saltwater sam
New member
I just want to jump in there and swim with your grammas!
Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank
- Thread starter Michael Hoaster
- Start date
Thanks Sam! They are fun to watch. Sounds like you need a snorkeling trip! Me too!
The two males continue to coexist in an uneasy truce. One has built a nest, but I see no signs of imminent spawning. I'm not sure, but it almost looks like the other male is ****-blocking him. Not cool. But of course I can't see everything that happens. I'll give it more time. I'll get the trap again, if I have to.
The two males continue to coexist in an uneasy truce. One has built a nest, but I see no signs of imminent spawning. I'm not sure, but it almost looks like the other male is ****-blocking him. Not cool. But of course I can't see everything that happens. I'll give it more time. I'll get the trap again, if I have to.
I'm sorry. I should have said: ovipositor-blocking.
It feels like the thread needs a pic right here:
The anemone, earlier in its journey to the summit of the fake wall.
The anemone, earlier in its journey to the summit of the fake wall.
sam.basye
New member
Lol
I bet your condy will start to color back up now that its moved up the wall. It's been looking more brownish lately.
I've been censured! I'm such a potty-mouth…
I'm not sure if the nem is browner or you're just seeing the whims of my photo editing. In the above shot, I chose to darken it a fair amount to feature the shrimp. Also, the previous version of iPhoto easily allowed me to punch up the magenta, which I took advantage of on all nem pics. This new version doesn't.
I hope it does color up some too. Since yesterday it's been contracted and hiding up in the darkest shadows of the caulerpa ledge. It's getting so thick up there, it's starting to shade my sand bed-not good! So I may have to do a little pruning, as Zippy is kinda shy about going up close to the surface.
I'm not sure if the nem is browner or you're just seeing the whims of my photo editing. In the above shot, I chose to darken it a fair amount to feature the shrimp. Also, the previous version of iPhoto easily allowed me to punch up the magenta, which I took advantage of on all nem pics. This new version doesn't.
I hope it does color up some too. Since yesterday it's been contracted and hiding up in the darkest shadows of the caulerpa ledge. It's getting so thick up there, it's starting to shade my sand bed-not good! So I may have to do a little pruning, as Zippy is kinda shy about going up close to the surface.
My view from the couch. Kickn' back for the nature show. Making sure that the most important species (me), is comfy.
FTS. 7 grammas visible.
End view high up. Note the ridiculous, overhanging caulerpa.
End view down low. Mr Zippy, zipping.
Thanks, jraker! He does let a hint of blue show every now and then. I do love the yellow phase, and I try weekly to get that "money shot" of him, with only a little success.
They do get huge! I realize that Zippy may outgrow my tank at some point. Time will tell.
They do get huge! I realize that Zippy may outgrow my tank at some point. Time will tell.
Anemone Update
My anemone climbed up the fake wall and hung out just under the caulerpa overhang for a few days, then vanished. It's been four days now, with no sign of it, until tonight. Quite by chance I found it in the overflow partition. Thant means it slipped through one of the slots, that's maybe an eighth of an inch wide? Hard to believe.
So, I got it back into the display. I put it against the wall, and it attached. A good sign. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.
I wonder why it went in there. Did it like the current? Or was it just a primitive animal stumbling into an artificial hazard.
I just hope it's OK!
My anemone climbed up the fake wall and hung out just under the caulerpa overhang for a few days, then vanished. It's been four days now, with no sign of it, until tonight. Quite by chance I found it in the overflow partition. Thant means it slipped through one of the slots, that's maybe an eighth of an inch wide? Hard to believe.
So, I got it back into the display. I put it against the wall, and it attached. A good sign. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.
I wonder why it went in there. Did it like the current? Or was it just a primitive animal stumbling into an artificial hazard.
I just hope it's OK!
I guess I didn't communicate the seriousness of the situation. I don't know if it will survive.
sam.basye
New member
That blows..
Did it get sucked into anything in the overflow? Not surprised it fit through the overflow teeth though. Is that what messed it up, getting sucked through the teeth?
I know how you feel. I'm being reminded that coral is sensitive, even Xenia...
I took out my 10+ stalks on my conch shell to rinse off some detritus and dinos Saturday evening in the sink with tap water and I guess I wasn't fast enough and the next morning I woke up to melting Xenia I grew from two tiny stalks. Gone overnight..
Hope the Condy pulls through! It attaching to the wall after you saved it is a good sign!
The anemone lives. It looks a bit worse for wear, but I think it will make it. Who knows, with anemones! Not sure why it took its journey, but I did a water change, for a little reset.
I decided to do a little caulerpa pruning, up top, where it's really starting to shade too much of the tank for my liking. I grabbed just a handful, and pulled just about ALL of it out! A bucket-load in one fell swoop. There's enough left to reestablish.
I added a peppermint shrimp today. Hope he likes aiptasias! I also acquired some fragments of the macro algae codium. I have no idea how it will fare in my tank. It's a cool looking plant-like a cross between a coral, a sponge and a plant. I was thinking of attaching some to the fake root. Since I have several bits of it, I'll let some of it land in different locations, and see if it grows.
I am definitely looking at different stuff to encrust the root. I'm still hoping to get some sponges going, but I will wait until there is a decent selection to pick from. I'm also keeping an eye on the sponges I have on the live rock. If I can provide conditions that enable them to thrive and grow, I'll feel confident enough to invest in some more decorative ones.
