Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

My New Go-To Online Vender

My New Go-To Online Vender

A couple of the things I tend to buy at my LFS is salt and substrate. These items are heavier, and tend to be expensive to ship. Livestock too, can also come with a very hefty (overnight) shipping cost. So it's often cheaper to buy locally.

Online vender Pet Solutions, is making me rethink this strategy. They often have free shipping deals, where if you spend a certain amount, the shipping is free. Plus, their prices are already cheaper than most, to start with!

Right now, they have free shipping on dry good orders over $49, and livestock orders over $99.

I ordered 4 barnacle blennies at $25 each, a 200 gallon box of Instant Ocean for $44, and a digital thermometer for $7, all with free shipping. That's $151 worth of stuff and $0 shipping. Plus I saved $20 on the fish, and $10 on the salt, compared to the second-best-priced online vender! My inner cheapskate has a warm and fuzzy glow right now"¦
 
New Fishies!

New Fishies!

I found a great deal on barnacle blennies I just couldn't pass up. I ordered four of them. These are the smallest, most timid fish on my list, so they are the first additions.

Adding smaller fish first is a sound practice, that I've used for years. This will give them a chance to get comfy in their new surroundings without fear of harassment or predation by bigger fish. This also gives them first choice on housing. Hopefully, they'll live up to their name and choose the barnacle cluster I have, at the end of my DSB planter.

There is one exception to the 'smallest first' rule. For example, let's take another fish on my list, the Sunshine Chromis. These are considered a schooling fish. We all love it when our schooling fish swim around our tanks in a nice, tight school. But this behavior is often short-lived. Once the fish realize there is no eminent threat of predation, they tend to go their own ways. So, you can introduce a 'truant officer' fish to keep them 'in school'. This is a larger fish, that looks like it could be a threat, but in fact, isn't. For me, I could introduce an Atlantic Blue Tang, before the chromi, to keep them schooling. If I can get a decent level of algae going, that's probably what I'll do.
 
I agree on the truant officer. My big Naso is theory to keeping the peace I my tank. He's very very docile himself but his sheer size keeps everyone in check. That includes the schooling chromis I had for a week before they went down my oversize end to end weir netting... Holes in netting are larger than they appear.

They're schooling in my fuge and resist all rescue attempts.

My latest vid shows everyone feeding in peace.
 
That's a nice vid, Karim. I had no trouble watching it, like the previous ones.

Plastic gutter guard is good for overflows. If you really want to catch those chromi, you can make a great fish trap, using a 2 liter soda bottle. Probably in the DIY section.
 
I think it's brilliant! You've got lots of real estate to place corals, and lots of open space for the fish to swim. Plus it really looks unique.

What was your idea behind the configuration?
 
I was snorkeling in Mexico and I was against the breaking rocks between the open blue and the coral walls. The rocks reached above the water level but there were plenty of openings where the bright blue could shine through. The fish swam in circles in and around the rocks and the corals were being constantly crashed into by the waves on all sides.

It was like orchestrated chaos and all the life was healthy and vibrant.

So... I shamelessly plagiarized.
 
Nice!

Modeling our tanks after specific places is much more interesting, than just filling them with a mishmash of stuff. Saying "I want to capture these characteristics in my aquarium" makes for a powerful vision! And can lead to some serious doityourselfin'…
 
I moved a few of the red macros up to the display. I also bumped up the water velocity - bad combination. But, it lead me to try using superglue. I was successful at gluing several of them to small rocks. Yes!

I also moved some of the ulva down from the overflow, to the fake wall gap/overlap. So I've got extra macros available to soak up water column nutrients.

Another feather duster popped up. So that's two now. The new one's coming out of the substrate. The older one is on the DSB planter. More hitchhikers in a tank with zero live rock!

The algae bloom isn't taking off like I feared. The last one got worse and worse, everyday. This one, so far, isn't doing that. It seems no worse than yesterday. So, I'm cautiously optimistic that I didn't cause a massive algae bloom. Maybe just a small one…

I'm getting ready for the new fish tomorrow! I added some macro algae to the barnacle cluster, to help shade it. These guys will go right in the display, since the quarantine tank is cycling. I hope they like their new home. It will be so exciting, having these tiny fish with big personalities in the tank. The fighting conch is about to be seriously upstaged. I've watched a few videos of these little speedsters. The way they feed is…fast, like lighting-quick! Can't wait!
 
Absolutely! Pics are forthcoming. I have no idea when to expect fedex delivery, other than some time before 8 pm. My guess is early/mid afternoon. Fedex tracking page does not load, so I used their 800 number.

