vlangel
Premium Member
Yes, up and running, woohoo!
I posted pics of my new fish in QT, now its your turn.
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Yes, up and running, woohoo!
I posted pics of my new fish in QT, now its your turn.
OK, my turn. The new damsels are still pretty twitchy, so I wasn't able to get good pics. Whenever I get close to the tank, they hide. But here's a few to give you an idea what they look like. I look forward to getting much better pics in the future.
This one shows the three damsels I have in QT at the moment. Top fish is the Springer's, middle is the Tuxedo and bottom is the Neon. So far, they all get along swimmingly, so to speak.
I may have to name this guy Hulk. Despite his bigger size, he's been pretty mild-mannered.
Note that he is more long than a 3 or 4 Stripe Humbug, which are more disc shaped.
Unfortunately, the best shot I got of the Neon. He's still pretty nervous, so he never stops moving. Hopefully, you can get an idea how pretty he is.
The two new guys.
This one shows the three damsels I have in QT at the moment. Top fish is the Springer's, middle is the Tuxedo and bottom is the Neon. So far, they all get along swimmingly, so to speak.
I may have to name this guy Hulk. Despite his bigger size, he's been pretty mild-mannered.
Note that he is more long than a 3 or 4 Stripe Humbug, which are more disc shaped.
Unfortunately, the best shot I got of the Neon. He's still pretty nervous, so he never stops moving. Hopefully, you can get an idea how pretty he is.
The two new guys.
Thanks Kevin! What a cool thing to say!
It would be great to inspire others to give these gentle damsels a shot.
I also hope to show how important order of introduction is, for building a peaceful fish community. And finally, I want to justify every addition to the ecosystem, whether fish, plant or invertebrate. Everyone added has to contribute to the success of the ecosystem.
It would be great to inspire others to give these gentle damsels a shot.
I also hope to show how important order of introduction is, for building a peaceful fish community. And finally, I want to justify every addition to the ecosystem, whether fish, plant or invertebrate. Everyone added has to contribute to the success of the ecosystem.
vlangel
Premium Member
Your last sentence is amazing...if only we humans would all contribute to our community and world!
Thanks Dawn! So true. Our planet is an incredibly rare jewel of the universe. If humanity made the effort to live in harmony with nature, Earth would be in much better shape. Don't get me started!
lapin
New member
Sounds like a good plan.
Send some cool weather my way. I'm getting a little tired of the 90's along with 100% humidity. Makes for wet water bottles even if they are not chilled.
I wondered if you'd catch that! Yes, it's a Yellow Priolepis Goby, I think. Live Aquaria sent it to me, mixed in with some barnacle blennies.
Yes! I am determined to get something done this weekend on the system changes, so I can get this pool party started!
Yes! I am determined to get something done this weekend on the system changes, so I can get this pool party started!
Hey lapin! Isn't it great when you stumble onto an elegant solution? It's really fortunate the way it solves my crowded space problem. Stoked!
We're seeing some cooler temps around here the last few days. We had the windows open overnight and this morning it was 59 degrees in my house! I had to turn on the heat!
We're seeing some cooler temps around here the last few days. We had the windows open overnight and this morning it was 59 degrees in my house! I had to turn on the heat!
It's fine. It's a little less welcome, as it came INSTEAD of a barnacle blenny. It doesn't bother anybody and nobody bothers it. I'm not sure if he will go in the display or not.
One of the biggest differences between my previous tank and this one is my departure from the Caribbean. I am no longer modeling a Caribbean lagoon, so this will not be a Caribbean biotope. I am going to model a seagrass and macro algae lagoon, but not specifically to a specific region.
The Caribbean biotope was a fantastic experience. It taught me a lot. I consider the Caribbean my 'home' sea. Since all the plants I kept came from the Caribbean, it was an easy decision to go biotope.
As the tank developed, I became more interested in optimizing various levels of the ecosystem, to aide in its function. Some of the players I wanted were not Caribbean. I was forced to make a choice. I decided to free myself from biotope restrictions in this iteration.
Now I have the option of keeping whatever players I need, to work in the ecosystem in my aquarium. The overall look will be pretty similar, with some subtle differences. Looking forward to it!
The Caribbean biotope was a fantastic experience. It taught me a lot. I consider the Caribbean my 'home' sea. Since all the plants I kept came from the Caribbean, it was an easy decision to go biotope.
