40 Gallon Breeder reef tank build...

[mmittlesteadt]

Talk about actinic haha! Looks almost color inverted, does it look like this in normal light?

Yes, that is how it looks under full daylight. I hardly ever run full daylight and when I do it's not for very long. Depending on how he turns in the full daylight the blue stripes look more blue and other times a little whiter.

Regardless he is a very cool fish to add to a reef tank. He's only a bully to others of his kind. Otherwise he is the perfect tankmate. I like to have bottom feeding fish, scavenger/algae grazers, ones that hide and come out occasionally and he fits right into a certain niche in my tank. His favorite place to hang out is under the biggest cave...

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Very interesting thing seems to have happened. I added that Chalk Bass to my tank, which just happens to be the only other fish that was in the frag tank at the LFS along with the Twin Spot Goby I bought from that same tank.

Once the Chalk Bass and the Twin Spot were together again in my tank, the Twin Spot has been out and about going all over my sandbed like crazy. He's never been this active. The only difference was adding a tankmate he had previously.

Makes me wonder.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Isn't the Twin Spot Goby well camouflaged? I mean one could look right at him and never see him...

And speaking of my Twin Spot, I originally wanted a Diamond Watchman Goby as part of my intent was to have creatures fulfilling specific roles in my reef beyond something to look at. Yup, you wanna be in my reef you better be willing to work for your food! LOL.

I wanted a fish that worked the sandbed to help maintain it naturally. I have a few snails that will go over it, and a few hermits, but I wanted a fish to maintain it. Well, by now everyone knows my saga with the Twin Spot but he only dug caves around my rockwork (which did work the sand in those areas).

But since I added the Chalk Bass, my Twin Spot has been VERY active and he is actually going over the entire sandbed now. You can see in the pic below that although he is still sticking to areas along edges of things, he is actually going all out and working for his food. LOL. I've had a bit of an algae breakout again but I'm not one to panic over such trivial things so as usual I just let it run its course and the Twin Spot is really doing so great now. I think he might just make it in my tank after all.

He is taking to some pellet food and he is getting his reef chili by target feeding the sandbed (although the whole tank gets it).

 

[Swope2bc]

Love the updates and the exciting news about twin spot!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Love the updates and the exciting news about twin spot!

Thanks. Yeah, I am so grateful the Twin Spot Goby is doing as well as he is. It's not that my fears were/are unfounded because only a few weeks of success is not the measuring stick, but at least I don't worry about him all the time now.

I think the Chalk Bass addition helped a lot.

How is your tank coming along?

 

[Swope2bc]

Thanks. Yeah, I am so grateful the Twin Spot Goby is doing as well as he is. It's not that my fears were/are unfounded because only a few weeks of success is not the measuring stick, but at least I don't worry about him all the time now.

I think the Chalk Bass addition helped a lot.

How is your tank coming along?

Well, I've got lots of parts waiting for time to progress... I think a couple more weeks and I'll be adding water though. One more really busy week and then I can get moving again.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Well, I've got lots of parts waiting for time to progress... I think a couple more weeks and I'll be adding water though. One more really busy week and then I can get moving again.

Boy do I know how you feel. It took me 6 months of planning, building, rebuilding, replanning, etc. before I could fill the tank. It was worth the wait, but up until then my patience was really tested.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

My wife commented yesterday that it looked like my GSP was dead or dying. I told her not to worry. Upon closer inspection I noticed it doing what it does when it's spreading. All the polyps stay retracted, I'm assuming, to put all it's energy into spreading its base.

Sure enough...this is the second time it's done this. This time growing even faster than before.

Here's a previous pic of it. Notice the front middle and right corners of the plug...

And here's a pic from today. Notice how the base is "melting" over those same spots...

I call it melting because it looks just like a candle with wax melting over the edges. Watching it spread is really fascinating to me.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Newest addition to the family...

Lawnmower Blenny. Took a liking to the rocks immediately upon being placed in display tank. Cool little guy. His eyes move like a chameleon. What a trippy looking fish. Part dragon, part fish. LOL. More pics to come...

