Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Michael Hoaster]

I lost another gramma, leaving one or two. I'm only seeing one, but there should be another. Or it could have died hidden in a cave. The only visible one left is the male. It was the largest female, that stepped up to manhood when Big Daddy died.

I had hoped to save all of them from disease. I didn't. Hypo salinity didn't fail me. It was my fault. I was too slow to begin treatment. That's the problem with curing sick fish-by the time you see symptoms, it could already be too late. Or if it's not, you have to correctly diagnose and quickly treat them to have any chance of success. I was way too slow. Lessons learned.

Now I need to focus on getting my little ecosystem healthy again. As soon as hypo is over, I'll be able to really do stuff. I can't wait! Two days after clipping the turtle grass, new blades are already a half inch tall. I think fast is good. The quicker they regrow, the quicker they use up reserves. I also noticed the the current is less powerful, with the live rock scattered about the right end of the tank. The ulva doesn't billow as much as it did before.

I've been thinking about what to plant on the back wall. I'm thinking I want something towards the top, that will shade the bottom of the wall, keeping it unplanted, so it doesn't crowd into the grasses. Having the wall in shadow provides a nice, dark background for the grasses as well. Plus I might get some encrusting sponges to grow there.

I'd like the rock DSB planter to be unplanted as well-not the DSB, but the rocks themselves. I think maybe I should just see what grows, and if some parts don't sprout something that'll be fine. I'd like at least some of the hardscape to show through.

On the fake roots, I expect the grasilaria hayi to come back in the same places it was before. I'd still like to get some sponges on the shaded roots. On the ones in good light, I'd like to get some nice, flowy weeds to dance in the current. If I ever decided to give up on sponges, I'd consider adding a light to bathe the roots in light, and just plant more plants.

But I won't give up without a fight. Sponges are just too cool. I think I am getting close to having some success. I think there is sufficient food and current. Dosing sodium silicate is another plus. I just need to get some good, healthy specimens, and get lucky with placement and orientation.

The detrivore community will need rebuilding as well. I'm not sure how much I'll need to add, and how much will come back on its own. I still have pods and snails. I'm not seeing spaghetti worms or mini brittle stars though. I'll get some more live sand and/or mud.

A lot to figure out. But of course, I love it.

[Chasmodes]

Sorry to hear about your gramma, but although the treatment was in response to them getting sick, it was for the overall health of your tank, and you really had no other options. Your plan sounds very exciting. I like the idea of shading the wall because it was designed to be seen in the first place, and it looks so realistic. Sponges are so cool, so good luck growing them on the wall.

I wouldn't say that it was your fault that you started hypo late. You tried your best to catch the grammas and get them into QT. Hypo, at the time, was a last resort, if I remember right. Hindsight is 20/20, but you were being cautious with the best interest of the tank and the inhabitants in mind, nothing wrong at all with that.

[Michael Hoaster]

I hesitated when I couldn't catch the grammas. Then I went back and forth on treating the display. If I had been quicker to react, things might have been different. But you are right, I had to also consider the rest of the tank and I just couldn't jump too quickly without looking at the overall system's health.

The real (and biggest) mistake was impulsively buying the Lookdowns…

[Chasmodes]

The good thing about 20/20 hindsight though, is that we learn from our experience. And it's nice to be on sites like this where we can share our experiences and learn from each other. Don't beat yourself up about it though, because you've been very logical and thoughtful each step of the way. In the long run, you will be able to watch your tank with pride and awe, and hopefully, we will see it too

The lookdowns were cool. I saw some in our LFS last week. I would want some in my dream Caribbean mega queen angelfish tank!

[Michael Hoaster]

True that Chasmodes.

Yeah, I'm not beating myself up too much, but I did want to point out my mistakes for others (and myself!) to learn from.

The Lookdowns WERE cool! That first day, when I had all three, that was the best fish watching (in my own tank) day of my life. It was amazing. The Lookdowns prefer to be in a school, and the way they swim together is the shizz.

Yeah, a huge lottery tank, with a school of Lookdowns, a mated pair of Queens, a harem of Rock Beauties, and a school of Banded Butterflies would be a sweet Caribbean community! Maybe a 10x10 would do it? Better make it 15x15!

[Chasmodes]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

True that Chasmodes.
Yeah, a huge lottery tank, with a school of Lookdowns, a mated pair of Queens, a harem of Rock Beauties, and a school of Banded Butterflies would be a sweet Caribbean community! Maybe a 10x10 would do it? Better make it 15x15!

Don't forget some a rock beauty, a french, a harem of bluehead wrasses, a school of blue chromis, a spanish hogfish, a redspotted hawk, a spiny boxfish, and of course, some molly miller blennies!!!

[Michael Hoaster]

Six more days of hypo salinity.

I removed the next to last gramma the other day. That leaves just the one. He's eating and appears healthy, so I'm hoping he makes it. As sad as it is, I'm relieved to get the last sick one out. I need to know that my tank is free from sickness-at least as much as I can know.

