Weeds

[Michael Hoaster]

The new guys. With just the addition of two, small fish, the dynamics of the tank social fabric have changed massively.

Note the mangrove pod on the left. There is growth in the growth tip.

All of these Botriocladia, or red grapes plants grew out of the live rock.

 

[Chasmodes]

Excellent pics. I bet it's fun to search for micro life in there too with your magnifying glass.

BTW, it's cool doing the "eye spy" thing looking for the barnacle blennies

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin! I do have fun with the magnifying glass! Lots to see.

Lately, I'm looking at the growth tip on one of the mangrove pods. After virtually no change for months, I'm seeing changes daily now. It looks like it's getting a new leaf or two. Also, some Petticoat Algae is starting to climb the 'trunk'.

Another thing I'm looking at with interest is the new emerald crab. I'm trying to decide if his actions are helping or hurting the system overall. I'm not happy with some of the destruction he's caused. He's eaten one small clump of bubble algae, so far, which is what I wanted him for. He needs to ramp up his bubble algae destruction to tip the balance in his favor, or I may remove him. The overall system is more important than any one member.

I'm seeing a few remnants of the feather caulerpa I removed last weekend. It's not bad. I should be able to wipe it out.

The maiden's hair (or turtle weed) clump I got a few weeks ago died back mysteriously. Fortunately, some survived, as well as a few other hitchhiker plants I've yet to ID. I really want this plant to spread all over the back wall.

I've had a ton of tank watching lately. I had a tooth extracted, so I've been sore and parked on the couch everyday. I've really enjoyed watching how the new fish have affected the dynamics of the tank. The tuxedo damsels kind of go their own way, but interact with each other frequently. The two new ones are bigger than Papillon, which probably helped introduction. Now I'm trying to discern sexes. At this early juncture I'm guessing that Papillon and the smaller of the two new ones are female, and the largest one male, but I could be wrong. Probably too early to tell, but it's fun trying.

The two neon damsels are adapting well to the new guys. They've upped their game a bit to match the new guys' energy. I ordered some new ones from Live Aquaria, but they back ordered them, unfortunately. My hope is to get five more, to bring their number to seven. Then I may try to add two more tuxedos, for a total of five. And that will likely do it for damsels.

Next, I'm trying to figure out if a dwarf angel or two would work in my ecosystem-in-a-box. The Herald's Angels look promising. I just want to avoid getting fish that gradually wipe out my macros, or destroy some other resident that's beneficial to the system.

Next, I'm seriously considering tank-bred Fridmani Basslets. I'm thinking a harem of four. These would take the place of the Royal Gramma harem I had in v1. They have nearly identical preferences for vertical topography, and should enjoy the fake wall and it's caves.

Well, I kind of rambled on there. It helps me keep up with stuff. I hope everyone is having a nice summer!

 

[vlangel]

I had lots of catching up to do, Michael. I love the view of your tank from the side glass with all the macros and especially the red grape that grew out of the live rock.

The mangrove pod sprouting is very cool. I did not know that they could sprout leaves under water. I have always wanted to do a mangrove so it will be fun to watch yours progress.

The tuxedo damsels are great additions. Are the mollies still in the tank? I know Kevin was able to find barnacle blennies in your pics but I could not find them. LOL

Nice job Michael.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn, for the kind words!

That side view is fun.

The mangrove was sort of spur-of-the-moment, sort of back-of-my mind-I-wanted-to-try-one. After a quick read, it seemed better to get the pod in the dirt, than keep the growth tip emergent, with a floating setup. I wanted a situation that I enjoyed looking at, and hopefully, would grow a mangrove. I don't know if it will work. We'll see.

I'm loving the tuxedo damsels! They're kind of calm and stoic. Their coloring is so graphic, they're hypnotic to watch.

There's one molly left, living in the "Shallows" overflow refugium. It's one of the last babies, and is around an inch long now.

Look for the blennies in that last pic of the red grapes.

 

[vlangel]

My tablet died so I am looking on an older smart phone screen, which is smaller than the new screens. I think I see barnacle blennies in the lower left and the upper right? My pair are still doing great too. They are awesome little fish, so much personality packed in such a small package!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Yep, you found 'em! I'm glad to hear your barnacle blennies are doing well. They're such cool little fish!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Mister Crabs appears to have died not long after molting. Before you conclude I have mistaken the discarded carapace for a dead crab, I'll point out that I can see both the carapace AND the dead crab. I saw him alive, right after molting, then dead the next day. I know that they are vulnerable when molting, but I can't imagine what could kill him in my aquarium. I guess this answers my question of whether to keep him or not. It does not help in the bubble algae department. I had hopes he'd take care of it, after finding one small bunch of bubbles eaten. But he was rather destructive, for such a small crab. So I was leaning towards giving him a little more time to get after the bubbles, then removing him. Rest in peace, Mister Crabs.

