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Mr. Fosi's 5.5AGA fish/coral mix


Mr. Fosi

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I hate to post to my thread twice in one day, but I have some F-ing awsome news.

 

About three weeks ago I got some GSP and some of it died/decomposed in my tank.

 

I pulled it all out since I couldn't tell if any of it was still alive. Rather than throw it in the trash, I chucked it in my exile tank with my excess LR and Halimeda.

 

I figured that the decomposing matter would give me pleanty of material to test my modded seaclown with and I thought, "Who knows? There could still be some GSP alive in there somewhere."

 

Tonight I have been vindicated! I took a look in the tank right before my evening topoff, like I have been doing for three weeks, and I saw some polyps peeking out of the GSP mat!

 

I got so exited that I couldn't help but stick a dowel in the tank and turn the pieces so the most polyps were turned toward the light. When I moved the frags, a significant amount of dead tissue sloughed off and the polyps retracted, of course, but they were back out in less than 5min! I am stoked!

 

I can't believe that the GSP actually recovered in the tank due to these facts: the temp runs on the high side (~83F), the evaporation causes daily salinity swings between topoffs, and I filled the tank with old water change water from my display. My exile tank is just a way for me to experiment with new equipment outside of the display and to keep my LR from drying out.

 

I will keep a closer eye on the tank in during the next few weeks, but I think the GSP may be ready to move to the display in by the end of next week!

 

I'm gonna PM ecotoxlady and tell her the good news.

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Sorry to hear about the frogspawn. From what i understand GSP is pretty hard to kill. i'm expecting some frags from stanD to come in hopefully today. If they do i'll take some pics of them and the GSP and zoas ecotoxlady sent me. When you move down this way i'll let you know where the LFS is that i got my frogspawn and most of my other favorite corals from.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for the condolences 'spoof.

 

As I recently found out, frogspawn isn't the most hardy of LPS corals... Oh well.

 

The other day my wife looked into the tank and said, "Wow! That looks really good! Just like something Disney would draw."

 

I haven't told her about most of the new additions and I have been adding them on the sly. I have a bunch of new stuff, check it out!

 

 

Let's start out with the ugliest pic. This is my new purple mushroom. I found him floating in the back corner of one of the tanks at Aquadrome (LFS). As usual, Dave (owner/operator) was willing to sell him to me for $5. I tried jamming him and gluing him, but he didn't want to stick, so I am trying the bridal veil (toole, as my wife calls it) method. He's been in there for about two days and his flesh is starting to but up against the toole, even though I wrapped it loose, so I'll probably cut the bands in the next day or two and see if he took hold of the rock.

 

5-21-6%20purple%20mushroom%20p.jpg

 

 

 

This next ugly (out of focus) pic shows the new gracilaria that I got from sheen. It has a need morphology and I think it'll look really nice in the 'fuge of my post-move system.

 

5-21-6%20gracilaria%20p.jpg

 

 

 

This pic also blows, but I'll blame it on the angle of the glass at the bottom of the tank. This is the new pink and white chalice frag that I got from ebin. it seems very happy and I am really going to enjoy watching them grow out.

 

5-21-6%20pink%20&%20white%20chalice%20p.jpg

 

 

 

This is a pic of the new blue chalice, also from ebin.

 

5-21-6%20blue%20chalice%20p.jpg

 

 

 

This is a pic of my recently purchased palythoa(s). This little frag also came from Aquadrome, where it had been kicking around the bottom of one of his tanks. When I bought it (two weeks ago), the little juvenile paly (white, just to the left below the big one) was nothing more than a 5mm nub coming off the stalk of the big one.

 

5-21-6%20palythoa%20p.jpg

 

 

 

This is a pretty neat pic. Ever seen a bleached GSP frag? This is just one of the frags that ecotoxlady sent. As you can see, the GSP is missing the "G". I think it bleached out due to the heat stress. I think it will color up again, though. The plolyps don't look bad, aside from the fact that they are pink/white and not yet fully extended.

 

5-21-6%20GSP%20p.jpg

 

 

 

And the obligatory FTS. It could be focused a little better, but it gives you the idea of what the tank looks like.

 

5-21-6%20FTS%20p.jpg

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Glad to see the frags made it. I have been meaning to hit you up to see how they were. Working some crazy shifts lately and did not have time.

 

Tank looks great. keep it up.

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Thank you again!

 

I can't wait to see them grow.

 

I think I figured out why I like this whole aquaria thing... It's like gardening, but much prettier. B)

 

Updated tank stock list, which I removed from my sig b/c it is getting too long:

 

- 1 true percula clown

- 3 nassarius snails

- 6 astrea snails

- 2 vermetid snails

- 6 dwarf blue leg hermits

- Halimeda moved to exile tank

- Gracilaria sp.

