The Purple Sponges. I rotated the rock a bit for better viewing, as well as a good angle to the current, to keep it clear of detritus. Looking less like tube sponges to me, but still gorgeous.
Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank
- Thread starter Michael Hoaster
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The Purple Sponges. I rotated the rock a bit for better viewing, as well as a good angle to the current, to keep it clear of detritus. Looking less like tube sponges to me, but still gorgeous.
Yay! Blennies! I've been away as well catching up on game of thrones. Just finished season 6 friday. I don't watch TV often, but shows like that interest me. BTW, I'm terrified of leaving my tank to sitters. I once came back to my tank half empty and an excessive amount of food sitting on the sand and floating. My powerhead was no longer submerged so it had no circulation. That was the worst ever.
Thanks wilder!
Lot's of fun, new fish watching for me! Every fish I add brings new energy and 'plot lines' to the show. The barnacle blennies are still scouting out housing possibilities. They like to be amongst each other, but not too close. The sailfins are more loners, but they end up interacting frequently for territory squabbles and/or flirting(?).
Yes, it is difficult to leave the tank to someone else. This time it didn't work out well. I try not to dwell...
Lot's of fun, new fish watching for me! Every fish I add brings new energy and 'plot lines' to the show. The barnacle blennies are still scouting out housing possibilities. They like to be amongst each other, but not too close. The sailfins are more loners, but they end up interacting frequently for territory squabbles and/or flirting(?).
Yes, it is difficult to leave the tank to someone else. This time it didn't work out well. I try not to dwell...
I had some that looked like those colonize my tank.
They grew cool purple mounds. Loved them, asterinas nearly wiped mine out.
Those look pretty similar, taricha. And pretty! I assume mine sprung from the Florida Farmed Live Rock I used. Where's your rock from?
Asterinas ate them? I had no idea they ate sponges. I considered adding asterinas at one point, but changed my mind. Glad I did. They can reach plague populations, and I already have one plague-of snails.
Asterinas ate them? I had no idea they ate sponges. I considered adding asterinas at one point, but changed my mind. Glad I did. They can reach plague populations, and I already have one plague-of snails.
The rocks that brought it in were sold as "Caribbean live rock".
The rock it was pictured on was just dry base rock that got colonized.
Yeah, I had a little food chain going. asterinas ate sponges and limpets, and then harlequin eats the asterinas. Now the sponges making a little comeback, but it's more yellow sponges that the stars didn't like than the purple.
Thanks Chasmodes!
I guess things are coming along alright. Macros are filling in, detrivore community as well. I'm not happy with the seagrasses though. They're just sitting there, neither growing nor dying. I must conclude the latest batch of substrate fertilizer to be a failure. I should keep a few things in mind-the grasses may still need time to recover from hypo salinity, plus there are a lot of turtle grass roots dying, deep in the DSB. I have no idea how that could affect them.
I guess things are coming along alright. Macros are filling in, detrivore community as well. I'm not happy with the seagrasses though. They're just sitting there, neither growing nor dying. I must conclude the latest batch of substrate fertilizer to be a failure. I should keep a few things in mind-the grasses may still need time to recover from hypo salinity, plus there are a lot of turtle grass roots dying, deep in the DSB. I have no idea how that could affect them.
Not a lot happening 'round here at the Caribbean Biotope Seagrass-Mangrove Mudbank Lagoon. It's hot! It's hard to concentrate. I think I'll just start rambling and see where that takes us…
Ever look at your tank and feel like the Rick Moranis character in "Little Shop of Horrors"? FEED ME!!
The tank looks a little bare after a big pruning/export. I pulled a huge mass of chaeto out of the coast to coast overflow-turned refugium. I removed all but one of the hideous rubber bands from the fake roots. New plants are starting to grow from them without any rubberized help. My plague of snails has just about wiped out the ulva, unfortunately-or maybe it's a good thing. We'll see. Eliminating the fast growing plants could be good for the grasses, allowing them to get at all the yummy, chemical goodness I'm feeding them. Removing around twenty mollies also counts towards the export. Now I wish I had more fish. Sitting here on the couch, about ten feet away from the tank, there's just not that much to look at.
I may be done with adding tiny, benthic fish. I'm really jonesin' to get a new harem of royal grammas again. I may even try more than seven this time. Maybe nine! I also want to get a smallish school of Blue Reef Chromis. Having nine grammas and six or so blue chromis will be dazzling!
