Aclman's 9 to 5 Middle School Mayhem - Meet Wasabi!

[aclman88]

5 minutes ago, jservedio said:

Hell yeah it would, go crazy with them. I had both of mine, including the super nice one, in my 2g and they did fantastic in there and I had great color from both with very sub-optimal lighting.

Thanks, I thought so but wasn't sure.  My LFS has them for like 35 I think, not sure on the coloration since it was in a lower light area in the tank.  I would love something like your rainbow, but my guess is those are few and far between.  If a remember correctly, didn't yours start out pretty plain and color up to what is it now?

[jservedio]

34 minutes ago, aclman88 said:

Thanks, I thought so but wasn't sure.  My LFS has them for like 35 I think, not sure on the coloration since it was in a lower light area in the tank.  I would love something like your rainbow, but my guess is those are few and far between.  If a remember correctly, didn't yours start out pretty plain and color up to what is it now?

 

You could always tell there was a ton potential there, but yeah it was much more dull when I got it and it took some years to get it where it is. When I bought it, the entire thing looked like the top half of the nem in the picture below (mid-2015). After a few months the area in higher light started coloring up a bit to what you see here in the bottom half. But, even when it was more browned out you could still see a ton of colors in there. If you see orange, yellow, and/or red in a maxi-mini, snatch it up ASAP - it's going to turn out well if you do your part.

 

I don't think the coloring on mine is all that rare - @DevilDuck has one that I think is going to look very similar in a few years. Typically when a store gets 20 or 30 of them, 2 or 3 are going to be real keepers and if you are lucky one will be a gem - you just have to be the first person to pick through them because they aren't nearly as hard to read potential on like acros.

 

[DevilDuck]

Yes my is the centerpiece of the tank and is around 5 inches across. Over time, it has become more purple than the originall yellow/green. Fair warning, I have lost one fish to it in a freak accident, they are very sticky. They make excellent hosts for sexy shrimp and porcelin crabs. I'd love another one with more red in it, but I don't have space to put another.

 

Early 2021

 

1/25/2022

[aclman88]

I think I am convinced to try and score a nice mini maxi for this tank so long as I can find one... there aren't many good shops in my area for them from what I can tell.

[jservedio]

16 minutes ago, DevilDuck said:

I'd love another one with more red in it, but I don't have space to put another.

The more I see it, the more I'm convinced it's the exact same morph as mine. The base purple color with green lines and the exact same color gradient.

 

Also I see more than enough space in those photos for at least another 4 or 5 of them 😆! They will group up like rics or RFAs if you get enough of them. If you hit them with enough light, it'll also go from 5-6 inches down to 3-4, max and close up most of the space between tentacles. In my pico my yellow one would expand to about 6", but under the lights I have now it's typically 2.5-3.5" and the colors are much more intense because the pigment is way more concentrated.

 

If you like red, check out the bali blood red mini carpets. They might possibly be a different sub-species, but they are insanely bright red with a green mouth. Occasionally will form a pink/red gradient. But, they are pretty pricey.

[aclman88]

Question for those in this thread, perhaps @DevilDuck and @jservedio have some info since they have mini-maxis...

 

I am thinking of a clown goby, which is a perching fish, is it possible it becomes a snack foir a mini-maxi?

[seabass]

I believe that it's possible.  I had a yellow clown goby with mini carpet anemones in a much larger tank for a fairly long time (so it had plenty of other places to perch).  However, one day it went missing.  I assume that it was eaten by an anemone.  I had three mini carpets and multiple RFAs in that tank; however, the mini carpets were much more sticky than the RFAs.  I can't say for sure what happened to Butters, but I have always assumed that it become food for an anemone.  It might have tried to perch on it, or was scared into it by something.

 

Then again, it could have died from something else and was cleaned up by a crab or something.  But being such a small tank, the danger might be amplified.

[jservedio]

28 minutes ago, aclman88 said:

Question for those in this thread, perhaps @DevilDuck and @jservedio have some info since they have mini-maxis...

 

I am thinking of a clown goby, which is a perching fish, is it possible it becomes a snack foir a mini-maxi?

Absolutely - my YCG was eaten by my nice maxi-mini. It was there one minute and gone the next. Tiny perching fish don't live for very long in a pico that has nems and it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens and your nem gets a very colorful and expensive snack. I'd like to think my YCG contributed to the bright yellow of that tiny rug.

[DevilDuck]

57 minutes ago, aclman88 said:

Question for those in this thread, perhaps @DevilDuck and @jservedio have some info since they have mini-maxis...

 

I am thinking of a clown goby, which is a perching fish, is it possible it becomes a snack foir a mini-maxi?

This is a completely valid concern. I lost a green clown goby to my maxi-mini anemone. Naturally, fish will recognize and avoid anemones. In this incident, the green clown goby had his territory in the same live rock island as my maxi mini. I was doing some tank maintenance that involved disturbing the substrate. It sent up a large cloud of debris, that may have spooked and blinded the goby leading it to accidentally perch in the middle of the anemone, he was completely enveloped. I managed to pull him out, but he succumbed overnight to the damage the stinging cells caused.

 

I like the green clown goby so much I went out and bought a replacement. The new goby stays low in the sand bed and is hosted by a large alveopora colony in the center of the tank.

 

It's an uncommon that a carpet anemone will eat healthy fish, but accidents do happen, especially in the smaller confines of a nano tank.