- Chaetomorpha sp.

- assorted sponges (yellow, green, & white)

- 2 orange zoanthids

- 12+ red zoanthids

- 1 green Palythoa sp.

- 1 red ruffled mushroom

- 1 purple mushroom

- Madracis sp. from the gulf

- Unidentified Star Polyps

- GSP (bleached, but recovering)

- 2 chalice corals (blue and white/pinki)

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ZaderMatermorts

If the bridal veil doesn't work(it should but who knows) try taking a needle and thread to it. That's how I tie down all my softy frags, mushrooms included. Some say they get infection this way, but I've never experienced this, even with slimy leathers.

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The toole didn't work. The shroom was looking really pi$$ed off this morning, so I had to pull it off. As soon as I removed the toole, the blasted thing floated right off the rock.

 

I hate to keep screwing with it, since I'd really hate to stress it so bad it gets a disease or something.

 

You suggest a needle and thread, huh? Any special technique?

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ZaderMatermorts

My fragging technique includes cutting the mushroom off the rock, slicing it into fourths making sure each frag gets a portion of the mouth, then simply sew through the foot or stalk(whatever it's called?) and tie it down to whatever new rock you want. Also place it in a low flow area in the tank if possible and allown it to heal and attach for a week before trimming off the thread.

 

Here's a couple pics of this technique on xenia:

 

post-19877-1148321359_thumb.jpg

 

post-19877-1148321342_thumb.jpg

 

post-19877-1148321375_thumb.jpg

 

post-19877-1148321405_thumb.jpg

 

In the last picture you can see the xenia actually pushed the thread out of it's body on it's own after a few days.

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debbeach13

Just looked back to page 2 Jan FTS this tank has grown in very nice. Plus the additions help. Shh I will not tell. Keep up the good work.

 

Thank you for the condolences 'spoof.

 

As I recently found out, frogspawn isn't the most hardy of LPS corals... Oh well.

 

The other day my wife looked into the tank and said, "Wow! That looks really good! Just like something Disney would draw."

 

I haven't told her about most of the new additions and I have been adding them on the sly. I have a bunch of new stuff, check it out!

Let's start out with the ugliest pic. This is my new purple mushroom. I found him floating in the back corner of one of the tanks at Aquadrome (LFS). As usual, Dave (owner/operator) was willing to sell him to me for $5. I tried jamming him and gluing him, but he didn't want to stick, so I am trying the bridal veil (toole, as my wife calls it) method. He's been in there for about two days and his flesh is starting to but up against the toole, even though I wrapped it loose, so I'll probably cut the bands in the next day or two and see if he took hold of the rock.

 

5-21-6%20purple%20mushroom%20p.jpg

This next ugly (out of focus) pic shows the new gracilaria that I got from sheen. It has a need morphology and I think it'll look really nice in the 'fuge of my post-move system.

 

5-21-6%20gracilaria%20p.jpg

This pic also blows, but I'll blame it on the angle of the glass at the bottom of the tank. This is the new pink and white chalice frag that I got from ebin. it seems very happy and I am really going to enjoy watching them grow out.

 

5-21-6%20pink%20&%20white%20chalice%20p.jpg

This is a pic of the new blue chalice, also from ebin.

 

5-21-6%20blue%20chalice%20p.jpg

This is a pic of my recently purchased palythoa(s). This little frag also came from Aquadrome, where it had been kicking around the bottom of one of his tanks. When I bought it (two weeks ago), the little juvenile paly (white, just to the left below the big one) was nothing more than a 5mm nub coming off the stalk of the big one.

 

5-21-6%20palythoa%20p.jpg

This is a pretty neat pic. Ever seen a bleached GSP frag? This is just one of the frags that ecotoxlady sent. As you can see, the GSP is missing the "G". I think it bleached out due to the heat stress. I think it will color up again, though. The plolyps don't look bad, aside from the fact that they are pink/white and not yet fully extended.

 

5-21-6%20GSP%20p.jpg

And the obligatory FTS. It could be focused a little better, but it gives you the idea of what the tank looks like.

 

5-21-6%20FTS%20p.jpg

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ZaderMatermorts: Very cool! I think I will try this later tonight. I will probably just use regular cotton thread, since that it what I have sitting around.

 

debbeach13: Thank you for the compliments. It has been a lot of fun watching the tank morph as the months have gone by.

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ZaderMatermorts
I will probably just use regular cotton thread, since that it what I have sitting around.

 

Yep, that's all I ever use. Good luck!

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Well, I was going to try the needle and thread method, but when I got home, the shroom had found a place.

 

I was afraid that I was going to have to try and dig it out from behind my LR, but it was mercifully easier than that.

