center is called (the large lone polyp next to my incinerators), but I'm glad the candy apple and sunflower have opened up fully:

 

 

 

The oompa loompa still looks grumpy and a bit dull though. Not full open either, as compared to the blue agave:

 

 

 

Others might take more time. The tequila sunset, radioactive dragon eyes and rastas opened up for a *bit, then closed up again. Not sure why. 🤷‍♀️

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pink godzilla yuma looking better today:

 

 

 

Green yuma with a single bounce-bubble:

 

 

Interstellar shroom:

 

 

Buddies:

 

 

Skittles & leopard discosomas:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pavona lacking a fold - I fragged off a portion and traded it in yesterday:

 

 

Mix and mess:

 

 

John Deere leptastrea:

 

 

Fragged off a mat of intrusive GSP and placed it in the back corner of the tank:

 

 

A whole parade of merlettis:

 

 

Also decided to do something a bit different and take a FTS under 0% blues and 100% whites. This was the result:

 

 

Interesting to see how brown and lackluster the corals seem to be under total whites. Blues truly give them the 'Pop!', but I guess this is how everything truly looks under normal lighting. 🤔

[ml86743]

maaaaan I love this tank so much! New additions are looking sweet!  When those yumas grow larger they'll fit right in with the rest of the crew. 

 

That JD lepta looks so awesome, I think that is the same type I just won on ebay.  Any care tips?  Never had one before. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

17 minutes ago, ml86743 said:

maaaaan I love this tank so much! New additions are looking sweet!  When those yumas grow larger they'll fit right in with the rest of the crew. 

 

That JD lepta looks so awesome, I think that is the same type I just won on ebay.  Any care tips?  Never had one before. 

Thank you. 🙂

 

The yumas do pack a sting though. Same goes for the leptastrea - it encrusts quickly under the right conditions, but will literally grow over other corals (including SPS - a small patch tried to take over a small chili pepper monticap once) unless the other coral packs an even bigger sting (eg. whiplash merlettis etc.). From what I've observed so far, it's quite easy to take care of - no special requirements needed! I broadcast feed phyto, rotifers and pods from time to time, and the polyps will occasionally catch some. As long as your levels are steady and everything is in balance, I think you won't have any issues with this coral. Hope this helps. 

[ml86743]

Awesome, thank you!

[Snow_Phoenix]

A quick slice of good news: I spotted my second GCG, Dahlia, just now. I have no idea where she was throughout the day, but now that the lights are off, she popped up around the corner of my bicolor lobo, on the right side of the tank. 

 

As for Houdini - my other GCG, it appears he has now set up home near the caves and crevices under my Zoa Garden. No territorial clashes between the two so far - they seem to be minding their own and are content with being on different sides of the tank.

 

I really, really hope this pair will live a long, happy, healthy life in this tank, and be with me for many years to come. Once I wean them onto prepared, there shouldn't be too much of an issue. 

 

No further fish will be added to this tank. BME, this nano can't hold more than 4 fish, and even then, the last 2 fish in the stocking list *must have minimal bioload or it'll throw the system off-balance. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pickle greeted me when I took off the lids to snap some pics. She's a truly amazing fish. Very bold too. 🥰

 

 

The new yumas have both opened up a bit more. The reddish-orange one is much smaller than the pink godzilla, but I think it will look very pretty once it grows out. 👍

 

 

 

My chili pepper monticaps have rusty red PE as opposed to bright red ones. Not sure why. 🤷‍♀️

 

 

Also, my green leptastrea has been retracted for 1.5+ weeks. Today I noticed it even had a tinge of (suspected) BJD, so I immediately pulled it out of the tank and gave it a prolonged Iodine + Vit. C bath (~20 mins). 

 

 

A few stubby polyps showed up once it was resettled in the tank. This piece has always been problematic since I acquired it years ago. It's a wild frag, not an aquacultured one, so it's extremely sensitive. I swear you could just look at it the wrong way and it would close up. 🤦‍♀️

[Snow_Phoenix]

I fed the tank some liquid BBS today - mostly in hopes of getting my new fish to eat. I couldn't spot them very well today, but both my clown and firefish were actively eating. 👍

 

Also, the interstellar shroom seems to be a different shade of green altogether. Almost looks fluorescent under my lights:

 

 

^Also, my orange rhodactis was nearly eaten by my brain coral (again! ) so one side of it is partially melted.

 

And I love the tiny green leopard shrooms that have been popping up on the rock lately:

 

 

Have been seeing a lot of tiny ironman shrooms pop up too:

 

 

Sunny Ds cluster still going strong:

 

 

Duncan from above:

 

 

I'm afraid I upsetted my entire zoa garden today. 😕

 

I had to move the new frags to slightly different locations in the garden today (basically remove and reglue some of them) because not all of them were receiving enough light in their previous positions. 

