Tank turned 49 this year

dianezoo

Active Member
Watch it Paul, Im not old Im experienced. Those articles took me back, cool..
I envy all of you that go diving, that wold be the best. I just wish I lived near water now. I grew up around the lakes in Mich and I relate also to not wanting to walk in the goo. You would really sink down into the muck, if you werent on a nice beach area.
To go diving would be the ultamate fun thing to do.
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I came face to face with a very large Nurse shark on Sand Key (Key West). We both scared the &$%# out of each other.

I came face to face with a very large "nurse" once after a knee operation, she scared the 8$96# out of me also when she said "Turn over Boy"

As for the Bumblebee gobi, I thought I lost him as I couldn't find it for a day. It's a big tank, then I saw him (or her) sitting on a rock and I decided to squirt some live blackworms at him. I figured he would get scared and swim away but he swam after them and fought the Bangai cardinal who is ten times his size. He ate some worms and disappeared again. This is going to be like many of my fish that I just see on holidays or the second tuesday of each month. I hope I do not have to target feed him every day as I never know where he will be. Not a very active swimmer. If the thing lasts a month I will get a few more as I like the color contrast.
I once had a cusk eel for 18 years and only saw it about five times. :eek:
I never fed him either. :dance:
 

dianezoo

Active Member
Perhaps a couple together would hang out more and you could enjoy them. I doubt bumble bees shoul, maybe they swarm.
 

no1bubba

Member
"I still only change 20% of the water about five times a year"[/SIZE]
How is it possible to only do a water change 5 times a year ?
I am new to all of this (Had my tank for a little over a year) and everything that I can recall reading here and otherwise is WATER CHANGE, WATER CHANGE, WATER CHANGE. Is it due to your selection of livestock and /or types of coral? Last week I was told that the easiest way to do water changes is take out a gallon every day or so and replace it with the same amount of prepared water. Have developed neck and shoulder problems and 20% changes are getting to be out of the question. Bubba
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Bubba my tank is different. You should not do a lot of the things I do until your tank is very old.
I use a lot of NSW, my fish are small and I run a different filtration system than most people. My substrait is dolomite and I don't even think you could get it any more.
I also add bacteria from the sea and run a reverse UG filter.
Most of my theories are just my opinion and not proven so stick with you learn here on the Noobs forums.
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I can't believe it, I located that bumblee bee gobi again. He stays in the wierdiest places and it is only very accidently that I find him.
He is still eating worms and doing well. If he would ever go into a place where I could observe him better I could tell if he is eating anything else because I really don't have time to crawl under and around the tank with a mirror to feed him
 

dianezoo

Active Member
Paul thats very cool. I guess you cant tell what his demenor is to tankmates can you. In the brackish freshwater world they are considered fin nipers of tankmats. Sounds like he stays places you cant observe much. Glad he is
doing well in your salt tank. You have another suceesful experience on your hands.
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
He is just about the smallest fish in the tank except for a clown gobi. I don't see any torn fins on anything and this thing doesen't look like he could get out of his own way so I don't think he is nipping any fins. He is not very active and I only seen him swim out across the front of the tank once.
I can't tell if he is eating anything besides the worms I am target feeding him but if I see him eating anything else I will get some more of them.
I want to see if it would be a good cheap fish for people with nano's.
They are not real good in a large tank because I could never find him. I hope he eats baby brine shrimp but I doubt it. I feed those twice a day.
 

wazzifam

Member
He is just about the smallest fish in the tank except for a clown gobi. I don't see any torn fins on anything and this thing doesen't look like he could get out of his own way so I don't think he is nipping any fins. He is not very active and I only seen him swim out across the front of the tank once.
I can't tell if he is eating anything besides the worms I am target feeding him but if I see him eating anything else I will get some more of them.
I want to see if it would be a good cheap fish for people with nano's.
They are not real good in a large tank because I could never find him. I hope he eats baby brine shrimp but I doubt it. I feed those twice a day.