Yes, everything does appear to be going smoothly, which is a little hard to believe. I guess I'm not making the same mistakes the 'old me' used to make. Maybe I've learned a thing or two over the years. I'm not bragging so much as struggling to comprehend it!

The algae bloom seems to be stalling. As I hoped, the tank's 'carrying capacity' seems to be large enough to handle the extra nutrients from dosing ammonia in the DSB. I've been carbon dosing all along as well, using vinegar.

All the dosing I've been doing is just for the seagrasses. Hopefully, I have optimized conditions to help them get established. I've been careful. I tested the effectiveness of the glutamic acid pills by only using one at first. The result was pretty conclusive, with the one manatee grass shoot closest to the pill growing much bigger than any of the others. So this time (post cycling), I added two. So far, I've gotten an uptick of diatoms and a tiny bit of cyanobacteria. In another week or two, I expect to see an uptick in seagrass growth.

With the addition of carnivorous fish, I'll have to start feeding. This will provide nitrogenous waste and phosphate. Carbon will likely be the limiting factor, so I'll continue with carbon dosing.

After observing the tank this morning, I spotted a couple of new anemones, I think. They are tiny and white/clear. They don't appear to be aiptasia, which, even at that small size, are obviously pink/brown. So, if I had to guess, I'd say condylactis. Yet another freebie/hitchhiker!
 
New Fish Have Arrived

New Fish Have Arrived

Four barnacle blennies arrived safe and sound today. I'm drip acclimating them now. I was nervous because I had to make an errand run, and it's pretty cold out. I went through a receiving procedure with my wife, just in case, and she did great. The fish arrived 5 minutes before I did. There was a heat pack in the cooler. Assuming all goes well, I can heartily recommend Pet Solutions for livestock.

These guys are pretty tiny! Hopefully they'll take to the barnacle cluster, where they can easily be seen. They are comically small relative to my tank's size!

Pics on the way!
 
Barnacle Blenny Pics

Barnacle Blenny Pics

Just to warn you these are not very good"¦

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See him in the barnacle?

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This one has been hanging around the DSB planter.

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This one hides in plain sight. He's so small, he just looks like the substrate.

I placed them all close to the barnacles on introduction. 3 out of 4 went right in. Then they started wondering around"¦

I fed them a little and they ate well. I have no idea where they'll all end up, but they seem to be doing pretty well. The molly has been curious, checking them out. If she gets too close, they strike a fearsome pose, with their mouths agape. Their eyes are ridiculously big for their size, and they move independently, so they don't miss much!
 
Happy blennies! Them barnacle blennies look tiny in a 20 gal... not to mention the enormous biotope you've created.

Barnacle blennies don't eat algae like the tailspot or bi-color species do they?

When will the next addition of fish be??
 
Yes, they're hilariously tiny in my tank. Correct, they don't eat algae. They are zooplankton pickers. Their feeding behavior, lightning fast advance and retreat to snatch a bite and hide again, is very entertaining. And their large eyes seem to express their feelings.

They seem to be settling in well. I'll know more tomorrow.

Not sure when and which fish will be next. I'll probably give the tank a little time to adjust to food input. I could add the royal grammas next, or the chromises, or the blue tang before the chromises. It'll be cool, watching the tank gradually coming alive with fish!
 
Wow! Those cuties are itsy-bitsy! Nice to know that Pet Solutions has good livestock. I have never heard anything about them before.

Why would you add the tang before the chromis? Aren't you supposed to add the most aggressive/dominant fish last to prevent bullying? I am pretty sure tangs are more aggressive than chromis...

Also, what is the plural of chromis? I am pretty sure it isn't chromises, but just plain chromis doesn't sound quite right either...

Yeah, it will definitely be neat to see the fish trickling in.
 
Goose Geese

Moose Meese lol

Chromis Chromees :P

I don't think anyone really knows the plural form. It's Chromis' for all I know.
 
You know, I asked the interwebs, and they said chromises. I had been calling them chromi.

JLynn, I brought up the idea of a 'truant officer' fish, to keep schooling fish in school, the other day. The tang is a more boisterous fish, but not a real threat to the chromises, as they don't compete for food. But having a bigger fish encourages them to school. And I love seeing fish school in my tank!

It's a counterintuitive idea, for sure. You've got to be careful. And you have to be prepared to remove a fish, if it doesn't work out. But it can be an effective stocking strategy.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I'm thankful to have such a fun group of guys to talk about this hobby/obsession with!

Cheers!
 
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