 

Despite the setback (a lot of closed, angry polyps), I discovered a last surviving Devil's Armor polyp hidden the shadows. I thought I had lost this beautiful morph completely, so I was thrilled to spot a survivor. I quickly moved the polyp and glued the tiny rubble it was on back to the main Zoa Ledge #1. 

 

I think I'll expediate the weekly WC this week and try to complete it by Friday. Usually a nice WC will help the corals recover quicker. 🤔

[ml86743]

As usual amazing stuff.  Real cool finding the last remaining Devil's Armor!  I can't get over that Sunny D/Candy Cane combo.  It looks so sweet!

 

Top down of the Duncan colony is 👍.  I really envy the health and consistency of your tank.  Keep it up!

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, ml86743 said:

As usual amazing stuff.  Real cool finding the last remaining Devil's Armor!  I can't get over that Sunny D/Candy Cane combo.  It looks so sweet!

 

Top down of the Duncan colony is 👍.  I really envy the health and consistency of your tank.  Keep it up!

Thanks. There are some parts that are not very healthy, but I'm trying my best to nurse it back to full health. A few pieces/polyps are still shrunken and discolored here and there. Hoping a few WCs spaced out over the upcoming weeks will sort everything out. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I did a re-check of the coral list for this tank - I had to re-calculate the amount of varieties and morphs because some of the older morphs/varieties are no longer present (most likely melted away over time). Even my LPS list was outdated - so the tally is 87 at the moment. I'll be focusing on zoas and shrooms, but if I do come across a tiny easy-to-keep SPS fraglet, then I *might be tempted to get one (or two, heh). 

 

I'm actively fragging a lot of the older, more stable pieces. It's akin to pruning a garden of sorts. 

 

Since some of these frags do fetch reasonable value at my LFS, I can trade a bunch in (and top off with extra cash) to acquire slightly rarer pieces - like the pink godzilla shroom and both the candy apple and oompa loompa zoas. Usually when I peruse the frag tank at the LFS, I select the frags I want based on its health and color, and what would best fit the chaotic mess of shapes and colors that I have in my nano. 

 

I literally stick my whole hand into the frag tank and choose the frags myself, then put them side-by-side in an empty spot on the frag rack (usually in the corner of the frag tank). Only then I ask about pricing, trade-ins, names (if they're relevant) etc etc. I know most people just point at stuff when they walk into a store - but I'm not like most people lol. 

I'm just glad that the store is very supportive of its customers, and they don't stop us from getting our hands wet to choose anything. I met another guy in the shop who was doing the same thing I did and didn't mind getting his hands wet to pick his own corals either. 

 

The only thing I don't actively touch are the fish. Normally someone in the store will catch it for me, but if it's too much of a struggle, I'll help hold the bag open or put my hand on the lid and shift it a bit so that the fish doesn't torpedo out of the holding tank and hit the floor, instead of going into the net. 

 

And with non-coral inverts, sometimes I do handle them directly, other times I don't. My primary LFS staff are very good and careful/gentle/respectful towards any critter they handle. I've been to other stores where the staff handles the animal so roughly, that it actually comes with a torn fin or missing claw/leg (for crabs) even though the animal looked physically normal prior to handling. Luckily NOA isn't like that. 🌺

 

I looked up the pricing of the Oompa loompa zoa online a few hours back and was shocked when it was listed under the premium list. I didn't realize that when I picked it out. With the pink godzilla, I knew it will be pricey, but even then, I didn't understand the true value of these pieces until I looked it up on various local sites and saw the figures. 

 

Hopefully the oompa loompa will propagate and give me multiple polyps. That way I can frag some and return it to the LFS the next time I visit (if the zoa has already developed a mini colony by then). It's the least I can do after being given something exotic and beautiful - akin to a gift, really, even though I paid for it in a way. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Throwback: This was how small my green and yellow yumas were, exactly a year ago from today:

 

 

 

They truly have tripled in size! ❤️ 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Spotted Houdini in random areas in the tank throughout the day. 

 

 

Due to their small size and elusive nature, both the GCGs can be difficult to spot. No sign of Dahlia, but I *think she's still alive, just staying hidden. 

 

I did a partial clean up of the tank today. Replaced the filter media, wiped/scraped the glass, then took the wavemaker out for a quick vinegar soak and clean up. 

 

Not all of the corals are happy, but I'm hoping things will perk up tomorrow. I'm tentatively planning on WCing the tank tomorrow, so just need to be patient and let things settle down a little. 👍

 

I tried feeding Houdini some pellets, but he's not eating yet.