9 to 5 Fat and sassy GBGs!

[Merthynia]

I pulled out my macro lens yesterday and took a few images that I thought I would share! 

My IM spinstream works for a few days before getting stuck. I take it apart and put it back in where it works for a few more days again. I don’t really want to buy another piece of hardware, but I do think I need to add a bit more flow to the tank. Maybe a micro powerhead?

 

Thanks for coming to read my thread!

[Merthynia]

I can’t believe it is already the last weekend of January! This means that it is time for the full tank update! Not a ton new so far, I did add 3 of the smallest blue legged hermit crabs you have ever seen. All three could comfortably fit on the tip of my pinky with room to spare! The coral banded shrimp is slowly becoming more adventurous as he wanders around his home. I did have a shipment from divers den at the beginning of the month that didn’t make it, it was a yellow banded possum wrasse. Since then I have watched for some tiny gobies, but it has just been too cold here to have them shipped in yet. Lastly, I did move one of my scoly over to this tank to rehab a little. I have a huge zebra hermit that I have caught walking over this guy a few times and I’d really like to see him make a full recovery. If anyone has any tips or tricks I’d love to hear them. I plan on keeping him fed, the water changes done and just time at the moment.

 

Now for the pictures!

 

And the full tank shot!

 

[gena]

Sorry about the possum wrasse :(.  Was it from the cold?  

 

Ok...I've been staring and trying to figure out what the orange thing on the glass is.  Is it an algae scraper???? LOL

[Merthynia]

25 minutes ago, gena said:

Sorry about the possum wrasse :(.  Was it from the cold?  

 

Ok...I've been staring and trying to figure out what the orange thing on the glass is.  Is it an algae scraper???? LOL

Yes, the wrasse’s water upon delivery was 57.7 degrees. I think that coupled with the stress of shipping was way too much for the little guy. He was an absolutely lovely specimen too. 😞

 

The little orange thing is a pico flipper glass cleaner!

https://shop.flippercleaner.com/products/flipper-pico-2-in-1-magnetic-aquarium-cleaner

 

It works pretty well, but I always forget and drag it too close to my frag rack and dislodge the magnets!!  

[Jaren45]

On 1/17/2022 at 6:09 PM, Merthynia said:

My IM spinstream works for a few days before getting stuck. I take it apart and put it back in where it works for a few more days again. I don’t really want to buy another piece of hardware, but I do think I need to add a bit more flow to the tank. Maybe a micro powerhead?

 

VCA's random flow generators are great and have no moving parts, if you can convert your return to 1/4" or 1/2" loc line somehow

[Merthynia]

59 minutes ago, Jaren45 said:

VCA's random flow generators are great and have no moving parts, if you can convert your return to 1/4" or 1/2" loc line somehow

I thought your name looked familiar! You had actually already suggested this on the prior page. I did look into them, but I do not know how I could alter the return size. I need to get a caliper to find out the size of the opening and see what options I have. Currently I just reset the spin stream every couple of days. The return pump is slowly working its way out of the rubber fitting, so it loses the power and stops spinning, I just wedge it back on and continue on. 

[Jaren45]

Oops, that's what happens when you spend too much time leaving comments haha..

 

But assuming you just have a acrylic/plastic back wall you could try drilling the return hole to fit a standard bulkhead, which then fits locline natively

 

I did not have a great experience with the spinstreams either for what it's worth

[A.m.P]

15 hours ago, Merthynia said:

Yes, the wrasse’s water upon delivery was 57.7 degrees. I think that coupled with the stress of shipping was way too much for the little guy. He was an absolutely lovely specimen too. 😞

 

The little orange thing is a pico flipper glass cleaner!

https://shop.flippercleaner.com/products/flipper-pico-2-in-1-magnetic-aquarium-cleaner

 

It works pretty well, but I always forget and drag it too close to my frag rack and dislodge the magnets!!  

It won't be pretty, but you could find a size which fits through the opening, then convert your tubing from the return to a size which'll slip over a barbed fitting, fit that through the opening, and then step that up to the 1/4" loc-line. That's what I did at least.

[Merthynia]

On 1/31/2022 at 8:57 AM, Jaren45 said:

Oops, that's what happens when you spend too much time leaving comments haha..

