Snow's 10G Critters of Chaos (TOTM)

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, boscoT said:

Gorgeous!!!   

Thank you. 🌺

[debbeach13]

Hi Snow

Glad to hear you and the tanks are in a more comfortable environment. When my AC goes out, I am too miserable to get anything accomplished. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

14 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Hi Snow

Glad to hear you and the tanks are in a more comfortable environment. When my AC goes out, I am too miserable to get anything accomplished. 

Believe me, I was too miserable to do anything for the past week too. But now that I've resettled into my room, I'm slowly getting things back on track again. I've done easily 50% of the work needed; just need to mix up some new SW and WC the tank tomorrow. 😊

[Snow_Phoenix]

Both good news & bad news:-

 

Good news: Managed to WC the tank today!

 

Bad news: A/C is out again, and will only get fixed on Wednesday. Am currently using the mini-fan to keep the tank's temp. within a bearable range so that the corals wouldn't melt. 😕

 

I took several pics, but I think I'll post them tomorrow. Am too tired today. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Pic drop! 👍

 

Mushroom Mountain. 🥰

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

SPS. 💦

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

LPS. 💦

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoas & Softies. 💦

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

A closer look. 👀

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

FTS on 25/09/23 (yesterday) :

 

 

 

 

All pics were taken yesterday, post-WC, except for the pic of the whiplash blasto merlettis which was taken today evening. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Zoas and palys. 🥰

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Topview of the Zoa Ledge today:

 

 

^Really need to fill up those blank spots on the rocks with new morphs. 🤔

 

FTS today on 28/09/23:

 

 

^Geralt was climbing all over my leptastrea in this shot, hence its retraction. 🦀

[Snow_Phoenix]

A spaghetti worm crawled up the glass yesterday morning:

 

 

Shot of the gold-spotted discosoma right after I turned the lights on:

 

 

Tank overall is doing okay. Spark the molly is growing up well too. 🥰👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Some sad news. My LFS is closing down permanently and relocating to their parent store at a place which is very, very far from my home. It's quite heartbreaking, and quite frankly, I'm unsure if I'll be able to be in this hobby in the future since I will have nil access to shops now. 😭

 

Equipment and dry items can be easily purchased online, but I won't be able to pick up new livestock, including CUC. 😢

 

I'll retain what I currently have, but I'm unsure if I can go their parent store - the only one who can probably take me there is my dad (because Lord knows I have no idea how to get there myself - it's a completely different district), and even then, he's constantly working, so it'll be unfair for me to ask him for a favor unless absolutely necessary.

 

I'm actually quite depressed. It's getting harder and harder to stay in the hobby here with all the inflated prices, and even my buffers to supplement the tank are quite pricey.

 

Eventually I *might end up shutting down the nano and the large tank, and move away from reefing. Not really a choice on my part, but the money that goes to the tanks would be better off for other more needed expenses.

 

I'm just going to enjoy what I currently have for the moment. Who knows - if the store decides to re-open a branch somewhere near my home, I'll be able to go there again. I'll miss my friends at the LFS the most, though.

 

So much for trying to get new shrimp, crabs and fish for the tank. 😞

[debbeach13]

That is terrible news. Can you possibly order from the main store and have some items shipped from them ? Although the additional shipping cost may really make it just too expensive to consider. 
Are there any other local stores that you can still get to for your fresh water supplies? I hope you don’t stress too much and take care of yourself. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

That is terrible news. Can you possibly order from the main store and have some items shipped from them ? Although the additional shipping cost may really make it just too expensive to consider. 
Are there any other local stores that you can still get to for your fresh water supplies? I hope you don’t stress too much and take care of yourself. 

I'm unsure if they'll deliver to the house, but I'll try asking. Hopefully they do. If so, then I could bulk-purchase and I don't mind the courier fee (which will be cheaper than the petrol fee needed to get there myself *somehow). 

 

Luckily there are plenty of FW stores near my home. The main one I frequent for supplies is going strong and has branched out to selling exotics as well. It's the SW stores which are so few in number. The only good one is my usual LFS. 😞

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I'm unsure if they'll deliver to the house, but I'll try asking. Hopefully they do. If so, then I could bulk-purchase and I don't mind the courier fee (which will be cheaper than the petrol fee needed to get there myself *somehow). 

