Zibba's Reefs
- Thread starter zibba
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zibba
New member
Thanks Elliott! Really looking forward to finalizing the stand. Once that's done, you'll have to swing over to check things out.
Thanks for the compliment! We really enjoy the both -- the tank gets a ton of attention in our house.
Basically we take those cheap plastic hand-held mirrors (I think we picked them up at Walgreens for $10 each), tie fishing line to them and hang them from the top edge of the tank so that the mirrors face into the tank. We usually do 3-4 mirrors on one section of the tank and place them all really close to each other. The fish sees it's reflection and starts flashing at itself, which preoccupies it while the new fish settles in. We usually leave the mirrors up for 4-5 days.
That trick worked really well for 3 tang additions and a fairy wrasse addition.
Hope that helps!
Amazing transformation.
I too love convict tangs, but they can be finicky to acclimate to aquaria life. Often never really establish in the aquarium. Congrats to you.
I'm a wrasse guy too, thanks to hunters pics, and a few others. I love my lil 8 lime female, and my other rarer wrasses as well
I too love convict tangs, but they can be finicky to acclimate to aquaria life. Often never really establish in the aquarium. Congrats to you.
I'm a wrasse guy too, thanks to hunters pics, and a few others. I love my lil 8 lime female, and my other rarer wrasses as well
zibba
New member
You're absolutely right: the convicts can be tricky. We lost two and tried one more time with this pair. Thankfully they seemed to have settled in. They pick ALL DAY long so I'm sure having a bigger tank for them to graze around helps. They're a blast to watch and a lot of reef-friends comment on them when they come over even though they're probably the most common fish we own. They're interesting and it's fun to watch them cruise around together.
Hunter is a bad influence! But an incredible resource and I'm thankful for him as a friend. We've had a fairly bad run with wrasses lately (lost a male pintail, female lunatus and two jeweled leopards in QT) but I recently added a male Katherine's, a female pintail (cf. lanceolatus) and a female lunatus. Those three seem to be doing really well.
I'm next planning to stock some anthias, maybe some pyramid butterflies and a masked Japanese angel. I've asked a vendor to keep an eye out for a male red tail tamarine (psych head) and a few female to go with it though, so if those come in, they'll take precedent.
sde1500
Active member
Love the pictures, the tank looks fantastic and some amazing growth and coloration. This one above is crazy, the picture almost makes me go cross eyed haha.
zibba
New member
Beautiful tank. Can you post a shot with the stand and lights and all? Thanks
Thank you very much for the compliment. Honestly, I've tried several times to get a good picture of both the newly built stand and tank and they just don't turn out. I only have a 50mm and 105mm lens right now for my camera and they don't allow me to get all of it in the frame.
I'll try to work some magic with the cell phone but those pictures never seem to do the tank justice.
Thank you!
For the last 4-6 months, I've really struggled with the corals. Alk swings, AFEWs, and travel have all taken their toll. It's been a constant battle but I'm trying to stay patient and have been content enjoying the fish.
This male rhomboid wrasse is still a favorite:
Rhomboid Fairy Wrasse by E Z, on Flickr
Rhomboid Fairy Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrThe powder blue tang occassionally shows signs of ich (some cycles are worse than others) but it seems to be doing really well otherwise. It's well settled now and gets along pretty well, even with the convicts, which was my main concern.
Powder Blue Tang by E Z, on FlickrThis is the first photo I've gotten of the female/juvi pintail wrasse we added awhile ago. It's currently in the smaller tank and we're planning to move it to the bigger tank if/when it shows signs of making a transition to male.
Pintail Fairy Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrSimilar looking fish right now, but this is a female lunatus wrasse. She's pretty reclusive but not because other fish bother her. I think she just prefers cruising the rocks vs. swimming out in the open. Can't wait for this one to turn male...
Lunatus Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrBlondie, the naso, is doing great. Leader of the tangs for sure:
Blonde Naso by E Z, on FlickrAnother submale wrasse, this is an 8-line fairy wrasse. Has doubled in size both length and girth...fat little pork-chop:
Eightline Flasher Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrThe background was distracting in this picture so I got a little artsy-fartsy with it:
Lyretail male by E Z, on FlickrVery excited about this wrasse: Katoi Fairy Wrasse. Haven't been able to get a good picture of it yet. Will continue trying though.
