Our Journey To The Salty Side - Part One

[Kipperhips]

Sorry Seffie!!

atleast u gave it a home and a try!!
such a delicate fish

Hey Trod nice pics ..i see some heads missing !! maybe they snapped with current?
maybe im being stoopid hehe

Kip

 

[SkiFletch]

Sorry bout the loss Seff. With patience and time you'll find another

 

[Trod]

Right not quite in a panic just yet One of my xenia's is looking far from happy, at first I thought someone was munching on it as everything else, including my 2 other xenias are fine, but after Barneys reply I began to think it might be something else, so done a bit of testing and nitrate is 25
So I have seffie mixing 25l of water for me, I have 25l on the go and this afternoon I shall do a 50% water change and hope I've got it early enough.I have No idea what has caused the spike, I feed every other day and have done for some time, I have got a sponge in the weir but clean it every couple of weeks, would you recommend I take it out, also I don't run a protein skimmer, might this be the problem too.
Everything else is fine.

Any help as always really appreciated

 

[ben1987]

Nitrate of 25 isnt particually high. If its gone from 0-25 in a short space of time it may have shocked your corals but i have seen softie tanks with much higher nitrates than that.

 

[Trod]

No, its always been around 10, just done 50% water change and its gone down to around 15, so I shall stop worrying then. I just thought 25 was high.
I'm waiting for some chaeto, so hopefully when that arrives it will help some more.

Thanks Ben

 

[seffieuk]

So, today was supposed to be the day Trod went into hospital for an operation – she got bumped till Sunday!

So, next she says, ‘ I will come round to yours with some Chaeto (is that the right spelling Trod, as you do so hate it when it is spelt incorrectly ) – round she comes with Chaeto and what looks like an off cut from a string vest, opens my tank lid and duly wedges the stuff behind my spray bar – not before complaining about the coralline that might be covering one or two of the holes on the spray bar, but hey, she fixed that

Next I get the usual, oh haven’t you got a lot of Aptaisa and she spends ages looking for my new berghia which is as tiny as you could possibly get without actually being invisible – think it is so small the Aptaisia will probably manage to eat it before it manages to eat the Aptaisia!

Then, we get the oh what’s that behind your rock – then I suddenly remember that my Pussy coral fell down there and I had forgot to get it out! How can you forget she says

So up goes the lid again

So, what's the plan then she says - knowing full well she will tell me what to do anyway this is where I am struggling to keep a straight face, just waiting for her to tell me

Up goes the lid again and she starts to tell me what I need to do

She tells me to pick up my zoas and she will put her hand down the back

I manage to both pick up the Zoas and reclaim the Pussy coral who is not a happy chappie

Then we have this bright idea of fragging the pussy coral so

I'm too cowardly, so she sticks her nail through it

wow, we have done our first fragging

So, she now has a pot with a small Pussy coral and a tiny Asterina - couldn't persuade her to take the Aptaisia

Ok, now she wants some reef glue, so we pop to the shops - no reef glue but I come away with a Caracanthus maculatus, Red Speckled Coral Goby, which isn't actually a Goby at all Also known as the Velvet Coral Croucher, the Spotted Coral Croucher, or the Orbiculate Velvetskin. Phew!

This isn't my tank - he is an interesting little fellow

So no reef glue, we head on out again to Andywg neck of the woods and Tugs Tanks, again no reef glue, this time I come away with the biggest snail (astraea) that I have seen -he was happily munching away on the algae in their tank so hopefully he will do the same job in mine

AND, she wouldn't let me get a bag of chips

Seffie x



AND boy is she going to kill me when she sees these unflattering photos - but if I am brave enough to show my face without make-up and in old clothes...................

 

[Trod]

Brilliant, certainly beats going into hospital.
We had so much fun, and laughter, I now have my first little starfish in my tank, sooooo cute, as we were unable to find any glue I thought I'd be really clever and wedge my newly acquired frag of pussy coral between 3 pieces of LR, and low and behold went back to check on it an hour later and you guessed it, its disappeared, so lid up once more, arms in rummage around and .....................nothing totally gone Think coral hasn't forgiven me for stabbing it with my nail
Chaeto is in place, doesn't look particulary good but hopefully it'll do the job and I can sort out a more permanent place for it soon. Thanks again straydum for the idea, at least the crab can't eat it all this time

I did offer to blow torch the aptasia, but strangely enough seffie wouldn't let me have it

Seffie has got herself another little fish, so cute she has certainly got an eye for a pretty fish.


PS. The boys are on their way round to sort you out after those most flattering photos

 

[Truck]

sounds like a good day

 

[Kipperhips]

I thought there was a royal gramma in that tank!! til i realised
it was a Varnished Nail fish!
what do they eat?

Nice to dodge the op table!!

Kip

 

[Trod]

I thought there was a royal gramma in that tank!! til i realised
it was a Varnished Nail fish!
what do they eat?
Good spot Kipperhips They are truely a rare fish, but feeding is easy, just dip in saltwater 2 - 3 times a day and they love it
Nice to dodge the op table!!
Unfortunately only delayed it I will be back in to have it Monday

Kip

No real news on tank, chaeto is in and I have now put my protein skimmer back in to see if that will also help with nitrate, I really want to get them down.

Done other tests and they are all ok

Nitrate 15
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
PH 8.3
Phosphate 0
Alkalinity 10.2
calcuim 360
SG 1.025

Oh yes and I caught the blooming emerald crab trying to break into the bag with the chaeto in last night, we were having a stand up fight, I was poking him with a blunt instrument trying to get him to let it go and he was trying to get my finger with his claw thankfully I won

 

[kj23502]

You guys are comical. Really good read. When we do get to see a pic of Seffie's new fish?

 

[ben1987]

How did i miss that?!
Someone should make a face behind the name thread thing

 

[BigC]

Sister Act
Dont you just love this pair. beats the hell outta reality TV.

 

[Kipperhips]

The Hairy bakers is good ...what about the Hairy Aquarists!(as you both have long hair)


Kip

 

[seffieuk]

The Hairy bakers is good ...what about the Hairy Aquarists!(as you both have long hair)


Kip

Was a bit worried what you were going to say there

Seffie x