 

It must have floated around the tank for a while before it finally got stuck between two pieces of LR right under the light. I don't know if it has put down its foot yet, but it was completely flattened out and looking happy, so I left it alone.

 

I may prod it in a couple days to see if it attached and if not, I will try the needle/thread method.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'll lead off with the current FTS (as of 5/31)

 

5-31-06%20FTS%20pp.jpg

 

 

 

It just so happens that the purple (with blue spots!) mushrooom that I bought is a lot bigger than I thought it was. As you can see from the pic, it is fairly large, so I am not suprised that it felt confined in the little toole net I tried to stuff it in.

 

You can also see that the little Palythoa that I bought has spread out a lot more and the little one is coloring up very nicely. I don't think I could have spent a prettier $8 than on the shroom and the palys.

 

5-31-06%20purple%20shroom%20&%20palythoas%20p.jpg

 

 

 

Next on the list are the beautiful chalice frags that ebin sent me (thank you again!). They have puffed out a little more and have begun to color up very nicely. I wish that I could get the cmaera to capure the bright white/pink striping of the white one, but I guess you'll just have to suffer. B)

 

5-31-06%20white%20chalice%20p.jpg

 

5-31-06%20blue%20chalice%20p.jpg

 

 

 

Next up are the zoas. As you can see, the red zoas that were looking so good just a couple weeks ago have shrunk down to about 1/5 of their origional size. They were looking really pi$$ed off right before my wife and I went out of town last weekend, but I had no time to do anything about it until we got back on Memorial Day. I basted them, did a waterchange, and moved them closer to the light and that seems to have helped them a little bit. Their centers no longer look distended, which I think is a very good thing, but their tenticles haven't yet fully extended. Of course the orange zoas look fine.

 

5-31-06%20orange%20zoas%20p.jpg

 

 

 

The little orange ones that I bought a long while back still don't look happy, but I am not going to do anything about it because I might disturb the animal behind them. It looks like a small anenome. The little white bubbles are the tips of tenticles, but I haven't been able to get a clear look down into the rock to definitively identify it.

 

5-31-06%20orange%20zoas%20small%20p.jpg

 

 

 

My little red shroom is still very happy. Yet again, not a bad $5 purchase. Notice the red tuft out of focus at the top left, one of my red tube worms from the gulf.

 

5-31-06%20red%20mushroom%20p.jpg

 

 

 

And bringing up the rear, by bleached GSP and red star polyps. The red ones are quite happy, as you can see, but I have begun to notice a decreased number of polyp extensions on bleached GSP.

 

In fact, you can see a couple of unhealthy-looking red blotches on the white GSP creep. As these spots have developed, the polyps have stopped opening. The red areas are not cyano, but I am not really sure what else it may be.

 

I am thinking of amputating the unhealthy-looking areas before they spread, but I don't know if it would do anything.

 

5-31-06%20star%20polyps%20p.jpg

 

5-31-06%20GSP%20bleached%20p.jpg

 

 

 

So far so good. Things in the tank are very happy and the temperature stayed pretty consistent at 80F even with the minor heat wave (high 80's) we had last week.

 

I am glad that things are doing well, because they will have to endure a 650mi move in about 5 weeks. I am hoping to keep things nice and stable so that they are in the best of health when it comes time to make the move.

 

On a side note: I am going to try and finish the 2x10g stand that I have been working on for the last couple weeks. I have it 80% constructed, with the remaining parts being 1) some sanding and 2) the plywood skin. I am hoping to have it prepped for painting by Sunday.

 

I better get it done pretty quick because things are slowly climbing toward light-speed as we approach the move date.

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Hey Mr. Fosi.

I just wanted to drop a quick line to say that I've really enjoyed watching the progress and postings on your tank, in part because I just started a 5.5 AGA myself. (It's still cycling right now). The tank looks great! I'm trying to figure out what I want to put in for my cleanup crew right now. Do you find that what you've got in your 5.5 does an adequate job?

 

Also, I saw in another thread where you posted that you're expecting another "addition" soon and you're moving to Columbia, SC. Did I get that right? Anyway, I wanted to wish you luck with both. I went to college in Columbia, SC and liked it, and I have 3 yr. old and 5 month old boys, so I know what that's like too!

Good luck, and keep up the good work!

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Thank you. I am glad that someone had found this thread useful. :happy:

 

I am happy with the cleanup crew's job, but I am ready to trade out most of my hermits for more astrea and nassarius snails.

 

The hermits move around a lot and are constantly walking over the corals and polyps which makes them close up. Plus, I know that hermits are opportunistic feeders and will eventually (if they haven't already) nip at my corals and other inverttibrates.