[DevilDuck]

One more note, my maxi mini hosts a porcelain anemone crab. The crab helps in chasing away any smaller fish or invert that wonders too close to the anemone by waving his claws at them. 

[aclman88]

It seems I have run into a dillema in that case, since I have really wanted a mini-maxi for a while, but this being a classroom tank a fish seems like it should be on the agenda.   I can either forgo the mini-maxi entirely, or try getting a small yellowtail damsel to inhabit it for the time being since it is not likely to perch.  If I went with no fish then I am leaning towards a few porcelain crabs.  I think sexy shrimp could also be cool as well.

 

 

[Tamberav]

I love mini maxi's and considered them too. Only reason I never kept them was because of the fish eating thing. You can find some bali mini maxi's for sale these days that stay super tiny (they are all one color though) and won't eat fish. I will get a pic of mine in a bit. 

[Tamberav]

Here are the Bali super mini ones. I started with one but they do split. They get about 2 inches. They pop up on divers den and cultivated reef has them sometimes. Other places too I am sure. I got mine local. 
 

[jservedio]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

Here are the Bali super mini ones. I started with one but they do split. They get about 2 inches. They pop up on divers den and cultivated reef has them sometimes. Other places too I am sure. I got mine local. 
 

If you want to sell a split and ship it here (though I go to WI a couple times a year for work), send me a PM! They are very hard to find here.

[Tamberav]

20 minutes ago, jservedio said:

If you want to sell a split and ship it here (though I go to WI a couple times a year for work), send me a PM! They are very hard to find here.

Once I end up with some more splits, I can start sending them out. It’s so cold here anyways!

[aclman88]

7 minutes ago, jservedio said:

If you want to sell a split and ship it here (though I go to WI a couple times a year for work), send me a PM! They are very hard to find here.

What this guy said! 😉 of course I have no idea the going rate so it might be a pipe dream at the moment haha

[aclman88]

Current FTS:

 

Added a long polyp toadlstool frag, some xenia, and my reefrax floating rock.

 

Slug the Snail (named by one of my students)

[Maas101]

Looking good 👍

[DevilDuck]

Looking good! Love the 2 headed long polyp toadstool! 

Now you guys have me looking for a Bali blood red carpet...

[aclman88]

Added a the xenia to the nanorox reef rack and also threw in an orange rhodactis from my tank at home.  It is currently sitting in a plastic cup with some rubble.  Pardon the blurry pic due to film algae starting to grow on the glass.  Also noticing some diatoms on the sandbed, so things seem to be on track.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, added a yellowtail damsel so the kids stop asking when the fish are coming.  The little buggers couldn't even appreciate it... a lot were asking why I only got one since it would be lonely.  🤦‍♂️  

[A.m.P]

People assume all animals are social, that's a bad call with most damselfish lol.

[aclman88]

Update time!

 

I am starting to notice more green algae dusting up the light colored rocks and what I assume to also be some purple specs of coralline algae.  The nameless fish (waiting on all classes to vote) has acclimated really well and is readily eating flake food, which is not all that surprising considering it is a petco damselfish. 

 

The finger leather is consistently frumpy and unhappy, which I attribute to the fact that it went from being entirely shaded in my tank at home, to under direct light in its current tank.  Hoping it cheers up eventually, since it would definitely make a nice statement piece, even if it is a relatively ugly coral.  The blue symopodium is also unhappy on half of it, and I think it is likely due to my accidentally squishing it too hard with my thumb when I glued it on the rocks. The long polyp leather is not fully extending and I think there may be some detritus build up, so I may need to upgrade the return pump or possibly add a small powerhead for some extra flow.

 

On a happier note, the GSP and xenia are doing great.  I moved the GSP to the back to free up space in the front and to allow it to start to take over the back wall.  I think the students would enjoy a chunk of pulsing xenia so I am hoping it continues to thrive and grow out over the floating reef rax it is on. 

 

I realize that this tank will need to stay mostly softy coral, since I do not plan on dosing nor am I going to worry about testing (except maybe phos and nitrate occasionally).  This is mostly due to time constraints and lack of materials readily available.  Not to mention they will grow quicker and have the movement that I think my kids will appreciate.  

 

Lastly, I added a hairy mushroom coral which I am excited about.  Although super common, I have always wanted one and my LFS finally got a bunch in.  It is currently in a little plastic cup to get it to attach to some rubble and snail shells.

 

 

Shot of the hairy shroom:

 

Better shot of the orange rhodactis:

 

Most recent FTS:

 

 

[jservedio]

Wow, it's really starting to come together - love that bright orange shroom!

[aclman88]

6 hours ago, jservedio said:

Wow, it's really starting to come together - love that bright orange shroom!

Thanks I am happy with it so far.
 

If you are ever in VA or want to try shipping I would be happy to give one/send for the cost of shipping.  I got one a while back in NYC and have gone from that one to about 9 or so in a year. With feeding these things split pretty readily. 

[jservedio]

12 hours ago, aclman88 said:

Thanks I am happy with it so far.
 

If you are ever in VA or want to try shipping I would be happy to give one/send for the cost of shipping.  I got one a while back in NYC and have gone from that one to about 9 or so in a year. With feeding these things split pretty readily. 

Oh yeah, definitely - you are close enough that USPS priority is basically guaranteed overnight so when it warms up a little bit we can do a swap. Take advantage of that $8.95 shipping!

 

Unless you happen to be one of the six people who lives in southern VA, it takes me almost as long to get across Raleigh as it does to get to the border!