At the other end of the spectrum is the brown, 'Corpse Bride' grasilaria, which is getting a little too prolific for my taste. One plant is an interesting distraction from all the red and green. But now it's spreading itself all over, which is not cool. Pruning is eminent.
I'm still working to eliminate aiptasia anemones. Once a week I take some time to spot any new ones, then I go after them with the ammonia syringe. I'm pretty confident I'll get them all eradicated pretty soon. I love the two-birds-with-one-stone effect I'm getting with this method. The ammonia kills the pests, while feeding the plants. Yay!
Ever look at your tank and feel like the Rick Moranis character in "Little Shop of Horrors"? FEED ME!!
The tank looks a little bare after a big pruning/export. I pulled a huge mass of chaeto out of the coast to coast overflow-turned refugium. I removed all but one of the hideous rubber bands from the fake roots. New plants are starting to grow from them without any rubberized help. My plague of snails has just about wiped out the ulva, unfortunately-or maybe it's a good thing. We'll see. Eliminating the fast growing plants could be good for the grasses, allowing them to get at all the yummy, chemical goodness I'm feeding them. Removing around twenty mollies also counts towards the export. Now I wish I had more fish. Sitting here on the couch, about ten feet away from the tank, there's just not that much to look at.
I may be done with adding tiny, benthic fish. I'm really jonesin' to get a new harem of royal grammas again. I may even try more than seven this time. Maybe nine! I also want to get a smallish school of Blue Reef Chromis. Having nine grammas and six or so blue chromis will be dazzling!
At the other end of the spectrum is the brown, 'Corpse Bride' grasilaria, which is getting a little too prolific for my taste. One plant is an interesting distraction from all the red and green. But now it's spreading itself all over, which is not cool. Pruning is eminent.
I'm still working to eliminate aiptasia anemones. Once a week I take some time to spot any new ones, then I go after them with the ammonia syringe. I'm pretty confident I'll get them all eradicated pretty soon. I love the two-birds-with-one-stone effect I'm getting with this method. The ammonia kills the pests, while feeding the plants. Yay!
WheatyBits12
New member
Is the brown Corpse Bride Graciliara the same thing that is referred to as Ogo elsewhere?
I don't think so, WheatyBits12. The stuff I've seen referred to as ogo is red. This stuff is dark brown, almost black. When it first popped up in my tank, it was pretty creepy looking, like something in a Tim Burton film. At first I thought it was some exotic new species, then I saw it for sale as grasilaria. So I think it's just a brown grasilaria, common in south Florida.
I agree. I love the little guys, Chasmodes. They're just hard to see unless you're close to the tank. I look forward to having more fish that are visible from my ideal perch on the couch. Right now my fish load is rather low and a bit less entertaining, but that's good for helping me to focus on getting the ecosystem ready and the plants figured out.
I discovered an orange size sponge on the outside of my flow-through wall. It was the white kind I have several of already. I decided to remove it because it competed with other sponges that are more desirable. With a finite amount of sponge food available, I didn't want an invisible sponge to compete with the others. And given it was the largest sponge in the tank, it was a major competitor. It is my hope that this will make more sponge food available to the others.
It's pretty ironic to remove something I very much want to thrive, but I think it will ultimately benefit my 'display' sponges. I'll call it a 'Simulated Angel Fish Grazing Event'.
It's pretty ironic to remove something I very much want to thrive, but I think it will ultimately benefit my 'display' sponges. I'll call it a 'Simulated Angel Fish Grazing Event'.
eastlake
New member
I'm always a proponent for more gramma, despite what most local fish stores have told me I've always noticed them to be much happier in a group plus my tank is 150 gallons so I'm sure that helps aggression issues. So much so that my last gramma stopped eating and went into hiding when his girlies passed away of ich, a story for another day, but the ich was long gone when he decided that he was too lonely to go on or so it seemed. Speaking of which I need to build up a harem of gramma again. We're not so lucky around here when it comes to the blue reef chromis. In the 12 years I've been doing salt tanks I've only seen two that sold in about 4 seconds after they came out of the shipping bag, I can only imagine that a school of those would be breath taking.
I have almost the same gramma story. Harem of seven for 2+ years, then ICH, now one lonely, Big Daddy. We don't see the blue chromis that much here either, and then they're kinda pricey for damsels. They're such a pretty blue, I really look forward to getting some!
Hey Chasmodes!
