High Nutrient Macro Algae/Sea Grass Reef

[Michael Hoaster]

Mine will sometimes go weeks buried in the sand. No idea why. Sometimes she'll poke one eye stalk up to look around. Most of the time she's cruising around the tank vacuuming.

If I recall, mine may have stayed buried more when she was new to the tank. So it might be new environment cautiousness.

 

[vlangel]

Do you have a picture of your new conch? I'd like to see it!

Tonight when I went downstairs to do a waterchange, the conch was out right in front. I ran back upstairs to get my phone to snap this pic.

*****Pic deleted******

 

[vlangel]

I almost forgot, I had the rare priveledge of getting to see Cheerleader the pom pom crab last night. It's always a treat to find out that I still have him.

 

[ThePurple12]

Looks pretty big, maybe 4"? Cool!

Watchman goby aggression? I haven't seen any with my pair. I have a yellow clown goby that sits right above their burrow with no problems, but maybe they get aggressive towards different gobies.

I'm not sure if your species of pistol shrimp would pair with a goby. KP Aquatics collects their stuff from the Atlantic, and watchman gobies are from the Pacific I believe, so they would never meet in the wild. This is just an educated guess of course, I could be wrong. At any rate, it doesn't mean you can't get a watchman goby!

 

[vlangel]

Looks pretty big, maybe 4"? Cool!

Watchman goby aggression? I haven't seen any with my pair. I have a yellow clown goby that sits right above their burrow with no problems, but maybe they get aggressive towards different gobies.

I'm not sure if your species of pistol shrimp would pair with a goby. KP Aquatics collects their stuff from the Atlantic, and watchman gobies are from the Pacific I believe, so they would never meet in the wild. This is just an educated guess of course, I could be wrong. At any rate, it doesn't mean you can't get a watchman goby!

Yep, I figured that a watchman was not a natural fish to pair with the shrimp but who knows???? If I were not afraid of aggression I would get a watchman just because I love their grumpy faces.

 

[vlangel]

*****pic deleted******

Pic from the end of the display tank and view from the loveseat.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Awesome pic! Your tank looks great and full of life. Everywhere you look there's a fish! That's some good fish watching. Are the Damsels behaving?

 

[ThePurple12]

Nice! It’s cool how the side view offers a completely different perspective of the tank. The top view is the best IMO.

 

[vlangel]

Awesome pic! Your tank looks great and full of life. Everywhere you look there's a fish! That's some good fish watching. Are the Damsels behaving?

Yes, I like that there is always fish swimming somewhere. Yes, for the most part the damsels are well behaved. In the evening I do see them act a little testy with one another but have never seen them harass any of the other fish. The cleaner shrimp is also on the move and keeps the display kinetic.

The nems and feather dusters add their own variety of motion to the tank. I am enjoying this tank very much.

I was disappointed that the photo was blurry. I am not sure why. Hopefully future pics will be better.

 

[vlangel]

Nice! It's cool how the side view offers a completely different perspective of the tank. The top view is the best IMO.

Thanks ThePurple! Yes, in my tank the side offers a great depth perception view which I really enjoy. It makes me feel like I am snorkeling.

Because my tank is on a fairly high stand and it's a 24" high tank; I need a step stool to view from the top down. Needless to say, that never happens. But I know what you mean from having looked into other tanks from the top.

I never answered you about the size of the conch but it's not as large as it looked in the pic. The refugium is in a very narrow space so pics are taken almost right up to the glass, which gives the illusion that things are bigger than they are. I would guess the conch to be 2 and a half inches at most, unless you are counting his proboscis while it's foraging. It's a neat creature for sure.

 

[vlangel]

I think I saw the hinder parts of the pistol shrimp as he was high tailing it deeper into his burrow. It looked like a molt in the mouth of his burrow too, (I can see what appears to be the remnants of the claw connected to the molt.).

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Good to hear on the Damsels. That's been my experience with multiples of fish. They mess with each other, but not so much the other species.

I've had Mom, the Fighting Conch for four or five years now, and she's still maybe two inches. I think there are several conches sold as Fighting Conches, in the biz.

I love your Feather Duster colony. It's so cool to see several together like that. It'd really be cool if they sexually reproduced!

Maybe you'll see more of your piston Shrimp, now that it's molted. I know most crustaceans lay low leading up to a molt.

 

[vlangel]

That would be good if my conch does not grow much either. It was already bigger than I had anticipated. I really should name mine too. I will have to think on that a while.

Yes, I have been hoping for some sort of reproduction from the feather dusters. I should research to learn how that even happens in their specie. Definitely more feather dusters would be welcome. I think they are a really cool animal.

I have noticed that often new shrimp in my tank have molted right after they were introduced. Stress must sometimes be a factor in molting. I only ever had 1 other pistol shrimp and I rarely saw it even though its burrow was right in the very front of my tank. The Sheriff, (the name I dubbed it) was extremely secretive. So I am not holding out a lot of hope of seeing Rice Krispies. That is ok, I knew that going into this. I will just enjoy hearing him.

