The Twins Aquarium thread

[mothra]

I figured why not start a thread to give Twins some exposure. John's our only major source for coral locally and hooks us up with the best prices around; he deserves it. If you see anything interesting over there throw a post up and let the rest of us know!

[mothra]

Blastos are in again. There were several colonies that had been there a week or two. Like your typical Blasto wellsi these days, most of them didn't look too good but there were a couple of colonies that looked very healthy. I almost bought them, but I have my money spent elsewhere right now :\ John said he will have some more coming in a couple of weeks.

I also saw some pretty decent looking scolymia's for those who like them. Orange/teal/grey striped. All of them looked healthy.

[Bdimas]

I was in there the other day and he had some nice bright green hammer coral. And some decent orange zoa's.

[lanxang]

I haven't check recently but the last time I was there, he had a 120?125?? used for sale. It had dual overflow, stand, and three DE halide hood w/actinic for 700.00. I think a sump and return pump was included in the deal.

[Bdimas]

That set up was still there when I went last monday.

[lanxang]

setup is gone as of today.

[Bdimas]

Did you buy it ???

[GorillaReefer]

john's got some real nice ricordea in today.

[lanxang]

Bryan I didn't buy it, it was another customer.

I'll go check out the yumas today.

[GorillaReefer]

johns got blasto. picked one up, reall nice. already opened. it has 8 heads on it. purple with green center.

[lanxang]

did he move them to the top tank already or are they still on the bottom?

[GorillaReefer]

they were on the bottom still. i heard you got some nice ones.

[lanxang]

They were nice. Right now I have five morphs of welsi and three morphs of marletti.

[mothra]

"They were nice."

Were? What happened to them? Hey how are you acans looking? Did you get any more of them yet? :D

[lanxang]

they went into a huge tank. I bought three colonies. Red w/ green ring, red w/ green center, and a rock with 10+ heads. It looks like it might turn out dark maroon once it colors up. I might drop by again to see how the rest are doing.

The acan is getting bigger compared to 5 days ago. I've been feeding them everyday.

I blame you, all I have bought now is LPS. Blasto and now acans. I'm on the look out for more.

[mothra]

"I blame you"

Yes yes.. come to the dark side :D What's this about a huge tank? Did you pick them up for Jesus?

[lanxang]

I was going to put it in my tank but I don't have anymore space, maybe for frags or something. I need to setup the other tank but just don't have time.

LPS are so easy to care for so I'm drawn to them more. The only thing I need to do now is to get rid of the RBTA (can't believe I'm saying that).

How the sump doing now?

[mothra]

What sump? Oh you mean the one I have to put in after work today, before I pack my suitcase to go on vacation ;) I've got it ready to go in, will only have to do a minor temporary mod on my overflow plumbing, and slightly tweak my return plumbing... I'm hoping it goes in smoothly. Lots of work to do when I get back though.

[lanxang]

if you haven't found anything yet, look on craigslist. I saw a bunch of acrylic tanks on there.

Enjoy your fishing.

[Tenderoni Drop]

hey lak what do u want for that rbta let me know michael

[lanxang]

I personally want to get rid of it but I don't think my wife would let me. If it ever split, I'll give you one.

[Tenderoni Drop]

OK thanks Lak

[Tenderoni Drop]

Hey if u like mushrooms jhon just got some that ive never seen before green with red dots i got one rock had 30 shrooms got tired of counting for 20 bucks u cant beat that he still has one blasto he moved to the lights i coounted 9 heads on it same one frome last week doing good

[lanxang]

I was there today and bought that last blasto. the mushroom were very nice. Tri color if not more.

I think he is getting some more shipment next friday but that is unconfirm.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

doesn't john usually get his shipments today on thur?

[lanxang]

I don't really know, I know he get them on Monday but don't release them till wed and sometimes I see new items on Fri or saturday.

You know you're addicted to John's shop when you know the shipment schedules. LOL.

I have pictures up for my tanks, mostly my blasto. click on my gallery.

[Tenderoni Drop]

Jhon goes to the wholesaler on tuesday when he is closed and puts that stuff out on wed. then whatever he gets transhiped when it arrives thur.or fri. he puts out .

[Tenderoni Drop]

Jhon goes to the wholesaler on tuesday when he is closed and puts that stuff out on wed. then whatever he gets transhiped when it arrives thur.or fri. he puts out .

[GorillaReefer]

Hey lak, i want a frag of the one next to the fluorescent green center's. Just giving you the heads up for when your ready to frag. I'd probably take any one of those. Sweet setup looks real good.

