125 Gallon 8 Month Birthday

[melev]

I love how all your fish gather in front.

So what is this new fish? It is the false morish idol right? I really have a hard time remembering which one is real versus false; something about white near the tail is supposed to be the identifier.

I just saw a Squampinnis Anthias the other day, and it was stunning. I would have gotten at least one or two or more, but I don't want to feed my tank multiple times per day nor do I want to add any fish load. Once the tangs are out, I may rethink that process.

 

[GregM779]

I love how all your fish gather in front.

So what is this new fish? It is the false morish idol right? I really have a hard time remembering which one is real versus false; something about white near the tail is supposed to be the identifier.

I just saw a Squampinnis Anthias the other day, and it was stunning. I would have gotten at least one or two or more, but I don't want to feed my tank multiple times per day nor do I want to add any fish load. Once the tangs are out, I may rethink that process.

My fish are so tame that most will eat from my hands and I can put the net in the water without them running for cover.

That's the real deal, the moorish idol. The heniochus butterflies are considered the false idol, that is the one I tried before that was not reef safe.
Moorish Idol

Heniochus

Anthias are great, they really don't add to your bioload and I defintely don't feed them 3 times a day. Some weeks I feed the fish every other day. I do feed heavily but my anthias have always been fat and happy. If you get some I would suggest 3 females and one male or four females and one will turn into a male.

 

[melev]

I tried multiple Dispar Anthias, but if I didn't feed more than once a day, they just died one after another, virtually daily. I don't know if the competition from other fish was too great, but I'm just not inclined at this time.

Having your fish friendly and not shy is awesome. Mine duck unfortunately, and I don't know why. I'm not in the tank more than necessary, adjusting a coral if it falls. I don't even clean the glass more than every few days. I think they are skittish because the tangs are aware their days are numbered.

Thanks for the comparison. So the partial angled white color is the false, and the pure vertical white section is the Moorish Idol.

 

[bmanzie]

Gregg that is nice. I went to my LFS and saw that they had a few as well. Maybe this was in everyone's shipment down here. lol
I just couldn't get it because of all the negative feedback from others. I hope yours does well.
Could you tell everyone what you feed again. I think it may help others determine whether or not they should keep feeding what they are feeding.
I have a similar bioload and I feed Mysis one day, the next day I feed Cyclopes, the next day I feed flake food with spirulina added, then I start again. I decided to do this because my Nitrate was high and also my phosphate. A few weeks of doing this and those numbers have made a significant drop.
I am still looking into making my own food. Have you thought of that? Would it be cheaper?

 

[GregM779]

I tried multiple Dispar Anthias, but if I didn't feed more than once a day, they just died one after another, virtually daily. I don't know if the competition from other fish was too great, but I'm just not inclined at this time.

Having your fish friendly and not shy is awesome. Mine duck unfortunately, and I don't know why. I'm not in the tank more than necessary, adjusting a coral if it falls. I don't even clean the glass more than every few days. I think they are skittish because the tangs are aware their days are numbered.

Thanks for the comparison. So the partial angled white color is the false, and the pure vertical white section is the Moorish Idol.

It may help if you go in your tank more often, it helps them get used to you.
You may have to feed the anthias multiple times a day at first but eventually they should be fine. You can always get an auto feeder for them at first.
If you ever see the heniochus and idol in person together the difference is great. The Idol is much much prettier.
I'm going to take some more video with the camcorder whenever the person who borrowed it gives it back, I took the other with my digital camera.

Gregg that is nice. I went to my LFS and saw that they had a few as well. Maybe this was in everyone's shipment down here. lol
I just couldn't get it because of all the negative feedback from others. I hope yours does well.
Could you tell everyone what you feed again. I think it may help others determine whether or not they should keep feeding what they are feeding.
I have a similar bioload and I feed Mysis one day, the next day I feed Cyclopes, the next day I feed flake food with spirulina added, then I start again. I decided to do this because my Nitrate was high and also my phosphate. A few weeks of doing this and those numbers have made a significant drop.
I am still looking into making my own food. Have you thought of that? Would it be cheaper?

They're actually pretty easy to find down here, most stores don't carry them because of their mortality rate.
The only time to even think about these fish is when they are eating, in order to do that they can never stop eating so the best time to try is the day that the store gets them from the wholesaler. I picked this one up at the place up here I told you about. He tranships the fish directly in and skips the wholesaler making it less travel and an easier acclimation for the fish. I showed him how to get the Idol to start eating and he weened it onto Spectrum Pellet Food, which is what the people use who have the oldest captive held Moorish Idols.

What I feed a day right now is 2 cubes Hikari Frozen Mysis, about 8 frozen krill, a good chunk of frozen cyclopeeze, nori, and now will add spectrum.
I think making my own food seems kind of messy and not really worth it. You have to have a dedicated blender and it's hared to get the same consistency throughout. I also don't think you'll save much money if any at all.

 

[GregM779]

I also think that I had forgot to post that I had picked up a cleaner wrasse about 5 weeks ago to help out my powder blue. I figured that I had enough fish to support one of these wrasses as they eat more than just ich but any kind of parasites on the fish and all fish have some sort of parasite. It turns out that the cleaner wrasse not only started eating frozen mysis and cyclopeeze but also eats nori! It's the coolest thing, I've never even heard of a cleaner wrasse eating nori.

