Reefmack's RSM 130

[mbdave]

RSR I got a green (Nephthea/Sinularia) from Fragglereef.com I think it was 20 or so bucks. They are down your way, beware though out of the things I got from them the green finger was the only one I appreciated.... Terry if the zoanthids are a problem ever thought its time for some new rock and a small rebuild? Just to stop the zoanthids..

[Reefmack]

Hi Dave & thanks for the info. I've looked at Fragglereef a few times but never ordered from them. A while back I replaced all of my top rocks (moved them to the 9G tank), and it hasn't taken long for the onslaught of zoas & palys to take over again. I think I'd have to replace all of the rock. I'd love to do that - if you'll send me a few hundred bucks LOL!

[Reefmack]

My son first noticed my 2 clowns had eggs on the glass in the back right corner last Thanksgiving Day in November. How long they've been raising eggs before this is anyone's guess, but since they they constantly have a batch of eggs cooking back there, with only a couple days between batches. I gave up counting at 10 since November. This is a lousy video since whenever I get close to the tank the fish all think it's feeding time, and it's difficult for the camera to focus with fish all over the place. The pair takes turns fanning the eggs and mouthing them to keep them clean I guess.

The eggs are that gray patch on the right side, back corner - probably over a hundred eggs. The eggs develop pretty quickly and it doesn't take that long before the shiny eyes of the young become visible. I think this batch is 2-3 days old and has darkened up from the original tan color when freshly laid.



It's a shame all of their effort goes into making fish and coral food. The eggs do hatch and the fry quickly disappear. It's also near impossible to clean the glass in this corner as the clowns attack any scrapers that get near their area, and I'm afraid I'll injure the clowns by scraping back there.

[nanoreefing4fun]

Nice vid Terry - thanks for sharing !

[Reefmack]

I think the clowns need Anti-Viagra, before they wear themselves out taking care of batch after batch of eggs!

[Reefmack]

Wow - I haven't updated this is months! Here's a "situation" I just posted in the Corals forum:

I noticed about 2 weeks ago that the zoa colony that covered the right side of my rock was quickly dying off, from the bottom of the colony, working its way to the top. This was an earlier picture:



In about a week all of the purple zoas died off, but when whatever it was reached the top of the colony it stopped. It hasn't affected the different species of zoas that are on the top edge of what was once the purple colony, nor did it affect any of the neighboring yumas or other corals. The dieoff uncovered 2 green centered Blastomussa merletti that had been overgrown and were being smothered, so that was a good thing:



I saw no signs of zoa pox and no sign of nudibranchs. The species that died off came as hitchhikers on my rock over 2 years ago, and multiplied quickly. To be honest I don't think I'll miss them much, as they overgrew other corals over time, and now I have an opportunity to place some different corals (or relocate some) to the bare spots on the rock.

Dipping was not an option due to the size of the rock that the ill-fated colony was on.

Has anyone ever seen this type of thing happen - a wipeout, for some reason, of one zoa type, while leaving others untouched? It seemed very unusual to me.

[flynfish]

Too bad about those Zoas Terry. I was recently at a frag swap where a guy brought in this nasty looking worm about 2 feet long, some kind of Eucinid I think. He said it had been eating mostly zoas for over 4 years and he had never seen it. Fortunatly iT got into the over flow one night, so he was able to catch it. It looked just like the huge one that an aquarium in England found that was going around the net awhile back. I hope that's not the source of your loss. It was freeky. I'd throw out the entire tank if I saw something like that in it.

[mbdave]

Terry over the many years I have done this hobby that has happened to me a few times, "in fact you don't see my purple deaths anymore" I have no idea what the hell it is but oh well more room for corals, I almost believe its a strongest survive thing when the zoas get alll over and take up all the space. Then again who knows....

[alphasierra]

Wow... very strange Terry. Oh well, that means more corals

[Reefmack]

Well, it did open up some space for something else. I have a multi-mouth orange Ricordea florida on the way that I hope to be able to mount in that bare spot. I always wished those zoas hadn't taken over that side of my tank - I guess I got my wish!

On an even sadder note, I lost my Foxface yesterday. I was doing a much needed scraping of coralline & green algae film on the front and sides of the tank, and noticed later that my Foxface was nowhere to be seen. It was a very timid fish (even though equipped with venomous spines) and always hid behind the rock when I'd put anything strange, or my arm, into the tank. I looked all over with a flashlight and finally spotted him dead in an inaccessible spot in the back of my rock - all I could see was his snout and part of his face - my peppermint shrimp and serpent star and a snail or two were already at work consuming him. In fleeing the scraper he evidently wedged himself into a small space behind the rock, from which he couldn't escape. I wish I had noticed it sooner, as I might have been able to move a rock just enough to allow him to escape. I'm still upset about the loss as it was such a beautiful, peaceful fish. It's a real loss to me.

On a good note, I tried out a new scraper that worked exceptionally well. I can't remember the name, but it's an attachment that you superglue onto a large size Mag Float, that has a razor blade. It did an extremely quick job of scraping off heavy coralline buildup. Unfortunately my work resulted in losing the Foxface.

I've lost a few fish in the last couple months - fish that I'd had about 2 years. A blackfinned shrimp goby and a diadema dottyback. I'm not sure if it was old age or what. Neither showed any sign of disease - they just became less active at the end. Since we don't know how old a lot of these fish are when we get them I think it may just be an old age thing, or not getting the proper diet that they are accustomed to in nature. But, I guess nothing lives forever.

Since I have a Majano problem that I'm always fighting I've been considering getting a small Raccoon Butterfly - which appears to be the best choice to eat Majano. The problem is that they can go after soft corals too, so I'm a bit leery about it.

[RaysReef]

You've got a beautiful tank reefmack. Sorry to hear about your fish. I've not put any fish in my tank yet, that's a big step for me.

[Reefmack]

Thanks Ray

[Mavjoy]

RM- have you added any new stuff to your tank lately? I also see in the pic that silver color coral you got right next to the expired zoas. Those are pretty aggressive with other corals. I got one and I always make sure that it does not touch any other corals. It once touched my blue cloves and it almost killed it.

[redsea reefer]

sorry about the fish Terry....

[Reefmack]

Mavjoy - that's actually a zillion headed peaceful Duncan to the left of the bare spot. It needs to be fragged! The heads are so close they can barely open, plus the Monti cap has to be broken off every 2 weeks to give the Duncans some breathing room. I think that's the one you mean?

redsea reefer - thanks. I'm still very depressed about losing the Foxface.