I guess I'll have to manually remove the bubble algae. I've done it once before. I remove one live rock at a time and take a brush to them in a bucket to try to remove all bits of it. It'll be stressful to the other life on the rocks, but if I'm carful, not deadly. I just hate moving them.

The mangrove with new growth has two leaves forming. It's so strange to see it change so rapidly, after months of nothing.

Speaking of growth rate, I've been doing some more research on Manatee Grass. It seems they have a distinct growing season in Spring. That corresponds with my experience. That was when mine were multiplying like crazy. So now, after losing many of them, the plants that I have left are growing, very sloooooowly. So I won't expect too much growth over the winter. It's not great news, but it's good to know. It'll save me the effort to 'figure them out', so I can just focus on something else, until springtime - like green macro algae.

I was surfin' my sites the other day and found some more Maiden's Hair (or Turtle Weed) for sale, at Reef Cleaners. I've had dismal luck with macros from them, but I'm taking another shot. I'd really like to get it to take off in my tank. Ideally, I'd get 3/4 of the fake wall covered. That would be sweet.

 

[vlangel]

Do you still have your sargassum? I did not notice it in the recent pics but I was looking for blennies so could have missed it.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes, I still have the sargassum. It was easy to miss, as the Petticoat algae overran it. I pruned it back a bit, to give the sargassum more light. There are actually two of them growing from the rocks, in different places. I'm hoping they'll grow taller at some point. I think that since they're at the dim end of the tank, it's going to take some time. I'm definitely keeping an eye on them. The larger one put out some spikey-looking things recently, so I have hope something is afoot!

Well, the reef cleaners order was a mixed bag at best. Again, they sent plants that were not what I expected. Chlorodesmis is what they called it. What I got was a wirey moss-like macro, that does not move in the current, like Chlorodesmis does. But it looks OK enough to keep. I'm actually more interested in a hitchhiker plant it came with - Neomeris Annulata, I think. This one looks like a cross between Codium and Maiden's hair. It grows like a turf, but is thicker and spongey, like codium. I've placed a few clumps of it around the back wall.

Good to hear from you, Dawn. It's been pretty quiet on your end lately. You got something cookin' over there?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

The Seagrass Sandbar and Patch Reef are plodding along. While the reds keep growing, I'm turning focus to greens. The Fern caulerpa is gaining momentum and spreading about. The new moss macro is on the back wall and the barnacles. I've planted a few bunches of Neomeris, mostly on the back wall. The real Chlorodesmis plant is recovering and putting out new blades. A few strategically placed Ulvas fill in the gaps in the Manatee Grass.

Patch reef. Between the few reds I bought and the ones growing from the rock, I don't need anymore reds. I just need them to grow in a bit more.

First Mangrove leaves forming.

I did a little macro export today. I left the stuff on the sand bed alone though. I'm going to try letting it go for a while to see if it would be a good pod haven. I'm still trying to improve the conditions that will favor diversity of the lower food chain residents.

 

[vlangel]

I have been quiet because I am still trying to catch up from travelling. The yard and flowerbeds needed some serious attention. I am not really making any sort of changes to the tanks at this time, just maintaining them.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Right on, Dawn, happy gardening!

Today I received the second half of my order from Florida Pets - another half dozen micro serpent stars. They threw in a rhizome of Manatee Grass with five shoots on it. I divided it up so I could spread it around the sand bed a bit. I turned off the lights before adding the micro stars. Otherwise they'd be devoured before they touched the sand. It's kinda fun watching them 'parachute' in. I'm hoping to get a proper breeding population of them going.

By leaving my sand bed messy, I'm giving the bottom dwellers more habitat space. If I really let it go, I may even be able to keep mysids! They are seagrass dwellers in Nature. I've just doubted I could keep them alive long in my tank full of hungry damsels. I tried adding them once, in v1. They lasted less than a week. I think the key is to provide enough structural refuge, like you'd see in a natural seagrass bed. So now it's dirty AND messy. It will be interesting to see how far I can stand it. I can sense my goalposts of aesthetics/naturallity are going to move again.

After going on about the Manatee Grass' growing season being in the Spring, I noticed today that the ones I have left have grown taller. Slow and steady is progress. I'll take that.

