eitallent Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 The Saturday Morning Scare I got up early on Saturday morning full of anticipation. I eagerly started looking in to the little nano-cosm on my kitchen counter even before I turned on the lights. Everything seemed normal. The jasmine polyps were still asleep with their arms folded over the neon green heads. The Peppermint shrimp was lurking upside down under the arch. Skipper was resting in his usual protected, little alcove behind the Montipora. But where was the new arrival from the day before, the Sixline wrasse? I turned on the lights, looked all around the tank and could not find my lovely, kaleidoscope colored fish. Dismayed, I called over to my husband who was sleepily making coffee. He could not find it either. Oh no. I could not believe that the healthy, active, beautiful fish was gone. I looked all around the floor, on the counter, behind the tank and even in the back chambers with a flash light. I glared at the cat that stayed in overnight. Had she had seen what had happened to the fish and perhaps had a meal of sushi? However, I came to the conclusion that it must have died in the night and my efficient, voracious crew of Bristle worms, Nassarius snails and shrimp had cleaned up the evidence. I decided to call the owner of the LFS when they opened to let him know and ask if any of the other fish that had come in that day had died. The owner had just answered the phone, and I bagan telling him my bad news when I glanced at the tank. There among the Jasmine polyps was the Sixline, happily pecking at some miniscule food object! Well, the store owner had a good laugh with me at this turn of events. I have since discovered the Sixline's secret hiding place. It is a little cave at the base of the large rock. He just sticks out his pointy red nose which blends in with the colors of the coralline algae. I am happy to report that we are all still living happily, ever after. 1 Link to comment
Youngrvt Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Every time I can't find my mandarin I think he must be dead too. Then a few min. later he appears out of the rocks. The little scavangers are sneaky like that. Glad your little fishy is okay. 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Freshly added to the tank three months ago: Seven weeks later: Two weeks ago: The watermelon Zoas are crowding out the pink and the green Zoas to either side. It is time for a trim. I cannot easily remove the rock they are on to chip them out intact. Have any of you had success scraping them out with a razor or scalpel so that they can be transplanted? If so please share how you did this. 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 The sixline wrasse was absent again this morning. This time I was not worried. By noon time the wrasse still did not appear. I looked for him and could not find him. I moved a rock where he slept some times and found him. Dead. I am so sad over this. Everything in the tank is happy. Skipper, Karloff the shrimp, snails, corals and even the flatworms are all looking fine. I am not sure what happened to cause his sudden death. Anyone have any ideas? Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 The only unusual thing I can think of that happened is I cut the top of the shaving brush macro the day before yesterday. It was too long and bumping into the corals around it making them close up. A milky substance spilled into the water and the bits of macro I took out of the tank had a strong smell like turpentine (no more like a strong bitter smell). It occured to me that this may be harmful to the fish and corals so I put in a fresh bag of carbon and a small pack of chemi-pure. I did not cut any more macro. Now all the life in the tank was unaffected except for today I find the wrasse dead. It was acting as normal yesterday. I examined its little body and it shows no signs of injury or illness. I looked up as much as I can about the shaving brush (Penicillus capitatus) and there is no mention of it harming fish. the literature states that fish will not eat so it has to contain something toxic. However, not even the invertebrates were negatively affected by the macro's fluids. Index of macros at reefersparadise.com More info re. macros at FIU.edu Penicillus is a genus of green algae commonly called Shaving Brush Plants or Neptune's Shaving Brush because of its shape. A common Caribbean genus, they are found in seagrass beds and sand flats on reefs along with Halimeda. Both genera belong to the Family Udoteaceae. The thallus of Penicillus is composed of a bushy blade, a stem-like stipe, and holdfast, to anchor it in the sand. The plants also become calcified but the calcification is microscopic which serves to stiffen the plant allowing it to stand upright. Upon decomposition, the calcium carbonate, in the form of micron-sized aragonite needles, contributes to the mud fraction of the sediment. Such needles are common in the lime muds of Florida Bay. Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Also found an interesting article on chucksaddiction.com regarding the chemical defenses of macroalgae. As defensive measures against herbivores, the macroalgae have developed a great number of defensive chemicals and responses against being grazed upon. Such defenses influence herbivore preferences and can indirectly influence algal community structure. Should select species of herbivorous fish be reduced in number, the remaining herbivores would continue to graze their preferred algae while leaving the unpalatable algae free to dominate having had their grazers removed or reduced. Link to comment
gena Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sorry again about your wrasse! If I'm calculating correctly, you had him for 6 days before he died? I think I remember reading that the sixline wrasse is very frequently caught in the wild with the use of cyanide. I believe it can take a week or so to show the affects of the cyanide poisoning. If it mysteriously died, I wouldn't count out the possiblilty that it was a cyanide caught fish. I know this procedure is being used less and less, but it is still practiced which is so unfortunate Look into it if you are curious. 2 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sorry again about your wrasse! If I'm calculating correctly, you had him for 6 days before he died? I think I remember reading that the sixline wrasse is very frequently caught in the wild with the use of cyanide. I believe it can take a week or so to show the affects of the cyanide poisoning. If it mysteriously died, I wouldn't count out the possiblilty that it was a cyanide caught fish. I know this procedure is being used less and less, but it is still practiced which is so unfortunate Look into it if you are curious. Hi, Gena. Thanks for the sympathy and kind words. I did not know this. Cyanide use?! That is horrible. The LFS gets their fish from a wholesaler in Florida. I will have to discretely fish for some answers. The LFS owner seems to care about his animals but I do not know if he would be forthcoming about the practices his wholesalers use. He was so fat, active and seemed so healthy. He hunted constantly and ate cyclopeeze and SFB spirulina brine shrimp. That is why I am so shocked that he died. I just never imagined. I am going to hold off on acquiring any more fish for a while. Link to comment