 

But assuming you just have a acrylic/plastic back wall you could try drilling the return hole to fit a standard bulkhead, which then fits locline natively

 

I did not have a great experience with the spinstreams either for what it's worth

I am a nervous nelly when it comes to drilling tanks. More so since this one is running and isn’t fabricated any longer. I know it isn’t too hard in theory, but I’d be very upset if something happened to the tank.

23 hours ago, A.m.P said:

It won't be pretty, but you could find a size which fits through the opening, then convert your tubing from the return to a size which'll slip over a barbed fitting, fit that through the opening, and then step that up to the 1/4" loc-line. That's what I did at least.

What I currently have isn’t particularly pretty  I should just spend a weekend and drag out all of the little parts I have for returns and see what the heck I have that does fit! Then I could at least determine the current size of the opening. Unless anyone happens to know the return line size for the 5 gal PicOs?

 

I did find this small powerhead that might help increase flow in the tank. I have never seen this particular one mentioned before, but the images people have submitted show that it is quite small! It would have to be on the lowest possible setting probably.

https://www.hygger-online.com/product/wave-maker-pump/ 

[A.m.P]

I think @banasophia tried that one, there are a few other people and systems on here running them if I'm not mistaken too but I'm blanking on specific systems and names. From what I remember, they're not quite as advertised in controllable flow rate but move an impressive amount of water.

 

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/407268-fluval-evo-5-owners-thread/page/4/?tab=comments#comment-6060917

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/422579-wdubose05s-25-cube-build/?tab=comments#comment-6059020

 

[banasophia]

12 hours ago, A.m.P said:

I think @banasophia tried that one, there are a few other people and systems on here running them if I'm not mistaken too but I'm blanking on specific systems and names. From what I remember, they're not quite as advertised in controllable flow rate but move an impressive amount of water.

 

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/407268-fluval-evo-5-owners-thread/page/4/?tab=comments#comment-6060917

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/422579-wdubose05s-25-cube-build/?tab=comments#comment-6059020

 

Yes, I do use the hygger mini on my Fluval Evo 5 and on my Biocube 16… it’s a good pump. Nice and small so I don’t worry about small fish getting sucked into it. There are 5 different time periods throughout the day that you can set to different flow patterns if you want, so it’s highly programmable.
 

But I think it does have a couple downsides: you can’t angle it like some others (like the Jebao ow-10 and the Jebao slw-10), and in my 5 gallon tank I run it on the lowest settings and it’s still pretty high flow. My corals absolutely love the flow, including my torch, but sometimes I think it may be a little too strong for the fish (when I have fish in there) because they all stick really close to the scape except while I have the flow turned off for feeding and they swim around all over the tank. 

[Merthynia]

On 2/2/2022 at 12:27 AM, banasophia said:

Yes, I do use the hygger mini on my Fluval Evo 5 and on my Biocube 16… it’s a good pump. Nice and small so I don’t worry about small fish getting sucked into it. There are 5 different time periods throughout the day that you can set to different flow patterns if you want, so it’s highly programmable.
 

But I think it does have a couple downsides: you can’t angle it like some others (like the Jebao ow-10 and the Jebao slw-10), and in my 5 gallon tank I run it on the lowest settings and it’s still pretty high flow. My corals absolutely love the flow, including my torch, but sometimes I think it may be a little too strong for the fish (when I have fish in there) because they all stick really close to the scape except while I have the flow turned off for feeding and they swim around all over the tank. 

That is good to know since I would be putting it in this small 5 gallon. I also need it to not blow any of my little critters away so I don't think that is a viable option right now. I have been able to keep the IM spinstream functioning for over 20 days now without needing to adjust anything, so perhaps I finally fixed my connection issue.

 

I have some very exciting news on the fish front! I was able to get three green banded gobies for the tank. They are normally kept in small groups, so I'm hoping this trio does well together. These particular GBGs are a joyful addition to my tank. There are two that are incredibly tiny, and one that is a little bigger than his companions. I have already stocked the tank with a generous addition of pods. I will frequently add pods to this tank to give them something to munch on during the day. Thankfully they have taken to roe and small flakes with gusto!

 

I honestly cannot help but adore the smallest goby species! If I could, I would stock my 30 gal with nothing but my pink streaked wrasses and as many trimma gobies as I could keep peacefully!

