Setting Up A Nano

[cuticom]

This rock is amazing, the other times I got LR it had nowehre near as much life. I've just spotted what i think is a crab (just saw a pincer disappearing into a cave) and also a pulsing xenia.

Edit- I'm talking to myself but anywho. I've been thinking about the tank and reading and I'm thinking I might go fishless and just ahve some inverts. I do wnat to get one hermit as well, just one though so it shouldn't be too much of a disruption. Then just snails and maybe a shrimp and lotsa corals, which should keep fairly low stocked, leading to less maintenance, I hope LOL.

 

[JakeKM]

Hello there...
-Your tank is looking nice so far and you certainly have some interesting pieces of LR.
-You might want to be careful with that crab though, alot of hitch hiker crabs can get large and very destructive (can you get a pic ?).
-(17g right ?) You could get away with a couple of gobies IMO, thats if you decide to go with some fish.
-And as for that thing, i would say it was a Majano but i'm not 100% about that.

Thanks JakeKM

 

[cuticom]

So far it still doesn't look anything like a majano. If I actually manage to see more then the tip of a pincer I'll describe the crab better. I don't think I really want fish...

 

[cuticom]

OMG so I'm getting ready for bed and thought I'd use a torch to check out the liytle crab, and the rocks are swarming with life then I see a bristelworm that was TWO CM wide and FIFTEEN CM long emerge from the rock and all i can think is oh sh*t I just had my hand in there. I don't think it's a baddie though it was greenish not red but OMG scary. Aldso saw Aiptasia, meh.

 

[seffieuk]

Exciting isn't it - the nem does look like a mojano and the other one does look similar to aiptaisia but more like a clove polyp

Think you would regret not having at least one fish for more movement

Seffie x

 

[cuticom]

Maybe, though to be honest I;m nit actually that big on marine fish, yes their are some nice ones but they all grow to like three feet. the nano ones though okay aren't my thing, it's the coral I love. if I did get fish it would be a yellow clown goby, and that doesn't really add movement either...

 

[cuticom]

Just retsetd everything
s.g.- 1.024
pH- 7.8
Ammonia-
0
Nitrite-0
nitrate0
Alkalinity- 80ppm

 

[cuticom]

Okay so time for a longer update.

Firstly sightings in the liverock.
So far I've seen three actual aiptasia, each has been blasted with small amounts of lemon juice and vinegar and have not reappeared. There was one inch tall one and two .5mm ones. As for other corals there is a small amount of pulsing xenia, a good sized colt coral, a single zoanthid and a small colony of clove corals. I got a much better look at my little crab last night as well, he has a carapace width of about 1cm and is mottled pink and white with deeper pink/red claws, so far all I've seen him eat are small amounts of detritus. I have yet to see the little urchin again but there are also millions of bristleworms and brittle stars. Which brings me onto the mega worm that scared the bejeezers out of me last night. I have a problem with worms, similar to how people react to cockroaches, however I'm learning to get over it and see no reason why I should kill this guy because I have irrational fair of worms, however if he is poisonous I will kill him. I've named him Harry for now and my original measurements were way off he is 1.5 cm in width, .5mm in height and 40 cm (16") in length, one bloody big worm basically. He was out trying to find a sandbed when I got home, so I got some pictures. He has a fascinating iridescence across his back, white bristles and what I would swear are eyebrows LOL. This depicts a very small portion of him-

So he still gives me the creeps and I'm buying gloves ASAP but I can live with him, I might even be able to bring myself to feed him, as long as he's not the poisonous coral eating species...

As to my plans for the tank I've been thinking I'd keep only a few nice show corals, maybe predominately softy with just one LPS, like a small hammer or frogspawn.

 

[karigupi]

Brilliant rock, great find, so much life in there, you hardly need to add anything lol.

 

[cuticom]

LOl that was what I was thinking, and with work if i can bring myself to like Harry and he doesn't touch corals I might keep him instead of a fish LOL.

The really great thing though is that since the rock was transported in water there is o die off, so no cycle. So I'll give it a couple of weeks to stabilise then begin adding corals.

 

[youngfisher]

Im hoping I get some life with my LR.
Hes a beast.
Imagine him crawling up your arm when your moving a bit of rock.
Oh the things marinests but themselfs through.. lol.

YF

 

[cuticom]

That would be why I want gloves, being stung by a thousand venomous needles is really not on my todo list.

I just nicked one of my Mums freshwater sinking pellets and dropped it in at the front of the tank and got some much better pics of Harry. I can confirm he's the not the coral eating monster thank god, he's just your regular giant bristleworm detrivore.

Those who get creeped out easily, please be warned these photos are alien

 

[youngfisher]

I would actually run like hell from my tank if I saw this.
Lol, I dont like creepy things.
But if anyone asks im not scared of anything, yeahhhh!
Lol.
So you going to keep him?
Can these things grow much bigger?

YF

 

[cuticom]

Ummm from what i read there have been instances up to six feet, though this is in large heavily fed tanks, if this one gets any bigger he'll be going to the LFS. I really don't like killing things, I will do it now and then to protect other species (ie I will nuke aiptasia as there is no safe way to transport them to another tank) however creepy just doesn't seem a good enough justification to take a life, so he stays and I'll just have to accept him. I grew up with bugs having a mother who dabbled in entomology and he's really just a huge caterpillar, as a detrivore he will also keep the tank floor clear of debris which will be good. And he gives me an excuse for not keeping fish LOL. Plus I have no idea how the hell I'd get him out of the tank. they reproduce by fission, so just grabbing an end and yanking will just break him up and then I'll have lots of huge worms.

 

[youngfisher]

Omg.
Its like a combination of worms together!
Wow.
I would run a mile, but I would still keep him if it wasn't going to affect anything.

YF