I really want to get the back wall covered in greens. I've just about got everything I want. Now I want coverage. I still hope to get the Chlorodesmis to take off, but I want it to grow back more before I try transplanting it. It seems sensitive to being handled. So far, the fern caulerpa is leading the race to grow. I think it will look nice when it fills in some. I love the mexicana leaves. They contrast with the thin seagrass leaves nicely. I have no idea how the Neomeris will do in my tank. I just got a few hitchhiker frags of them. I'd love for these to take off as well. It's a cool plant. Nature's shag carpeting.

It's nice to have a plan to fall back on. It's really helped me avoid making spur of the moment choices. I can close my eyes and see a vision of how I want the tank to look. I'm not there yet but I'm headed that way!

 

[Hadla]

Still loving this tank! Which is the sargassum?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Hadla!

You can't really see the sargassum on the pics on this page. On page 41, post 1015, pic #3, you can see the golden brown leaves between the base of the two green mangrove pods. And that's not a really good look at it. Hopefully, it will grow taller, and I can get a decent shot of it.

 

[Hadla]

Ok thanks! I’m trying to find the best weed like macros for my tanks... that are easily obtainable in California ��

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Sargassum weed is rather difficult to keep alive in aquariums, for some reason. They need a ton of light, since they normally float at the surface of the sea.

My best weed-like macro recommendation for a Cali-resident is Ulva and Grasilaria. Ulva responds very quickly to nutrient spikes and grows very fast. Grasilaria doesn't need as much light or nutrients, so it can hang on through lean times of low nutrients.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[vlangel]

Right on, Dawn, happy gardening!

Today I received the second half of my order from Florida Pets - another half dozen micro serpent stars. They threw in a rhizome of Manatee Grass with five shoots on it. I divided it up so I could spread it around the sand bed a bit. I turned off the lights before adding the micro stars. Otherwise they'd be devoured before they touched the sand. It's kinda fun watching them 'parachute' in. I'm hoping to get a proper breeding population of them going.

By leaving my sand bed messy, I'm giving the bottom dwellers more habitat space. If I really let it go, I may even be able to keep mysids! They are seagrass dwellers in Nature. I've just doubted I could keep them alive long in my tank full of hungry damsels. I tried adding them once, in v1. They lasted less than a week. I think the key is to provide enough structural refuge, like you'd see in a natural seagrass bed. So now it's dirty AND messy. It will be interesting to see how far I can stand it. I can sense my goalposts of aesthetics/naturallity are going to move again.

After going on about the Manatee Grass' growing season being in the Spring, I noticed today that the ones I have left have grown taller. Slow and steady is progress. I'll take that.

I really want to get the back wall covered in greens. I've just about got everything I want. Now I want coverage. I still hope to get the Chlorodesmis to take off, but I want it to grow back more before I try transplanting it. It seems sensitive to being handled. So far, the fern caulerpa is leading the race to grow. I think it will look nice when it fills in some. I love the mexicana leaves. They contrast with the thin seagrass leaves nicely. I have no idea how the Neomeris will do in my tank. I just got a few hitchhiker frags of them. I'd love for these to take off as well. It's a cool plant. Nature's shag carpeting.

It's nice to have a plan to fall back on. It's really helped me avoid making spur of the moment choices. I can close my eyes and see a vision of how I want the tank to look. I'm not there yet but I'm headed that way!

I love the vision you have for this tank and I can picture it in my head. You certainly get kudos for patience and persistence with this version! I would really struggle to wait for each stage to fully develope before moving ahead.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Quarantine Start Date Aug. 28 for Allen's Damselfish.

I received my back ordered damselfish today, from Live Aquaria. Acclimation was a little frantic, as they told me the fish would be in water at 1.021 salinity, and they came at 1.016. So I had to quickly adjust salinity in three QTs.

Each QT got Stress Coat and General Cure to start with. Once they've settled in I'll start lowering salinity to hypo levels. I also have metroplex on-hand, if I see any signs of uronema. I may go ahead and start it prophylactically, since once the tell-tale signs are there, it's too late.

It seems strange treating damsels like some frail, delicate butterflyfish or something, but here we are. The Allen's Damsels are not great shippers, so it's seems a good idea to go the extra mile. I'm really trying hard to get my act together on the QT front.

Time will tell!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn!

Really most of my patience is just the result of stuff not being available. Having the plan keeps me from improvising or taking shortcuts. It gives me a big picture view for the tank, and any new purchase or change must fit into the master plan. Otherwise it'd be a free-for-all!