[lanxang]

yep your addicted. :D

[lanxang]

jay which one? I probably frag the bleach one but the others will be a while since they were less than 3 months old in my tank.

[GorillaReefer]

like i said i'll take any one lmk on the price

[lanxang]

twins has a euroreef es5-3 for 150. I think it's used but looks new. he also got some nice acro in. I didn't have a good at it though.

[GorillaReefer]

sweet i'm there tommaro

[GorillaReefer]

John HAD sps!

[Tenderoni Drop]

I had agood look at them and thier sick looking in my tank

[juskeepswiming]

jons got more sps today...full size colonys and frags

[Tenderoni Drop]

Who cares about the sps the green polyp toad stool is sick sitting in my tank.

[juskeepswiming]

rub it in why dont you...procrastinater

[Tenderoni Drop]

any body been to twins

[Shimobe238]

yeah not much at the moment...he might get some stuff in tomorrow tho...oh, i got offered a job there....not gonna give up my current job tho...

[lanxang]

update: john got some fish in today and corals are coming in next week.

[Tenderoni Drop]

Has anyone been to twins today?

[Bdimas]

Nope. I was going to go but had to work a little late.

[lanxang]

i was there today. john got in three good size colony of marletti and one welsi. that was pretty much it.

[GorillaReefer]

Don't forget about all the SPS. Quit a few good colony's.

[Tenderoni Drop]

Hey jay what did u get from jhon

[mothra]

Sandra and I just scooped up a couple of blastos. She got a wellsi that is reddish green, which will probably become a standard looking solid red color. I grabbed the big merletti colony, which is also reddish green. There was still one red/green merletti and one solid green merletti. There is also one risky looking wellsi left.

[Tenderoni Drop]

How much did the merlitti cost?

[lanxang]

it's a secret. lol. it's 10 more then the welsi.

mike, got any pick of your tank?

[Tenderoni Drop]

i need to take some pics did u move to sac?

[MrMonkeyFingers]

Jake,

John has a new Mantis shrimp and it's pretty good sized.... time for another?

[mothra]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll swing by!

[lanxang]

Mike, I'm in Sac now.

[lanxang]

Mike, I'm in Sac now.

[lanxang]

dang, double post.

Greg, did he get anything else?

[Tenderoni Drop]

He still had some blastos

[lanxang]

I was there yesterday and the two peacock (sp?) mantis looks sweet.

[Bdimas]

Lak, I dont know if you were still looking for a flame hawk but John has one left. I bought one today and he looks sweet.

[lanxang]

yeah i bought one too. I forgot to call you up, remembered to right when I enter sac. duh...

[Bdimas]

When did you get it?

[lanxang]

I bought it yesterday.

[Bdimas]

Cool.

[mothra]

Yep those are peacock mantis (O. scyllarus). In case anyone is thinking about getting one you should know they are not good candidates for aquaria as they are succeptable to shell disease, and do not tolerate bright lights well. If you really 'need' one, make sure to give it at least a 20g tank, with some substrate and pvc burrows.

[Tenderoni Drop]

I was at twins and Jhon said randy no longer works at carters pet store hes going to come work at twins.

[Bdimas]

Wow. Thats a trip.

[GorillaReefer]

I seen Randy in Lodi, Sunday, and he said he's gonna go work for Robinson's. You can never believe what John says. I won't believe it till I see it.

[Tenderoni Drop]

J whats up true thought i throw that in thier sound int.

[lanxang]

Why is randy leaving carter's?

[lanxang]

Brian,

Here is the flame posing with the acan.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/25176flame_acan.jpg

[Bdimas]

He looks cool. I just found mine dead. He ate a few minutes after I acclimated him, but was breathing pretty hard after. Sucks.

[lanxang]

man that sucks. I pretty much just temp acclimate him and then dump him in, minus the water (John uses copper, my cousin found out the hard way). He been doing good so far. Are you going to get another?

[Bdimas]

Yeah it really sucks. I really liked him, so I will probably get another one. I dont know when or from where though.

[Tenderoni Drop]

Jhon said randy had sticky icky icky fingers. so hes thru according to jhon

[mothra]

Huh? Did he even work there? Sounds like John might be blowing smoke (pun intended), seriously though... that's strange.

[Tenderoni Drop]

u know jhon but jay posted he talked to him in lodi so ther must be some truth like i always say theres three sides to a story randys version jhons version and the truth.

