So it continues...

[alexkharden]

Alright folks, here I go again. Water is at ~1.0255 and 79 degrees, and 8 hours ago I added a little over 300 pounds of live rock, 20 pounds of live sand, and a ridiculous amount of life. It's very exciting, but there are things in there that I have no clue what they are or how to provide for them. I'm hoping you guys can help. So far I have found about 8 black urchins, one pencil urchin, a flame scallop, a ridiculous number of crabs (probably mostly bad), three fish, and two weird things I don't know what they are. Before we get to the identification, I just want to take a moment to thank Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater. This stuff is amazing, it's everything I hoped it would be. A disclosure, if this rock fails it's a result of me, and not the TBS rock. Due to the constraints of my money and the freedom of my time, I chose to take a drive to Florida to pick up my rock directly from him instead of letting him ship it in two parts as is his normal custom. Making the trip, in the end, saved me about 600 dollars, so it was worth it. Richard was pretty against putting everything in all at once, but in the end gave me lots of great advice on how to insure the success of the rock, and my tank. In the end I assume all responsibility for anything that happens. Here's a couple of quick pics of the rock. No aquascaping done at all, I just put it in the tank as quick as possible to insure maximum survival.






Ok, friends and reefers, I need some (a lot) of identification help. There are three fish,



This one looks like some kind of blenny maybe?



This maybe a Bicolor Dottyback?



I have no clue what this is.

 

[alexkharden]

Here's another picture of the possible dottyback. It's being very shy and hiding at the moment - likely stressed all to hell.







Yes, it likely shouldn't be lying down like that. Everything has only been in the tank for like 8 hours. I don't know what it is though, so I don't know what it needs.



Another lying down unidentified animal?



What about this little green fellow? Some kind of sponge maybe? I know green is a pretty rare color...



And I'm assuming this is some kind of sponge.

 

[alexkharden]

I'd actually like identification on both the orange thing (gorgonian?), there are three of them - and the little spiky thing mid-picture. It looks like some kind of crab maybe, but it just kind of stands there with its arms in the "air". There are two of them.



Here's a picture of the other one. Yes, awful picture, I know.



There are two of these and they seem to have polyps extended, so I'm thinking coral maybe? I wasn't prepared for coral yet, so I don't know anything about it at all. Plenty of research to do, but I don't want them to die in the meantime.



Yellow ball sponge. This was relatively easy, but do they need any special care?

 

[alexkharden]

I'm pretty sure this little guy is a pencil urchin. He looks different than the 7-8 black urchins I've found so far.



And I'm guessing this guy is a flame scallop. He moves A LOT. Will he settle in somewhere once he finds a good spot, or are the rovers?


Anyway, any and all help is welcome in putting names to these creatures, so I can know what the best home for them will be and what they need to be healthy and happy.

There are also a ridiculous number of crabs in there - that I'll likely be catching and moving to the sump over the next few months (years, lol). I've read a lot about good/bad crabs but one thing I've never read. Do they breed?

Also, I'm hearing A LOT of clicking. First thought I had was pistol shrimp or something, but the clicking is almost constant and there are a bunch of them. So now I'm starting to suspect the crabs, hermit crabs, barnacles, or something else. It's like a small clicking noise. Almost like a cracking. Any thoughts on that?

Also, I realize that the Journals/Builds forums might not be the best place to ask for identifications. If someone has a better place for it let me know and I'll post it there too. I did want it documented in my journal too though.

 

[liverock]

fast trip....indy to Fla and back....

fast trip....indy to Fla and back....

Glad to see you made it home from the power trip....that was a lot of weight for your car....15 boxes or rock/sand/critters....lol...good thing you took the seats out...

you can ID all your stuff here

http://tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/organisms.html

your fish appear to be...seaweed blenny...another blenny...and a royal gramma.... https://www.google.com/search?q=royal+gramma&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

clicks...??...can be pistol or mantis shrimp...a mantis you will see....the pistols you will never see as they are like 1/4 inch long...and live within the sponges...

did ya save any of the stone crab claws for your other 1/2???? LOL

sea ya
Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

 

[alexkharden]

It definitely was a lot of weight, I was dragging on the bumps!

The crab claws were mine! Lol, no she's not a big seafood fan. She's been landlocked her whole life, didn't get to grow up on a coast like me. That's ok, I love her just as much, and I get to eat all the crab!

So the 6 tall treelike things are all gorgonians? Very cool. Do I need to clue them down like frags, or just bury their bases in the sand?

It looks like the two weird things are decorator crabs - very cool

So pistol shrimp aren't a potential danger then? It sounds like I've got about 10 of them, if that's what they are. Hopefully not bad, they'd be very difficult to find in a sponge, lol.

