My 65G Shallow Reef Tank

[M007]

Nice photos, do they always congregate around the stags?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Nice photos, do they always congregate around the stags?

Thanks.

Yes, they do. They only congregate around A. aspera even though I have another very large staghorn coral. By doing that they do not cause any traffic congestion in the middle of my tank other than feeding time during which my tank gets a little bit chaotic.

 

[reefmutt]

I really like those anthias! What was the scientific name?
Can you sex them?
I'm going to look them up.
Can't wait to see those new corals in the tank, Bulent.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I really like those anthias! What was the scientific name?
Can you sex them?
I'm going to look them up.
Can't wait to see those new corals in the tank, Bulent.

Their scientific name is Pseudanthias pulcherrimus. They belong to the subgenus Pseudantihas pseudanthias. Some of the known names in this sub-genus are bimaculatus, randalli and ventralis. For more reading on the Genus Pseudanthias please refers to Anthias Imposters! by H. C. Schultz III.

I cannot sex them. They are still quite small. I will be happy if they remain as they are because I love their deep pink colours. On a negative note according to @copps these fish are "jumpers". This reading has alarmed me quite a bit :sad2:. This is now making sense to me because when I came home from my lfs, I found one of the new arrivals stuck in the plastic transport bag out of water. I have no idea how long it stayed out of water, but it seems OK now. The journey between my lfs and my house is about 45 minutes. If these fish start to jump out, I will be sitting on a big loss. I hate losing fish. It distresses me. I have never had jumpy anthias before. Watch this space ....

 

[M007]

Thanks.

Yes, they do. They only congregate around A. aspera even though I have another very large staghorn coral. By doing that they do not cause any traffic congestion in the middle of my tank other than feeding time during which my tank gets a little bit chaotic.

Traffic management in a reef tank, you have just taken reef keeping to a whole new level :thumbsup: This my friends is is a topic for a new thread, just have no idea where to start it.

 

[jroovers]

Those anthias in the stag is stunning, love the contrast between pink and green.

Curious on the idea to add the siporax... looks like things are good? Anything you are trying to accomplish specifically with your nutrient levels?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Those anthias in the stag is stunning, love the contrast between pink and green.

Curious on the idea to add the siporax... looks like things are good? Anything you are trying to accomplish specifically with your nutrient levels?

Thanks.

I am happy with the way things are at the moment and am not trying to manipulate nutrient levels as I do not chase specific numbers. I just observe how corals react to changes in different nutrient levels in the water column.

However, since I have recently increased the number of fishes significantly, it is inevitable that I will have to increase the amount of food that will go into the system. I suspect that sooner or later measurable nutrients will increase. This may or may not be good for coral growth and/or their coloration. I am going to wait and see first what will happen before I introduce additional surface area to encourage bacterial mass. I just want to be ready in case additional filtration is necessary.

 

[pstank1]

You might want to consider adding some of the siporax now. It's going to take a month or two for it to colonize to any significant degree. If you want until you see a nutrient spike, you're going to have to deal with it in other ways until the siporax starts to kick in.

 

[sahin]

Bulent, I love the shot of the Anthias swimming among those huge branches. :beer:

 

[DiscusHeckel]

You might want to consider adding some of the siporax now. It's going to take a month or two for it to colonize to any significant degree. If you want until you see a nutrient spike, you're going to have to deal with it in other ways until the siporax starts to kick in.

I will act on your guidance. Thanks.

Having looked at my sump space, I have realised that I might need some more siporax. So, I have asked my lfs to save me another kg of siporax (i.e. ~ 3lt). I will eventually be using approximately 6 lt of this media.

Bulent, I love the shot of the Anthias swimming among those huge branches. :beer:

Thank you Sahin. How are your anthias doing?

I did some pruning of my staghorns last week to raise some funds for the purchase of the second batch of anthias and other dry goods (e.g. siporax). I tried to cut a very thick branch of the A. aspera colony with the tool shown in the attachment without any success. To avoid any damage to adjacent corals, I will have to take the entire colony and use a hacksaw in the future.