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Much better pic of him.

He is just sitting there checking things out. I'm watching him sit still and his eyes move in all directions checking out his new home. What a cool fish.

My favorite fish (although I love them all) are, in order...Twin Spot Goby, Lawnmower Blenny, Chalk Bass, Firefish, Ocellaris Clownfish pair.

I'm hoping once Benny feels at home he starts earning his keep by mowing my lawn. LOL.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

He's now exploring the tank and already starting to munch down on algae all over the rocks. Not bad considering he's been in the tank for less than two hours.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

This hobby is so fascinating. I went from worrying about my Twin Spot to watching him be one of the most active fish in my tank...well, almost the most. My Chalk bass went from hiding out to being my Twin Spot's escort. They swim everywhere together. Wherever my Twin Spot is, my Chalk Bass is right there with him.

This goes beyond the Chalk Bass being just a dither fish. They were the only fish together at the LFS in a frag tank. I bought the Twin Spot a while ago and just recently added the Chalk Bass. Ever since I brought the Chalk Bass home my Twin Spot has been out and everywhere in the tank and he's even taken to swimming up onto rocks and out in open water, all with the Chalk Bass by his side.

VERY interesting behavior. Here they are swimming together (yes, the Twin Spot is swimming out in open water...as evidenced by his shadow on the sand below)...

 

[Swope2bc]

Coming along very nicely! Love the knew yard crew too!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Thanks. Yeah, I've had my stocking list set for quite a while. I'm shooting for those creatures that are not only compatible with each other but perform a specialized function that makes the reef as self sustaining as possible where anything I do is minimal and interferes with it the least.

I've always thought that way with FW tanks, and I read so many threads on problems people have, mostly because their reefs are not well thought out or planned and they want certain species that, in the long run, upset the balance, rather than enhancing it.

 

[bnbjk]

Good start so far... 40 gallon breeder is a very good tank for a reef.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Benny has been mowing the yard and is doing a great job. This rock was covered with algae. It was brown algae, and that's all that's really on the menu at the moment. But he also seems to like the seaweed I put in too so I'm not too worried about him running out of food.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Another fish already. Wow. Told you that you would catch up to me before long. Had no idea you'd bypass me like this!

Looking good.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

I have to say though.... I know you've watched these fish at work (ace hardware where you work etc etc) but I am concerned about your rushing the process. I certainly hope for the fishes' sake that things turn out well. But all this "do as I say and not as I do".... I'm concerned.

 

[Swope2bc]

I have to say though.... I know you've watched these fish at work (ace hardware where you work etc etc) but I am concerned about your rushing the process. I certainly hope for the fishes' sake that things turn out well. But all this "do as I say and not as I do".... I'm concerned.

Lol, your just trying to slow him down. I too am envious! But he has been waiting a couple weeks between additions so... I did a little work on mine today too, yay!! Off to update my thread

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Lol, your just trying to slow him down. I too am envious! But he has been waiting a couple weeks between additions so... I did a little work on mine today too, yay!! Off to update my thread

He's got HOW many fish in his tank that he started AFTER I started mine? I would have two, if I hadn't lost the one clown, with the next two in QT. I'm doing all the "right" stuff and losing things, and he's just blazing through adding straight to his DT without any issues or anything.

Of COURSE I'm jealous! lol I just didn't mention it.

Then again, I'm also jealous he gets to work at a place where they have fish, and supplies, and get them at cost. I can't really blame him for adding at the rate he is.

I am truly concerned though. I don't see how this situation is all that much different than the guy that only buys his fish from his good, trusted LFS, that keeps them for X amount of time making sure they're healthy and eating etc. before he brings them home and drops them straight into his DT. Everything I've read says QT yourself ANYWAY. Not to mention the biological capacity of the system needs to be able to support the additions.

I had to say something, for the well-being of the fish in his care. It was driving me a little bit nuts. :headwally::headwally:

:beer: