Rebuild and recovery of a dead tank

[jason2459]

purty!

Thanks. I'm still nervious to get more corals. I think I'll wait a few more months. I just hate getting something and then having it die on me. I think I'll wait until my calcium gets low enough to start using kalk and get a hang of that first.

 

[jason2459]

I love the pair of long fin fairy wrasses I got. They have been following each other around a lot more now. As they mature I can see them becoming a mated pair.

Not the best picture but it was just taken last night to show the reduction in cyano. The female is following right along in the upper part of the picture.

The sharknose gobies don't swim together at all. But they do like to try and take a short ride on the other fish. Its funny to watch. The sharknose tried to get on the male wrasse after this picture was taken but the flash was taking to long to charge back up and missed the picture of him on the wrasse for the brief second he was there.

 

[jason2459]

Future items of interest

frog spawn

galaxia

Dendronephthya

Button

a couple Tridacna croceas

a few Hard Tube Coco Worms

bunch of multiple colors of zoas (names on these are ridiculous btw)

 

[thebkramer]

Looking Great!! Love the choices of corals to come.
I am also getting ready to buy a frogspawn on Friday. Sooo excited!! lol
Aren't the sharknose the greatest?!!? I'm still trying to get that perfect shot of my sharknose cleaning my McCosker's Flasher Wrasse. Good Luck 2 ya!!
p.s. wheres my mandarins???

 

[jason2459]

....
p.s. wheres my mandarins???

lol

She was poking her head into the picture in that last shot of my tank.

 

[thebkramer]

lol

She was poking her head into the picture in that last shot of my tank.

I Sees Her!!! :bounce3:

 

[jason2459]

Took some pictures I think last night or the night before. Just getting around to uploading them.

YWG checking our the blasto

He's getting bigger really fast

This one's for thebkramer :wavehand:

My pretty little fairies

The hunter/serial killer

 

[jason2459]

Couple more

 

[thebkramer]

:bounce3: :bounce3: :bounce3: :bounce3:

Thanks!!!! Everything is looking great!! That YWG looks sooo mean!! lol
I want to get one but I'm afraid he might beat me up :lmao:

 

[jason2459]

Yep, you have to watch out for that YWG. He's not scared of anything and chases any fish that comes near his holes. He's like a little guard dog for the pistol shrimp and caves.

He's fun to watch just sitting there and watching everything around him constantly. If a fish gets close he gives a warning advance forward and if the fish starts going toward him he dashed out and head butts it.

 

[thebkramer]

:lmao: Now I'm curious how one would do in my tank! :lmao:
A little BullDog in the sea!!

 

[thebkramer]

I have a question for ya, may be kinda dumb, but...
I've been looking at adding the YWG but unsure. Do they actually dig burrows? or do they just protect the pistol's? Can you give me a little more indepth description of yours?
I'd really appreciate it! Thanks

 

[jason2459]

:lmao: Now I'm curious how one would do in my tank! :lmao:
A little BullDog in the sea!!

:lol:

If you do I'd definitely get him paired up with a pistol shrimp of some type. I think that really helps bring the competitiveness out in him. I wouldn't say aggressiveness at all because he doesn't go actively out to bully anyone but just very much like a guard dog that knows his territory and just wants to push everyone away from it.

 

[jason2459]

I have a question for ya, may be kinda dumb, but...
I've been looking at adding the YWG but unsure. Do they actually dig burrows? or do they just protect the pistol's? Can you give me a little more indepth description of yours?
I'd really appreciate it! Thanks

I hear that they can dig burrows themselves but don't know first hand. I do know they form a very close bond with the pistol shrimp. My pistol is constantly digging and my YWG is constantly watching. The pistol shrimp when ever it is on the edge of the hole or going outside of it will keep one of his antennae on the YWG to sense any kind of sudden movement from him. Mainly because pistol shrimp are legally blind and they haven't found a pair of glasses to fit them yet.

 

[ROB2005]

Lets just say sir goby keeps an eye out for the blind pistol, while the shrimp is designing, excavating, and trimming up the burrow for them . Any danger that is too great sends the goby whirling back to the burrow along with the shrimp.

I know the question was directed at Jason, but I thought Id help him out since I have the same thing in my tank, the only difference is that I have a blue spot watchman goby. The shrimp digs a ton of sand, daily and everywhere he is, goby is there scanning the tank for potential threats.

EDIT: Looks like he beat me to it.

@Jason: That YWG is very fat

 

[thebkramer]

Interesting, thanks.
I do have a pistol, but his home is in a rock with many holes. Will the goby protect the rock? or will the pistol end up coming out and start burrowing in sand? He is still small (the pistol) and I do believe he is a tiger pistol.

 

[jason2459]

Interesting, thanks.
I do have a pistol, but his home is in a rock with many holes. Will the goby protect the rock? or will the pistol end up coming out and start burrowing in sand? He is still small (the pistol) and I do believe he is a tiger pistol.

I'd guess that he'd probably start digging as he got bigger anyways. Getting some type of watchman goby would probably help speed that process up.
Edit: It could take a while before they got paired up too.



Don't know if you ever saw this vid it's from a while back but here's a vid of the pistol and YWG. You can see the pistol's antennae on the back of the goby in the vid and the pictures.



<embed width="440" height="420" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://v4.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=2ez4rnn&s=4"><br><font size="1"><a href="http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2ez4rnn&s=4">Original Video</a> - More videos at <a href="http://tinypic.com">TinyPic</a></font>


Also, some older pictures. The YWG was such a small sliver a fish when I fist got him.

 

[jason2459]

Lets just say sir goby keeps an eye out for the blind pistol, while the shrimp is designing, excavating, and trimming up the burrow for them . Any danger that is too great sends the goby whirling back to the burrow along with the shrimp.

I know the question was directed at Jason, but I thought Id help him out since I have the same thing in my tank, the only difference is that I have a blue spot watchman goby. The shrimp digs a ton of sand, daily and everywhere he is, goby is there scanning the tank for potential threats.

EDIT: Looks like he beat me to it.

@Jason: That YWG is very fat

NO, the goby is just very healthy... don't want to hurt it's feelings.
:lol:

I like the yasha goby too. I got the Yellow watchman because I wanted a yellow fish and didn't want to get a yellow tang. :fun2:

 

[thebkramer]

Amazing!! Your pistol is HUGE! wow!
I'm starting to think it may not be a good idea. I'm thinking that the rock on the sand is not big enough for him to burrow under. I don't know. And thats if they decided to stay there...because on the opposite side of the tank is my dusky jawfish. That would probably end badly.
I don't know. I'm def not going to act quickly. I'm gonna take my time and see if maybe I can switch up my rockwork on my right side first..or just wait for shrimp to get bigger and swap him for coral or something at LFS.
Again, Thanks for your input, much appreciated!!
Give my mandarins a kiss!! lol

 

[ROB2005]

I say the goby/shrimp pair is very fascinating. If possible and can be supported no reef tank should be without one. In my tank when they lights are on, the goby immediately pushes out the rock and begins his watching duties. Later on, the shrimp does a bit of house cleaning, repositioning old hermit shells and rock pieces. I spot feed them daily so there is enough for them to eat.

As evening approaches, the shrimp begins a massive re-landscaping, widening his burrow preparing a place for the goby to sleep. A few minutes before the lights are off, goby heads into the burrow, his watching duties having ceased, and the shrimp closes it off partly with hermit shells and rubble, and quietly works inside continuously throughout the night.