Our Tbs - Page 38

patsan · #**926** 02/15/2006, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by krajacich
Pat- That camera takes fantastic pictures! Great job. How's the CD tutorial going?

I haven't gotten any further yet. I plan on getting thru another chapter this week though.

We still have Bob's chili coral. It expands like maybe once every week and a half.

Here are a few more pictures I took yesterday. These are of Benny:

Now the same picture just not resized as much as the one above:

BrianPlankis · #**927** 02/15/2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dwculp
Anyone here keep any Acropora? I was thinking of getting some purple acropora ( http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=745 ) but I was a little afraid as I hear they are difficult.

I got a small frag of an acropora in December. I put it in high light and moderate to high flow and it has slowly withered away. I just moved it lower down in the tank to try to save it in case I was bleaching it.

It was healthy in the owner's tank 12" under 250W DE MH. I had mine about 7" under my 175W SE MH, so I doubt I was bleaching it.

Personally, I think it was chemical warfare. It has been a while since I ran carbon and the acro frag went downhill rapidly the last few days along with some zoas not opening. I put some fresh carbon in and now the zoas are open again. I'm slowly trading away softies and going towards LPS.

Once I get my new skimmer I'll try SPS again, but start with montipora digitata, monticaps and pollicipora as I've heard they are easier. My pink birdsnest continues to thrive, very thick branches and many growth tips. If you haven't tried acropora yet, start with an easier to keep SPS and go from there.

Brian

bkelley02 · #**928** 02/15/2006, 04:41 PM

I actually have about 35-40 frags of different types of SPS throughout the tank and they were all thriving and starting to grow quickly until my latest issue with the Chicken Liver sponge dissolving.

I THINK I've been able to blow most of the decaying sponge out of the little nooks in the rock and it's getting picked up by the skimmer. Of course, the sponges were wrapped around and through Tube Corals and clams on the biggest rock in the tank so I couldn't easily take it out to scrub. Such a bummer and I have NO idea what caused it. Only thing different was tried using a different food. SF Brineshrimp emerald entree or something like that.

And yet another loss today. The other Tang went to the Great Reef tank in the Sky! Went from Full stomach to emaciated in less then 12 hours. Parameters in the tank all look ok right now too. Corals are opening up nicely ( except for some Milli SPS ) and the Anthias and Wrasse are swimming around like crazy.

So my Kole Tang ( Blue Spot kind, not striped ) and the White Cheek Tang are no longer.

BrianPlankis · #**929** 02/15/2006, 05:32 PM

Brian that stinks! Are you running carbon? Sponges can be quite toxic and carbon can help remove the toxins. I would also look into water changes to remove toxins as well.

Sorry for your losses

Brian

krajacich · #**930** 02/15/2006, 05:41 PM

Brian- Sorry to hear you lost your other tang. I think Brian's (the other Brian

) suggestions of carbon and water changes are good ones. I hope you can save the rest of the tank inhabitants.

bkelley02 · #**931** 02/15/2006, 06:15 PM

Thanks. That was actually the first thing I tried when I started seeing the corals acting odd and the melting sponge. I'll keep this up for a few more days. The coral looks great again and like I said, the remaining fish are doing well. I'll keep plugging away. I might just have to start another BIGGER new tank to make me feel better. That math works out, right? $80 worth of fish lost, $2000 on a new set up?

Now if I could only find someone to pay for it.

patsan · #**932** 02/15/2006, 06:26 PM

Brian, that just seems very strange that the tang would get emancipated in less or 12 hours.

bkelley02 · #**933** 02/15/2006, 06:28 PM

Yeah, I can't understand that either, Just the night before he'd been pigging out on the food. I fed the tank once a week before the Anthias so he never had it so good. Can't understand how he went from plump to anorexic so quickly. There will be no additions for a while till I can figure this out and get everthing stabilized again.

dwculp · #**934** 02/15/2006, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CirolanidHunter
I got a small frag of an acropora in December. I put it in high light and moderate to high flow and it has slowly withered away. I just moved it lower down in the tank to try to save it in case I was bleaching it.

It was healthy in the owner's tank 12" under 250W DE MH. I had mine about 7" under my 175W SE MH, so I doubt I was bleaching it.

Personally, I think it was chemical warfare. It has been a while since I ran carbon and the acro frag went downhill rapidly the last few days along with some zoas not opening. I put some fresh carbon in and now the zoas are open again. I'm slowly trading away softies and going towards LPS.

Once I get my new skimmer I'll try SPS again, but start with montipora digitata, monticaps and pollicipora as I've heard they are easier. My pink birdsnest continues to thrive, very thick branches and many growth tips. If you haven't tried acropora yet, start with an easier to keep SPS and go from there.

Brian

Thanks, they just look so darn pretty, especially the purple ones, but I dont want to spend $60.00 on something that is going to just die soon. I just did that with the octopus.

The octo is doing fine but it turns out to be a dwarf pygmy octo that has a very short life span so I dont hold out much hope of it lasting very long. It is eating and all that and the kids love it but who knows how long it will last. They have life spans on the order of 6 months, the thing could be five months old as far as I know!

bobt2 · #**935** 02/16/2006, 07:45 AM

but think of what that octo would do to the gorrilla population, you could rent him out by the week.

patsan · #**936** 02/16/2006, 11:19 AM

Here's the last of the fish pictures I took the other day.

Fred_J · #**937** 02/16/2006, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bobt2
back in aug. i bought a finger leather. its grown to the point that it's 1/4" from the surface. theres no way to trim it w/o cutting it in half which i don't want to do. will it spread across the surface if i leave it alone?

