I'm Back With An Update

Dear fellow fishkeepers

Back with an update at 3 months; things are maturing nicely!! For those who don't know I have a 24g D&D nano which I started cycling 13 weeks ago. My losses so far have been: 1x skunk cleaner shrimp, 1 of 4 polyps on a Euphyllia ancora (hammer coral) and 1 of 2 polyps on a Euphyllia Divisa. Both polyp losses were incidently around the time of acclimatisation; an all too familiar scenario. The remaining polyps are florishing which is really nice. I have two clowns, Ted (spikey orange dorsal fin) and Dolly (Black edge on dorsal fin), and they are really active. I also have a Diadema (black long spined sea urchin) the species though is not known. I would hazard a guess at D. Setosum because these are one of the commonest available to aquarists but not 100% sure. He was initially bought to combat my problem with excessive caulerpa growth and I was informed by several members that he would do a nice job cleaning up. Up until now he has not touched a single strand of caulerpa and has focused all his effort to ridding my tank of coralline algae!!! and shouting at him "NO DON'T EAT THAT, EAT THE GREEN STUFF" doesn't work surprisingly. As SH says once settled in they cruise around the tank not bothered by my presence. They actually poop rock, how about that!! Hermits are growing fast, one has changed shell twice now. His present shell reminds me of a little kid trying on Dad's suit; a little big at the moment . The turbos are still around eating what hair algae is left and the fine strands on the glass. What is really interesting is the vents on the back of my GSP I don't think were part of the GSP. I think it was a sponge because that has shrivelled and died unfortunately but the GSP is really health. Anyway I have just left it for the time being adding no new live stock for a number of weeks. I have redirected the little cash I have into learning to dive. I think it will be much more pleasurable to see marine life in the wild; I do have a list of sharks that I want to dive with. Oceanic white tip, reef white tip, hammerhead, black tip and whale shark are a few of the species that I would love to track down and swim with. We are all allowed to dream aren't we lol.
Picture at bottom is green star polyp. The top left is frogspawn coral and top right is hammer coral.

Regards

More pictures: fish are TANK BRED (PROTECT OUR OCEANS) percula clown fish Ted (Bottom picture) and Dolly(Top picture). The black spikey thing is Ursula the sea urchin.

Regards

Finally a full tank shot (sorry about the quality doesn't really do the tank justice) . Would appreciate to hear what people think.

Regards

looking good....lovely euphilliyas!

Love the Macros, I think they always add a natural look to the tank and do a great job of keeping a stable water chemistry balance. Looking good

You DO have D. setosum Say goodbye to your coralline and watch your hands if you put them in the tank. They DO bite/sting but only if you get your finger under the mouth area.

Thank DOES look good with the macro...try and keep it cropped. More than likely, the urchin will stick to your coralline. They DO love nori.

SH

Ok so another month has passed and things are more stable than ever..... time to build on a good start. I have been thinking about possible additions to the tank and so far come up with uncertainty. The pictures at the top are pretty much how the tank looks now and the only changes are the hammer and frogspawn are bigger (almost touching which means trouble ahead) and the macroalgae is a lot shorter. What are peoples thoughts on this? I am more interested in coral as opposed to fish or critters. Incidently is there a type of starfish suitable for a 24g (US gallons)? I have been looking at mushrooms and maybe a leather toadstool/ kenya tree.... but I am not sure? Would a Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (open brain coral) be ok since I have been watching one at my LFS for the past...... well four months? I would appreciated to hear what you think

Regards

We have reach the 6 month post, Ladies and Gentlemen. Things are looking a lot different from three months ago. Unfortunately while the green star polyp is still alive it is not as lush as in the pictures posted previously. This is because the flow is too slow for it and I can not add any more because the Euphyllia (both divisa and ancora) have an adverse response to faster flow. I try to exchange it at the LFS but NO shop will (apparently it is shop policy). I can't remember if I informed you all about my toadstool and plate coral?? Anyway a while back now I got a purple plate coral and toadstool which are REALLY thriving in the tank. The toadstool is actually plural; three to be precise. Oh yeah I think I may have informed you about these because the toadstool had a little anemone hitchhiker, which was strangely eaten by the urchin???!! and I posted an ID thread. The toadstool is now fixed in place which means the urchin can not dislodge it and plant it up-side-down in the substrate. It seems to appreciate it when that does not happen and has responded with some growth. I am now at the stage of adding 'filler' corals; the mushrooms and Zoa that create more continuity to the reef. A few days back I bought the first of many such corals; a green striped mushroom frag which has got to be the best coral for acclimatising to my aquarium. Possibly explained by the hardy nature of the coral and the maturity of the tank now but still impressive. It must have been a few hours and ALL the mushrooms were fully expanded soaking up some rays . The Zoa which were pioneers to the tank have re established their colour and are looking healthy. Now we get to the top tier which is home to the Euphyllia Spp. They are really looking healthy and I can not wait for an opportunity to frag them, which is incidently fast approaching. Between the two of them, the hammer and frogspawn, when fully expanding their polyps cover almost the entire width of the back wall of my 24G. They have also developed numerous new polyps which are growing beautifully at a respectable rate. Another striking feature is their ability to tolerate each other. The polyps of the frogspawn are frequently intermingled with the polyps of the hammer and neither seems to mind. I assume this is the case as both are in excellent health and follow a predictable circadian rhythm with regards expanding and contracting their polyps. The frogspawn has also ditch the sweeper tentacle in exchange for a peaceful coexistence with it's fellow invertebrates. The Gondi of the marine world........ . I will post some pictures when I take them but until then you can use your imaginations and speculate on what it looks like. Oh yeah the macros is no more; all gone to where I am not sure.

Regards

Interesting...........keep us updated

Seffie x

looks fantastic

ben1987 said:

looks fantastic

Click to expand...

Thanks, though those images are 'old' now. I am at the eight month post and things are looking good. I am going to use Zoa instead of mushrooms to fill space. I can't use the mushrooms as the urchin has almost demolished an entire mother colony!! It is really annoying but I can't stop it. He is the boss and I am his loser servant who brings the seaweed and fish food .......

Regards

naughty urchin

Any more pics for us? Looks really good!!

btw, I'd be afraid to swim w/an oceanic white tip. They show up first on shipwreck scenes and seem to be more exploratory. I'd be up for swimming with the others. Did you happen to watch Shark Week on the discovery channel a few weeks ago? There was a shark expert that swam with, pet and road Great Whites. Shiver Me Timbers I don't think I'd ever be up to that.

I will get round to findings the time to take some more pictures but really busy at the moment. I didn't see the shark week unfortunately but I have seen similar programmes before. Where do guys like that get off on diving in with a beast of a shark and riding them.... honestly what would possess a person to do that every morning it is hardly like going for an early morning jog. You can imagine it ' Honey, I'm off for my morning swim with a sharks.' There was one one guy who waded in shallow water and put fresh meat (it was soaked with blood) in the water to feed the bull sharks right by his ankles. Honestly is that not just stupidity......

Anyway consider the pictures on their way soon

Regards

I guess when you really understand an animal as well as the risks involved with being around that animal, you develop a sense of peace and unity with them. I think aggressive animals can sense that. Sharks don't view us as food, so they would only attack if they saw you as a threat...or a seal. So if you go in the water and treat them with respect, it seems as though they reciprocate that attitude.

I was just going to take some new pictures but the urchin has climbed across the corals and they have all closed up. I promise they will be here soon.

Regards