[lanxang]

I think John was just pulling your legs. He does that to me all the time.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

yeah John LOVES to pull people's legs all of the time... he is so quiet but yet he is damn quick with the jokes! I've heard MANY a' stories about Randy.... don't want to bad mouth the man but if anyone wants to know just ask me in person!

[lanxang]

John got new shipment in. Blasto (not good looking), Acan Lord (looks like lords, $15 more than blasto), and Sps. Acan looks bleached but not clear bleached.

Oh he is opened tomorrow too...

[lanxang]

drove by on my way to pick up some food and he was closed.

[mothra]

Lots of merletti right now, a couple of decent looking wellsi, and one colony of lords are still there. The lords look a little bleached but those will totally recover.

Someone go buy that stuff.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

lords are still there as of sat the 4th

[plankton]

I bought the b.wellsi with green center. I passed on the acan, and other LPS that he had.

Not bad prices on frozen food...

Scott

[mothra]

More blastos are in. I picked up a wellsi combo rock with 3 nice morphs on it. The price went up $10 for the 'combo rocks' because they are hand assembled, but still way better than any other prices around. He's got a few nice frogspawns, a couple acans, a large green echinophyllia, and some decent looking sps (brown but lots of polyp extension), and of course there are some big blasto merletti colonies.

[Jesus]

I quest I have to go check it out tomorrow. Yeah, bought a peice of the combo for $35 before christmass and also a blue face angel.

jesus

[Tenderoni Drop]

Hey jesus what time u checking it out today is when he gets new stuff lmk.

[mothra]

nevermind

[Jesus]

I will probably check it out thursday.


jesus

[Tenderoni Drop]

jesus did u get anything?

[Jesus]

Did not go today. Not feeling all that good.


jesus

[Tenderoni Drop]

too many cervesas?

[Jesus]

no, not enough. Too much work.


jesus

[plankton]

Jesus,

I should have told you not to go on California Scream'n too many times! Fun but wicked ride in California Adventure.

Scott

[Tenderoni Drop]

hey scott how is your blue face angel doing?

[plankton]

The blue-face and Regal are both doing great. Very pretty fish.

Also added a 2nd skimmer (EuroReef RC-180) to help handle all the food I've been feeding them.

How about U? Added anything nu to your tank?

Scott

[Tenderoni Drop]

No but i like to also get a blue face angel thier cool.

[plankton]

Mike/Jesus - Update.

Stephan came over today and while we were looking at my tank, both the Regal and Blue face were caught niping on my giga. So, beware as you might expect from certain Angel families said Angels nip!

BTW I will be putting up my 6 clams for sale but on the "Greater San Francisco Bay Area Reef Forum".

Scott

[Tenderoni Drop]

yea thats true i would put one in my fowlr tank.

[plankton]

All clams sold. Thanks to all who came by to help me out with such short notice...

Anthony (little_d) - good luck with the T.gigas!!

Scott

[mothra]

I took my mantis and some xenia over to Twins today for credit. Picked up another blasto wellsi. There isn't much in the way of corals right now, but there are some fish there. In the large end tank there is a magnificent foxface and a blue spotted rabbit fish. In the rubble tanks I spotted a really nice looking goldflake angelfish! These fish would be good for someone with a 100g or larger tank and knowing John the price is probably right.

[plankton]

Jake,

Hey, if it is really a goldflake angel and good price it'd make a good addition to my FOWL'er tank. LMK if you happen to go by Twins again...

Scott

[cyclebrkr]

I thought you weren't going to add any more fish to your tank! I knew that wouldn't last long! LOL

[mothra]

Stephan! What's up man. Good to see you around again. I heard a rumor of a new tank maybe....

[plankton]

Good news! You should see my blue-face tearing out zoanthids left and right! Finally, no more zoo problem.

Scott

[Tenderoni Drop]

Hey scott twins still had the gold flake angel just to let u guys know i found some zoo eating nudis in one of jonhs tank i showed them to him and he took them out if u buy any corals from him inspect it real good If u dont know what they look like thier real tiny and white go to the zoo forum they have pics thier. One more thing he said he is getting corals in today.

[lanxang]

i was there today also. he has a AquaC Urchin (sp?) for sale. It comes with a sump and a mag pump (mag 7 or 9, can't remember). He is selling it for 125. This is used by the way but heck of a deal either way. If he did get corals in, I only saw mushroom. I'll check before I head back to Sac.

[Tenderoni Drop]

Sale at twins on chinese new year.

