Lisa's Reef
  • Home
  • About
  • System Details
  • Livestock
  • Tank Diary
  • Full Tank Shots
  • Previous tanks
  • Links
  • Contact

Bumper bank holiday update

28/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Firstly, time to update the fish list.

Sadly the Red Spot cardinalfish are no more, thanks in part to the tiny but rather mean Red Spotted goby. There were no more jumpers but the three that remained never really settled no matter how much I tried to feed them. They vanished one by one until there were none left, the last disappearing on the 4th August. I have to say that the tank looks empty without them but I will not be replacing them as I feel they are simply too sensitive for this sized tank especially with its current fishy occupants.

In addition to the loss of the cardinals, one of the Red Spotted gobies also vanished. The smaller of the two and not, I might add, the mean one. Sigh! Perhaps he had got bullied too?

At that point the fish list consisted of Candy the Red Striped goby, Hop & Skip the Nudus gobies (although I hardly ever see them any more), Edna the Possum wrasse, Kylie the Pink Streaked wrasse and Rocket the remaining Red Spotted goby. It was time for something new and this time I decided I wanted a bold and above all easy to keep fish. As I'm rather fond of wrasses I'm afraid to say I bent my rule of staying with small fish only. I opted to add a juvenile Yellow wrasse, Halichoeres chrysus. What a ray of sunshine this fish is, certainly not one to blend in with the rockwork.

He was introduced on the 21st August at 4pm and as expected, immediately dived into the sand. He was up and about just after 9am the following morning. After 30 minutes of orientation he began picking tidbits off the rockwork/sand and when it came to feeding time there was no hesitation or fussiness. He ate everything offered without a second thought. Hmm this fish is going to grow fast I think (oh dear, what did I say about never upgrading tanks ever again...).

Ray, as he is now known, is a lovely fish. He's settled into a routine of getting up around 8.30am and going to bed at just before 7pm, he sleeps in the same area of sand every night. During the day he's constantly on the hunt for pods/worms/whatever else takes his fancy and if I approach the tank he comes up to say hello rather than hiding in a cave, now that's a refreshing change! Fortunately, he's not tried to eat Crystal the Bruun's cleaner shrimp yet and I hope he never does (always a risk with these fish).  So far the easiest trouble free introduction ever.
Picture
Picture
As for the corals, growth is steady and colouration improving. I have managed to resist the temptation to add anything new although I do keep looking, lol. I am a little concerned for the Red Tuxedo zoanthids, I fear that they are suffering from the bacterial infection known as zoa pox. If I am correct I know this could spell disaster for my  entire zoanthid collection but as they have encrusted onto the rockwork directly I am a bit stuck. To dip them would mean a complete strip down of the right-hand rock pile which is something I'm not prepared to do at this point (or ever if I'm entirely honest). I am simply watching and waiting and hoping it doesn't spread.

I am working on updating all the coral photos and am almost there bar a few.  
0 Comments

Who's a big girl now then!

17/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Charlie climbed to the top of the refugium to say hello to me this morning. I discovered her sitting on top of the thick mat of algae. Oh my, she's grown a lot! So is clearly finding enough to eat down there. :o)
Picture
0 Comments

Birth of a sun!

13/8/2017

0 Comments

 
I was studying the rock work this morning with a magnifying glass as I tend do on a regular basis (I'm weird that way) and I came across an unknown polyp on the rock work. My initial reaction on seeing suspicious tentacles waving around in the tank is generally, uh-oh here we go, Aiptasia again, but I quickly realised the colour looked wrong for it to be a glass anemone. Out came the camera for a closer look and what do you know! It's a baby polyp of, and this is where it gets tricky, either the Balanophyllia sp. or Tubastrea sp. corals, I'm not sure which. Further scouring of the rocks turned up one additional baby polyp tucked away under an overhang. There may be more hidden in there just waiting to be discovered, I will be keeping my eyes peeled.

I've had the Balanophyllia for just shy of 3 months and the Tubastrea for just under a month. It seems too soon for it to be the sun coral but I guess it could have released larvae shortly after it was introduced. I have no idea how long it takes for a baby sun coral to grow into a recognisable polyp. As you can see it's still pretty small at the moment, those are vermatid snails and spirobid worms scattered over the rocks next to it for size reference. More research is required and questions asked I think. No matter what species they turn out to be I'm very happy to have discovered them in my tank. 
Picture
0 Comments

Crustacean frustration!

