crespeto's inherited 100gal adventure

C

crespeto

Active Member
Howdy Jason, nope the canopy is mostly open in the back for ventilation, but build screens for the top of the tank so no worries about jumping fishies :). Well all the fish seem to be doing well and aren't messing with each other. The clowns have even ventured out into the front of the tank some, not the middle but they did come near the middle to get some food. Usually I have to go target some food over in the back right corner of the tank to make sure they get some. Hoping that as they get bigger they will venture out a little more, then just hiding back in the back corner of the tank. Otherwise not much to report I'll be doing water change tonight, kept forgetting to pick up some extra water, in the mean time I was able to make up 10 gals or so of RODI water at home so this afternoon I can get another few gallons and that should be enough for a 10% water change. Then tomorrow I can hopefully go pick up the purple fire fish, and maybe a diamond goby, and a sandsifting star, and a glass cleaning star, and some chromis, and... um got this is a sickness. I should be able to apply for benefits or something from somewhere :) Well I'll keep you posted on whats going on.
 
jpsika08

jpsika08

Well-Known Member
Great news on the future additions, even if it's the whole LFS you're bringing in LOL, are you QT ing your fish?
 
C

crespeto

Active Member
not for now, I've only been getting stuff form one fish store, and I put a couple drops of iodine in the water when I drip acclimate which is supposed to help with some of that stuff. So for now I guess I'm taking my chances with my wallet and tank, but the LFS that I'm using is good about taking care of their stuff. You never see a sick or dead fish in any of the tanks and they have QT set up for anything that does show problems, so it isn't a terrible gamble. At some point this year, I need to take some time to finish my stand and get my QT area setup, but think that after this next set of additions, I'm going to be done for a few months.
 
C

crespeto

Active Member
Okay so I really really have to be done now, went to the LFS to get the couple of purple firefish, that the wife and I had seen that she loved so much she signed off on getting a couple. She had also seen some cool orange/red stars that are supposed to be reef safe and are rock and glass cleaners. Turns out they picked up a shipment over the weekend and found what they called purple chromis. I've tried to find pics of them online to make sure they were called right, but can't seem to find them. The look like anthias, really pretty looking fish and they are small and schooling. So go to the fish store and come home with some astrea snails (hermits did a couple hostile take overs and need to replenish my glass cleaning crew), 1 red/orange star fish, 2 purple firefish and 4 purple chromis. All of them acclimated well, and were very active and pairing up with similar fish types, and everyone eat well last night at feeding time. The only fish in the tank that currently seems at all territorial is the royal gramma, Joyce, and I think she was confused by the similarity in between the new firefish and the ones that have been in the tank for a bit. Then the one blue/green chromis, Stewy, took over as the head of the purple chromis group, like the little pimp that he is, and as long as he was around Joyce left the school alone, when he would trot off on his own some then Joyce would come out to mess with the purple chromis.

So luckily we waited to name the fish till they had been in the tank for a bit, but once we saw how Stewy took over the chomis school, we decided it would be Stewy and the princesses. Mia my 4 year old daughter got to pick, so Ariel, Jasman, Belle, and Cinderella. Chrissy and I couldn't stop laughing at how the group of them swam around. I'm kind of happy that I never managed to get any more blue/green chromis now. I'm really hoping that the 4 that I have do well. Ian my 6 year old son got sad that he didn't get to name any of the chromis, till we told him he could name the 2 new firefish. So we have Thomas and Emily, he has been watching a lot of Thomas the train lately :). The star fish I don't think we named, maybe 'Point', don't know have to talk with the kids about it. Also saw Oscar last night he was up under a rock in the middle of the rock formation on the right side of the tank so he is still doing his thing.

They didn't see any good diamond gobies when they picked up the shipment so no gobies for now, maybe I can talk my mom into getting one for me when she comes up around my birthday later in the month :) Otherwise I had Calcium of 420, and 0 for everything except maybe very low nitrates showing up when I picked up the fish and changed out another probably 3 gallons of water drip acclimating the new additions last night. Also picked up a good razor with a long handle on it so I can clean the coraline off the front and side glass. I had ordered a wireless network bridge last week so I could get the RK net module hooked up. I was really hoping that I the myreef software would work through that as well but it doesn't look like it. I'm kind of disappointed about that, seems silly that you have to have to be attached via sid to use myreef, but at least I can get email notification on the tank and get logging and label the power modules and stuff with the network module. I'll have to try and build a connection cable to run from office to my computer, and deal with mailing in the SID so they can update it. Maybe this weekend. Well that is what is going on, here are the pics of the new additions.
 

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C

crespeto

Active Member
That could be it, does look about right. Funny she was right they are the poor mans anthias. :) In any case I like them, they are very cool. I love how close to each other they swim, a very nice little school. They aren't right up with Stewy any longer but he comes in with the group here and there. Good call, thanks
 
jpsika08

jpsika08

Well-Known Member
Congrats Chris, the tank is a big happy family!
LOL About the princesses, nice you could get unusual Chromis for the tank.