[mothra]

Anybody been by lately? Last time I was there I saw a few blasto wellsi, and lots of merletti. He had also just got in a bunch of male, and female square spot anthias.

[PiscesLou]

Hey guys, Im new to this thread...I dont know too many reefers in the area, so I figured this would be a good start. Have wanted to go to the frag swaps but I used to work saturdays, but not anymore:cool: . anyways I will be stop Twins today to see what John has this week

[mothra]

Hi Lou, and Welcome. John doesn't have much after a bunch of us cleaned him out yesterday ;)

Just kidding, we did buy a few fish from him though, didn't see much coral-wise.

[Tenderoni Drop]

hey jake hows that new swallow tail doing

[Tenderoni Drop]

hey jake hows that new swallow tail doing ?

[mothra]

I caught her that night and put her in the sump. Jesus is probably going to take her. My female watanabe wasn't letting up at all. I figured there would be some chasing etc... but that was pretty bad :(

Copperband is doing really good so far.

[Jesus]

Has anyone been there after Friday? Supposedly had shipment Friday.

jesus

[lanxang]

i'll check tomorrow.

[rulesmith]

he had a lot in on Saturday, I also traded him a lot of my softies, some real nice rocks, that I already miss.

[lanxang]

I didn't see anything special.

Julie, I saw your softies. They had nice color to it.

[Jesus]

How about fish? Did he get any nice fish?


jesus

[Reefugee]

Speaking of Twins - I think the two peppermint shrimp that I purchased after the last NVR meeting ate all the aptasia in my tank! At least I didn't see any last night. Wooohooo!!! It only took 6 peppermint shrimps. The first two went MIA instantly. The second set was MIA after a few days. The third set from Twins did the job. The third set were much bigger than the first two sets. Also - the mandarin dragonet seems to be doing great. I saw ate some frozen food that fell right in front of him. However, he won't go after anything unless it's right in front of him. :D

Minh

[lanxang]

Sorry jesus, I wasn't really looking at them. He did say that he was getting another shipment on Wed.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

Minh. Good deal! So he had more than just the one we saw in that bottom tank? Good to hear the Mandarin is doing well. I had a friend buy one from John about a year ago and he has more than doubled in size and he eats like crazy!

[mothra]

Just came from Twins. Didn't see much in the way of fish, but I did notice an echinophyllia with some real potential. Green with pink eyes and pretty big. My tank has too much going on right now or I would have grabbed it.

[Tenderoni Drop]

how much did he want for the enchino

[mothra]

I didn't even ask because I would have had to buy it then :D

[Jesus]

Went there thurs with the wangster and I bought the chalice. Wangster bought a couple of fish. He bought a blonde naso and
a nice majestic. He had 2 majestic. Went back today with Tenderoni and bought the other majestic.

jesus

[mothra]

:D Way to go. I want a 'finders frag' of the challice at some non-specific date in the future. Tell J we said 'wazup'!

[Jesus]

Not a problem Jake. Just trying to support our sponsor.


jesus

[bobaking]

That chalice is nice.. I can see it become a "Desert Plate" or better!!

[MrMonkeyFingers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6913150#post6913150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mothra
Just came from Twins. Didn't see much in the way of fish, but I did notice an echinophyllia with some real potential. Green with pink eyes and pretty big. My tank has too much going on right now or I would have grabbed it.

I went and bought a green echinophyllia from john on sat. it was a dark green but not sure it was the one with pink in it. it was a pretty good sized one, it was $35

[Jesus]

Bobaking, are who I think it is? Mr. diaper changer in Oak town. If it is, welcome back.

jesus

[mothra]

I was wondering the same thing! ;)

[bobaking]

LOL..hmm..I wonder who ? :P

[MrMonkeyFingers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6946020#post6946020 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jesus
Bobaking, are who I think it is? Mr. diaper changer in Oak town. If it is, welcome back.

jesus

mr diaper changer? is that a compliment or an insult???? ;)

[PiscesLou]

does anyone know what species of hard coral that John has in the tank to the far right....its tan in color on a circular plug?

[mothra]

There are a couple of colorful blastos right now, they are not happy but I could see them recovering. Didn't see a whole lot in the way of fish, there was another nice looking female swallowtail angel, and a few male square spot anthias that looked pretty good.

[juskeepswiming]

not to mention all the bullseye mushrooms he had

[mothra]

We went to Twins today. There are quite a few blasto wellsi there. Some of them looked pretty rough, some looked marginal, and some looked fine.

