20 Going On 90

[seffieuk]

how would i go about Dosing Ca?

You shouldn't need to with weekly water changes and a good salt, umless you stuff the tank with LPS which wouldnt be wise as they will sting each other unless the same species

are halloweens known for eating softies at a rate that poses any risk?

Don't think they are known for this type of behaviour but Donya is our 'expert' and should know. i think she is saying that she has witnessed this behaviour, so keep an eye out for it

do LPS corals all have to be fed? if so how would igo about doing that and can i use frozen?

Some do take frozen but rarely, they get their food from the light

if we do get an LPS what would be a good amount of time for acclimation (i usually do an hour with every 15 min about a cup of tank water)

Test the water in the bag, if the sg is the same as your tank, then just warm up for 30 minutes or so, if there is a large difference in SG then over a few hours, really is all according how different the SG is

Seffie x

 

[GAB99]

hmmm when you say species do you mean species species or genus?? and how many species could i probablyget away with?? i was thinking aplatecoral on the bottom, a hammer/frogspawn/torch, and candy cane coral with softies all around..


and i did go to the LFS i didnt like (the good ones closed on tuesdays) but:

1. mistreated animals, it was an ecletus parrot that idk how it eats its beak is so overgrown its sad, i know its not a fish but if i see something up with an animal im very disinclined to purchase anything, plus they had a 'rare' yellow assessor going for 189$ and it had ripped fins and couldnt support itself, also saw an octopus in a 40 gallon but it was stuck in a .5 gallon plastic cage (i know they can escape but the tank was acrylic with an opening that could be easily grated.

2. wayyy over priced, 1" bubble coral for 50-60$, saw bigger bubble at the other store selling for 45-50$, 4 red mushrooms for 50$

3. very unclean, the other place looks like a very well kept place even on delivery days, nothing going on in the store but there was water on the floor (given) some tanks didnt have algae, aitasia in the coral tank...

so, tomorrow we are off to the closer, better one to get something im sure wont kill my tank, if mandys and starfish (reef safe) and wrasses can live in the coral tank im sure clowns can as well


and tbh i dont mix my own water id love to but we'd need RO thing (planning to get one for the bigger one) and salts.

and yes i did see a halloween crab, very pretty but o so $$$ lol 40$ really? i hope thats just the store
where would be a good place to get replacement shells?

ok ive never thought of testing the bag water but if it helps with acclimation i better make that a habit ill post the SG if theres a difference so you guys can help me get a rough estimate

and btw two new polyps formed on the zoas so i hope they take over their home rock soon to get rid of that nasty algae blennys been having a pick or two at it so its going down a bit


which reminds me, feeding, i feed once a day every other day for around 3 minutes, but the blenny gets fat, then by next feeding hes got a slight sunken belly (not as bad as purchase, just barely visible) so idk what to do?

 

[Donya]

With regard to the zoo-eating, ditto what Seffie said - I don't think zoo-eating is the norm for the species, but I was a bit shocked when I observed it. Most likely a well-fed Ciliopagurus strigatus won't care about corals since there are easier and tastier foods around. But, I have never seen small Clibanarius do that even when quite hungry, so it's just something to keep an eye on. It may also be an individual difference from crab to crab.

and yes i did see a halloween crab, very pretty but o so $$$ lol 40$ really? i hope thats just the store

I know there is regional difference in prices (I think I saw that you're in the US on your profile - do correct me if I'm wrong), but I have never seen Ciliopagurus strigatus go for what I would consider "cheap." They seem to go for $10-20 a pop in parts of the northeast depending on the store and size of the animal. My recollection was that the prices I saw were even a bit higher for the species when I was living in Texas.

where would be a good place to get replacement shells?

Make sure you get cone snail shells specifically if you go with C. strigatus. Some conch shells can work as a last resort, but they'll probably get ditched at the first opportunity for even a poor-fitting cone shell. It's best to build up a stash before you get the hermits, since cone shells are not always easy to come by. Some places where I have seen the shells for sale: LFSs that stock the hermits regularly (any losses from shipping will leave a shell behind) and craft stores. Sometimes cone snail shells will show up mixed in with land hermit crab shells but it's not to common. Shells are usually cheaper at craft stores, but are a bit risky due to how they may have been cleaned. Any shells from a non-aquarium-oriented source warrant a good scrub and a long soak in water before letting any animals near them. I'm sure there are online sources too, but I've never looked for any that do cone snail shells specifically.

 

[GAB99]

yes im in the US and the one that was going for 40$ was around an inch (from what i could see of it) what areaof the tank do they usually occupy? like are they on the rocks most of the time or the sand or an even mix?

and thanks for the info, ill be sure to collect cone shells whenever i see them. and latertoday we might be going to the store which im happy about as that store is awseome lol

and since we are still on a CUC what about a pair of shrimp? would that also be a possiblity?

 

[Morri]

That is very very steep I pay rougly $7.50 for mine here (at 1.5 exchange rate) Shells are a pita for these as they need to be conch shells I ended up buying 2 mixed bags and took what I needed sold the rest on

 

[Donya]

what areaof the tank do they usually occupy? like are they on the rocks most of the time or the sand or an even mix?

C. strigatus will run around on anything and everything. They climb strangely well for their build; if they can a grip with the tip of one leg, the rest will follow. They will also happily go UNDER things, not just over. Rocks <1/2lb are likely to be re-arranged periodically if not glued down.

 

[GAB99]

what areaof the tank do they usually occupy? like are they on the rocks most of the time or the sand or an even mix?

C. strigatus will run around on anything and everything. They climb strangely well for their build; if they can a grip with the tip of one leg, the rest will follow. They will also happily go UNDER things, not just over. Rocks <1/2lb are likely to be re-arranged periodically if not glued down.

thanks for that bit, ill be sure to watch them and make sure nothing falls lol

 

[GAB99]

very lovely selection today as well as 5" mandys being acclimated


we ended up with 6 cerith snails ( i think, pretty sure tho)

a rock covered in green starpolyps

a rock of blue mushies


when i mentioned the lighting the lfs guy said wed rather stick with softies for now and then upgrade to something better later on i have to eat so ill post more later


well now that im back i tested SG and there is a .004 difference, so ill give it an hour to acclimate with 15 minute intervals of adding tank water



also there seems to be what looks like a 2cm diameter, green, tanslucent bulge on the rock with the polyps? wth is it? pics tommorow when everyone settles out the firefish seems to be quite angry at the ceriths

 

[GAB99]

since ic ould not remember what the lfs guy said what snails they were i googled vibex, nassarius (turn out they are the same thing )and cerith, i definately have vibex snails, and i have to say i thought id never be so interested in a snail before they are great!! i cant wait to feed the tank tomorrow


and more cool news! there were at least two tiny brittle stars that came out of the star polyps rock as well as another tiny snail ( mexican turbo by the looks of it donya could hopefully help if i can find it tomorrow, im voiding the pic rules due to the green ball issue) and what i think are either copepods or amphipods (hopefully they will make use of the chaeto safe haven), i quickly turned off the lights as the clownfish got a little too interested (the other two freaked out and hid lol)

i couldnt get the polyps where i wanted em cuz i put the snails in first and they buried right where i wanted the polyps to go, but its close enough lol

the mushrooms started re expanding and the polypsare still closedbut im not too alarmed as ive read they could take awhile


and thats it for today im off to bed, when i do abit of my AP hw i will have time to take pics among other things.. finally doing things i want to do feels so good!

 

[GAB99]

well, its morning and everyone is out and about, the GSP has come out and looks lovely but it needs more flow me thinks, i can just barely see the rock where the mushrooms are, and the blenny is having munchies on the algae around the zoos. fire fish is just cruising and those silly clowns were following me around.

however theres a new strange thing but i think i know what they are... they look like vibex eggs on the glass? really tiny white specks about as big as a period . like that i think, and two of the three really small vibex are on the glass and one seems to be covered in them?

and the green blob turned brown

ill get specs on the light asap to see what i can put in the tank lol

 

[seffieuk]

I'm really enjoying reading your observations keep um coming. Where are those photos get them posted Mr

Seffie x

 

[GAB99]

i wish i coul but im dealing with summer hw right now, tbh its not that hard except for one thing, i have to decide whether to take AP spanish IV or not, it wouldnt be a problem if i didnt move as there wouldhave been no summer hw and i could practice at leisure,now i have to decide to drop down to regular spanish IV or talk to the teacher via phone and write an essay about how globalization affects culture in 45 minutes,its a bit of a big decision so i prolly wont get photos till the 3pm mark

 

[seffieuk]

Thats very understandable - talk to your teacher and ask them what they think you should do

Seffie x

 

[GAB99]

well things are settling down now with the hw as im either 1/3 or 1/4 of the way through depending if i am forced to stay in AP spanish IV, imo i dont want to waste my one chance with too big of a jump from spanish II to AP, even though i am hispanic and it was my first language, but if its too easy i can always go up,not the other way around.

anyway i might be late on the pictures but i did one better, a video with pictures just in case it wont work

the firefish

the blenny

the mushies

one of the tiny vibex

GSP

eggs???

best shot i could get of the green thing

the video




http/s901.photobucket.com/albums/ac219/luminothprime/?action=view&current=MVI_0524.mp4

i also have the exact light specs:

Coralife
50/50 Actinic
6000K
18"
T8

now what can i keep with this??? when we were at the store the owner recommended a ligit one that could fit the tank, but my dad got a heart attack when he heard it was 190$ lol i can remember a disclaimer i said in the beggining "are you sure?? this could become expensive"

 

[seffieuk]

I just loved the video

Re the Spanish - it's an interesting conumdrom. You would expect English speaking people to do very well in their English Exams but we know that this is reliant on ability levels - however, if they take an English exam in a foreign country, say as a second language in Spain then they do better in that examination as the expectations are different/lower! So I assume you are in America and taking a Spanish exam, so the Spanish is being considered as a second language?

So, you are a Spanish speaker outside of Spain, a bright young man, seems a no brainer to me However if you can't swop back if it is too much, its certainly a big risk what does your teacher think?

Under that light you can keep most softies and any low/no light lps

Seffie x