Not a lot to report (but, you know me). I went camping over the weekend, so I didn't do my usual weekend tank work. Having said that, there are a few things to note. The Nemastoma red macro I thought I'd lost to hypo, is bouncing back. It's a gorgeous plant, and a hitchhiker/freebie. The Ulva is all but gone now, thanks to my ravenous snails. I'm really hoping to get something growing up along the top that the snails won't devour. The Grasilaria hayi is popping up on the fake roots again, which I'm happy about. I've got another, rather large patch growing in the back of the DSB. The Halimeda plants keep dying and coming back. I suspect I don't have enough calcium in the water for all the calcium-hungry plants in the tank. My guess is the G hayi sucks it up faster.
The largest, dominate sailfin blenny has taken up station in the most prominent barnacle shell. All four barnacle blennies are in close proximity to each other, in the small live rocks on the right end of the tank. They are both comically gregarious and competitive, which makes them so fun to watch. Big Daddy, the surviving royal gramma, is slowly depleting the pod population. I ordered some more, along with a few tiny brittle stars, and some more shoal grass.
The grasses continue to do nothing (that I can see). This is a bummer, especially since I finally have a limited number of macros to compete with them for nutrients. I do expect them to rebound at some point, but the waiting is getting old! I've put the additional light project on hold for now, while it's so hot. I've got another, smaller fixture or two I may try instead.
I'm dying to add more fish, but I've got to watch the funds…
Not a lot to report (but, you know me). I went camping over the weekend, so I didn't do my usual weekend tank work. Having said that, there are a few things to note. The Nemastoma red macro I thought I'd lost to hypo, is bouncing back. It's a gorgeous plant, and a hitchhiker/freebie. The Ulva is all but gone now, thanks to my ravenous snails. I'm really hoping to get something growing up along the top that the snails won't devour. The Grasilaria hayi is popping up on the fake roots again, which I'm happy about. I've got another, rather large patch growing in the back of the DSB. The Halimeda plants keep dying and coming back. I suspect I don't have enough calcium in the water for all the calcium-hungry plants in the tank. My guess is the G hayi sucks it up faster.
The largest, dominate sailfin blenny has taken up station in the most prominent barnacle shell. All four barnacle blennies are in close proximity to each other, in the small live rocks on the right end of the tank. They are both comically gregarious and competitive, which makes them so fun to watch. Big Daddy, the surviving royal gramma, is slowly depleting the pod population. I ordered some more, along with a few tiny brittle stars, and some more shoal grass.
The grasses continue to do nothing (that I can see). This is a bummer, especially since I finally have a limited number of macros to compete with them for nutrients. I do expect them to rebound at some point, but the waiting is getting old! I've put the additional light project on hold for now, while it's so hot. I've got another, smaller fixture or two I may try instead.
I'm dying to add more fish, but I've got to watch the funds…
Chasmodes
Well-known member
Thanks for the update. I like how some of the macros are finding ways to attach themselves permanently.
I set up a 20L. After cycling, I added 5 local juvenile gobies and one small grass shrimp. These fish are pretty small, almost difficult to watch them. I hope to get away this weekend to collect some Ulva and some pods, maybe a few shrimp. If I'm lucky enough to catch a juvenile blenny, then I may keep him too. We'll see.
I added some of my oyster cultches to the tank, so I guess I'll need to build some more for this tank after I remove them and add them to my big tank. But, they look pretty good. It's good to see my hard scape under water, at least some of it, LOL. Once I get my big tank set up and cycled, then I think that this tank will be a holding tank, or maybe I'll set up a 10g for that and use this one as a stickleback tank. After catching some of them, they're really a cool fish to watch.
As I observe my gobies (biggest one is an inch long), I understand what you go through as you watch your small blennies.!
I set up a 20L. After cycling, I added 5 local juvenile gobies and one small grass shrimp. These fish are pretty small, almost difficult to watch them. I hope to get away this weekend to collect some Ulva and some pods, maybe a few shrimp. If I'm lucky enough to catch a juvenile blenny, then I may keep him too. We'll see.
I added some of my oyster cultches to the tank, so I guess I'll need to build some more for this tank after I remove them and add them to my big tank. But, they look pretty good. It's good to see my hard scape under water, at least some of it, LOL. Once I get my big tank set up and cycled, then I think that this tank will be a holding tank, or maybe I'll set up a 10g for that and use this one as a stickleback tank. After catching some of them, they're really a cool fish to watch.
As I observe my gobies (biggest one is an inch long), I understand what you go through as you watch your small blennies.!