Any FTS soon? :)
 
C

crespeto

Active Member
Thanks everyone. I've been happy with the star fish, he has been hanging out in the very font of the tank since I put him in, mostly on that same rock, so at least we get to see him every day. Wife named him Spike by the way. Kids get a kick out of checking him out. Haven't seen Oscar (the hotdog cucumber) in a while, got a glimps of him in a cave a few days ago so guess he is just getting rock cleaning done in the rock piles for now. Gator the sixline is MIA right now I'm hoping he is still around but not overly optomistic at this point. He was really cool, anyone know if they are sensitive to environment or something, I thought they were pretty hearty in general. He was eating pretty well etc, but last 2 feedings haven't seen even a flash of him.

The clowns have been more active last few days, coming out at feeding time into the middle of the tank, and one of them stays out in the front / middle area of the tank often now, so that is happy. The new purple chromis are stay school pretty often, and Stewey hangs out with his princesses pretty often as well, so that have been fun to watch. So far all the firefish seem to be doing well, and Joyce the royal gramma is as the biggest fish in the tank at this point, still likes to throw her weight around here and there. My trumpets are going to be splitting again soon. They have started to get very big and on a couple you can see the 2 mouth holes developed on each side of the center. Other corals all seem to be doing well, except the purple gorgorian one that one almost never opens up any more, not sure what the deal is, I may try moving it again.

I finally caught one of the 2 smaller red mithrax crabs. I noticed this weekend a chunk missing from my acan, that was doing super, before hand. So chrissy, the little buggers have been smart so far and stayed back in the caves, but chrissy caught a glimps of one on a rock that was on top of the pile so I grabbed the whole rock out and shook it off in the fug till he fell off. The acan seems to be doing better after a couple days of not being messed with, hope it didn't get damaged to much, all the extra heads it was growing aren't looking great any more, so guessing it had to start pulling back on them to try and take care of itself. I'll try and get some pics tonight, of it and the trumpets.
 
Uslanja

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi Chris! Love the way you write and tell a story. It has us sitting here reading along with big dumb grins on our faces!! The photos of everyone look real nice!!!
 
C

crespeto

Active Member
Thanks guys, that is nice to hear. My wife mostly says I ramble to much when I talk or write, but now I can tell her to stick it :)

Not much else going on with the tank. Everyone seems to be doing well, the star fish is still on the same rock out front, that is the slowest moving animal ever. It could totally put a sloth to shame, I think in the 2 weeks since we got it, it has moved a total of like 3 inches, the rock must just be loaded with detrius or something.

Anyone have a good remedy for filimetas(?) algae in on the sand? I know lots of stuff eats diatoms, and some of my problem is to much nutrients now that I'm feeding more for the added fish. Skimmer still seems to be doing its thing, and the cheato ball is rolling along, last check levels were all 0. I'm looking into getting some ulva and red gracillia macro for the display and fug soon. With luck that will help kill it off, and I'm thinking I may pick up a diamond goby soon. I've heard they are great at keeping the sand churned so that you have much lower likely hood of algae growing in the sand bed. But just wondering what everyone else does. I'm doing my best to not stir up the sandbed, so I don't vacuum stuff up or anything, I just pump out water from my fug area and then add water for water changes. I have a bunch of nasairus snails that dig down and pop up pretty regular but need something that will clean the algae off the sand bed, and I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Oscar has been MIA for a few days now, but since it moved about as slow as Spike, could be anywhere in the back under rock pills for ever cleaning up and I'd never see it. I'm hoping to at least catch a glimps of him soon, so I know that I don't have to go digging around to make sure he doesn't poison the tank.

Gator has been missing for a full week now, so pretty sure he is just gone, brittle stars are gone as are most of the hermits, not sure what the deal is with fish just disappearing in the tank, but everyone else seems to be doing really well. Wall-E and Eva the clowns have even gotten more bold and are out int he middle of the tank much more often. Have a lot on the plate right now and a heap of traveling to do next few weeks but I'll try and snap a few pics soon to toss up. Catch you all later and happy reefing.
 
jpsika08

jpsika08

Well-Known Member
LOL about the star moving so slow.
I think the algae should disappear if you reduce feeding and light cycles.
Hopefully Oscar and Gator will re appear soon enough :)
 
steved13

steved13

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Check all of your overflows, and anywhere else gator could have jumped into. I found my six line in the back chamber of my RSM, anI don't rasie the lid very often or for very long so he must have taken the opportunity to spelunking.
 
astiesi

astiesi

Member
How'd the tank hold up after traveling last weekend, any updates? Remind me next time you are down this way I could frag and send you home with a couple red zoa polyps.
 
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