430gal., L-shaped display

[Atomikk]

Love the tiny polyp. Now gotta go and feed 'er!

 

["Umm fish?"]

Vlad--Thanks! From the _Coral_ article, that's supposed to be one of the easiest of the azooxanthellate gorgonians to keep. And I don't skimp on the meals. It's in an intersection of a strong and a weak laminar current, so it's in constant but not unrelieved flow.

My feeding station is nearby and the tangs are pretty messy eaters. A lot of the smaller particles tend to come down and get caught in the strong current and, so, get cycled back right through the coral.

We'll see....

 

["Umm fish?"]

Jonathan, oh Jonathan. We need to have a talk. I'm having an issue. I'm being slowly buried in snails here. A new group of collumbellids just left their egg packets and are off on their merry way. And the ceriths.... Well, I just have to say that, fortunately, something just ate their last egg clutch. Still, I'm very scared of the ceriths....

By the way, I think I've recently had the first coral sexual event in my tank. I found a small tubastrea polyp where I'd never seen one before. On the same rock as the parent colony, but separated from them by a small distance. Pretty cool! I'm looking for more.

Another gorgonian picture for you all:

Yes, they really are purple polyps.

Oh and another milestone: I've finally found the first coralline algae growing on the concrete!

 

["Umm fish?"]

I want to say up-front that I have _not_ given up on the sixlines. But they are being difficult right now (everything's set up and ready and they stopped spawning). So, in an effort to encourage them to get their act together I decided that I would try collecting some other larvae and see if I can make them jealous.

So, I set up the monster of a larvae snagger:

And got some gobies, first night. I need to tweak the placement a bit as the catch was a bit disappointing. But the live ones went into the larval rearing tank. This little guy didn't make it, but bravely volunteered to go under the microscope for me:

 

[jnarowe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15496831#post15496831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Jonathan, oh Jonathan. We need to have a talk. I'm having an issue. I'm being slowly buried in snails here. A new group of collumbellids just left their egg packets and are off on their merry way. And the ceriths.... Well, I just have to say that, fortunately, something just ate their last egg clutch. Still, I'm very scared of the ceriths....

OK...so IMO the population should stabilize at some point. I think it may have been that my wrasses were eating some snails as well, but as I said (wrote) before, the ceriths are wicked prolific reproducers. The good thing is that they love to clean the glass at night.

So what to do? My only concern is that they react to an enviironmental issue and start to check out, creating a cascade event. Obviously you are a well versed aquarium keeper, so I would just caution to stay alert, pull any shells before they are allowed to pollute the water, and export whenever possible.

We can talk any time you want.

 

["Umm fish?"]

I was kidding, yeah? I love these snails. And, they are a heck of a lot easier to export than algae is.

 

[jnarowe]

:lol: Good. And better yet, no giant piles of doodoo like Mexican Turbos!

 

["Umm fish?"]

Well, I have a tub full o' rots. I got a bad collection of gobies. The sixlines still aren't cooperating. So, the file female was looking ready tonight. I watched her like a hawk for two hours. And then ... they spawn into a powerhead intake. Zero eggs collected. Sigh. I'm catching no breaks.

But, here's a still from the video:

And here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mgnGgyNYG4

Day 229 in my care and 169 days since the last time they've seen a coral.

 

["Umm fish?"]

I _thought_ this guy had eggs last week, but I only got one peek at them and never saw them again. He has much more confidence this time.

A great end to a truly rotten week.

 

[kudora]

wow what a great shot, i was going to ask a couple of days ago how your jawfish were doing, well that answered my question.

 

[jnarowe]

Great shots Andy.

 

["Umm fish?"]

Thank you, both! The jawfish seem to be doing fine. I'm still trying to fatten up the new blue spot.

Unfortunately, I lost the seahorse male earlier this week. He got his head stuck and died before I found him.

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15571004#post15571004 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
Thank you, both! The jawfish seem to be doing fine. I'm still trying to fatten up the new blue spot.

Unfortunately, I lost the seahorse male earlier this week. He got his head stuck and died before I found him.

Andy
I am spot feeding my Blue Spot as he is more timid than the Pearlies (they come all the way out and grab anything that comes near them). The Blue Spot sits in his hole in the rock pile and looks up at the food, but unless it comes right next to him he doesn't venture out. I think it's the feeding frenzy that the Anthias and Perculas go into that frightens him.
I've taken to sucking some food up in a turkey baster to spot feed him and as soon as he sees it coming he rushes out and sucks the end before I can squirt the food out. It's funny to watch. :rollface:
I would really like to get another but have read that they are aggressive towards con-species unless they are a mated pair and as there is no way to sex them it would be hit and miss. Having said that, I think my tank might be long enough that if they were of the same sex at least they could set up home at each end. They are such a beautiful fish.

 

["Umm fish?"]

I think it's just a matter of time with her. She was pretty small when I got her, but she's certainly getting food. I certainly had two males together for quite sometime without any huge issues. But they also might have been pre-sexually developed when they were together and that makes a huge difference. Fish can be fine and then one day decide that their little buddy is a competitor and bam. If you decide to get a second, you could always put the new one inside an acrylic box (with lots of holes) so they can see and smell each other, but can't hurt each other. Don't be too worried if the first reaction is a little aggression. My male immediately started biting the new female on the head. But by a few days later he was displaying all over the place.

 

["Umm fish?"]

This is for you, Jonathan:

BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.

 

[jnarowe]

:lol: Naughty little snails!

 

["Umm fish?"]

By the way, I figured out who was eating the cerith eggs. The dang dussimieri tang lets them get to about 3 days and then goes to town on them. The biggest fish in the tank and he has to like escargot roe. Sigh.

 

[jnarowe]

nothing wrong with that.

 

[murfman]

Andy, does your Dussumeiri graze the sand bed? Mine swims along and picks up a mouthful sand, just like a gobie and swims along dropping sand bombs.

 

["Umm fish?"]

Yeah, murf, he's the only one that'll take any algae off the sand. Not a big problem now, but there for a while.... Yeah, I think I'll spot him a few snails.

Hey! Lights just came on! Off to do some work.