One of my rules is no organisms that require target feeding. I know from experience I'm too lazy to keep up with that. So whatever I get, it will have to feed on the general tank food brew.
I decided to do a little caulerpa pruning, up top, where it's really starting to shade too much of the tank for my liking. I grabbed just a handful, and pulled just about ALL of it out! A bucket-load in one fell swoop. There's enough left to reestablish.
I added a peppermint shrimp today. Hope he likes aiptasias! I also acquired some fragments of the macro algae codium. I have no idea how it will fare in my tank. It's a cool looking plant-like a cross between a coral, a sponge and a plant. I was thinking of attaching some to the fake root. Since I have several bits of it, I'll let some of it land in different locations, and see if it grows.
I am definitely looking at different stuff to encrust the root. I'm still hoping to get some sponges going, but I will wait until there is a decent selection to pick from. I'm also keeping an eye on the sponges I have on the live rock. If I can provide conditions that enable them to thrive and grow, I'll feel confident enough to invest in some more decorative ones.
One of my rules is no organisms that require target feeding. I know from experience I'm too lazy to keep up with that. So whatever I get, it will have to feed on the general tank food brew.
sam.basye
New member
Glad the Condy is doing okay!
Guess that means the sun coral is out.. Nuts.
Kudos for realizing the magnitude of your laziness though. Lol
Better to know this prior to adding things that require more attention than you are willing to give.
Still gonna thin the herd of grasses?
Guess that means the sun coral is out.. Nuts.
Kudos for realizing the magnitude of your laziness though. Lol
Better to know this prior to adding things that require more attention than you are willing to give.
Still gonna thin the herd of grasses?
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ichthyogeek
New member
Question on why the sun coral would be out: why not? If Michael's planning on a bottom-up ecotank (what I'm calling his method of dosing nutrients into the tank to feed organisms higher up into the food chain), then what's preventing him from sun corals? From his current stock list: atlantic blue tang, barnacle blennies(?), and royal grammas, which of those is going to be so strictly pelagic that they'll outstrip the zooplankton possible? None of his fish are able/willing to go after amphipods in the sand, nor mysis in the caulerpa overhang-both of which I think would be appropriate food items for suns. Or is it that the zooplankton produced will be too small to feed the suns? Adding some amphipod species and mysis shrimp should be able to keep up with a colony, that will grow/shrink depending on nutrient levels which will also fluctuate. Additionally, doesn't the Condy need target feeding?
Michael, how's that gorgonian doing by the way? I haven't heard about it for forever, and last I heard it seemed to be doing kind of well?
Michael, how's that gorgonian doing by the way? I haven't heard about it for forever, and last I heard it seemed to be doing kind of well?
I kept sun coral years ago. It needs tiny zooplankton. I do not have a lot of pelagic zooplankton, and I have eleven plankton pickers (7 grammas and 4 barnacle bennies), so there wouldn't be enough to keep sun corals well-fed. Benthic plankton are little to no help.
I do believe it's possible to maintain high levels of pelagic plankton, so target feeding wouldn't be necessary, but I'm not there, and I'm unlikely to get there with so many plankton pickers and more on the way. A tank dedicated to non-photosynthetic corals is cool, but not what I'm going for.
The gorgonian frag is doing OK. It's not dieing, but it it's not growing. I'm playing around with different phytoplankton and zooplankton additions to the tank food. If I hit on a combination that triggers growth, I'll feel comfortable getting a few more of them. It's a photosynthetic gorgonian so I don't know if it is surviving because of what I'm doing, or in spite of it. I spoke with a guy who maintained a gorgonian tank. He said it was a huge pain, target feeding them everyday. Not my style.
I do target feed the anemone weekly, but it is not required. So, if I miss a feeding, it's no big deal. I feed it to encourage growth. It does capture tank food as well.
I do believe it's possible to maintain high levels of pelagic plankton, so target feeding wouldn't be necessary, but I'm not there, and I'm unlikely to get there with so many plankton pickers and more on the way. A tank dedicated to non-photosynthetic corals is cool, but not what I'm going for.
The gorgonian frag is doing OK. It's not dieing, but it it's not growing. I'm playing around with different phytoplankton and zooplankton additions to the tank food. If I hit on a combination that triggers growth, I'll feel comfortable getting a few more of them. It's a photosynthetic gorgonian so I don't know if it is surviving because of what I'm doing, or in spite of it. I spoke with a guy who maintained a gorgonian tank. He said it was a huge pain, target feeding them everyday. Not my style.
I do target feed the anemone weekly, but it is not required. So, if I miss a feeding, it's no big deal. I feed it to encourage growth. It does capture tank food as well.
Thanks, Sam! I am pretty lazy! I think it's important to realize, when considering new tank residents.
Yes, I do still plan to remove the turtle grass and replace it with manatee grass. It could be pretty soon! Yikes, it's going to be a mess! You should have seen the $h1tstorm yesterday, when I pulled out the caulerpa. It was about four feet long and a foot thick - a ton!
Yes, I do still plan to remove the turtle grass and replace it with manatee grass. It could be pretty soon! Yikes, it's going to be a mess! You should have seen the $h1tstorm yesterday, when I pulled out the caulerpa. It was about four feet long and a foot thick - a ton!