Katoi Wrasse by E Z, on Flickr
zibba
New member
This guy is the old guard -- one of the first fish we got. He's doing really well even if he's a "window-licker" -- literally cruises up and down the glass all day long.
Melanarus Wrasse by E Z, on Flickr
The Katherine's Fairy Wrasse has been much more reclusive since adding the Katoi. I've seen it give some chase but this fish is still pretty active in the tank:
Katherine's Fairy Wrasse by E Z, on Flickr
Bryopsis has continued to be a pain and I manage it with manual removal. I've gone the Tech M route before but I'm hesitant (on my previous tank and it messed with my Alk/Ca levels for a long time and caused some corals to go down hill and -- worse -- the algae just came back a few months later) since I've had so many other recent issues with alk and coral health. But I though these pictures were cool despite the algae:
Crab by E Z, on Flickr
Fat LMB by E Z, on Flickr
Snapped a picture of the tiger tail cucumber -- actually, it split at some point and now I have a second creeping around in the rock:
Tiger tail cucumber by E Z, on Flickr
Currently, I'm most excited about these two fish in QT:
Psych head in QT by E Z, on Flickr
Red Tail in QT by E Z, on Flickr
I ordered a trio but the smallest female died on day 2. Major bummer but the fact that these two survived shipping, made it through one round of prazi and have been eating well, I'm stoked. I had been wanting a male psychhead for a long time. Fingers are crossed!
Melanarus Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrThe Katherine's Fairy Wrasse has been much more reclusive since adding the Katoi. I've seen it give some chase but this fish is still pretty active in the tank:
Katherine's Fairy Wrasse by E Z, on FlickrBryopsis has continued to be a pain and I manage it with manual removal. I've gone the Tech M route before but I'm hesitant (on my previous tank and it messed with my Alk/Ca levels for a long time and caused some corals to go down hill and -- worse -- the algae just came back a few months later) since I've had so many other recent issues with alk and coral health. But I though these pictures were cool despite the algae:
Crab by E Z, on FlickrFat LMB by E Z, on FlickrSnapped a picture of the tiger tail cucumber -- actually, it split at some point and now I have a second creeping around in the rock:
Tiger tail cucumber by E Z, on FlickrCurrently, I'm most excited about these two fish in QT:
Psych head in QT by E Z, on FlickrRed Tail in QT by E Z, on FlickrI ordered a trio but the smallest female died on day 2. Major bummer but the fact that these two survived shipping, made it through one round of prazi and have been eating well, I'm stoked. I had been wanting a male psychhead for a long time. Fingers are crossed!
zibba
New member
Well I've finally come to the conclusion that I need to take the appropriate steps to kick these AEFWs out for good. Thankfully I have a ton of support from members of our local club, some of whom have offered to house/back-up corals, others who have been great sounding boards for coming up with a solid plan, and others who have given me much needed words of encouragement.
After clearing out as much room in the off-line frag tank as possible, I'm going to start cutting the acros off the rockwork and moving a select group of corals over to it. Other, more prized acros, have or will be going to friends for backup and others will be going to a friend who has an 8'x2'x1' frag tank ready to QT corals. Finally, there are a good number of acros that are ubiquitous here in Phoenix, or at least among my closer friends, that I'll just toss what's in my tank and replace later (we've got a great network of local hobbyists!).
Next, I'm planning to use a combination of Kalk paste and AquaMend epoxy puddy to kill off the encrusted portions of the acros. That's going to be a big job and I'll have to take it slow with adding epoxy so I don't freak out the system too much. Similarly, I'll also have to monitor the parameters closely because of die off and the decrease in uptake of Alk/Cal/Mg/etc.
The acros that will be going into the off-line frag tank will get dipped in Bayer every 5-days for at least a 40-day period. After 40-days, I'm planning to reassess how the acros in the frag tank are responding (looking for signs of bite marks, visually inspecting dip-water, observing polyp extension and color, etc.) and I'll decide then whether dips will continue. I'm not kidding myself: I'm sure I'll lose a huge number of acros during this ordeal but I keep telling myself that their chance of survival is currently very low and--most importantly--their chance of thriving is 0%. Once I'm certain all of the acros in the main display are dead, I'll wait 60-day or so before adding acros back into the display.
