My Acro Nursery

[maoiwowie]

Thank you! A lot of friends think im just growing colorful rocks... And yes. I have plenty of smooth skinned and deep water in my tank that are doing fine. Deep waters tend to grow slow in general so im not too surprised by these runts. I have no doubt that they will eventually sprout new growth then take flight. Ill post some deep waters when i get a chance. Good luck with your new tank...

 

[Dendros]

But my tank is fine, and these frags are jerks.

Lol, I have a few jerks in my tank too :headwalls:

 

[mrbigshot]

absolutely wonderful tanks you have.

 

[maoiwowie]

@Dendros - Dont do that... dont be a jerk!
@Mrbigshot - Thanks!

Here is a progression of this deep water Lokani ("D-day Lokani" from Battle Corals). Came in the same time as the "Jerks" so about a year's growth.

This last piece shows a healthy recovery from fragging. Its a Green Slimer. I cut it the Tuesday before X-Mas so a little over 2 weeks ago. I never cut frags so this is kinda new to me. If you look close, not only has it skinned over, but its also growing a new limb.

 

[WilRams]

Nice setup! Looks like you are doing great

 

[jsnrho82]

That lokani is doing very well. Your progression pic should be stickied so anyone first ordering coral online can see what to expect of a coral when it first arrives vs. what it colors up to be.

 

[maoiwowie]

@Wilrams - Thank you. I appreciate the recognition!
@jsnrho82 - Recently i was reading an article about the qualities that make a good reefer. Number one on the list was 'patience.' I am a firm believer. My understanding and success was gained through trial and error which means wasted life and $$$. Of course I read many books and followed RC threads, but there was still a lot of guessing involved. More precise pictures would have better helped for sure.

 

[Reefvet]

This last piece shows a healthy recovery from fragging. Its a Green Slimer. I cut it the Tuesday before X-Mas so a little over 2 weeks ago. I never cut frags so this is kinda new to me. If you look close, not only has it skinned over, but its also growing a new limb.

You've never cut frags ? Wow, you are patient.

Green slimer's are basically staghorn weeds. Very fast growers.

Smooth skin are the other extreme. Both are beautiful corals and it looks like you're having great success with them.

 

[maoiwowie]

@reefvet - Thanks! I finally started to cut these guys out of necessity. The mothers seem to recover much faster than the actual frags. The tough part is deciding to cull some of my colonies that I have grown from nubs that are not as colorful as I anticipated, and replacing them with something "better." But cutting and selling some of these frags have allowed me to meet many reefers, which is nice. Surprising to meet people that share this passion.

 

[Dendros]

The tough part is deciding to cull some of my colonies that I have grown from nubs that are not as colorful as I anticipated, and replacing them with something "better."

I'm thinking about this too right now. Some just don't make the cut:thumbdown

 

[maoiwowie]

@ Dendros - Its a bummer, 10+ years ago these "Oldskool" colonies would have caused much more excitement. ORA corals were the sh!t and much coveted. Today with places like RR and the many other high end sellers, some of these SPSs are almost laughable... can no longer even give them away. Im so guilty of this myself.

 

[maoiwowie]

Here are two that I have been cultivating that have exceeded my expectations.
$10 nub has grown into this magnificent thing. Metallic Green with Dark blue Polyps on Powder Blue. This thing glows.

And this, it may not be the most colorful, but the shape and tight scalloped ridges. I love it.

 

[markalot]

I have a love hate relationship with the unknown brown frags. I have a few of them and after months and months they are every so slowly showing some color. Those two above look fantastic!

 

[maoiwowie]

@Markalot - Thanks! How long do we give a coral to color up before we decide to cull? A month? Year? That is the question. Its been 2 years for some of my corals and that is enough time. Out they go. Sometimes we also have to admit that we were duped by Photoshop.

 

[Mark405]

Wow Dennis. Really cool to see the start of this tank after seeing all of the colonies in person. Thank you for having me and showing me around and thank you for the great deal!

 

[maoiwowie]

@ Mark405 - Thank you! I have been cutting frags for about a month now. 60 to 80 frags later, it looks like I havent cut a thing. Reefer problems...

 

[maoiwowie]

Hoping when I finally get the dream tank together it will look something like this. Simply amaze balls. Go Zeo! Find this at Seabox aquarium.

 

[jsnrho82]

Sometimes we also have to admit that we were duped by Photoshop.

This and selective camera angles. Looking at only the new growth, a top down shot, or super zoomed macro shots have all gotten me before.

 

[maoiwowie]

Yes, the close-up of the tips which are normally the most colorful always photos well. And if you have a good F-Stop, the bokeh can make the subject quite dramatic.

 

[garrettm]

I really enjoyed seeing the development of these frags! Thanks for the great reminder about patience in this hobby, it pays off!