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Unread 10/09/2020, 04:44 AM   #151
vlangel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster View Post
Dazzling!
Thanks Michael, that brilliant blue is very eye catching for sure. Seeing that same color blue with your damsels is what made me decide that I had to have some, even though my damsels are a different specie LOL.


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Unread 10/09/2020, 04:49 AM   #152
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Nice, love those anemones in the corner.
Thanks ThePurple12! They are rainbow nems. A reef friend that lives near me gave me one and it split when it was transferred into my tank. I was thrilled that the nems chose that area of the tank to reside because they get food before it goes into the overflow, plus they can't sting any coral where they are located. It's the perfect spot for them.


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Unread 10/09/2020, 05:10 AM   #153
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Even though I had never found a body I had pretty much given up on finding the 6th damsel in the sump. However this morning I went down to look very early and lo and behold, there it was! I snagged that little guy immediately and now he is in the display with the other damsels! Woohoo!!!


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Unread 10/09/2020, 11:47 AM   #154
Michael Hoaster
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Rainbow nems? Are they Condlylactis? I ask because I once saw a huge, rainbow colored anemone, while snorkeling in Tortolla. I think it was a Condylactis.

I was in a similar boat with my damsels. For several days I only saw 4 of the 5. Finally, this morning all five were swimming about. Whew!

Dawn, looking at your tank makes me want more fish!


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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 10/09/2020, 01:39 PM   #155
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[QUOTE=Michael Hoaster;25700585]Rainbow nems? Are they Condlylactis? I ask because I once saw a huge, rainbow colored anemone, while snorkeling in Tortolla. I think it was a Condylactis.

I was in a similar boat with my damsels. For several days I only saw 4 of the 5. Finally, this morning all five were swimming about. Whew!
/QUOTE]

I do not not think my nems are condy's. The friend who gave them to me said that they are rainbow bubble tips. They did have bubbly tips when I first got them but I think I feed too much for them to keep their bubble tips. They look and act a lot like rose bubble tip anemones.

Fish really are my 1st love when it comes to my reef tank so it makes sense for me to have as many as can safely keep. In some ways coral and macro algae are only an attractive environment to keep my fish in, although I did get bored with the limitation to the reef when I was keeping seahorses. So I am by no means a fish purist.

I know that the needs of the seagrass are your first priority but with careful selection I do not think that more fish would compromise your end game.
Dawn, looking at your tank makes me want more fish![/


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Last edited by vlangel; 10/09/2020 at 06:43 PM.
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Unread 10/10/2020, 03:00 PM   #156
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https://youtu.be/Ucvy-DKGOeU

17 second video that captures the color and tranquility of the display tank. Hopefully I am not boring you all to tears with so many videos!


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Unread 10/11/2020, 05:03 PM   #157
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I have run into an issue. Ever since adding the new fish my carpenter wrasse has gone into hiding. I was surprised by this because he is fat and healthy and none of the new fish have shown aggression. Perhaps I have pushed the boundaries of putting too many fish in a 56 gallon but I did not think the new fish who were more open water swimmers would interfere with the original residents.

The good news is I can see where the wrasse hides and I intensionally target that area with food that the wrasse likes. I can see that it is still eating. Should I just continue to feed extra heavy and target its hiding area with tasty treats until it feels more comfortable or should I be more proactive and intervene?


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Unread 10/11/2020, 05:48 PM   #158
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I would wait a week and see how it goes with the wrasse. You might have to relocate it.

As for the videos, I definitely enjoy them!


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Unread 10/12/2020, 10:13 AM   #159
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I would wait a week and see how it goes with the wrasse. You might have to relocate it.

As for the videos, I definitely enjoy them!
Thank you, glad that you liked the video of the new fish.
I was thinking the same thing about the wrasse. It does not seem like anyone is harassing it so hopefully it will just settle down and start coming out of hiding on it's own. Catching a wrasse in my tank with all the rock I have will be nearly impossible. My rockscape is complicated and I don't want to dissemble it.


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Unread 10/14/2020, 12:14 PM   #160
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https://youtu.be/XhuNMQvjSHE

Here is an updated video on the refugium. Some of the seagrass has died off but I expected that. There is still green blades so I am hopeful that I will get some established and eventually I will have a bed of seagrass thriving in the fuge. At the end of the video clip I zoomed in on the mollies which are doing very well.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nJcVA2AsFrot94E99
Also an almost FTS pic.


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Unread 10/14/2020, 02:04 PM   #161
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As I was sitting on my sofa I heard a ruckus in the aquarium and looked up just in time to see the wrasse spazzing and almost jumping out of the tank. Someone must have spooked him big time so I decided to attempt to catch him and move him to the fuge. Ha! And amazingly I did! No doubt he will eat all my pods to the point of extinction but he will be safe there. While I was dropping him in the fuge I spotted the barnacle blenny that went over the overflow so I snag it and moved it back into the display. It looked kind of thin which surprised me so hopefully he makes it. New homes and hopefully happier fish!


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Unread 10/14/2020, 05:09 PM   #162
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Looking good, are you going to get more seahorses or are you done?


