Wow, those are pretty! I love the fairies and flashers. Nice to get a quick vid in there too! Will one of the Lady Leopards turn male?
Zach's 120 Gallon Reef Resurgence
- Thread starter zachxlutz
- Start date
zachxlutz
New member
Thanks Michael. They definitely caught my eye at the local shop and I had to come home with them. I've been eyeing wrasses every time I look at fish online and these ones looked healthy and fat so they seemed like a good fit.
It's my understanding that the leopards are hermaphroditic and the most dominant in the group will transition to male. I have really enjoyed watching the progression of the "top dog" Bartlett's Anthias from female to male. I'm hoping to have the same experience with these Leopard Wrasses.
You're coming up on the end of your hypo treatment... I bet you can't hardly wait to get your tank back to its former glory.
Very cool! I like your taste in corals AND fish. Having a fish change in your tank is awesome, isn't it? I was just looking through old pics of my atlantic blue tang, Zippy, going from yellow to blue.
Yes, one more day of hypo!
Plus, I flipped the switch and put the cross country skis away. Heading to Moab this weekend!
Yes, one more day of hypo!
Plus, I flipped the switch and put the cross country skis away. Heading to Moab this weekend!
zachxlutz
New member
I do enjoy watching them change and adapt to their new environment.
Enjoy Moab! I'm jealous. I have fond memories of jeeping around in Moab with my Dad a couple of years back. I'd love to get out there to ride mountain bikes sometime.
I just took a look at what the leopard wrasse changes into-beautiful!
Moab is a great place. I really prefer the riding in Fruita, but the camping and scenery in Moab is hard to beat. Spring and fall are the times to go. Summer is too hot!
Moab is a great place. I really prefer the riding in Fruita, but the camping and scenery in Moab is hard to beat. Spring and fall are the times to go. Summer is too hot!
zachxlutz
New member
I just took a look at what the leopard wrasse changes into-beautiful!
Moab is a great place. I really prefer the riding in Fruita, but the camping and scenery in Moab is hard to beat. Spring and fall are the times to go. Summer is too hot!
You've inspired me to dig up the pictures from when we were in Moab. It's just incredible out there. We have some neat views up in the north Georgia mountains but it pales in comparison to the breathtaking scenery out there.
Nice spree! Enjoy the new stuff! I'm curious how you like the Pikstik. Being able to putz with the tank without taking off my shirt, would be nice. I look forward to an update once you've had time to play with stuff!
Oh yes, North Georgia is nice! Great fall colors and great riding too.
Oh yes, North Georgia is nice! Great fall colors and great riding too.
zachxlutz
New member
I just placed an order with Tidal Gardens during their YouTube live sale. Well, I missed it live, I was out riding my mountain bike, but once I got home and saw that many of the corals I would have ordered during the live portion were still available, I went ahead and got my order in before they took down the corals from the site. I had a gift card from Christmas, so I kind of went berserk...
Can't wait for these to show up! 2 acros, 6 montis, 4 chalices... This is really going to help fill out some bare spots in the tank.
- Purple Bonsai acropora
- Frogskin acropora
- Pink Sand Dollar montipora
- Strawberry Patch montipora
- Sunset montipora
- Neon Green montipora
- Superman montipora
- Purple Haze montipora
- Pink Floyd chalice
- Red Stripe chalice
- Hollywood Stunner chalice
- Hill Have Eyes chalice
Can't wait for these to show up! 2 acros, 6 montis, 4 chalices... This is really going to help fill out some bare spots in the tank.
zachxlutz
New member
The Pikstik has been great so far. I'll let you know after I place all my new corals that should be showing up this week with it.
zachxlutz
New member
Ho-lee mo-lee. That was stressful... My order from Tidal Gardens showed up this morning, so I spent my lunch break (plus some) acclimating, dipping and putting the coral in the tank.
A couple of notable things.
Left to Right
Left to Right
I hope the CoralRX dip and the Bayer dip handled the AEFWs. I'm very stressed about this. What should my next steps be? I'm thinking I'll remove all the frags from the frag plugs tonight and reglue them all to new frag plugs to observe for a while before placing the corals in the rockwork? I realize I probably should have just done this before placing them in the tank.
Ugh. I really hope I didn't introduce any pests into the tank.
A couple of notable things.
- Looks like I got a couple of AEFW (acropora eating flatworms, Amakusaplana acroporae) to detach in the CoralRX dip.
- Spotted an aiptasia on the bottom of one of the chalice frag plugs. - broke the end of that frag plug off.