7/8/2017

0 Comments

 
So, Benji the hermit crab is just minding his own business cleaning off the algae growing on Lurch the conch's shell and wham, Lurch's operculum shoots out and knocks him off in the blink of an eye. I guess Lurch didn't want his shell cleaning after all, lol!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Here we have a Cerith trying to hide amongst the zoanthids, but come on, that blinding white shell is not making it easy is it? Lol! Perhaps if it didn't spend weeks/months 'sleeping' under the sand things might be different. I'm just glad to know that he (or she) is still in the land of the living.
Picture
0 Comments

The Midas touch!

6/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Well I never!! I reported in a diary post on the 21st July that the "King Midas" zoanthids were beyond all hope but it seems I may have been a tiny bit hasty....

To recap I introduced these zoanthids on the 25th June and intially left them on the sand for a week whilst I decided what to do with them, they seemed fine and opened up beautifully so I fixed them to the rockwork on the right-hand side of the tank. After that they promptly refused to open up again. After a week had passed with no improvement I decided to put them back on the sand again and in a couple of days they began to recover. Then I chose another spot on the rock not that far from where they were sitting on the sand and fixed them down again. They closed up again and began to shrink away. What the...?! So frustrating!!

For all intents and purposes I gave up on them as I didn't really know what to do anymore. There aren't many free spots left in the tank for corals these days. Finally when there was barely anything left on the frag plug I pulled it off the rock fully intending to chuck it away but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. You couldn't call them zoanthids really but there were some tiny blobs of flesh still attached, so back to the sand they went. This time I left them in amongst the 'shell graveyard' (the is a pile of spare shells on the sand front right-hand corner of the tank that the hermit crabs have either moved out of or will possibly utilise in the future (and the amphipods just love to play hide and seek in them)).

After a while the blobs started to show short some stubby tentacles and, knock me down with a feather, they began to resemble tiny zoas again. I've absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with them now, I'm not going to mess around with them so I guess they can stay where they are for the time begin. Fingers crossed that the hermits/snails won't bash them around too much when they going foraging for food.
Picture
0 Comments

Fishellaneous!

5/8/2017

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

A few more photos.

5/8/2017

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

    Author

    Hi, my name is Lisa and I live in Derby, UK. I am a self-confessed reefaholic!