[Merthynia]

Last day of February! I did some zoanthid dips yesterday with a nice big water change so I took some pictures today for an update. I dipped the zoas since there were a few that had been closed for several days. The three greenbanded gobies are doing well! They are very active and love eating flakes. I also have added a couple containers of pods to help give them some snacks during the day. Everything has been going fairly well except for the strangely closed zoas. The scoly is doing okay, it doesn't look a ton better, but it has at least been puffing up again unlike when it was in the large tank. I really hope it recovers.

Now for the pictures!

 

Full tank shot:

 

[Merthynia]

Well it is the end of the month! Time for a new set of pictures and updates.

This past month was a little eventful for both of my tanks. I was gone for a week at a convention leaving my fiancé in charge of the tanks. He did a great job keeping everything going until I got home, however it wasn’t all roses and sunshine afterwards. I have spent the better part of 2 weeks doing daily massive water changes to both tanks. I didn’t notice when I got home that my water parameters were completely out of whack. It wasn’t until my little rehab scoly really started receding that I guessed something was wrong. All of the other coral and inhabitants have looked great though, so I thought that something was picking at the scoly and I moved it into a sheltered box to recover. After checking my parameters several days later, I realized that I was probably going to lose the scoly before I could adjust everything fast enough. It hung in there for 2 weeks, but yesterday during the water change the tissue finally gave up and broke apart. The tanks are still on their way to recovery, but I’ll admit I was a little devastated by the loss since those little donuts are my favorite coral.

 

During my week away I also may have lost one of the green banded gobies. I have only seen two at a time since coming home, but I haven’t lost hope that maybe I just haven’t seen all three out at the same time. I have not found any little goby jerky around the tank and it doesn’t seem to be in the back chambers.

 

With all of that out of the way, here are some new pretty pictures.  (Okay I cannot get these little guys to rotate…..I’m so sorry)

 

[Merthynia]

Found this little gem at the LFS for pretty cheap yesterday. But I’m not completely convinced I know what particular type of coral it is. The way that it was cut to make this frag is the part that puzzles me, it looks like they have separated it from a cluster of polyps, but as puffy as it is I do not think that it is an echinata. It looks a lot like a small scoly, but again the cut marks are so precise around the polyp and I just haven’t seen any scoly frags quite like that before. I’d love to hear any opinions on it!

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

It could be a button scoly. They’re smaller than the traditional scoly we think of. 

[Merthynia]

11 hours ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said:

It could be a button scoly. They’re smaller than the traditional scoly we think of. 

I have had two of those before and I agree. That is what I thought it was when I made the purchase. I’m very pleased with how cute it is overall. I’ll just be happy as long as it is peaceful!  

[Merthynia]

It has a been a busy week with extra days off since I needed to burn some vacation time before it expires! So with my extra free time I did a few large water changes on both of my reef tanks and took a little extra time scraping the glass and tidying up the tanks!  I’m happy to report that everything is looking healthy and happy so far this month! I seem to have an abundance of spaghetti worms and some truly massive bristle worms that I find a bit irritating. So far my brief introduction of some berghia before I moved them into my large tank took care of the two aiptasia that I had early on in this tank. The only true nemesis now is a bit of bubble algae. Currently I am just manually removing the bubbles that I can get to easily. Unfortunately I have managed to pop a bubble or two over the last several months. I do not want an emerald crab in this tank due to the small size and the bad luck I’ve had regarding them eating coral.

 

I did remove two small pieces of rock rubble that I had originally placed in the tank to help move a couple of mushrooms over. They have since reattached to better locations within the tank.

I broke out my macro lens to give you all some nice closeups of some of the coral in the tank!

[Merthynia]

I also have some tank pictures from various angles of the tank!

First picture is from the right side of the tank. This is visible from the couch that both my fiancé and I sit on most frequently. The tank sits about 4” from the armrest so this is the perfect spot to casually work on homework and watch the tank. Because of this the biggest of the GBGs hangs out on this side frequently. I honestly think that he recognizes me enough that he is begging for some food when he sits and watches me.

 

This next shot is from the left side of the tank. This side is where the recliner is located which offers another relaxing area to sit and enjoy this small slice of reef! I do want to apologize for the frag rack being slightly askew. Notice how happy some of the mushrooms are! They really have came a long way since being cooked twice.

 

I wanted to showcase the little mangrove that occupies the rear return chamber of the tank. So I’ve included an angle from the back and a nice top down shot.

 

What update would be complete without a nice FTS? 