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Unread 10/14/2020, 09:15 PM   #163
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Wow, lots happening! Gorgeous vids and pics! That's a beautiful community of colorful fish, in a vibrant setting. Loving your refugium too. It looks like a place in Nature. The grass looks good. With time, it will reproduce and spread widely.

Sorry to hear of your ruckus. Some disruption is to be expected with all the new additions. Maybe a temporary reefscape change would help reset territories. A rock here an macro there, might do the trick.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 10/15/2020, 04:34 AM   #164
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Looking good, are you going to get more seahorses or are you done?
Never say never, but for now I am done. I do not do well when I am keeping more than 1 tank and my focus has shifted toward this high nutrient tank which is not compatible with seahorses who need a more sterile enviroment.


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Unread 10/15/2020, 04:47 AM   #165
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Wow, lots happening! Gorgeous vids and pics! That's a beautiful community of colorful fish, in a vibrant setting. Loving your refugium too. It looks like a place in Nature. The grass looks good. With time, it will reproduce and spread widely.

Sorry to hear of your ruckus. Some disruption is to be expected with all the new additions. Maybe a temporary reefscape change would help reset territories. A rock here an macro there, might do the trick.
I am loving how lush and vibrant the refugium is. The seagrass is really going to be a wonderful addition when it multiplies and fills in the front middle of that tank. The red grape caulerpa has really taken off lately too which contribute a new texture.

You are right in that when 7 new fish are added to a small-ish display there is bound to be disruptions. I never expected the wrasse to be involved however. Maybe I should have because he has always seemed a bit high strung. I think it is the damsels who are weirding him out and I am afraid to try moving him back in with them, even with a rockscape change. If he is happy in the the fuge then I think I will let him reside there in peace.


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Unread 10/15/2020, 08:26 AM   #166
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I checked on Plank (the name I gave the carpenter wrasse) this morning and he has settled in well. I fed some mysis and he came out and ate heartily so I guess he is going to bunk with the mollies!


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Unread 10/25/2020, 01:25 PM   #167
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Things are going pretty well with the high nutrient tank system. All 6 yellow tail damsels and the tomini tang are doing excellent, as are the original residents. There is a little cyano on the left front of the display where the sand bed is shallow. Other than that the display is looking good with healthy fish and healthy coral/macro algae.

The fuge also has a little cyano. The female molly has disappeared after she had transitioned to salt. The male still seems to be doing well. The carpenter wrasse is such a timid, easily intimidated fish. He is spooked by grass shrimp a third of his size and I am still worried that he is not eating as well as I wished. I could move him to the sump but he will not have near as much room and rock. I will continue to watch him and make a decision if I feel he is in peril of starving.
Some of the seagrass has died off but I can see that some seems to be growing which is exciting. I do have to manually remove cyano from some blades.

Even with these issues the tank system is doing well and I am happy with it.


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Unread 10/25/2020, 01:30 PM   #168
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A macro intensive seahorse tank was actually my original reason for developing algae scrubbers. Wanted tons of food in the water that would not get filtered out.


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Unread 10/25/2020, 02:29 PM   #169
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Sounds good Dawn. All those fish must be a feast for the eyes!

I remember manually removing algae from my grasses. It helps. Eventually my army of snails took over.


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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 10/26/2020, 02:08 PM   #170
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Sounds good Dawn. All those fish must be a feast for the eyes!

I remember manually removing algae from my grasses. It helps. Eventually my army of snails took over.
I do love watching all the fish! They make lots of activity and color.
I need to buy my own army of snails. Right now the refugium only has nassarius snails which are no help with algae.


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Unread 10/26/2020, 02:29 PM   #171
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Now I wish I'd thrown a few of the tiny mini strombus snails in with the shoal grass I sent. You didn't see any in there, did you? Even if you didn't, there's a chance that some eggs attached to grasses could hatch. As I said before, they are the only snails I've found that can climb and clean skinny seagrass blades, as well as delicate macro algae.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 10/27/2020, 10:22 AM   #172
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Now I wish I'd thrown a few of the tiny mini strombus snails in with the shoal grass I sent. You didn't see any in there, did you? Even if you didn't, there's a chance that some eggs attached to grasses could hatch. As I said before, they are the only snails I've found that can climb and clean skinny seagrass blades, as well as delicate macro algae.
I did not see any snails but like you said, there may be eggs that hitch hiked on the seagrass. I know one of my LFS will have strombus snails so I do access to some mature snails too.


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Unread 10/27/2020, 10:37 AM   #173
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Good. I think those snails would work well in your refugium tank, and anywhere else you want them.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 11/02/2020, 04:10 AM   #174
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Good. I think those snails would work well in your refugium tank, and anywhere else you want them.
I think so too but I am having trouble finding strombus snails. Where did you get yours Michael?


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Unread 11/03/2020, 10:11 AM   #175
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I originally heard of them at Indo-Pacific Sea Farms (ipsf.com). They have tons of great 'ecosystem critters' available. Their prices are kinda high though. One day I was in my LFS, and spotted some in one of their tanks. They weren't really even for sale, and must've hitchhiked in on something. I quickly negotiated a price and bought eight on the spot.

As the months went by, their numbers gradually increased, and problem algae decreased. At one point, I seriously worried their population would crash, but it never did. At night they really go to town on the grasses, which is something I haven't seen with any other snail.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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