pschom Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Oh yeah, there are several fish that are caught through poison, or even just blasting an area of the reef and see what comes out. I try to get tank bred critters, but you never know... If the fish died within two weeks it was on the way out anyway before it hit your tank. Sixlines are active during the day and are pretty visible. So if he was hiding a lot he wasnt feeling too good. Get another one. 1 Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Sorry again about your wrasse! If I'm calculating correctly, you had him for 6 days before he died? I think I remember reading that the sixline wrasse is very frequently caught in the wild with the use of cyanide. I believe it can take a week or so to show the affects of the cyanide poisoning. If it mysteriously died, I wouldn't count out the possiblilty that it was a cyanide caught fish. I know this procedure is being used less and less, but it is still practiced which is so unfortunate Look into it if you are curious. Yes even thought the practice is banned in the Philippines and in Indonesia too where most of the Six-Lines come from, it is still used as enforcement of the laws about it is not really all that good, if any enforcement exists at all. Now if you take the time from catching the fish, then it getting to the holding area of who the divers get them to, and then the shipping from there to buyers in the US, and then from Wholesalers to pet shops, some time at the pet shop, that fish may have been at least 2 weeks or more under its influence. Normally though when they are cyanided they show signs of disorientation and listlessness and erratic swimming and bumping into the sides of the tank and rocks but I did not see eitallent reporting any of it that I am not sure whether it is cyanide poisoning or not, but it could be .. hard to say ... Albert 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 I had an extra little 2 gallon acrylic tank so I added a little sand and saltwater. I went to my LFS and got two small pieces of cultured live rock. I placed the LR pieces in a nice arrangement and waited for the cycle to begin. The coralline algae started to purple up from a deep green color. I noticed two dead pods when I cleaned out the filter one week after putting in the live rock. I recognized the two dark spots immediately as the dreaded Cironalid isopod. This is the little killer next to the point of a bamboo skewer. Ready for the close up? Eeeewww... The moral of this story is do not trust that all is well with new aquisitions. Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Here is the video of one of the many Cironalid isopods. They are very fast and jump through the water like lightning. It hops up from where the bamboo skewer touches it 10 to 15 seconds into the clip. Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Key to Coral Needs Table I found this guide from successfulreefkeeping.com and I am sure I will be using it frequently. New pictures The tank looks clearer than the pictures. I may have a smudge on the camera lens. Ricordia Skipper scanning the depths Holey Cheese Puff! Still looking open Another sprout from the Shaving brush macro! Sweet.. 2 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 Can you find the Stomatella? Link to comment
gena Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Another sprout from the Shaving brush macro! Sweet.. That there is one of the most awesome things I've seen Very cool!!!!! 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yes, Gena! I like macros. I am looking forward to getting some more red ones. Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Just got an email that my San Francisco strain of brine shrimp eggs are on the way! I got them from brineshrimpdirect.com I will use a DIY hatchery as explained on this video 2 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Hi! I made my BS hatcher. I got my order of San Francisco strain brine shrimp eggs yesterday. Here is the brew bubbling away Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 The BBS have hatched! The DIY hatchery worked like a charm. The Blue Neon Gobies are darting through the water and I imagine this must be the tastiest meal they have had ever! Even Skipper who is always chill is super excited about this new abundance! I caught Skipper in action. I love that little fish! 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 There is amazing growth in my little Nano Cube. I want to illustrate this by showing you the before and after videos of the Xenia tanken five months apart. You will notice in the most recent video the tiny pods moving on the glass and of course a photo crasher the Blue Neon gobi swims by. Xenia five months ago featuring skinny Skipper (he has put on some weight as you can see in th BBS video) Xenia now (1/29/2013) with Zig the Blue Neon gobi 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Speaking of growth here are the latest sprouts of the shaving brush macro. It is getting to be quite a forest in the macro garden. Here is a view of the whole garden. You can see the pods all over the glass. 5 Link to comment
capitolcityreefer Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Nice! I love the macro forest, and I'm sure both your fish and corals enjoy the pods that they harbor! 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Nice! I love the macro forest, and I'm sure both your fish and corals enjoy the pods that they harbor! Totally true. Some food gets caught in the algae and the amphipods go tree climbing to get to them! 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Sorry for the blurry picture. It looks good on the camera but some how photobucket degrades the quality of the pictures! (?) IDK Anyway, here is a picture of a new strawberry anemone behbeh! It is the little blob to the left of the strawberry anemone adult. The little blob was connected to the mother for a few days and this morning it was separated. It has cut the mother's apron strings. Exciting 1 Link to comment
eitallent Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Woo Hoo. This thread just made 7000 views today! Of course, that is very little compared to most threads here but I am still thrilled! Edit: Thank you for reading everyone!!! 2 Link to comment
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