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Acanthastrea
    Acropora
    Acropora Echinata
    Acropora Gomezi
    Acropora Hyacinthus
    Acropora Loripes
    Aiptasia
    Aiptasia RX
    Aiptasiax
    Algae
    Algaebarn
    Alkalinity
    Allogalathea Elegans
    Alpheus Rubromaculatus
    Ammonia
    Amphipod
    Anclyomenes Venustus
    Anthias
    Apogon Parvulus
    Ascidian
    Asexual Reproduction
    Asterina
    Astralium
    ATI Carbo EX
    ATI ICP OES
    ATI ICP-OES
    ATU
    Balanophyllia
    Ball Anemone
    Barnacles
    Beach Bum Montipora
    Beamswork EVO
    Berghia
    Bivalve
    Blackbarred Goby
    Black Sun Coral
    Blistering
    Brightwell NeoNitro
    Brittlestar
    Bruun's Cleaner Shrimp
    Budding
    Caulerpa
    Cerith
    Chaetomorpha
    Chaetopterid Worm
    Chilli Coral
    Chlorodiella Nigra
    Ciliate
    Cirrhilabrus Isosceles
    Clam
    Clapping Shrimp
    Clibanarius Tricolor
    Cobalt
    Coco Worm
    Colpomenia Sinuosa
    Commensal Shrimp
    Conch
    Conductivity
    Copepods
    Coral
    Coral Crab
    Coralline
    Court Jester Goby
    Cowrie
    Crab
    Crab Trap
    Cucumber
    Cuprisorb
    Cyanobacteria
    Cyphastrea
    D-D Reef-pro 1200
    DD Reef Pro 1200
    DD Titanium Heater
    Deltec SC 1351
    Dendrophyllia
    Diatoms
    Dinoflagellates
    Dipping Corals
    Ecdysis
    Eggs
    Egg Sac
    Elos
    Emerald Crab
    Equipment Failure
    Euplotes
    Fathead Anthias
    Fauna Marin Skim Breeze
    Favia
    First Birthday
    Fish
    Flatworm
    Foraminifera
    Fragging
    FTS
    Gate Valve
    GHL Doser 2.1
    GHL Profilux 4
    Ghost Cardinalfish
    Glass
    Glass Bubble
    Goby
    Goniopora
    Gorgonian
    Graceful Shrimp
    Green Tentacled Corallimorph
    Hair Algae
    Halichoeres Chrysus
    Haliptilon
    Helfrichs Firefish
    Heliofungia
    Hermit Crab
    Heteropsammia Cochlea
    Hitchhiker
    Holothuria Hilla
    Homotrema Rubrum
    Iodine
    Iron
    Isis Hippuris
    Kessil H80 Tuna Flora
    KH
    Koumansetta Rainfordi
    LED
    Leptogorgia Chilensis
    Leucosia Sp.
    Live Rock
    Lobophyllia
    Lotilia Graciliosa
    Lybia Sp.
    MACNA
    Mail Order Corals
    Maldives
    Marginopora Vertebralis
    Menella
    Mexican Turbo
    Microscopy
    Mithraculus Sculptus
    Mitras LX7
    Monetaria Annulus
    Montipora
    Moulting
    Mouth Brooding
    Muricea Elongata
    Mussel
    Mysid Shrimp
    Nassarius
    Nemateleotris Helfrichi
    NeoPhos
    Nephthyigorgia
    Nerita Sp
    Nitrate
    Nitrite
    Non Photosynthetic
    Non-photosynthetic
    NT Labs Anti-Aiptasia
    Nudibranch
    One And Only
    Ostreopsis Sp
    Oxypora
    Pale Corals
    Pebble Crab
    Petrolisthes Galathinus
    PH
    Phosphate
    Pink Streaked Wrasse
    Pinnigorgia
    Pintail Wrasse
    Plexaurella
    Pocillopora Eydouxi
    Pom Pom Crab
    Porcelain Crab
    Possum Wrasse
    Potassium
    Power Cut
    Priolepsis Nocturna
    Protula Bispiralis
    Pseudocheilinops Ataenia
    Pyramid Snails
    Rainford's Goby
    Random Flow Generator
    Rapid Tissue Necrosis
    Red Bugs
    Red Dragon Acropora
    Redox
    Red Spot Cardinalfish
    Red Spotted Goby
    Red Spotted Pistol Shrimp
    Red Striped Goby
    Reefer 170
    Reefloat
    Reef Primer
    Reeftops
    Reefworks
    Refractometer
    Refugium
    Reverse Bleeding Apple
    Ring Cowry
    Roller Filter
    Rotifer
    Rowaphos
    RO Water
    RTN
    Rusting
    Sabellidae Sp
    Sand
    Scolymia
    Second Birthday
    Seriatopora Hystrix
    Serranocirrhitus Latus
    Shrimp
    Sicce Syncra SDC 6.0
    Siporax
    Sipunculid Peanut Worm
    Skimmer
    Slow Tissue Necrosis
    Snail
    Snorkelling
    Spawning
    Spherasorb
    Spiny Astrea
    Spirorbid Worms
    Sponge
    SpongExcel
    Spotted Mandarin
    Squat Lobster
    Stomatella
    Strontium
    Stylophora
    Sump
    Sunburst Anthias
    Sun Coral
    Sweeper Tentacles
    Sycon Sponge
    Symbiotic Pair
    Synchiropus Picturatus
    Tank Cycle
    Tank Upgrade
    Tank Views
    Tegastes Acroporanus
    Temperature
    Third Birthday
    Tigertail Cucumber
    Tigropus
    Time-lapse
    Tin
    Tisbe Biminiensis
    TMC EcoReef Rock
    Tomiyamichthys Nudus
    Top Down Photos
    Trapezia Cymodoce
    Tridacna Crocea
    Tridacna Maxima
    Trimma Cana
    Trimma Rubromaculatus
    Triton ICP OES
    Triton ICP-OES
    Trochus
    Trochus Babies
    Trochus Spawning
    Tropic Marin Balling Salts
    Tropic Marin Reef Mud
    Tubastrea
    Tubastrea Micrantha
    Tube Worm
    Ultra-reef Akula 160
    Ultrareef Akula 160
    Ulva
    Urocaridella Antonbruunii
    Valonia
    Venus Anemone Shrimp
    Video
    Vilamendhoo
    Walking Dendro
    Wetmorella Tanakai
    Whitecap Goby
    X Filter 1.0
    Yellow Wrasse
    YouTube
    Zoanthids
    Zoanthids Agarve
    Zoanthids King Midas
    Zoanthids Red Tuxedo
    Zoanthids Sunny D
    Zoanthids Utter Chaos
    Zoanthids Wango Tango
    Zoa Pox
    Zoramia Leptacantha

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • System Details
  • Livestock
  • Tank Diary
  • Full Tank Shots
  • Previous tanks
  • Links
  • Contact