Tori's First Marine Expedition!! nano style!

[leahski]

i've never seen a bristleworm in my aquarium, why do they eat zoas?

i see my sexies on my zoas all the time and they definitly apear to be eating them, and when i'm gone for half a day i come back and can tell that someone has been eating them, that's for sure.

i guess the only other possibility would be that they're already being eaten are the sexies are just cleaning up/taking advantage of the exposed dying tissues??

but i highly suspect the former.

[Craig Manoukian]

Peppermints that eat aiptasia will also munch other corals. Maybe the Sexies have developed a taste for the live corals.

[leahski]

what can i do? i really don't want to choose between my zoas and sexies. i love them both too much!

i've decided to try and place all of my zoas into a "sexy-proof" container for the week while i'm gone so they can if not recoup at least not be eaten. then i'm going to try whatever i can to make this work. i think it might come down to a regular feeding program.

anyone know of a good shrimp food taht i can feed regularly? oh, i really don't want to do this. i'm so afraid of overfeeding such a small system!

[djbacon]

I was considering some sexy shrimp til I read all this....ack...my tank is turning quickly into a ZOA tank. There will be no dining on my corals.

Love to see pics of the shrimp proofing contraption

[leahski]

haha. well, i got one of those little plastic floating breeder tanks that still let water in and out but are separate from the tank and put my zoas, paly, and yellow polyps in there. all that's left out is the shrooms...we'll see what happens.
i'm more than a little afraid.

[djbacon]

submersible light - thats a slick idea!!! i want pix too - has the fuge helped lower your nitrates? Most people scrape paint and hang frankenstein stuff of the rear walls of the tanks.

My levels are good but its taking 3 gallon changes weekly.

[leahski]

well i got back from TN on monday and found everyone alive and well, and my yellow polyps already spreading out again.
since then i've started feeding my sexies a cocktail of mysid and baby brine, but i haven't really found a way to just drop food in and make sure they get some without being boldozed by the hermits...so i'm still hand feeding.
but polyps are getting happy again! i think one colony (which was always kind of struggling) has been wiped out, but the others are healing and already the YP and my brown/green centered zoos are looking great!
also, my red shroom is busy colonizing his rock. his two little buds are growing stalks and branching out, and he is sending out more "feet" and may be moving onto a new ledge...

i'll get some pics up today or tomorrow.

now i am theorizing about a way to get my frags back into the tank so that the can benefit from more water movement without being available for my sexies yet... maybe a frag rack? the shrimp don't seem to like swimming in open water.
i'm also picking up some omega one shrimp pellets which i will experiment with. also theorizing about making a kind of shimp "feeding station"...we'll see what happens.

[leahski]

well, (i promise to get pics up) but my LFS is having a 20% off sale of all corals, so i'm thinking of taking home a piece of finger leather coral. it's only brown, but it's cool looking, and i don't have anything else like it.

how far would i need to put it away from the future sites of other corals? and do i need to run carbon or anything when i take it home because of the chemical warefare?

oh! i forgot, i also got my water checked and my pH and alkalinity are a little low. pH is at 7.9. what should i start dosing and how often do you think?

[djbacon]

from what I have read , 7.9 is ok, 8.2 is ok. Little PH swings can be normal and don't necessarily mandate dosing. A good water change will probably do the trick.

Finger Leathers require medium to high lighting combined with medium to strong water movement. I'd keep it near the top of your tank. (been reading alot about this) For continued good health, you probably want to do a tiny dose of iodine, strontium, and other trace elements to the water (depending on your mix and what comes in it)

Leathers are really cool. I'm dying to add one myself. they are peaceful but do require some space - I'd say a few inches in each direction

I've heard mixed reviews about carbon - it pulls nitrates and other stuff out of the water, true, but many folks dont use it and I have read plenty of threads where peoples corals have had bad reactions to carbon if left in too long so they will put the pack in for a day then take it out. Probably best to get another opinion or two on this one - maybe start a new thread.

[Craig Manoukian]

Soft corals should be placed down flow from SPS and LPS to the extent possible to mitigate chemical warfare. I only used carbon when the soft corals got pouty and emitted their toxins, but not 24/7.

[leahski]

okay, that makes sense. would it be smart to run some when i first put it in since it will be probably pretty stressed and mad? or is it really not necessary.

i plan on having primarily (if not all) softies, so i won't need to worry about sps or lps most likely, but i'll put it down stream anyways.

[Craig Manoukian]

Yes run carbon when you first acclimate them and remove it when they're happy. You can placa softies anywhere if there are no SPS/LPS.

Good job of planning ahead Tori!

[leahski]

haha thanks! i think i'll be getting him tomorrow then hopefully! yay leather!!!

[leahski]

so, here's a pictoral update on the tank.

this is how i found my tank when i came back from spring break (better than i had hoped at least!)

everyone was still alive! yay!

this is the "frag box" i set up as a sexy-proof polyp protector which actually worked quite nicely!


some red looking algae has started growing under my sand though. does it look like cyano?


here are some pics of my mushroom's babies!
here they are as just little nubs, one is still attached to mommy...

here they are starting to grow little caps...

and here they are after break - all grown up with little stalks and everything!


oh, and here are some pretty pics of my sexies on my rhodactis



now...where to put my leather...

[Craig Manoukian]

Awesome shots, especially thiose baby shrooms Tori, great job!