I spotted a Stonogobiops yasha (http://www.poisson-or.com/media/stonogobiops-yasha.jpg) goby there and we got it! Sandra had been looking for one of these little guys to pair up with her Randall's pistol shrimp for a while now, apparently they have been right under our nose and we never saw them before. There is actually ANOTHER one there that is paried up with the same pistol shrimp. They are a little pricey but you don't see them all the time so it was worth it IMO. I have him in the QT tank for now, in a couple weeks Sandra get's to introduce him into her nano cube (both the fish and shrimp are really small, in a large tank they'll probably dissapear).

I also saw a nice looking, and large, Siganus corallinus (http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/images/sstuderi2.jpg)... I only wish my tank was big enough.


Well that's the news for now :)

[plankton]

Yeah, saw the Siganus corallinus last week. Very pretty (almost solid yellow with blue spots).

There was also a purple Alsfur (spelling) angel there but was able to hold Jesus back...close though.

Jake - Does sandra want/need a pajama cardinal for her nano?

[mothra]

Hehe... yeah I saw that Asfur angel too, I thought of you but then thought 'naw... he has enough already!'.

I'll ask her about the PJ Cardinal.

[mothra]

In case anyone is wondering what's up with Twins the latest news I got was that they're moving around the corner next door to Levitz. John's wife told me that last week.

[juskeepswiming]

haha...he told me he was going to New Mexico...hes such a liar, lol

[mothra]

Went to Twins today with Scott.

Corals of interest:
- Lots of blastos right now, most look healthy.
- A couple of decent pieces of orange acan echinata also.

Fish of interest:
- 2 dwarf golden angelfish, both looked fine but anyone interested should keep an eye on them; they are commonly cyanide collected.
- 1 yasha goby
- 1 imperator angel

[Jesus]

Went there yesterday and the store was close. Is he in the process of moving? Does anyone know?


jesus

[Bdimas]

I went yesterday also. I dont know if they are closing yet.

[friendorfoe]

Is'nt there another FS in stockton? and if so where is it?

[mothra]

Yes. Carter's Pet Mart on March lane. It's in the same shopping center as Mervyns and Well's Fargo Bank, all the way at the east end. Also see here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=784203


Regarding Twins - I don't think they closed. Last time I spoke with John (not long ago) he said they were still looking for another location. The spot that they wanted was taken by someone else. It sounds like Twins has the lease for quite a while still.

[Bdimas]

I drove by again yesterday about 6oclock and it was closed.

[mothra]

Not good...

[MrMonkeyFingers]

so no one seems to know what is going on huh? You'd think if he was closing for good he would have had some kind of sale?

[rulesmith]

I talked to him last week, and he said he would have 30 day notice of when he would be moving, all depended on the county and the liqueur licence for the spot. He would not be moving around the corner, that had already leased. He could not move ahead of time, because of his lease. His rent was going up, and he wanted out, but had to wait for the new tenant.

He is closed on Tuesdays, his kids just stated back to school that could have something to do with it, I hope.

[sknlim]

Was there today. Everything looks the same to me, on the plus side i picked up an acan. Going back friday because John said he's getting in a lot of ricordia's (or should i just be quiet so i can get 1st pick).

[mothra]

Thats good to hear. He must have had something going on and needed to close up for a few days.

Did you grab one of the orange acan echinatas he had or the lord? Those have been there for awhile just waiting for someone to snatch them up :)

[lanxang]

Does anyone know when he is moving or closing shop? From him getting stuff in, it doesn't sound like soon.

[Shimobe238]

went to john's yesterday. said he wasn't moving anymore. he has a bunch of ricordias in. blues pinks and greens. pricy tho. 30 per eye. yikes!

[mothra]

Are you sure they were $30 each? They have never been more than $30 a rock in the past.

It's good to hear he isn't moving, is the Liquior License sign still on the window?

[lanxang]

they used to be the low $20. If he staying then it must be the reason the prices are going up.

[Shimobe238]

yeah. he pointed out a couple. $180. i called his bluff but then he looked at me and said no. really. it is.

[mothra]

Hmm, that doesn't sound like Twins! I think he is going to have a tough time with those prices in this area. It isn't the bay area, and even if it was you have to have top notch stuff to command top dollar.

I guess I'm gonna have to see it for myself :)

[Shimobe238]

yeah. if he offers you some blue ones for 30 bucks let me know.

[Bdimas]

Forget about the Ricordia. I just want to know if he's going to be the first fish/liquior store :)

[lanxang]

LOL

[mothra]

LOL... "I'll take those ricordias and a bottle of Night Train".