 

[liverock]

gorgs and tree sponges......and correct on the deco crabs.....and the pistols...good guys....but you will never see them....and the green thingy.... halimedia plant....plant the root ball in the sand.....

publix has the claws on sale... large are $32 a pound.....fed ex lol...

 

[alexkharden]

Oh, and ammonia is at about .4 ppm. It was right at 1 when I first put the sand/rock/bacteria in. Had planned on doing a water change when I woke up, but now I think I'll hold of and keep testing. Hopefully it's just like all the reading I've done about TBS rock - little to no cycle at all Just turned the skimmer on and I've got both powerheads going. I'll be better able to tell once the aquascaping is done, but right now I have amazing flow. I can shine the flashlight everywhere in the tank and see movement and waving in the current. This is all so cool

 

[alexkharden]

32 a pound? With the size of those things there would only be like 4 claws in a pound, lol.

Delicious eating though.

 

[liverock]

32 a pound? With the size of those things there would only be like 4 claws in a pound, lol.

Delicious eating though.

or less lol.....

 

[alexkharden]

Quick update. I hit 1ppm ammonia, so I moved a 55 gallon tank into the room and filled it with rodi saltwater. Now I've got my dual head stenner pump going, find a slow but non stop water change. I'll keep adding saltwater to it in 5 gallon increments as it'll fit, and I'll leave that running until the cycle completes probably. That's a lot of salt, but that's better than losing any of that beautiful livestock. The only things that currently seem unhappy are one of the brown gorgonians and the flame scallop. So far everything else seems very happy!

 

[alexkharden]

The continuous water change seems to be holding the ammonia at ~1.3 ppm. I ordered more salt, but it looks like I'll have to pay petsmart's ridiculous pricing for salt as I'll be using up what I have before my shipment arrives.

My pump does 70 gallons a day, so I'll be burning up the salt pretty quickly over the course of this cycle. All fish appear to be healthy and moving around.

One gorgonian appears stressed with polyps only half extended. The flame scallop appears lethargic.

I'm wondering about feeding stuff. It's been a couple of days, so I know whatever food stores were trapped in the rocks is dwindling, but I'm worried about spiking my ammonia by adding food into the system.

 

[alexkharden]

For my tank, 70 gallons per day translates to about 25% a day, continuously.

That enough, or should I start hitting the buckets too?

 

[liverock]

The continuous water change seems to be holding the ammonia at ~1.3 ppm. I ordered more salt, but it looks like I'll have to pay petsmart's ridiculous pricing for salt as I'll be using up what I have before my shipment arrives.

My pump does 70 gallons a day, so I'll be burning up the salt pretty quickly over the course of this cycle. All fish appear to be healthy and moving around.

Gorgonians do that...they also shed..normal behavior ..best indicator of water quality is the scallop....he will let you know if he is unhappy....you will wake up to an empty shell...one morning...if you water is off.....you are doing great considering the load you have....1.3 is not bad....

One gorgonian appears stressed with polyps only half extended. The flame scallop appears lethargic.

I'm wondering about feeding stuff. It's been a couple of days, so I know whatever food stores were trapped in the rocks is dwindling, but I'm worried about spiking my ammonia by adding food into the system.

 

[alexkharden]

That makes me feel better. I'm staying on it, that's for sure. I also found three more hitchhikers. One I know for sure is bad, and aiptasia.

One is a purple thing attached to my red gorgonian.

The other is a clear thing at the base of one of the sponges. My daughter said shrimp, but I'm not convinced. Forgive the horrible pictures.

Any ideas anyone?

 

[liverock]

no invasive aptasia.....in the gulf.... aptasia is an indo pacific species..the ones that run amok.....all the anemones on my rock are ok guys..

you have a nudibranch on the seafan..

 

[alexkharden]

nudi on the seafan is bad I assume? At least for the seafan. The nudi would probably die after the seafan was gone.

 

[liverock]

Bad is relative...more like how cool is it....you will find everything eats everything else in the ocean....key is having and enjoying that...you are a learning grasshopper on your first saltwater tank....

 

[alexkharden]

Bad is relative...more like how cool is it....you will find everything eats everything else in the ocean....key is having and enjoying that...you are a learning grasshopper on your first saltwater tank....

Lol, and loving every minute!

I just did my aquascaping everyone, check it out and give me any critiques!

It's still very cloudy because I just got done, but I'm running everything through a filter sock stuffed with filter floss, so I'm hoping it'll clear quickly. I couldn't even use all the rock, I had to put about 8-9 pieces in the sump. It's a LOT less dense than I was given to believe Florida rock was and, now that I had a chance to look more closely at it, there are so many great shapes and structures. I'm more impressed with this rock than every, it really is awesome!

 

[Devaji108]

Nice!
wow 3 fish tho..I asume this t is the 2.1 rock form TBS?
what size of tank is that?

good luck