 

[ThePurple12]

That's too bad. I used to have a tiger pistol shrimp (it died, not sure why) that snapped all the time, and I always wondered what it was snapping at. Maybe it was to catch amphipods or something.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm realizing that naming my Conch Mom, because she's always vacuuming, was a rather sexist choice on my part. It's ironic because I'm the one who does the vacuuming around here! They really are great in aquariums.

Not sure but I bet the Dusters eat phytoplankton. Maybe if you started adding that, they'd get frisky. I don't think I've ever heard of the big ones reproducing in aquariums. The tiny ones certainly do. That would be amazing if yours did!

I think you're right about new shrimp molting. The Anemone Shrimp I had in v1 did that. On the first day it was hidden. On the second, there he was, on the Anemone!

 

[vlangel]

That's too bad. I used to have a tiger pistol shrimp (it died, not sure why) that snapped all the time, and I always wondered what it was snapping at. Maybe it was to catch amphipods or something.

My first pistol shrimp was a candy cane. It actually did not live as long as other types of shrimp that I have kept either. I wonder if they do not have longevity (at least in home aquaria)?

When I hear mine snapping I imagined that it was annoyed at damsels who may have been venturing too close. The truth is that I have no idea what it is snapping at, LOL.

 

[vlangel]

I'm realizing that naming my Conch Mom, because she's always vacuuming, was a rather sexist choice on my part. It's ironic because I'm the one who does the vacuuming around here! They really are great in aquariums.

Not sure but I bet the Dusters eat phytoplankton. Maybe if you started adding that, they'd get frisky. I don't think I've ever heard of the big ones reproducing in aquariums. The tiny ones certainly do. That would be amazing if yours did!

I think you're right about new shrimp molting. The Anemone Shrimp I had in v1 did that. On the first day it was hidden. On the second, there he was, on the Anemone!

I am not the least offended that your Conch's name is Mom. Hey, in our day mom's were usually the ones who did the vacuuming.
And I think that it is nice that you help and vacuum at your house. I try to chip in and help too...this morning I shovelled our driveway (and 2 others) and I like to bring in firewood for the fireplace. Husband and wives should be a team!

Maybe I will pick up some phytoplankton next time I visit the LFS. It certainly couldn"t hurt. I do have lots of the tiny feather dusters and they are multiplying. If the big feather dusters do not utilize it I am sure that something will.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

I should have named my Conch Michael! Dawn, you are Wonder Woman. A pillar of your community! It's so ironic that the whole country has gotten snow, while I got maybe a half inch. And I want it! I bought new cross country skis and I'm afraid to use them because the snow isn't deep enough. So I keep skiing on my 20 year old skis, while I wait.

So true about husbands and wives needing to be a team. It's taken me half a lifetime to figure that out, but I'm getting there!

Phytoplankton is pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. So it is indirectly beneficial to everything. Even us! So yeah, I think it would be good for your setup. (He says after just getting some a week ago).

 

[vlangel]

I should have named my Conch Michael! Dawn, you are Wonder Woman. A pillar of your community! It's so ironic that the whole country has gotten snow, while I got maybe a half inch. And I want it! I bought new cross country skis and I'm afraid to use them because the snow isn't deep enough. So I keep skiing on my 20 year old skis, while I wait.

So true about husbands and wives needing to be a team. It's taken me half a lifetime to figure that out, but I'm getting there!

Phytoplankton is pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. So it is indirectly beneficial to everything. Even us! So yeah, I think it would be good for your setup. (He says after just getting some a week ago).

Ha ha, Michael the vacuuming conch! That is hilarious. I still like it that you named her Mom though.
Don't give me too much credit about shovelling. It's way cheaper than a gym membership!

I understand your feelings about snow. Usually we here in western PA are the ones who aren't getting any. Eastern PA have actually had some significant snows and I am jealous.
I have never gone cross country skiing but I think that would be great fun. I never even went downhill skiing until I was 40. I love it however but really have only done it about 5 or 6 times. Criss country skiing has to be wonderful exercise. I used to rollerblade 3Xs a week and do over 30 miles in a week in my 40s. That was a lot of fun.
Dave and I's new physical passion is disc golf. If you youtube tournaments at Deer Lakes Park, you can even see the course we play most often. Dave is a below knee amputee however and his residual limb has been having a lot of nerve pain which is curtailing his ability to play. Hopefully it will be improved by spring.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Mom really is a term of endearment, so maybe I'm not sexist. You're right about snow shoveling - it's a great workout!

I always thought cross country skiing would be fun to try 'some day', but deep down, I knew I'd never do it. Then my brother got turned onto it by his wife, who was from New England. He said it was awesome and similar to mountainbiking, so I rented some skis and gave it a go. Loved it! Been doing it ever since. It's a great way to stay fit over the winter, and take a break from the bike.

I've got some buddies who are into disk golf. It sounds great, and I hope to try it soon. I love throwing the frisbee! I'll check out Deer Lakes Park videos! Tell Dave I hope he feels better.