[Jesus]

Does he have a pink yuma?


jesus

[plankton]

Pink Yuma? Is that like a mai-tai? I've never heard of that drink.

Scott

[Jesus]

No!!!!more like sungria.


jesus

[mothra]

FYI the ricordias at Twins are R. florida, nor R. yuma. I know someone heard 'pink ricordia' and got excited, but they are just the standard variety. He does have quite a few of them and some nice colors. If you're an NVR member the pricing was better than previously reported.

Also me and John talked for a little bit. It looks like they are sticking around for a while. He is getting ready to put a HQI over one of the tanks. Should be interesting.

[lanxang]

Jake thanks for the update. so what about the drinks, are you guys going to have more than one reason to go there? LOL...

[Jesus]

Yeah, I think he still owe us a around of drink.


jesus

[mothra]

Sounds like I need to buy some more Patrone...

[mothra]

...cruised over to Twins again today. John agreed to let me feed some Artic Pods to the mandarins he has (all recently imported). There were a few reports of mandarins eating this food and I wanted to see for myself. Well out of 7 of them, one had 'some reaction' to the food. But not enough to convince me that I could sustain it with prepared food as primary food source. Possibly in the long run they would catch on and eat it but there was no interest at all in most of the fish.

Other than that not much to report, coral selection is not the greatest right now, didn't see anything out of the ordinary fish wise either.

[Bdimas]

Went to Twins today and he had a bunch of nice ricordea in. Not to much in the fish dept though. Oh yeah, he also has his halides installed over the center tank. He had some ok looking acros under them.

[gklompen]

I haven't been to Twins in a couple weeks so forgive me if this is old news, but he had some nice looking encrusting montis yesterday. They were baby blue with green polyps under his halides. Under my T5s the piece I got is more light purple with yellow-green polyps.

He just gotten a bunch of small crocea clams for those interested.

[mothra]

Thanks for the tip, sounds like I need to swing by!

[mothra]

Gina / Bryan:

Any update on those encrusting monti's? I saw them there also, very nice stuff. I think we should name that one, how about "the Twins Rainbow Monti"?

Last time I looked there were a couple of pieces left, there was also some nice looking acan.

[Bdimas]

Dude mine is looking sweet! It's got a nice blue with green and reddish orange polyps. I like the name also.

[gklompen]

Mine's looking great too. Actually looks like it's starting to grow which I didn't expect to happen for a while. Mine didn't stay blue under my T5s, instead it's a nice purple color with green polyps. If you look close, the polyps are orange in the center.

Last time I was in Twins it looked like some of his pieces had lost a bit of color, or it could be that mine colored up. Either way, it's probably going to be a better color in people's home tanks than what they see in the store.

[Bdimas]

I just went and picked one up for Jesus and i also noticed most of them started to brown out. There was two left with decent color, but i got one of them.
He also had some nice acros in. There was one with a green base and pink tips. Im not sure what it was though.

[mothra]

Well I broke down and got a piece of that monti too. It is a little browned out but I'm sure will make a come back in no time. One thing I noticed about it is the orange polyps aren't necessarily on the new growth. Mine has patches of different color polyps, is everyone elses' that way too?


Oh yeah, the main tank(s) are looking pretty good right now. Most of the nicer corals are under the halides and there's a decent selection right now. I saw the green base and pink tip acro that Bryan mentioned, they still have a nice red acan, some palythoa grandis, a lot of clams, and also a yasha goby and randall's pistol shrimp (like Sandra's in her nano tank).

[Bdimas]

Sweet. It should color up just fine. The one i got for Jesus colored up in about a week.
My orange polyps are kinda spread out but mostly around the edges. Also i just lowerd mine to the middle of my rockwork because i think the lighting was a little too intense where i had it. It was about 6" away from my bulb.

[mothra]

Cool, that's good to know. Here's a pic of the one I got, looking forward to it brightening up.

http://www.dinardiengineering.com/reefpics/0005 rainbow.jpg

[plankton]

Jake - That's a crazy encrusting monti. Good find.

Scott

[Bdimas]

Yeah most of the polyps are brown in the center but it looks pretty good. I love the blue base.

[mothra]

It's a bad pic, most of the polyps are dark green, with some brownish orange polyps scattered throughout. I saw them around the time you guys got yours so I know know it has potential, I think there were still a couple more pieces, or they may have been a different color morph, hard to tell now that everything has been there so long.

