430gal., L-shaped display

["Umm fish?"]

Don't get me wrong. I have plans. That's certainly why I keep pairs and multiples of as many species as I can. But, I've been telling myself that I'm just not ready yet for a little too long. I need to get to work. I would have started in the last few days, but there's been a lot going on: Bob Fenner and Scott Fellman (really nice guys, BTW) came over last Friday (they were in town to speak to the local club), Monday and today have been dedicated to trying to solve the heat issues with the tank.

So, a big hole through the brick wall later and here's what we came up with. I still need to wire up the motor.

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14915421#post14915421 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
So, do you think that the orchid is going to drop some eggs for me tonight?

Either that or burst. Keep us posted.

 

[hoosierpat]

What kind of clown gobies are those? They look large in the video but it's hard to get an idea of scale. Definitely well fed though.

 

["Umm fish?"]

crvz-- I got all involved with a different drama up 'til lights-out, so I never saw if she released any. It may be tomorrow, though, as they tend to vanish in the middle of the afternoon on the days when she shows up skinny and begging for food.

hoosierpat--Gobiodon citrinus. I'm certainly overfeeding them as I'm trying to keep the files fat. But I think the gobies are destined for a trip to the big tank soon. They are bullying the files a bit and my lovely bride loves them and wants them upstairs. So.... New tankmates for the files? Anyone? Maybe panda gobies?

Hopefully I'll come back with photos from tonight, but I'm pretty tired. Maybe tomorrow. Sorry, y'all!

 

["Umm fish?"]

Photos of the big drama this evening:

http://www.ummfish.com/Blenny_display/

 

[falesdk]

Thats really neat

 

["Umm fish?"]

Thanks!

Silly link of the day: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24254695&ref=mt

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14921559#post14921559 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Thanks!

Silly link of the day: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24254695&ref=mt

Finally - a reef that the average person can't kill!

--Ed

 

["Umm fish?"]

Oh, I don't know. I'd wind up with some awful parasite--like wool moths.

 

[jnarowe]

nice work Andy!

 

["Umm fish?"]

Sigh. Fired up the inline fan this afternoon and had to immediately turn it off. The noise was horrendous, like a police siren. So I pulled that out of there and turned the Vornado around to point into the ductwork. Then I added another small house fan to the other end to blow cool air in. Seems to be working fine for now, even with all of the doors down. Still waiting on the final verdict, though.

 

["Umm fish?"]

The temp seems to be hanging steady. I turned the Vornado around and pointed it into the ductwork and added a second fan taking fresh air from the house and blowing it down into the water. The evaporation seems to be the key.

I added three female solarensis wrasses to the display and that seems to have filled the movement bill I was looking for. Now the male is out and about and there's pretty much constant movement all over the tank. Two of the chromis made it into the overflow, though, and have taken up residence. How do they get in there past the gutter guard.

I've also taken on a challenge, though they aren't proving a terribly big deal. I ran across three juvenile Chaetodon plebeius. According to Michael: "The Bluespot Butterflyfish feeds almost exclusively on hard coral polyps ..., but also eats some filamentous algae.... Even though it is difficult to keep, the captive longevity record for this species is 13 years" (p. 174, _Angelfishes and Butterflyfishes_). Well, the fish are _young._ They have just started developing their blue spots and are probably just a little larger than a U.S. quarter. They ate Rod's Food, Nutramar Ova, and frozen cyclops yesterday within about ten minutes of being added to their tank and have little bellies on them already. I love Rod's Food. So, today is day 2. Aggression is already starting to be an issue with two mostly staying together and excluding the third. Once I get some weight on them, I'll have to re-home the third or move it to another tank in my system.

I've been sick today, so no photos yet.

More filefish stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMua8mA7oqM

 

["Umm fish?"]

Well, I felt badly about having no butterfly photos, so here goes:

 

[MatthewLaw]

looking good. great thread!

 

["Umm fish?"]

Thanks!

 

[melev]

Just went through all 47 pages of this thread. It has been a very interesting year for your home, your tank, and your photography skills. Nice job.

Any news on the Six Line Wrasse project you mentioned?

And congrats on the cancer surgery. Still getting a good bill of health?

 

[rEd86]

Don't forget to vote for Andy's thread for the May thread of the month. It's a close one and as they say, every vote counts! There's no excuse here since it's two clicks away.

--Ed

 

[kudora]

i have been tagging along without posting but i have to post because i enjoy reading this thread, thanks for the blenny photos from the other day btw.

 

["Umm fish?"]

Thanks, y'all! Sorry to kill your whole evening, Marc. I still have seen no sign of any sixline courtship. I have the egg catcher ready, but nothing to do with it. The small one was really, really small when I got her, though--so I still have hope--and they are still getting along really well. Maybe I need to move the webcam over to their tank for a while.

It turns out that a guy about 45 mins. from here has nightly sixline spawns and has said he will share eggs with me. So, I'm trying to get some time to set up culture stations and bring in some different types of copepods (Tisbe spp., Acartia tonsa) as well as small and large rots. Given a few months to let the cultures mature, maybe by fall?

No sign of cancer recurrence so far, but it wasn't a quick-moving cancer anyway so the odds are really good that they got it all. Ah, the remnants of a youth spent in the north Texas sun. Sunscreen? Who needs sunscreen? Although sunscreen contains known carcinogens, so you're screwed either way. Parasols! We all need parasols!

Ed--Thanks!

Paul--Thanks and you're welcome! I really enjoyed watching the blennies, even if it did keep me up way too late.

 

[jnarowe]

I hear ya on the Sun thing...I got something on my temple and went in to see a skin doctor. The first question on the history form was, "Have you ever lived in California?"