- I didn't remove any of the corals from their plugs (my usual process) as I was already at a high stress level from receiving that many frags at once.
Left to Right
- Pink Sand Dollar Monti
- Frogskin Acro
- Neon Green Monti
- Strawberry Patch Monti
- Purple Haze Monti
- Purple Bonsai Acro
- Sunset Monti
- Superman Monti
Left to Right
- Red Stripe Chalice
- Hills Have Eyes Chalice
- Pink Floyd Chalice
- Hollywood Stunner Chalice
I hope the CoralRX dip and the Bayer dip handled the AEFWs. I'm very stressed about this. What should my next steps be? I'm thinking I'll remove all the frags from the frag plugs tonight and reglue them all to new frag plugs to observe for a while before placing the corals in the rockwork? I realize I probably should have just done this before placing them in the tank.
Ugh. I really hope I didn't introduce any pests into the tank.
That is a stressful scenario. I remember acclimating eight fish at once-very high pressure! I hope you get through pest-free. Sometimes I make myself a list of procedures beforehand, so I don't forget any of my options, in the heat of it.
With all the frags you have now, you could be done! Let those babies have room to grow!
With all the frags you have now, you could be done! Let those babies have room to grow!
zachxlutz
New member
I kept adding frags to the order to make the minimum for shipping and lo and behold it was 12 frags to make it. Next time I order frags online I'm going to limit myself to 6 total. 12 was a monumental undertaking and just too much work for a weekday lunch break. I should have taken a nooner today and dealt with it differently, but, you live and you learn.
I did have a list... on that list was remove the frags from the plugs. When I started pulling the frags out of the shipping containers I noticed some great encrusting on some of them and just didn't want to start hacking them up right after I got them. ugh.
Hopefully this all turns out ok and I can sleep easy. We'll see.
zachxlutz
New member
It's great! It puts out a ton of PAR (1800+ below leds, 600+ maybe 12" down) and has a great spectrum for macro growth.
zachxlutz
New member
Last night, I mounted the Chalice frags on small pieces of live rock rubble so that I can move them around a bit once I see how far the sweepers extend. I placed them all on the lower part of the left island. I'll post a picture or two this evening. I still need to mount up the acros and montis but I ran out of time last night.
I'll be dosing Vibrant again tonight, I skipped last week and I'm moving to a bi-weekly dosing schedule rather than weekly. I didn't get any significant rise in Nitrates or Algae growth by skipping a week so I'm hoping this new dosing schedule will help even out the NO3 swings and reduce my dependence on KNO3.
Since picking up the Hannah ULR Phosphorus checker I've noticed that my PO4 levels are dangerously close to 0. I'm seeing very lower numbers than I'd like. .012 ppm last week and .003 ppm last night. To battle this I'm going to increase my feedings a bit more. I'm hoping that once I bring the three new wrasses over to the tank it'll help bring the nutrients up a little more.
I'm dealing with a bit of STN on the montipora Setosa, although it's showing decent color and growth otherwise. I may end up having to frag it to save it. Hoping to increase the phosphates some and see the recession/bleaching stop.
I'll be dosing Vibrant again tonight, I skipped last week and I'm moving to a bi-weekly dosing schedule rather than weekly. I didn't get any significant rise in Nitrates or Algae growth by skipping a week so I'm hoping this new dosing schedule will help even out the NO3 swings and reduce my dependence on KNO3.
Since picking up the Hannah ULR Phosphorus checker I've noticed that my PO4 levels are dangerously close to 0. I'm seeing very lower numbers than I'd like. .012 ppm last week and .003 ppm last night. To battle this I'm going to increase my feedings a bit more. I'm hoping that once I bring the three new wrasses over to the tank it'll help bring the nutrients up a little more.
I'm dealing with a bit of STN on the montipora Setosa, although it's showing decent color and growth otherwise. I may end up having to frag it to save it. Hoping to increase the phosphates some and see the recession/bleaching stop.
Adding more fish food should help with phosphate. I think it's the best way, actually!
I look forward to pics!
I look forward to pics!
zachxlutz
New member
Maybe I'll just dump a whole container of Hikari Marine S in and watch the feeding frenzy occur! Or... Maybe, I'll take my time and increase the feeding load little by little and take my time, like a responsible reefer.
I'm so glad to see that your tank is coming back into it's own. Excited to see photos of the system now that it's back to proper salinity and the macros are growing in.
Sounds like a deal. You post pics and I will too! I better go clean the glass…
zachxlutz
New member
it's a deal.
