Update Time !
Hi Diana ! Yes, it's update time, with pictures . . .
Here's a FTS of my Display Tank. I try to leave things alone and keep my hands out as much as possible. In just a few short months (July to October) we've added a clean-up crew, four fish, three Peppermint Shrimp, a Tuxedo Urchin, and a few beginner corals.
Let's have a look --- Today's FTS:
Our first fish addition was a pair of Bangaii Cardinals. They are doing fine. In the beginning, they were very shy -- almost never out in front of the rocks. Now, they're up front most of the day. During our brightest lighting period, they move back to a cave behind the rocks. They certainly prefer dimmer lighting. Earlier this week we thought we might be attempting to raise baby Bangaii. The male (larger of the pair) was not eating for 5 days. It appeared that his mouth area was 'puffy' - maybe carrying eggs ? But, on the 6th day, he was back to eating again and the 'puffy mouth' was gone. First time we observed that. Maybe he was carrying eggs and had them for lunch.
In this picture, the male is on the right:
In this picture, the male is closer to the center of the frame:
Our second fish addition was a pair of Occ Clowns. These were the first fish to spend time in our Quarantine Tank, also known as the Penalty Box. After 3 weeks in QT, the Clowns joined the Cardinals in our DT. They are very curious and get very excited when anyone is near the tank. Although together most of the day, their sleeping habits are very different. One floats nose-down, tail-up near the overflow and the other hides in the rockwork. They do spend time looking at themselves:
There are three Peppermint Shrimp assigned to 'Aiptasia Patrol'. They do an awesome job because there's no Aiptasia to be found. These guys have no fear ! They immediately investigate any new addition. When I put my hands in the tank, there are usually 1 or 2 Peppermint Shrimp picking at my arm within 10 seconds. I can shake them away, and they come right back. Here's one observing his world from the top of the rockwork:
And here's another Peppermint Shrimp bothering a Turbo Snail:
Here's our Tuxedo Urchin working near the waterline. Today, he's wearing some shell rubble and a small hermit crab. The hermit is not happy and seems to be planning his escape.
Speaking of Hermits . . . We seemed to have reached a truce between the Hermits and Snails where the Snail population had stabilized -- meaning that the Hermits had stopped killing the snails. About 10 days ago, all that changed when a group of Hermits took out a Turbo Snail - certainly the largest unauthorized meal they've ever had in our tank. I think the Turbo Snail fell from the rockwork and the Hermits attacked. We have two remaining Turbo Snails and they happily clean rocks and glass all day. This incident caused me to re-think having Hermits on the clean-up crew. So I plucked 7 of the Hermits out of the tank -- 3 remain in there. Of those 7, 4 are living in the sump and 3 are in the QT. We'll get back to our QT Hermits in a minute. . . .
As for 'next fish', I was looking for Chromis (Blue Reef or Blue Green) but could find only small ones (about 1.5 inches) at several LFS. I did find a nice selection of Lyretail Anthias though, so we added three of them. Here they are in our QT where they have been for 3 weeks:
Our QT is a 20L that I acquired at the Petco $1 / Gallon sale. We all know how that goes. $20 for a tank, then add many $Hundreds for everything else ! It's got an Apex Jr. an Ecotech MP-10, Tunze ATO, yada, yada, Ouch !!
You'll notice that there aren't any PVC Pipe Fittings in my QT. I started out with several of them. The Clowns (first QT inhabitants) loved them and spent significant time in them. However, the Anthias hated them, would not enter them, and even pushed them around. At that point, I had a little rock in the QT and the Anthias pushed each other around jockeying for space in the limited rock caves. I removed the PVC, added more rock, and the Anthias have been peaceful for 3 weeks. At night, they are completely hidden in and under the rocks. One more week, and they can move to DT.
Here's an interesting behavior -- To me (certainly no expert) it looks like the Anthias think that one of the Hermits is a Cleaner Shrimp. The Anthias will position themselves near the Hermit, then flutter in front of him:
The Hermits will do anything for a meal. Here's one of them hanging upside-down from an MP10, looking for a microscopic meal. This guy climbs the silicone (where the glass meets in the corner), then stretches over to the MP10. Every now and then he loses his grip and drops to the bare bottom below.
Beginner Corals, aka Stuff You'd Have To Try Really Hard To Kill:
So, for someone who is very new to all of this (less than 4 months ago, my tank didn't even have water in it), I'm having an enjoyable time. There's much to be learned.
What's next for me ? I'd like a few Chromis and maybe a Cleaner Shrimp. Many months down the road, I'd like to acquire an Anemone or two.
Thanks for following along in my adventure. If you have any questions, please ask ! I'll be as helpful as I can within the limits of my very limited knowledge.
And special thanks to those who have answered my questions here at Reef Sanctuary. Without your guidance, there's no way I could have come so far in such a short time.
---Frank