 

[pstank1]

Those anthias do look great swimming around the stags. I've looked into getting either those or Randall's anthias for my tank eventually, whichever my lfs can get in for me.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Those anthias do look great swimming around the stags. I've looked into getting either those or Randall's anthias for my tank eventually, whichever my lfs can get in for me.

Thanks.

I used to keep P. bimaculatus. They were very hardy as a group (five females). They belong to the same genus as resplendent anthias as I mentioned to Matt (@reefmatt). However, when I kept a single male P. bimaculatus he did not do well in long term. The same thing happened when I kept a single male bartlett anthias.

P. randalli belongs to the same genus as P. bimaculatus and resplendent anthias. I wonder if it will follow that you will have success too if you get a group of at least five females. Hopefully, aggression will be minimised without the presence of a male or until one of the females converts to a male.

My lfs was very specific in his advice about selling me resplendent anthias even though he also stocks other anthias, including lyretails. He personally kept these anthias for a few years without loses, but had to move them eventually because he had to sell his tank.

 

[pstank1]

I've read that both the randall's and resplendent are on the docile end of the spectrum for anthias. I've also read that they're basically the same fish, just from different oceans. They also stay relatively small, which is nice.

 

[echopiece]

On a negative note according to @copps these fish are "jumpers". This reading has alarmed me quite a bit :sad2:. This is now making sense to me because when I came home from my lfs, I found one of the new arrivals stuck in the plastic transport bag out of water. I have no idea how long it stayed out of water, but it seems OK now. The journey between my lfs and my house is about 45 minutes. If these fish start to jump out, I will be sitting on a big loss. I hate losing fish. It distresses me. I have never had jumpy anthias before. Watch this space ....

Very nice tank! Do you not have a screen over the tank to stop jumpers? I learned the hard way on that one

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I've read that both the randall's and resplendent are on the docile end of the spectrum for anthias. I've also read that they're basically the same fish, just from different oceans. They also stay relatively small, which is nice.

One of the first questions I asked to my lfs about this genus was how big they grow. Up to 3" was the answer, which helped me make up my mind.

Would you mind sharing your reading source please?

Very nice tank! Do you not have a screen over the tank to stop jumpers? I learned the hard way on that one

Thank you. No, I do not have any screen, but I really should have one. It is just that I have avoided using one in order not to block light besides I am not very good at DIY.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Here are four random pictures under ATI actinic (front) and ATI blue+ (back). I am completing tube replacement in 30 minutes. The last tube to go into the mix is ATI purple+. I will find out whether I can leave with the new combination or not tomorrow afternoon when I come back from work. The purple+ tube let me down in the past. I used it as part of the dawn to dusk setting and used it near to the front. My tank looked too purple as a result. Bu this time it will be in the fifth position from the front, so it should not dominate the tank with its purple hue too much.

 

[M007]

Ouuulala, nice photos under the fresh T5's.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Ouuulala, nice photos under the fresh T5's.

Cheers mate.

My tube replacement is now over. It has taken three weeks to complete it. My new combination (all ATI) is as below:

front

coral+
blue+
actinic
aquablue special
purple+
blue+
coral+
blue+

I am very pleased with it, but I may still swap the positions of the first two tubes at the front as well as swapping the positions of purple+ and aqua blue special tubes. Hence, I have four further combinations to play with before I definitely settle with it. I am now very curious as to whether or not this new combination will match the crazy growth rate that the previous combination stimulated over the past 11 months. Time will tell.

Anyway, here are some photos I took one hour ago. Note that I chose the last photo specifically, so that I can show you how fat my Genicanthus melanospilos female is.

 

[pstank1]

Great photo's. How are your Genicanthus angels getting along together in the tank?

 

[rburns24]

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If the P+ turns out not to be suitable, try a KZ Fiji Purple. I've always though of it as a
civilized version of a P+.
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