Pastey's 200DD

[Pastey]

My phone has a problem with the white balance. It catches the whites and turns everything else into a heavy blue. One of these days, I'll bring the Nikon and tripod back out when I feel the tank is starting to look like it should.

I've been wanting to add a few fish but I'm hesitant to pull the trigger because of the haddonni. Out of the 6 fish I've added most recently, the haddonni and eaten. 2 pyramid butterflies and my entire anthias harem. The fish that I still have have been going strong and steer clear of the anemone. For now, I've been focusing on bringing the algae down (it's coming down slowly and consistently) and keeping the system stable. I've decided to make my left-most structure a zoa island. I added a 40-50 polyp colony of orange zoas (not sure of the "name") to get it started. I'll add 4-5 more large colonies and let them grow out to fill in the spaces.

 

[Pastey]

Edit:
Out of the 6 fish I've added most recently, the haddonni has all but the solon fairy wrasse.

 

[Sonicboom]

Sorry to hear about losing so many fish to an anemone... that is one expensive anemone now.

 

[Pastey]

It was part of the risk that I knew I was taking. I've been wondering if there was correlation to fish that come from areas that either have or don't have carpet anemones. If a fish comes from a region that traditionally does not have carpet anemones, is there less natural fear of it making the fish more susceptible to swimming near it? On the other side, fish that come from regions that DO have them, they have a more natural fear or respect and stay away. I need to look at the where my surviving fish likely come from vs. where the eaten fish come from and cross that with areas carpet anemones are more often found.

 

[Sonicboom]

Makes sense, especially if they tried to hide under or near it.

 

[E.Rude]

My apologies for taking so long to fulfill your request. I haven't been very active online or with my tank.

Here was the tank a few days ago....notice the need for another fixture towards the back to illuminate the back 1/2. DD tank's 3 feet depth really stretches one's lighting budget to the max.

Thanks man! I'm sure I'll be asking you a lot more questions as my build approaches in a couple of months!

 

[Pastey]

If you're going to be inside training, why not in front of your tank?

Bike gave me an excuse to monitor the new addition (sailfin tang)straight out of QT. Now I need it to stay out of the haddoni!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNpcb9KJKTE

It's been grazing and eating like it was starving since QT had no algae...just nori every other day.

 

[Pastey]

 

[Sonicboom]

Sailfin looks super happy and healthy, and now I wish I never sold my Trek..

 

[Pastey]

I just picked up the bike a few weeks ago. Did a 22 mile ride yesterday at around 15mph average. A lot more fun and a lot less painful than running!

 

[Sonicboom]

Definitely no impact, I used to do ms150's until I sold my bike thinking I was going to upgrade, then life happened and I have still not purchased another..

 

[Pastey]

I'm doing a half IM in Austin in October and my goal is get up to around 60-70 miles bking comfortably. The transition from biking to running is a trip. It requires a lot of patience to not burn yourself out. Patience I haven't acquired yet

 

[Pastey]

Wife really likes the rock wall look so I picked up some dry rock and rearranged things. Tank is still a bit cloudy but I guess it came out alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U33ycZ5p2ic

 

[Sonicboom]

:thumbsup:Love it!

 

[dave.m]

Nice sense of drama.

Dave.M

 

[Pastey]

Thanks guys. I wasn't sure about it at first but the fish seem to love it. It's growing on me.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Great video. Sorry about your latest loses. I love the carpet but I see no clownfish. Did it eat them too?

 

[Pastey]

Nah they hang out in the top right corner by the overflow/return nozzle. They spend their day keeping their spot clean and chasing everyone away. They sometimes look at the haddoni like they might want to dive in but they never do. I'm pretty sure they're on the cusp of laying eggs as they display all the classic behaviors. I've tried upping their meaty diet but they just won't lay.

 

[dave.m]

Often you literally have to chase clownfish into the anemone several times before they take the hint and realize this is just what they were looking for all along but didn't know it yet.

Dave.M

 

[Pastey]

I know haddonni are very potent and they have to acclimate themselves with them before hosting begins so I imagine it would not end well for them to dive in. If it were up to me, I'd trade them in and get a pair of natural symbiants; saddlebacks would be my first choice. The wife however, would hang me up by my buster browns if I got rid of them.