10g N. wennerae Mantis Tank

[Firefish15]

He appears to be dead now. Discovered while changing water. 

Parameters immediately prior to WC were: 
pH: 8.2
kH: 9.5
Ca: 420ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10ppm

 

I’m wondering if the live rock I got had been previously used with medication or something. Might do an ICP test. 

 

At any rate, I think I’m done trying to keep these guys for the time being. One DOA and another dead after two weeks doesn’t seem good. I may try again in the spring, when the weather will be more favorable for shipping. 
 

The tank will keep running.

[Looselyhuman]

Sorry man.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Really sorry to hear this. 😔

[Firefish15]

Well, it’s been a bit. The tank is filling with corals and seeming to do quite well. Ignacio the yellowtail damsel is a bit skittish, but still a neat fish. I added a peppermint shrimp a few days ago to function as a canary in a coal mine. If he dies in a few weeks I’ll buy an ICP test. 
 

Here’s a current FTS!

 

 

The candy cane is a rescue from my 14g bowfront, which is really going downhill. I think I have dinos there. 
 

I’ve had some red ogo macro algae pop up from the wild live sand, but now I think I need to prune them some. The big one is about tennis ball sized. 😅

[banasophia]

So colorful and beautiful!! Great combination of corals and macro algae.

[Firefish15]

7 minutes ago, banasophia said:

So colorful and beautiful!! Great combination of corals and macro algae.

Thanks!

This being my second tank around, it was really nice to be able to get most of the corals into the tank in a short period of time. Let me arrange it and plan it out better than the last build, which was filled in slowly. 

[debbeach13]

10 hours ago, Firefish15 said:

I’ve had some red ogo macro algae pop up from the wild live sand, but now I think I need to prune them some. The big one is about tennis ball sized. 😅

Don't trim too much! This algae adds some serious POP. I would be tempted to move the almost center piece over to the left side. The tank looks great.

[Firefish15]

Been a while, but tank is doing well. A few changes in coral lineup. The fluffy brown gorgonian on the left got removed, and the GSP grew and killed the magician palys on the top of the left rock. Also pruned the Grubbe’s gorgonian.
 

Someone gave me some new clove polyps, a green Kenya tree, and a Japanese pink nepthea frag. 

[Firefish15]

New FTS!

 

Tank had some bryopsis and turf algae that was getting out of hand - a single dose of reef flux, a few weeks of time, and some manual removal really knocked it down hard. 
 

Corals continue to grow well and fill in. Had to relocate the sympodium, because the green Kenya tree was winning against it too well.

 

The M. digitata is really growing quickly, been manually dosing Reef Fusion 1 and 2 to keep the tank steady.

 

Still a single fish, the yellowtail blue damsel.
I did add a fire shrimp as well, but unfortunately he mostly hangs out under the back ledge instead of the front cave. Still very pretty when I get to see him at feeding time though.  
 

I’ll be moving states in a few months, so not making any more additions. I’m feeling pretty confident about moving the tank though, 10g and two rocks is quite manageable.

[banasophia]

47 minutes ago, Firefish15 said:

New FTS!

 

Tank had some bryopsis and turf algae that was getting out of hand - a single dose of reef flux, a few weeks of time, and some manual removal really knocked it down hard. 
 

Corals continue to grow well and fill in. Had to relocate the sympodium, because the green Kenya tree was winning against it too well.

 

The M. digitata is really growing quickly, been manually dosing Reef Fusion 1 and 2 to keep the tank steady.

 

Still a single fish, the yellowtail blue damsel.
I did add a fire shrimp as well, but unfortunately he mostly hangs out under the back ledge instead of the front cave. Still very pretty when I get to see him at feeding time though.  
 

I’ll be moving states in a few months, so not making any more additions. I’m feeling pretty confident about moving the tank though, 10g and two rocks is quite manageable.

Looks great… that digitata is really nice! Did the reef flux help with turf algae? If so, good to know!!

[debbeach13]

The tank looks great, I can definitely see nice growth on some corals.

[Firefish15]

On 6/5/2023 at 7:03 PM, banasophia said:

Did the reef flux help with turf algae? If so, good to know!!

I don’t think it killed the turf algae outright, but it has been much much slower in recolonizing cleaned areas. My heater used to be covered in it, but I have hardly seen any new holdfasts.

That was just a single, standard dose according to instructions.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Whoa. 😮

[Firefish15]

On 6/5/2023 at 6:14 PM, Firefish15 said:

I’ll be moving states in a few months, so not making any more additions.

So that was a lie. 
 

I was working on short notice at my LFS, and the boss gave me a 30% livestock discount as a thank you. 
 

Was an easy trade to bring in the yellowtail damsel who hid constantly for a pair of CB ocellaris.

 

I’ve never owned clownfish before, but I can see why they’ve been a staple fish for decades. Super personable, brightly colored, and so far well mannered. The female has a slight asymmetrical misbar pattern, and the male is pretty much the wild phenotype. They’re a neat combo. 

I don’t have any names picked out yet, but I’ll get there. 
 

 

With that, I guess I should change the name of this thread. The tank took on a life of its own, but I love it. Been nice and easy, low stress, and not too bad on the budget. 

[Detritus]

Hi! I hope this tank is doing well!

 

I found this post because I'm really interested in an N. Wennerae, and I am just about to place an order through Tampa Bay Saltwater that will include a small amount of their rock, sand, and a Mantis.

 

I am so, so sorry to read about your troubles with your last two Mantes 😞 It sounds like you really did your homework, did your best to provide a great environment for them, and I think you just had some really bad luck with your animals, unfortunately. One of which was obviously the shipping party - Grrrr!!!!

 

I fully understand why you are not looking to purchase another Mantis any time soon, but I just wanted to say that in the end you have a really great looking nano tank going. I aspire to keep half as nice of an aquarium. Please keep up the good work!

 

Best of luck going forward!