How Cool is This Hobby

biggles

biggles

Premium Member
I mean seriously, it's pouring rain outside now and in my lounge room i have a shimmering slice of the GBR and every time i stick my hand in the tank which is a lot as i'm re-aquascaping i am groomed by my skunk cleaner shrimp bought 2 weeks ago - i really have to get some fish for him to clean as he now rushes the front glass when he sees me coming so i think he has a serious need to clean a fish or two or three.....
It's the little things like this that put a smile on my face and remind me why i love this hobby so much - land lubbers (non reefers) just don't get it lol.

skunky_zps89b15177.png
 
My cleaner does the same thing when i'm moving stuff around in the DT. He has a great personality and probably is my favorite thing in my tank right now.

He came flying out of his cave and started working on my wife's hand once when she wanted to move a frag that fell. He scared the hell out of her and now she doesn't want to move anything in the tank anymore.
 
Thanks trinity1012, yep that shrimp is my favorite thing at the moment, blood shrimp is next on the list :)
I can just imagine the shock your wife got when she was 'charged' by your cleaner Pearson lol, mine shoots out like a rocket at me so anyone not wise to his intentions would react the same as your wife. If i touch a rock to move it he goes over it after i remove my hand as if i've left tasty skin cells all over it.
I was using a 60ml syringe which white 1/4" JG airline screws onto perfectly as both a coral spot feeder and to administer soothing boiling hot RO to undesirables but my skunk nearly got burnt when he rushed the tube whilst i was squeezing boiling water onto a rock. I made another syringe up and used black tubing instead of the white for feeding and he now ignores the white tube and only charges out to gorge on the black tubing tip - smart little shrimp that learns quickly. :)
 
It's snowing here in Cleveland on the first day of spring , so it's nice to have a slice of the tropics. Also my new yellow & kole tang are now best friends with my blue morph. They're racing around and pigging out on nori. I just upgraded to a 120 and enjoyed the build over the winter too. I really love this hobby

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 
Couldn't agree more....my tank provides lots of entertainment. Cool picture! I have a blood shrimp and love watching her at feeding time. Comical.
 
Yeah. I think a lot of people who are buying all this BRS dead rock to start their tanks are missing out on a lot of cool stuff. My favorite part was to get very live diverse rock and let the tank just get completely filled with life.
 
It's great, to have a little slice of the ocean in your home. The biodiversity of the marine animals are like no other. There is also tons of pride from this hobby, not only because we can keep once thought impossible animals alive, but a lot of us give them conditions to thrive.
while it is amazing to us, others just don't seem to be interested, the average people look at the fish, what they don't realize but we do, is the abundance of life from amphipods to worms to corals to starfish.
very cool hobby indeed.
 
My first cleaner did that. The one I have right now is a huge wimp and barely comes out for feedings. I want another one but IDK if I can put two shrimp in there without one decimating the other. Marine life personality is a big factor in enjoyability of the hobby.
 
rrasco said:
My first cleaner did that. The one I have right now is a huge wimp and barely comes out for feedings. I want another one but IDK if I can put two shrimp in there without one decimating the other. Marine life personality is a big factor in enjoyability of the hobby.
Click to expand...

You can have up to 2 skunk clean shrimps in a tank. If you have more than that, it will eventually to be the last 2 standing. Obviously this is for most cases, individuals may vary.
 
rrasco said:
My first cleaner did that. The one I have right now is a huge wimp and barely comes out for feedings. I want another one but IDK if I can put two shrimp in there without one decimating the other. Marine life personality is a big factor in enjoyability of the hobby.
Click to expand...

I added two skunk cleaners to my tank about a week ago and they hang out together and seem fine.
 
Are they similar in size and do you know the sex? I heard bigger ones will eat smaller ones and if they are the same sex they will probably duke it out too. Although, I've seen several in a single tank at the LFS.
 
rrasco said:
Are they similar in size and do you know the sex? I heard bigger ones will eat smaller ones and if they are the same sex they will probably duke it out too. Although, I've seen several in a single tank at the LFS.
Click to expand...
they are hermaphrodite. you should introduce the new shrimp in similar size, since the established one will harass the newcomer a little bit before they hang out together.
 
My skunk cleaner always grooms my hand when it's in the tank as well. He's awesome. Always front and center, waiting for a chance to clean.

I have very much enjoyed sitting in my comfy chair this winter, basking in the glow of my LEDs and watching my reef grow.
 
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