Right now, the molly fry are the dominant species. It's good to have all those tiny mouths, eating algae. They're fun to watch as well. Ah, youth…

I haven't done a thorough inspection, but the aiptasias on the live rock appear gone. Same for the caulerpa. Since I've seen it come back from the grave, I'll hold off on declaring it eradicated for a few months.

Not much to show right now. It's still pretty ugly. As soon as treatment time is up, I'll starting increasing salinity and decreasing temperature. I'll probably do that over the course of a week or two. Not a huge rush. I've still got my battle with the turtle grass to look forward to as well. I wonder how long that will take. My guess is two or three months. I guess I should keep dosing to a minimum. Or would dosing help to speed up the process? Hmm.

[Chasmodes]

Almost there. Five more days! Are you throwing a party next Wednesday to celebrate?

I'm looking forward to the recovery. Good luck with the turtle grass removal. It will be very interesting watching your tank come back as well as your future new additions.

[Chasmodes]

I was doing some web research on Chasmodes bosquianus, the featured blenny that will be in my oyster reef tank, along with all of the other species of fish that I hope to keep, are also found in some mangrove lagoon biotopes! Our biotopes are pretty similar, even more than I thought. I don't know why I didn't realize it before, but it makes sense.

The big difference is that the Chesapeake lacks some of the more tropical blennies and gobies than in Florida, for example, but the ones found up here are also there. Pretty cool, I thought.

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes indeed I am excited to get my little lagoon back! I think it will be a wonderful journey, to bring it back from miserable state it is in. I had to show my tank to a surprise guest today and I was mortified. "Here's my tank in the ugliest state ever. You like?" Mortified.

I'm sure I'll post pics of the recovery, just like I did with post-tang recovery. It's amazing how nature bounces back.

Our tanks will be very similar. Just a few degrees latitude different. I look forward to you joining the party! But you've got another super cool project to do first. I don't think I could summon the will to do two consecutive tank projects, but I'm sure there are benefits to it.

What is the common name of your blenny?

[Chasmodes]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

It's amazing how nature bounces back.

Yes, it is!!! How is the ulva holding up?

Chasmodes bosquianus is the striped blenny, found along the Atlantic coast from NY to Central Florida. It has two very closely related cousins, C. subburae (the Florida blenny), ranges from the Central Atlantic Coast of Florida around to the Gulf Coast of Florida, and C. Longimaxilla (the stretch jaw blenny) that ranges from the Central Florida Gulf Coast to the Texas Gulf Coast. Their ranges overlap a little I think. There is another blenny common to the Chesapeake, Hypsoblennius hentz, the feather blenny, that ranges to Florida as well. I would keep one of them too if I am lucky enough to catch one.

[Michael Hoaster]

The ulva is getting brittle and breaking into smaller pieces, but does appear to be growing as well. I think it will hang in there until hypo is over then it should come back a bit. There are pieces of it all over the tank now. I'll probably do a little straightening today, so it's not quite so ugly. I'm still mortified from yesterday…

I love the idea of a blenny community tank. Hopefully you can catch multiples of each, to get that natural, social behavior aspect going. They are such cool fish to watch!

I guess that's a slight downside of catching your own. You can't just click 3, like you can at an online store. I imagine that complicates the order of introduction process as well. I'm sure you'll work it out.

[sam.basye]

What determines whether or not you can keep multiple blennies in a tank?
Some species won't even tolerate one other blenny in the same tank; like a bi-color with a tailspot.

[Michael Hoaster]

I'm no expert but I think herbivorus blennies are more territorial and carnivorus ones are more gregarious, as a general rule. Obviously you'd want to research candidates for doing more than one. The two I've researched-barnacle blennies and sailfin blennies prefer to be sociable. It seems like larger ones are less sociable and smaller, more.

Chasmodes, you want to weigh in here?

[Chasmodes]

I think you may be right Michael. Both the striped and feather blennies are omnivores, so food competition may be less. With striped blennies, competition is for suitable empty oyster shells for breeding spots. I read on an oyster reef they may be as close as 5" apart!

It depends on the species. As long as there are plenty of hiding spots in a big enough tank, you can keep multiple C. bosquianus. I've seen a few tanks that have kept multiple striped blennies and read about others too.

I think H. hentz tolerate each other a little less than C. bosquianus but I doubt anyone has reported trying it. They also live in an oyster reef environment, so maybe? My question is if both species tolerate each other? Maybe we will find out!

[Chasmodes]

BTW, I used to keep a molly miller with a bicolor in a 55g FO tank. They totally ignored each other.

[sam.basye]

Interesting stuff..

Blennies are a favorite of mine due to their stupid looking heads and great personality. Lol

One of the coolest things I remember from snorkeling in Curacao were the little blennies that resided in holes in the big yellow brain coral colonies. Popping in and out.

[Chasmodes]

Originally Posted by sam.basye

One of the coolest things I remember from snorkeling in Curacao were the little blennies that resided in holes in the big yellow brain coral colonies. Popping in and out.