It took me awhile to remember, but I have seen several fancy display tanks where the leathers come up to about an inch from the top then start spreading out instead of growing higher.

Brian--I assume your test showed nothing out of line. When a fish dies suddenly with no apparent reason along with sponges and corals acting strange I would do a much larger than normal water change. I just figure something is in the water that isn't or can't be measured. This should rapidly turn things around. Just IME.

Fred

bkelley02 · #**938** 02/16/2006, 03:50 PM

Thanks Fred. That's what I'm trying to do now. Nothing showed up funny on the tests until after the fish started decaying behind the rocks. The 2 streams I have in there finally pushed them out and everything is starting to look back to normal. Even the sponges appear to be doing better. I'm still at a loss to what might have happened.

dwculp · #**939** 02/16/2006, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bobt2
but think of what that octo would do to the gorrilla population, you could rent him out by the week.

and the snail, hermit crab, fish and shrimp population.

bobt2 · #**940** 02/16/2006, 08:39 PM

didn't know they catch/eat live fish!

BrianPlankis · #**941** 02/16/2006, 09:11 PM

I wonder if the octo would eat porcelain crabs? I would love to get the gorillas out (one is eating one of my TBS brains!!!!) But I don't want the porcelains to go.

Brian

dwculp · #**942** 02/16/2006, 09:57 PM

I am 100% positive it would eat the porcelin crabs and live fish. They will eat just about anything that moves. They have voracious appetites.

bobt2 · #**943** 02/16/2006, 10:03 PM

and like squid, they don't taste bad ether!

Fred_J · #**944** 02/16/2006, 10:13 PM

Brian
I hope I'm not repeating myself too much but I put a large grocery store shrimp in a tall glass (had to weight it down with an old dead coral) I caught a big gorilla and my red mithrex one right one right after the other one night. I think they were used to the smell of sliversides and could not resist the cocktail shrimp. I know you've tried before but the relief/joy/pleasure is really worth it when it works.
Fred

bobt2 · #**945** 02/17/2006, 07:45 AM

fred, the last time i tried the glass method, all i got was a glass full of hermits. bob

BrianPlankis · #**946** 02/17/2006, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fred_J
Brian
I hope I'm not repeating myself too much but I put a large grocery store shrimp in a tall glass (had to weight it down with an old dead coral) I caught a big gorilla and my red mithrex one right one right after the other one night. I think they were used to the smell of sliversides and could not resist the cocktail shrimp. I know you've tried before but the relief/joy/pleasure is really worth it when it works.
Fred

Fred,

Yeah, I've tried the glass method a few times and they just refuse to enter the glass. I'll probably try it a couple more times just for grins. I know of 3 remaining in the tank after spearing one with a chopstick last night

Unfortunately the big one that is eating the brain is adept at hiding.

I'm going to try some carbonated water into holes on that rock this weekend. I need to rearrange anyway as I got a small rock with 5 or 6 watermelon shrooms on Wed

Brian

Brian

lossman · #**947** 02/18/2006, 06:49 PM

Well, since we had already wrecked our Caribbean Reef biotope by putting a Falco's hawkfish in the tank, we decided, what the heck and got a lawnmower blenny to hopefully eat the hair algae we have going in the tank.

Moose is in quarantine right now and will be there for about 4 weeks or so. Will post pictures as soon as we get some.

We found a new reef store. It's about an hours drive away but has an awesome selection of stuff. Prices are really good too. They have a contact that dives in the Gulf and they are going out this weekend to collect some stuff. I have Monday off from work so might go back to the store then to see what they brought in. Otherwise, Brett and I will go back next Saturday.

The tank is doing really well. Just a little bit of hair algae that seems to be very slow growing and does not spread much.

Just did my monthly heavy feeding of the tank. Managed to find all 4 serpent stars and got them some silversides. The condy filled her gut with two pieces and Harley and Clifford pigged out on some silversides they managed to steal as well as some fresh brineshrimp that we picked up today. The fish are growing by leaps and bounds and the tank looks so healthy and alive. Can't wait to get some new corals and gorgonians to fill out the blah spots.

Our tank is just about a full year old. I still spend every spare minute gazing at the tank and watching the life evolve in there. This was the best "decoration" we could have put in our house.

BTW, just to rub salt in the wounds of you up in the North....today was an awesome day. High 70's, low 80's, bright sunshine with a slight breeze. We drove to the new fish store with the windows down and the sunroof open. Later ate supper out on the lanai. I sure don't miss the snow, sleet, ice and cold of the north!!!

Sally

krajacich · #**948** 02/18/2006, 07:10 PM

That's great news Sally! Nothing like a pretty, healthy tank....of course you realize that you can't brag about your tank without giving us pictures

I need to buy new light bulbs for my tank so it's looking a bit yellow right now. I'm still trying to decide if I want to buy the new pc light bulbs or if I want to switch to a T5 set-up. I keep going back and forth....

It's really cold here today, below zero plus windchill so about -15 to -20. No snow though. Hope everyone is keeping warm!

lossman · #**949** 02/18/2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by krajacich
That's great news Sally! Nothing like a pretty, healthy tank....of course you realize that you can't brag about your tank without giving us pictures

I'll have to play with pictures tomorrow and see what I can come up with. Otherwise, you all will have to wait until Pat and Bob come visit us (with Pat's most awesome camera and clicking abilities!!)

skippy2 · #**950** 02/18/2006, 07:46 PM

I'm thinking of switching my hamilton 250w 20k to coralvue reeflux 250w 14k. Does anybody have any pros or cons on the coralvue reeflux?