Hey Paul, Just curious, you say you feed baby brine 2x a day, are those live that you grow or frozen? I have a brine hatcher here, and have been hatching them to feed as well. But I heard that they are not that good for the fish... are you gutloading them for additional nutrition? Very interested in the brine world. not sure why. maybe back to sea monkey memories. Although we didnt have fish to feed them to. But as a child I remember them wearing crowns. LOL :hammerhea
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I am feeding new born "live" shrimp. I hatch them twice a day. They are very healthy as soon as they hatch and wane in nutrition as they age. After a day or so they are not very good. You need to feed them to your fish when they still have a yoke sack which is where all the oil and nutrition is.
If you keep small pipefish, or clown gobi looking things, you need to hatch shrimp. Live worms are the healthiest thing you can feed to larger fish and baby "new Born" brine are the best thing to feed to smaller fish. They are the only thing that many smaller fish will eat.

But as a child I remember them wearing crowns. LOL

Mine still wear crowns but only for special occasions
 

wazzifam

Member
I am feeding new born "live" shrimp. I hatch them twice a day. They are very healthy as soon as they hatch and wane in nutrition as they age. After a day or so they are not very good. You need to feed them to your fish when they still have a yoke sack which is where all the oil and nutrition is.
If you keep small pipefish, or clown gobi looking things, you need to hatch shrimp. Live worms are the healthiest thing you can feed to larger fish and baby "new Born" brine are the best thing to feed to smaller fish. They are the only thing that many smaller fish will eat.



Mine still wear crowns but only for special occasions

Ive been trying to determine the proper amount of eggs when hatching. I have a small 1 gallon tank set up fo them to hatch in. I purchased a fancy smancy hatcher, that seperates the eggs and sends the brine swiming into the tank. Just trying not to over hatch is the thing allowing them to go to long without being fed and overgrowing losing nutrition. I do see they hatch alot quicker than the packaging says, sometimes within hours of me adding the eggs in the hatcher. I thought there was nutritional value to them. I see them for sale in the LFS all teh time, but they are pink and much larger than the pin heads you and I are speaking of. I did buy some artimis food, but I think the moisure got to it. I have not been able to feed it to them. is there anythign special you feed the new brine after hatching or jsut feed them to the fish and dump the leftovers?
Have you ever tried hatching and freezing the little guys? do they loose any nutrition if frozen? that would keep me from throwing them out.
Have you ever written anyting on breeding, or keeping or preserving them?
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
A gallon is too large. A quart would be better unless you need millions.
Here is the hatchery I made. The eggs hatch on the dark side, then it is covered and the shrimp swim to the clear side through a small hole. All the eggshells stay on the dark side. You don't have to feed the shrimp because they will not eat for a day anyway. They have a yokesack attached which is where all the nutrition is. You want to feed them as soon as they hatch which is the time the sack is the largest. I hatch them every day and feed them fresh. I never froze them although you can buy them frozen, they are not cheap. You can also buy them preserved in a jar. I only use these while on vacation when someone is feeding my tank. I don't think they are that good as many of them will be lost in the tank. The fish that eat these things eat them because they are moving.
Paul
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
I just found something wierd in my tank, a little wierder than the wierd things I usually find. I say a gobi biting this tiny thing and it looked like one of those tiny astria starfish that I have hundreds but on closer inspection it is something different and it almost floats.
I sucked it up and put it in a small container. The thing is less than 1/4" long and is sphirical. It is composed of four polyps, one on each side. I don't have any corals that look like it and I have never seen it before. It was just a fluke that I saw the thing. It is now in a seperate container in the tank and I want to see if I can identify it.
 
Man that is amazing paul. i hope one day i can have a tank just as long as yours. that is a great accomplishment on your part and your gobies are great you might of sold me on one for mine
 

Paul B

Well-Known Member
Teri the thing is 1/4" not an easy model but I will try.

vbsurfer87 your enthusiasm is an uplifting sentiment.
Thank you
 
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