So with all that said, I figured I'd take a final FTS. It may be several years before I'm back to this stage but I'm hoping this tank will be standing and thriving years beyond that so I'm telling myself that it's all worth it. Admittedly, not at it's best here, but this picture will serve as motivation for me moving forward.
If you have any thoughts on how to tackle this differently, please feel free to comment.
Wish me luck!
- Z
After clearing out as much room in the off-line frag tank as possible, I'm going to start cutting the acros off the rockwork and moving a select group of corals over to it. Other, more prized acros, have or will be going to friends for backup and others will be going to a friend who has an 8'x2'x1' frag tank ready to QT corals. Finally, there are a good number of acros that are ubiquitous here in Phoenix, or at least among my closer friends, that I'll just toss what's in my tank and replace later (we've got a great network of local hobbyists!).
Next, I'm planning to use a combination of Kalk paste and AquaMend epoxy puddy to kill off the encrusted portions of the acros. That's going to be a big job and I'll have to take it slow with adding epoxy so I don't freak out the system too much. Similarly, I'll also have to monitor the parameters closely because of die off and the decrease in uptake of Alk/Cal/Mg/etc.
The acros that will be going into the off-line frag tank will get dipped in Bayer every 5-days for at least a 40-day period. After 40-days, I'm planning to reassess how the acros in the frag tank are responding (looking for signs of bite marks, visually inspecting dip-water, observing polyp extension and color, etc.) and I'll decide then whether dips will continue. I'm not kidding myself: I'm sure I'll lose a huge number of acros during this ordeal but I keep telling myself that their chance of survival is currently very low and--most importantly--their chance of thriving is 0%. Once I'm certain all of the acros in the main display are dead, I'll wait 60-day or so before adding acros back into the display.
So with all that said, I figured I'd take a final FTS. It may be several years before I'm back to this stage but I'm hoping this tank will be standing and thriving years beyond that so I'm telling myself that it's all worth it. Admittedly, not at it's best here, but this picture will serve as motivation for me moving forward.
If you have any thoughts on how to tackle this differently, please feel free to comment.
Wish me luck!
- Z
zibba
New member
I think you will have it all back and more in a much shorter time than you think, they grow much faster without AEFW's
Very true. I was looking back at old pictures and it was very obvious that growth rates slowed down significantly over the past 8-months or so. As always, I appreciate your encouragement and advice!
Sahin, thank you! Glad to hear you beat them too. What was your protocol? Bayer dips?
I'm certain that your tank is looking top-notch. I'll look for some recent pictures of your tank.
sixpackgarage
reef mechanic
damn, your tank on its worst day looks ridiculously awesome compared to mine on its best. Sucks about the AEFWs... wonder what gets rid of them in nature? There has to be something that eats them?
zibba
New member
Ha, thanks sixpackgarage! Seriously though, most of the acros look pretty bad close up.
I believe there is a nudibranch that eats them in the wild but they're very hard (impossible?) to source in the trade. I'm also not sure how prevalent AEFWs are in the wild -- although I've seen some documentaries showing AEFWs on wild corals -- but I'd imagine that their terror reigns down in a closed-system more than in a vast reef.
I believe there is a nudibranch that eats them in the wild but they're very hard (impossible?) to source in the trade. I'm also not sure how prevalent AEFWs are in the wild -- although I've seen some documentaries showing AEFWs on wild corals -- but I'd imagine that their terror reigns down in a closed-system more than in a vast reef.
Swensos
New member
Sorry to hear about the AEFWs. Your coral layout, rockwork, and fish selection are gorgeous; you obviously spent a long time getting things right and creating a living piece of art.
Can I ask you about your Katoi wrasse? Because they're so recent here in the U.S., there is almost no info on their behavior. All we know is they're probably closely related to Pyle's wrasse.
Are there any aggression issues with any of your other fish, especially the rhomboid? Of course, your tank is so large that they can almost have their own territories.
Can I ask you about your Katoi wrasse? Because they're so recent here in the U.S., there is almost no info on their behavior. All we know is they're probably closely related to Pyle's wrasse.
Are there any aggression issues with any of your other fish, especially the rhomboid? Of course, your tank is so large that they can almost have their own territories.