[Bdimas]

I kinda thought there was another color morph also. You should get it so we can see what color it will turn into. :)

[gklompen]

There was another color morph. I went back to get one of the blue ones and almost left with the wrong one thinking it was just browned out. I think John said the other one has purple polyps.

The first one I bought for myself didn't have any orange polyps. I had no idea what Bryan was talking about when he said it has green and orange polyps. The funny thing is that around where a worm comes through the coral to feed and irritates it looks like it is developing orange polyps. The second one I got had small patches of orange polyps, but none were on the edge and not near as extensive as Jacob's picture. It may be my imagination, but I think those patches are decreasing in size. It will definitely be interesting to see how they all change.

Gina

[Bdimas]

Has anyone been there in a while?

[MrMonkeyFingers]

I haven't been anywhere in a while :(

[lanxang]

was there yesterday to pick up the mesh. He didn't really have anything new.

I did pick up a 1 head of yuma, a frag of netphea (sp?), and red mushroom for almost free. I guess it pays to be a long time customer.

[Bdimas]

I stopped by there today and John did'nt have much. There was some pretty cool looking yumas though. I picked up a cool looking elegence.

[RiOnRoxXx]

Went here today also didn't see anything I wanted...I'm more lookin' into fish for the time being but maybe one day be like you guys...discount pet had a few fish I liked...

[mothra]

Just came from Twins. They have a decent amount of corals and fish in right now. John just set up a ricordia tank on the opposite side from the halide lit tanks, this one is also lit by halides. He had a few yellow and purple ricordia (florida species), I couldn't resist and grabbed one. Also got a blue one. He has a handfull of ricordia yuma in there but I couldn't tell the color too well, he just scooped them out of the other tank and put them in there.

[lanxang]

I bought some too. Mine ric is blue with orange bumps. I wonder why he's getting in so much.

[kevin95695]

Sorry, I appreciate that this thread is a good source of timely info for locals but I didn't have the patience to wade through 8 pages of year old postings saying: "John's got blastos today." So if the question has already been asked, please pardon.

Do they have a website?

Thanks.

[lanxang]

No website, just "john got blasto today". :)

[Bdimas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9458601#post9458601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevin95695

Do they have a website?

Thanks.

No.

[mothra]

There's really no reason to go back and look at any threads besides the most recent. Besides if they had a website the locals wouldn't get all the good stuff any more... or at least not at the prices we get them for :D

[kevin95695]

Does he have blastos today?

[lanxang]

actually yes. He also has acans and well lots of Yumas/Rics.

[Bdimas]

I NEED more acans.

[mothra]

There were some acans at Twins, and a couple micromussa. One of the micros was pretty nice, but pricey. Lots of ricordias right now too.

[shilo_1]

Stopped in here today on my way home from work. Neat little store with a little bit of everything.
It was crazy busy...too many people to really get a good look at the coral tanks.
He sure does have LOTS of shrooms ! lol Great prices on the fish I saw though.

Since he is right on my way home, I think I'll have to stop in more often ! :)

[lanxang]

John got in one dendro and lots of acans.

[mothra]

I picked up the dendro today, it's a nice little colony at a fair price.

[lanxang]

I knew I should have grab it. Some guy in Sac grab the other one the day before.

I didn't count it so was it 9 heads like he said?

[mothra]

9 large heads.

[mothra]

here's a picture of them in my sump:

http://www.dinardiengineering.com/reefpics/0002%20dendro.jpg

I'm probably going to trade them for something else (like some pink or red yumas), I'm not a huge fan of corals that need to be fed. I was thinking though that a sump full of these would be a good detritus filter, catch uneaten food, etc... AND they don't need any light so it would be perfect. Maybe if I can get my hands on enough of them.... ;)

[Auntbeez]

I don't see the picture???

[Jesus]

Does he have anymore?


jesus

[RiOnRoxXx]

Those are sweet lookin!!! :)

[mothra]

Jesus, that was the only one I saw. Lak said there was another one that somebody else bought. I'm sure John would get you some if you ask him. I already traded it away for other goodies :D


Ryan, yea they look nice, but they're non photosynthetic and need to be fed which is why I'm not into them too much, I tried before and it was too much work for me. They're like sun corals but they stay open with the lights on. A lot of people want them right now.

[lanxang]

good deal jake. i was going to get it but it didn't look as happy as it is in your picture when we saw it. good deal.

[mothra]

Thanks for the heads up on it. With dendros, as long as the skeleton has flesh on it they're usually ok. They open up more under lower light.


Off topic, we ate at Saigon Grill in Lodi. It was ok, we both liked Le Kims better.