 

And finally, my little coral banded shrimp often meanders around the tank, but it is challenging to grab a nice picture of him. He happened to be out prowling later in the evening so I grabbed a quick snap of him before he scurried back to his hangout. Sadly I also captured too many reflections as well, but what can you do?  

[Merthynia]

I know this is an insane number of updates for the day, but I have to let the only other people who would understand the terror know that I found a small EUNICE WORM in the sand bed of my 30 gal tank!! I managed to get it out after accidentally chopping it into thirds with my long tweezers. I also stirred up a heck of a lot of debris out of my sand bed during the ordeal. Now I am freaked the heck out. Where did it come from?! How long has it been in there?! What are the likelihood of more?

[Merthynia]

I love how active these little green banded gobies are! If you have a small tank I highly recommend a small group of them. They like to perch on the mushrooms and on the rockwork or glass to watch me while I’m sitting beside the tank. Even the coral banded shrimp has become much less shy from when he initially was placed into the tank!

[debbeach13]

I love how active these little green banded gobies are!

 I am considering these for my IM10. They are so cute! Everyone that has ever posted about them has always been very happy with them. 

[Merthynia]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

I love how active these little green banded gobies are!

 I am considering these for my IM10. They are so cute! Everyone that has ever posted about them has always been very happy with them. 

I completely recommend them! This is the second time I have had some in a tank and they are worth every penny. They can be a bit hard to find, I bought mine from LiveAquaria (if you do a google search you should be able to find their listing even if it’s out of stock and sign up for alerts). In a IM10 you could probably get a really nice group of 4-5!  

[Merthynia]

These Grandis Palys have done very well in here since I’ve added them. They have expanded their mat and it looks like two very small heads have appeared at the bases underneath the open polyps.

This tiny acan colony has also done very well in this small tank. It always seems to be nice and puffy and will eat a little LPS food if I spot feed it. Notice the little things poking out from the zoanthids above it. I’m not completely sure what they are, but they seem to be a type of sponge. They don’t retract like polyps.

I had no idea how small these little Pikachu zoanthids were going to be when I bought them. I am hoping they will grow a bit more before I try to frag a couple off to place onto the rockwork. They are slow growers, but I really like how vibrant they are. The Paly right behind them has been closed for several weeks despite multiple dips. I’m sure it will eventually melt, but I’m not sure what else I can do for it at this point.

Finally, Here is one of the biggest mushrooms in the tank currently. Like I had mentioned before, the GBGs love to perch up on certain things including some of the coral. I like to think that it must be very comfortable laying on one of these mushrooms!

[Merthynia]

Just adding some information to the initial post tonight. It’s another stormy night here in the Midwest, so I’m trying to get some stuff accomplished while I can.

Here you can see the Yuma that is still attached to the little bivalve. As far as I can tell the bivalve is still alive. I do try to squirt a tiny amount of oyster feast in it’s direction when I am feeding the tank. In the back ground you can see one of the little blue banded hermit crabs! I can’t believe how tiny they both are!

This next picture is the space cakes favia. I was initially so scared of putting something this famously aggressive into such a small tank, thankfully the great people at CherryCorals convinced me to give it a try. It has been in this front corner the whole time it has been in the tank. As far as I can tell I haven’t seen any sweepers on the little colony. The only tentacles I’ve seen appear to be little feeding arms instead. It really has a wonderful coloration and I’m impressed at how much it has grown on this little frag already. Do favia like to expand onto the sand bed, or do they prefer a nice spot on the rock work? I’ll have to figure that out soon!

 

My little blue coral banded shrimp is such a cutie! He has become much braver and doesn’t immediately run for cover if I am moving around the tank anymore. He is quite spoiled with the food I give him and I haven’t had any issues with him irritating coral or taking food out of any of the corals.

 

I did want to put in an updated FTS for tonight since it is getting towards the end of the contest. I hope you all can see the nice coral growth I have managed over the last several months! It is slowly filling in nicely and I know the zoanthids and palys will continue to spread on the rock work.

 

The last image I wanted to put in tonight is a special picture I managed to get after I fed a bit of the R.O.E. The GBGs don’t typically hang out right next to each other making it somewhat hard to tell them apart in pictures. But the slightly bigger one has a big round belly, while the smaller one is a little less fat. I love that they will eat the food right off of the rockwork. This makes it easier to feed them since it doesn’t have to be suspended in the water column to tempt them over.