Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

OK, so I've made a decision. Norbert's going back into the display. I'm done with the feeder routine! Once he's in, the feeders are over. I have also decided to put the mollies in the display too. This will give the lookdowns the chance to hunt. I bought 4 more mollies today. One male three females. These new guys went straight into the display, after lights out. I think I have seven in the QT, so that will hopefully get the ball rolling.
 
BTW, I think the head on view of your lookdown is really cool. I assumed that they normally look like that even well fed. The greenish hue and his face along with the laterally compressed body made him look like an alien to me, moreso than head on pics of other species of laterally compressed fish, like an optical illusion.

Good decision on the mollies. Hopefully, you can wean them off live and on to frozen food quickly.
 
I like the head on view too. I've been struggling to get a descent pic of it. That one turned out OK. The new mollies all look good, in the display. I'll get everyone else up in there after breakfast. I think Norbert will be much happier. He better learn to like frozen food, or hope the mollies start cranking out the babies!

By the way, if anyone knows how many mollies I need to maintain a constant flow of babies, I'd love to hear from you. I'm not too worried about having too many, as the grammas and blennies will eat them too, I'm sure.
 
Norbert and Sheldon have been reunited in the display. It was fun to watch them get reacquainted. Now they're a school of two. So cool! So comically weird and beautiful! They look much happier together. They spend a lot of time swimming in the current. So far, the treadmill concept is working.

I got most of the mollies in the display as well. I was surprised how they remained in a school at the top, with the lookdowns. They look good! Like a small school of fancy mullet. I was concerned they may not look natural, but in this lagoon tank, they fit right in.

I now have fish occupying all levels. The mollies are at the very top, eating from the surface. The lookdowns are just below the surface. The grammas are at mid level, and the blennies are at the bottom. Not that I'm done adding fish!
 
Michael Hoaster said:
Norbert and Sheldon have been reunited in the display. It was fun to watch them get reacquainted. Now they're a school of two. So cool! So comically weird and beautiful! They look much happier together. They spend a lot of time swimming in the current. So far, the treadmill concept is working.

I got most of the mollies in the display as well. I was surprised how they remained in a school at the top, with the lookdowns. They look good! Like a small school of fancy mullet. I was concerned they may not look natural, but in this lagoon tank, they fit right in.

I now have fish occupying all levels. The mollies are at the very top, eating from the surface. The lookdowns are just below the surface. The grammas are at mid level, and the blennies are at the bottom. Not that I'm done adding fish!
Click to expand...


This is good news! I'd love to see a video of the tank showing all the fish and the macros moving around.



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Michael Hoaster said:
Norbert and Sheldon have been reunited in the display. It was fun to watch them get reacquainted. Now they're a school of two. So cool! So comically weird and beautiful! They look much happier together. They spend a lot of time swimming in the current. So far, the treadmill concept is working.
Click to expand...

Very cool. Maybe the Norbert will learn to eat frozen food from Sheldon somehow (maybe as competition for food).
 
Michael Hoaster said:
I like the head on view too. I've been struggling to get a descent pic of it. That one turned out OK. The new mollies all look good, in the display. I'll get everyone else up in there after breakfast. I think Norbert will be much happier. He better learn to like frozen food, or hope the mollies start cranking out the babies!

By the way, if anyone knows how many mollies I need to maintain a constant flow of babies, I'd love to hear from you. I'm not too worried about having too many, as the grammas and blennies will eat them too, I'm sure.
Click to expand...

I'm interested to hear about your molly situation/progress. I am eager to add some into my 300 as well. They are terrific algae eaters and add some nice extra movement to the display... not to mention a source of live food. :0)
 
Thanks, zachxlutz. I've been playing around with video, but I haven't gotten anything good enough. Maybe I should just lower my standards a bit! I'd love to post a video. Maybe after I do some tank tidying…
 
zachxlutz said:
This is good news! I'd love to see a video of the tank showing all the fish and the macros moving around.
Click to expand...


You and me both Zach!