[lanxang]

OT: we've gone to almost all the viet resturant in stockton and couldn't find anything that was close to Le Kims. I just like the overall feel and taste of the place.

It's strange that John's been getting expensive corals in lately. Yuma/rics, Acan, and now dendros.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

How well do the dendros propagate?

[mothra]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9957025#post9957025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMonkeyFingers
How well do the dendros propagate?

By propagate, do you mean grow, or how easily are they fragged? How fast they grow depends on how much you feed them, aquatic gallery fed theirs twice a day for a year and grew from 3 heads to about 20.

I don't have a lot of experience fragging them, it can be a little scary because the heads tend to grow right on one another and the flesh goes down deep into the skeleton. On the other hand, If they're separated by dead skeleton it's a piece of cake.

With them being one of the "collectible" corals lately, if you find them at a good deal get them and trade for something that YOU want :D

[shilo_1]

What is a reasonable going rate ? :)

[lanxang]

The going rate is $30 per head for a good deal to $60 per head but at the end, its what you're willing to pay for it.

[mothra]

I'd agree with that, if you can get them for less than $30 a head - do it. The average online price is probably about $50 per head.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

dang! 30 bucks a head? Jake, you answered both of my questions :)

[eagleONE]

Nice dendros!

Yeah, I've noticed John's been getting pretty pricey...

He told me he's moving... maybe thats why? I don't know..

[mothra]

Some of his corals have gone up in price, but he's also bringing in some more collectible stuff which fetches a higher price. He is still has some of the best pricing around.

[eagleONE]

that's true. I hope he brings in more sps

[MrMonkeyFingers]

has he moved yet?

[shilo_1]

Is Twins open on Sundays ? Hours ?

[pinay_57]

yes....he is open from 12-5

[njfalconer]

Cool, thanks. I want to take Brian by there to show him all the triggers John has in. :)

(oops....guess Brian was still logged in. lol)

[Bdimas]

Has anyone been there lately? I went a few weeks ago and he didnt have to much.

[Bdimas]

Bueller?




Bueller?

I went today and picked up a sailfin tang and a red angler.

[mothra]

LOL.

I like sailfins, I saw some huge ones in Maui when we were snorkeling. I don't know about that angler fish though... you and your angler fish... ;)


I haven't been to Twins in a while myself.

[Jesus]

I haven't been there lately also. Brian told me that he has some red micro frags. Does anyone know how much is he selling them.


jesus

[Bdimas]

Jesus,

I'll try to stop by there this weekend and find out how much.

[lanxang]

I checked, he didn't have anything.

[Jesus]

Thanks for the info Lak. How about fish?


jesus

[lanxang]

Nothing interesting but then I'm not a fish person. :D

[mothra]

Jesus - Those micromussa frags are still there. He had a nice looking fairy wrasse also.

[FURC]

mothra: how much and how big/color?

[mothra]

PM'd you the price, not sure if John would want me posting that here.

[Bdimas]

I picked up a Male Swallowtail Angel and a Fairy wrasse yesterday. The Angel is atleast 5" long. Im not sure what kind of Fariy wrasse i got but its mostly red and yellow.

[mothra]

Sweet! Those weren't there the other day when I stopped by.

[Jesus]

Has anyone stop by there lately? Anything new?


jesus

[RiOnRoxXx]

I personally didn't see anything new...same shrooms as always...he had some tanks with the lights out so a lot of stuff was closed up...this was on Sunday

[Jesus]

Thanks for the update.


jesus

[kevin95695]

Got blastos?

[Bdimas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11075085#post11075085 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevin95695
Got blastos?

LOL! Last time you said that you got booted!

[kevin95695]

Funny! But it was a little more complicated than that...

[Bdimas]

I know. Just givin you a hard time.

I think he does have blastos though. lol

[mic209]

Nice to know that somebody started a thread about John and Twins Aquarium, even though this thread is a couple years old i just discovered it. Anyways, i just wanted to say that i've been going to John since his Flea Market days back in the 80's, and since he was on the knicker bocker side of the shopping center. Even though I left stockton 10 years ago, he still Remembers me every time I'm in town and stop by the store, such a great guy

[mothra]

Wow... all the way from AZ! Yeah John is a good guy and his store is a cool shop, you never know what you'll find there on any given day.

[Sandman71]

Yeah once you get to know John he's a pretty nice guy.

[Bdimas]

There was a real nice Queen Angel in there the other day. He also had atleast 4 peacock mantis shrimp.