 

Luckily there are plenty of FW stores near my home. The main one I frequent for supplies is going strong and has branched out to selling exotics as well. It's the SW stores which are so few in number. The only good one is my usual LFS. 😞

if the FW shop is already diversifying, you might be able to convince them to keep some basic CUC and random small-cost SW fish or coral in one of the shop's corner?  citing that the only SW shop in town had shut down, and there're likely some SW hobbyists like you that are gonna need some LFS support?

[Snow_Phoenix]

10 hours ago, mitten_reef said:

if the FW shop is already diversifying, you might be able to convince them to keep some basic CUC and random small-cost SW fish or coral in one of the shop's corner?  citing that the only SW shop in town had shut down, and there're likely some SW hobbyists like you that are gonna need some LFS support?

I actually did try asking the lady who runs the LFS about this once, a very long time ago, but she wasn't keen on it. I think it's because SW tends to be incredibly expensive (the salt alone is pricey) and a lot of livestock are unhealthy/dead when they arrive from the supplier. I could slowly ask about the CUC thing though. That'd be pretty neat if they had 1 or 2 small tanks featuring various CUC. 🤔

 

They're mostly vested in selling reptiles and unique small mammals atm though. Still, I'm quite grateful they're still operating. 

 

If my memory serves me correctly, there was another small LFS in town which *only sells premium livestock at premium prices - only corals though. Not sure if that store is still open. (I think they've moved on to selling online only - no physical store to speak of).  🤔

 

Believe it or not, folks here would actually be willing to drive across another district to get to the new, relocated area of my SW LFS. My main issue with driving that far is my seizures - I can't go that far on my own just *yet. Distance is another problem - I live on the outskirts/fringes. It's well-developed here, but my area happens to be one of the furthest zones from the store. 😞 

 

I'll try to think of something. Somehow. 🤔

 

Thanks for the idea though. Would most definitely ask my FW LFS if they could do the CUC thing. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

1+ week of no WC leads to this:

 

 

The green weeping willow toadstool loves the dirty tank though:

 

 

Pavona frags are now encrusting very well on the rocks:

 

 

Garf bonsai fraglet is doing alright so far:

 

 

Need to trim off the random GHA clumps though. It's cropping up all over the tank like some sort of radioactive weed. 🙄

 

 

This other tiny leather has nice PE too. I love the little flowers at the tips. 🥰

 

[debbeach13]

Pavona for the win!

[Snow_Phoenix]

20 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Pavona for the win!

They're my absolute favorite SPS. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Sorry for the incoming pics - tinkered around with the lights and I think the blues were too deep. 😅

 

Anyhow, here's some pics of the nano today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still haven't WCed the tank yet because today I was doing a full WC of my turtle tank.  One tank per day is better - so that I won't strain my body too much.👍

[debbeach13]

The colors are popping today.

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

The colors are popping today.

The heavy blues really make them vivid. Especially the orange hues. The entire forest fire digi patch practically glows - I love it when it 'lights up' that way. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I did an 80% WC today + filter media replacement. Also trimmed and pruned the rocks to purge as much GHA as possible. Tank looks better (a few small patches of GHA remain), but I accidently clipped part of my rainbow brain and injured it. 😞

 

It's not as fully open as can be, and the left midsection is pinched:

 

 

I also moved my acans a bit so that they'll be more visible and have better access to the light:

 

 

 

Tried to eradicate as much GHA as I could by hand, but a few strands still persist here and there:

 

 

The third Zoa Ledge was completely overwhelmed by GHA and turf (?) algae. I binned that rock, but salvaged what zoas I could (which were very few to begin with) and attached those polyps to my main Zoa Ledge:

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Trumpet coral remains puffy and happy, which is good. 👍

 

 

Spotted a few flatworms lounging on my shrooms, but I was too tired to remove them so I just left them be. 

 

 

The garf bonsai frag remains a slow-grower, but I'm happy it's still existing. 🥰

 

 

 

FTS today on 09/10/23:

 

 

 

 

Corals are still not 100% open yet, but should be settled by tomorrow evening. 👍

 

Geralt molted again, and still remains the lone resident hermit of the tank. 🦀