Maybe one of these days Michael will post one!
:not holding my breath:



What color are all the mollies?
Curious if you went with the silver/black ones or fancy colors. lol I have a feeling you didn't get bright orange ones...


IME with my two breeding mollies, the babies would pop out and kind of sink to the bottom. They blended in with the gravel and would eventually find some cover. Your plethora of macros will be perfect for them to avoid getting eaten as they mature, although they are primarily a food source for you tank.
They might have a better chance of survival since my mollies used to give birth at night after the tank lights go out.


This is your weekly "why you gotta busta my balls" post - or was the last one it?? :D
 
That's the idea, Chasmodes, to get Norbert in there with Sheldon, and seeing him eat frozen. It's a catch-22 situation though. I want to keep him healthy and well fed, so today I fed them some of the remaining feeders I have. Norbert demonstrated his ability to chow down on them to Sheldon…
 
McPuff, I have found that a regular, one hour drip acclimation works fine with mollies. I'd go a little longer for a full strength sea water tank.

Right now I don't have enough males. I think a ratio of 1 male for every 2-3 females would be good. So I have some more molly shopping to do. I was pleasantly surprised they school so well in the big display, where they could easily spread out.

So I may have found the schooling fish I've been looking for!
 
I feel a pain, in ma balls. Why is that Sam?

I really do want to post a video. First I have to straighten up the jungle a bit. It's a mess! Don't hold your breath…

I got silver mollies this time. I thought they'd look more natural, and they do. Right now I'm trying to figure out how many I need.
 
Scored four new males for the molly school. Now I need four more females to get to two to one. That will make it 15 mollies in the display. That's a pretty big school! Now I just need them to get busy and make babies.

I was feeding them spirulina flakes today and Sheldon decided he wanted some too. He liked it! Norbert was incredulous. I still haven't gotten him onto frozen food.
 
Michael Hoaster said:
McPuff, I have found that a regular, one hour drip acclimation works fine with mollies. I'd go a little longer for a full strength sea water tank.

Right now I don't have enough males. I think a ratio of 1 male for every 2-3 females would be good. So I have some more molly shopping to do. I was pleasantly surprised they school so well in the big display, where they could easily spread out.

So I may have found the schooling fish I've been looking for!
Click to expand...

Excellent, that is actually quite a fast acclimation. I'd probably try for about 3-4 hours. And I agree that silver mollies will probably be the best option as they provide some "flash" and would be a nice contract to the rest of my tank (in particular) as nothing else is silver/white like that. Time for me to place an order at the LFS! The new rocks have plenty of algae for them to munch on! :0)
 
The first time I acclimated mollies to saltwater, I did it for five hours. I got black ones. They didn't school as well, they didn't look that natural in my tank, and they were actually hard to see/find. The silvers look a little like a school of mullet, boldly mixing it up with the lookdowns at the surface. The males, with their sail fins, are quite pretty.

It took awhile to get them eating algae. These fish are farm raised and very removed from their natural environment. They seemed to be waiting to be fed, but I didn't. Eventually, they rediscovered their ability to forage for algae, even eating a little cyano. As my 'plague of snails' took hold, they disappeared, presumably from starvation. I'm feeding these new mollies, as I still have hundreds of snails and not much micro algae for them. Plus I'm trying to fatten them up quickly, so they'll make babies.

I'd be very interested to hear how they do with your new rocks.
 
Norbert, the lookdown, took a turn for the worse overnight. He refused food this morning and died this afternoon. Rest in peace.
 
Thank you zachxlutz. It happens. It's tough, after all that effort, but sometimes they die.

On the bright side, Sheldon is super strong and fit, so that's good. I think he'll do fine as a single fish. I can add another later, or not, we'll see.

I did a big export today, I mean a simulated herbivore grazing event. I was overdue. I may do some more tomorrow.
 
Are lookdowns generally picky eaters and tough to get eating? Wondering if you just got lucky that you have one that eats when most can't get any to eat.

I hate losing a fish or coral, it's like lighting your money on fire. Lol That and I'm sure you got pretty attached to it since it needed constant help.

Strange how quick it can happen...

Hopefully Sheldon will continue to eat!
 
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