That sounds fun. I'd never leave the water!

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by Chasmodes

That sounds fun. I'd never leave the water!

It sure was! A jellyfish sting and crashing a moped couldn't keep me out of the water. Lol
I've got lots of pics and videos of the snorkeling in Curaçao in my build thread if interested.

Try to poach you away from Michael. :P
Or at least derail the thread :P

Your oyster reef tank seems like a cool idea.
Where does one primarily hunt for the blennies? How far inland?
How do you plan on collecting them? Slurp gun, dip net, barrier net?
Blennies are a tough one to collect!

[Michael Hoaster]

Derail all you like! Fun discussion.


After a little straightening. Not much red to be seen but I do have some frags hanging on.


Molly fry cruising over the newly pruned grasses. I seem to have more shoal grass than manatee grass lately. I think it dealt with hypo the best.


I do like the ulva.

Almost there! Just hold it together for a few more days…

[Chasmodes]

Thanks Michael. I will derail a tad, but carry it over to Sam's thread after this post. Your tank is still beautiful, like a winter forest right before spring, and spring is only a couple days away. Life is there, it just is waiting for the right conditions.

Originally Posted by sam.basye

It sure was! A jellyfish sting and crashing a moped couldn't keep me out of the water. Lol
I've got lots of pics and videos of the snorkeling in Curaçao in my build thread if interested.

Try to poach you away from Michael. :P
Or at least derail the thread :P

I admit that I haven't been on your thread in a while, but was watching it during your initial build stages. Wow, that rock wall turned out great! It was beautiful work before, but the way life abounds on it is amazing. I'll have to go back to where I last left off and catch up to see your pics. I see you're a Toyota man... FJ Cruiser Trail Teams addition here Nice work on those lights!

Originally Posted by sam.basye

Your oyster reef tank seems like a cool idea.
Where does one primarily hunt for the blennies? How far inland?
How do you plan on collecting them? Slurp gun, dip net, barrier net?
Blennies are a tough one to collect!

Thanks, I hope it turns out as planned. The two blennies near me are found in the Chesapeake Bay and the saltier areas of the brackish tributaries. They prefer oyster reefs, but will hang out along any structures close to shore in the shallows during warm months, out deeper during cold months. You can catch them along undercut banks along shoreline reeds near beaches, around jetties, pilings, rip rap or piers. I live about an hour to an hour and a half from my closest collecting spots.

I have collected species other than blennies in a seine, but all of the blennies that I've caught so far have been with dip nets or aquarium nets. I'm not sure how much that I'll collect along oyster bars because they are really hard on equipment, razor sharp. For me to successfully collect in those areas, I'll need to use traps.

I've made traps our of milk crate style boxes that are weighted and contain faux oyster cultches or bottles, hiding spots for blennies, skilletfish and gobies. You simply pick up the trap (or haul it up with a rope) and the fish scoot to their hiding spots. Most of the time they stay in them when you pull the box out of the water. It is wise to have someone follow behind with a dipnet if you have company to help, especially getting the net under the box as it leaves the water.

I have yet to try a snorkeling using a slurp gun or a net. Visibility isn't all that great in the Bay and jellyfish during warmer months become a bit of a nuisance.

Another way to catch them is by microfishing with hook and line. I haven't done it, but I've seen others do it.

[Michael Hoaster]

It's funny, Chasmodes, I was thinking the same thing about my tank. It still has some beauty, and more to come, like the wildflowers in the spring. I just hope I am able to steer it in the slightly different direction I have planned, and this new direction looks and functions as well too.

[rucnnefish]

Michael,
What salinity are you planning on bringing your tank back too? If the green macro died back at hypo. but the reds hung on, maybe something in the range of .016 or .017 may be perfect for you. I was talking with the LFS employee the other day and he said their wholesaler is now sending stock at .016, and therefore they are keeping their tanks the same. Is there any reason to go higher than this except for certain corals?? Your thoughts??

[Michael Hoaster]

You are definitely onto something, rucnnefish!

Many of us could do well to reduce salinity to below natural seawater levels. It reduces fish's efforts to osmoregulate. So it's one thing we can do to make their lives just a little easier. I don't know how well corals handle it though. My condylactis anemone and the hitchhiker corals on my live rock don't seem to mind.

I run my tank at 25ppt, or 1.018, approximately. This is manatee grass' preferred salinity.

For hypo, I've been running 13ppt or 1.009 SG. I also raised the temp to 84ºF. I plan to lower it to 80º afterwards.

I haven't experimented with .016, but I would guess from my experience that most macros would be fine there, with probably a few exceptions. For example, I was shocked that hypo killed off my caulerpa racemosa peltata. I was also thrilled!

It also killed off my plague of aiptasias. It would be VERY interesting to find out what salinity is the breaking point for them! Imagine, just running your salinity at .016 or so, and aiptasias dissappear!

[rucnnefish]

I think .016 is a bit low, but if the good stuff thrives and the band stuff crashes then sweet 16 it is.lol