 

Yes, my wife is pregnant with our first child, a boy. We haven't agreed on a name yet, but we are working it out. ;)

 

We're going to be moving to Columbia, SC in mid-July. I still haven't figured out how we are going to get our stuff down there. :unsure: Can you believe that a one-way 14' U-Haul costs $1500 to rent? >:(

 

Thanks for the luck wish, we are going to need it! :)

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Maybe I should stay away from the hermits then, or just get one. Do you really need that many snails in a 5.5?

Yeah, I know it costs a fortune to move. I've moved cross-country several times. The last 2 times, I was fortunate to have family members with VERY large vehicles to help.

That's cool that you're having a boy. They're a blast. Our oldest is named Aidan. We picked out his name over a meal in our favorite Chinese restaurant. The little guy is named Brennan (we like Irish names). My husband and I had it narrowed down to 2 and couldn't pick between them, so we let Aidan choose, and that's what he picked! It'll be a funny story for Brennan when he gets older...

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Maybe I should stay away from the hermits then, or just get one. Do you really need that many snails in a 5.5?

 

I think one or two hermits will be more than enough for my tank.

 

I wouldn't go with less than 6 snails, but I have a clown fish that generates a large bioload in such a small tank.

 

I think I'll be a lot happier with closer to 10 snails and a hermit or two.

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ecotoxlady

Hey! I would go ahead and break off the pieces with the reddish stuff on it. Some of my gsp has corraline algae growing on it and that may be what it is but it wouldn't hurt to break off those areas if it is affecting the polyp extension. Anyway the coloration should certainly come back in time. The parent colony is set up high in my 72G under dual 250W MH and it loves the light so just give it time :) Anyway, let me know if there is anything you worry about with the frags and I'll keep checking this thread for updates :)

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Hey ecotoxlady! Good to hear from you again. :) I haven't cut off the pieces that aren't extending yet, but I will probably do it later this week. Most of the polyps are out every day and look happy except for the bleaching.

 

Couple more updates:

 

My new addition: pumping xenia. I am going to keep a hawk's eye on it to keep it from spreading off that rock until I can move it into the sand.

 

6-4-06%20xenia0%20p.jpg

 

 

 

Another new addition: Sargassum, whose common name is gulf weed. This very cool looking macro algae came from shivametimbas, thank you again! It has gas bladders that allow it to stay upright and close to the water surface. I will have it anchored down in the next couple days.

 

6-4-06%20sargassum%20p.jpg

 

 

 

 

Next, not an addition, but a latent hitchhiker: a green sponge. The camera didn't capture the true color, which is bright lime green. I have two of these pretty little things growing on two of the gulf LR pieces.

 

6-4-06%20green%20sponge%20p.jpg

 

 

 

Also not a new addition, this sea squirt has been with me for months, but this is the first really good pic I have been able to get. Notice the bright pink mouth/anus pores. I have several of these on one of my gulf LR pieces, but this one is the biggest and best defined.

 

6-4-06%20sea%20squirt%20p.jpg

 

 

 

And bringing up the rear is one of my Madracis colonies. This is the one that I have been able to get the most pics of. The purpose of posting this pic is to see the amount of growth that it has undergone. This pic is from March 24th and the second one is from this evening:

 

3-24-06%20medracis%20p.jpg

 

6-4-06%20madracis%20p.jpg

 

 

 

Seeing that kind of growth in a couple months is encouraging. There is certainly something to be said for feeding your corals! B)

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Hey Mr. Fosi,

 

Has your clown found a home yet ie, has anything played host to it?

 

I'm getting a 4 gallon this week and I'm reading as much as I can before I jump into it. I have a plan to set up a rock shelf in the back and grow Xenia on it. I think it looks cool.

 

thanks

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blm1975: No hosting yet. She really liked the frogspawn when it was still around, but I think that her incessant rubbing and picking may have contributed to its death. It just wasn't big enough to play host to a clownfish.

 

When I first put the xenia in, I had it in the top center of the tank where she hangs out. After I saw her pick at it 4 times I moved it lower and to the right, where she would have to swim through the current to get to it. Now she is leaving it alone and it looks happy. I may move it to a more central location in a couple weeks and see how she reacts.

 

Good to hear about the 4g. :happy: Post some pics as you get it setup.

 

sheen: So far so good! B) I really like the look that the Gracilaria brings to the tank. I can't wait to get it set up in a sump where it can really fan out.

 

MVS: Thank you for the compliment! Yes, I am still planning an upgrade. As much as I like this little system, it is really a lot smaller than what I want; I really want something with a little more room to play.

 

Couple those wants with the fact that my wife and I do have to move, and it seems like the perfect time to do the upgrade. If everyone is going to be irritated by a move, why not do the upgrade as well?

 

As it is, I am not going to move the stuff into the 10g split that I made several months ago. I am instead going to move everything to a 2x10g system. One 10g for a display and one 10g for a sump/refugium.

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