As the tank developed, I became more interested in optimizing various levels of the ecosystem, to aide in its function. Some of the players I wanted were not Caribbean. I was forced to make a choice. I decided to free myself from biotope restrictions in this iteration.
Now I have the option of keeping whatever players I need, to work in the ecosystem in my aquarium. The overall look will be pretty similar, with some subtle differences. Looking forward to it!
I took some more pics of the Neon Damsel. These are a little better. The color of this fish is astounding! I'm really looking forward to getting more of these!
vlangel
Premium Member
I totally understand your going away from a Caribbean biotope. I used to think that I wanted to make the seahorse display a Caribbean biotope. One can only deal with so many limitations however. We need to decide what we want and put it in a priority list.
In your case seagrasses and an ecosystem to support that is priority. Its very logical if you need to go outside a Caribbean biotope to get the best fit to support your numbet 1 priority.
In my case the seahorses' health is priority. Like you if I want other creatures but they aren't compatible with seahorses in an aquarium then I have to choose creatures from where ever that are.
BTW, I love the new pics of the neon damsel. Is there an irredescent quality to that vibrant blue color? A school of those would definitely be eye catching!
You nailed it Dawn. I realized my priorities for the ecosystem outweighed my desire to stay biotope-correct. If I lived in the Florida Keys, I could collect everything I need. Living in Colorado means my choices are limited to whats available in the biz. When I need a new critter or plant, I want my choice to be optimal for the ecosystem - no matter where it comes from.
Glad you like the new pics. Iridescent describes them well. Of the ones I've tried, this is the one I'm most excited about. A school of them should be pretty sweet!
Glad you like the new pics. Iridescent describes them well. Of the ones I've tried, this is the one I'm most excited about. A school of them should be pretty sweet!
Today I got started on the new fake wall, for the left side, flow-through wall.
After taking lots of measurements and sketching it out, I constructed the egg crate framework. I used zip ties to hold it together. The challenge is to accommodate the wave box, as well as the flow-through vents in the wall. Since the wave box extends five inches from the wall, I built a box structure five inches deep for both the box and the vents.
I'm still thinking on how the best way to allow water to flow through, while keeping openings hidden. Another thing I have to figure out is that I may need to put some kind of backing on some of the egg crate, to prevent foam from filling in behind it. With the back fake wall, the egg crate structure was flat. I just laid it on wax paper. With this new wall, the egg crate forms a three dimensional structure, so there's nothing behind a lot of it. Some kind of thin, plastic sheets or something similar should work. It would be easier to just fill it all in with foam, but that would add a lot of buoyancy. I want to make the foam a thin skin over the framework, making it much less so.
I'll post some pics tomorrow.
After taking lots of measurements and sketching it out, I constructed the egg crate framework. I used zip ties to hold it together. The challenge is to accommodate the wave box, as well as the flow-through vents in the wall. Since the wave box extends five inches from the wall, I built a box structure five inches deep for both the box and the vents.
I'm still thinking on how the best way to allow water to flow through, while keeping openings hidden. Another thing I have to figure out is that I may need to put some kind of backing on some of the egg crate, to prevent foam from filling in behind it. With the back fake wall, the egg crate structure was flat. I just laid it on wax paper. With this new wall, the egg crate forms a three dimensional structure, so there's nothing behind a lot of it. Some kind of thin, plastic sheets or something similar should work. It would be easier to just fill it all in with foam, but that would add a lot of buoyancy. I want to make the foam a thin skin over the framework, making it much less so.
I'll post some pics tomorrow.
sam.basye
New member
Just put a piece of trash bag and hold it in place behind the eggcrate while foaming and pull it away when done. For whatever reason the foam doesn't really dry to the trash bag. Or you could just foam away without a backing and Dremel it off the back side after it dries really easily with a cut-off wheel.
Thank you sam.basye! Those are both good suggestions. It's nice to hear from you again! How ya been?
sam.basye
New member
Eh, you know. Busy putting LED's in everything. Haha
Mainly just been a silent lurker these days. Still follow your nerdy nonsense, but that's about it.
To add to the damsel content, I have an azure damsel that's a really pretty blue and yellow that's peaceful and active.
old pic, but pretty fish out in the open.
Mainly just been a silent lurker these days. Still follow your nerdy nonsense, but that's about it.
To add to the damsel content, I have an azure damsel that's a really pretty blue and yellow that's peaceful and active.