 

[melev]

I think making my own food seems kind of messy and not really worth it. You have to have a dedicated blender and it's hared to get the same consistency throughout. I also don't think you'll save much money if any at all.

It is a little challenging to get the right consistency, but not insurmountable. I can definitely attest to it costing far less than LFS fish food. Each batch I make lasts 4 to 5 weeks, and costs me under $10 a batch. For others, the amount I make would last them far longer, but I'm still a heavy feeder.

 

[bmanzie]

Melev, are you still using the reciepe that you have on your site?

 

[melev]

Pretty much. That page has lots of options, but for now here are the essential ingredients:

1 lb frozen mixed seafood from the asian store. $3.50
1/2 lb smelt (silversides) $1.00
A chunk of frozen Cyclop-Eeze - $4.00 worth perhaps (I buy the largest frozen bar they offer in DFWMAS group buys)
A few capfuls of Roti-Rich - $.50?
1/2 tsp Spirulina powder - $.25?
8 (white Salifert) scoops of both containers of Golden Pearls $.20?
A little home grown Phytoplankton - free
Some frozen shrimp or krill $3 worth or less as it is only a handful.
I'll cut up a half-sheet of Nori sometimes - $.16

Since I buy this stuff in bulk and keep it frozen, I just get what I need each time I make a new batch, but it really doesn't cost much at all. The above prices are merely estimates. Maybe it is more like $13, but that is like $2.50 to $3.25 per week tops.

 

[GregM779]

mmmmm...... sounds delicous.

You don't add any vitamins at all??
Does it stink up the house for a week or is it bad?

 

[bmanzie]

What is Roti-Rich and Golden Pearls?

 

[GregM779]

They're usually used to feed corals.

My coral really likes these spectrum pellets as you can see.

 

[melev]

Roti-Rich is a liquid food that you can add to your tank at night. It is from Florida Aqua Farms, and a bottle lasts forever apparently.

The foods I use are linked to this page if you want to see pictures of products like Golden Pearls (now that stuff smells horrible!). http://www.melevsreef.com/feedings.html That page has images linked to every food I discuss.

The smell isn't bad at all Greg. Perhaps because I work with everything frozen. My new food processor is quite small, so I have to do it in 4 or five batches. As soon as the first batch is processed, I put it in a large glass salad serving bowl and put it in the fridge. Things that need to be shelled like Shrimp can smell bad, but I just thaw them only enough to get the carapace (the shell they'd normally molt) off, cut it up in smaller chunks and process that as well. All trash goes out so the smell doesn't stay. The utensils are washed off once I'm done.

Now, keep in mind I'm at home when I do this from beginning to end. Maybe next time I'll do this, then go outside for a walk for 15 minutes and come back in to see if the smell is bad. As far as I know, it isn't. Plus once everything is put up and washed thoroughly, I'd think there wouldn't be much left to it. Maybe lighting a candle would be okay.

For vitamins, you can add garlic juice, and I'm pretty sure Selcon contains vitamins so it would work as well. Beta Glucin can be added too - just open the capsule and release the powder in the mixture.

Back to making the food itself, after all the stuff has been processed, I just stir the bowl's contents well, then fill up 5 qt size ziplock bags, probably 3/8" thick. You can make it thinner and use more bags to make it easier to break off food daily. I just use a knife and make a series of 1/2" cuts across the width of the food in the bag, then break those pieces off into a small cup to thaw for that night.

 

[GregM779]

Hey Bill I thought I would post a warning about a seller down your way, his screename on RC is newmoon and name is Carlos. He's down in North Miami and just screwed Gayle out of a big deal, he also is the one that broke my original calcium reactor deal that I told you about. He's going to be selling a 65g setup soon so just be vary careful if you know of anyone dealing with him. Here are some threads about the deal.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=666613&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=712184

 

[asnatlas]

Roti-Rich is a liquid food that you can add to your tank at night. It is from Florida Aqua Farms, and a bottle lasts forever apparently.

Marc, I was looking into the ROTI-RICH at Florida Aqua Farms and found the following :

Use as a supplement to a straight yeast or microalgae diet to enhance reproduction and produce more nutritious zooplankton. Available in liquid and dry forms. Commercial use only dry forms, save money in shipping, packaging and storage space. Shelf life of liquid formulation 8 months.

So if I go with a dry form and then make it liquid as needed (few months at a time) then I should be ok ??

Shawn

 

[melev]

I would think so. Just keep the powdered form somewhere cool and not damp, sealed in a container.

 

[bmanzie]

Thanks Gregg,
I had actually saw the thread and read it through the other day. Thanks for the heads up though.
Hey did you get my last PM?

 

[bmanzie]

Forget it, I finally read some stuff about it. I am going to pass.

 

[GregM779]

OK, I finally have my site up, it's still in it's newborn stages so a lot of links are still there waiting to be filled. Check it out and let me know what you think so far.

www.gregmsreef.com

 

[bmanzie]

looks good