Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Chasmodes]

Cool, I'm a quick study

Sorry about the two not making it. Hopefully, the rest will thrive and make your beautiful tank even more colorful!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Chasmodes. They are gorgeous fish. It's bizarre that they're so sensitive. They're in the damsel family! They look less stressed today, but I still haven't gotten them to eat. Maybe this is why they are less popular than the blue greens.

[Michael Hoaster]

Since my tank isn't particularly beautiful these days, I thought it would be fun to post some old pics. Here are some of my favorites:



Six out of seven Royal Grammas visible here.



Pretty good pic of Mr Zippy, the Atlantic Blue Tang, before the gradual color change.



Here's another, with just a hint of change showing.



Full shot with caulerpa and seagrasses.



Spotted Anemone Shrimp on a Purple Condylactis Anemone.



Overwhelming color.



Reds popping.



Peak growth.



The best fish-watching day of my life, and the beginning of a bad turn for my tank. Lookdowns.



Living room environment.

[Chasmodes]

I love seeing the pics, even if they're reminiscing. Your living room is awesome, especially the tank stand/canopy/cabinets. I love it.

[HuskerBioProf]

I always enjoy seeing how tanks fit into a room. I'm sure it will be luscious and waving in no time.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Chasmodes! I do look forward to posting new pics, as soon as I have some meaningful progress to show. The macros are still growing but the seagrasses are still in a bit of a pause. I suspect now that it may have to do with my killing of the turtle grass. By pruning the blades, I was able to kill it without disturbing the sandbed, which was a big concern. Now I suspect that the dying roots and rhizomes may be adversely affecting the sandbed! How's that for irony! For now, I will wait and see. The grasses are not dying, so I'm hesitant to do anything but observe for now. I suspect that if I am patient, Mother Nature will come around and the grasses will bounce back.

Thanks for the compliment on my cabinet. I designed it myself and had a local cabinet maker build it for me. I've been very happy with it for more than ten years now. If I am lucky enough to build up another dream tank/stand some time in the future, I will be sure that everything below the tank is totally and completely impervious to water. Years of leaks, spills and floods have taken a toll on it, so I know that it will not last forever.

[Michael Hoaster]

I agree, HuskerBioProf. Aquariums were made for showing off, and how they work with where they are set up is important.

I look forward to luscious and waving-for me and for you!

[Chasmodes]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I suspect that if I am patient, Mother Nature will come around and the grasses will bounce back.

Makes sense to me! I would think that the dying turtle grass roots would provide even more nutrients for growth. Maybe that takes time??

[Michael Hoaster]

My thoughts exactly, Chasmodes. I guess after six weeks of hypo salinity, the grasses are slow to readjust. Or maybe I'm doing something or not doing something! I'll keep plugging along…

[Chasmodes]

LOL hyposalinity is normal for my tank! 1.015 SG

And just when I was thinking that my widgeon grass is dying off, I saw some new growth (I think). Like you, I'm letting nature take its course. It's not my main tank anyway, but it would be nice to know if the lighting for this tank can support some sort of plant or macro activity. Same with the Ulva, it's hard to tell but I think it's dying off. However, there are a couple sprouts anchored to one of the oyster shells that I brought in that seem to be growing a little bit, and I'm pretty sure it's Ulva.

I think that once my big tank is set up, the lighting for it should be plenty to grow anything what I want. I need to make sure that the substrate is adequate, etc., so I'll be re-reading your set up for sure.

Anyway, point being, nature is pretty powerful, even in our tanks.

[Michael Hoaster]

Six days after introduction, I can safely say that all three blue chromis are eating. Jeez, it reminds me of my Lookdown fiasco! Anyway, they look good, so yay.

After looking at the old pics and my current tank situation, I realize that I miss the green. With all that caulerpa, the reds really popped. Now, with almost no green, the reds look dull and monotonous. So, I have ordered some greens-tufted joint algae and caulerpa cupressoides. This particular caulerpa is supposed to be slower growing, so I don't anticipate having to prune weekly again. Anybody have any experience with this one? Both of these macros are said to hang out in seagrass beds, so they should fit in well in my tank.

If I can muster the gumption, I'll try to get the tank presentable enough to snap some pics this weekend. Yay!

[JohnZena]

Originally Posted by Chasmodes

Awesome!



Me too. I'd like to learn your technique on how to sneak them by your wife and apply it to my system accordingly

The key is to have open heart surgery and die 6 times on the operating table. After that she wont question anything. I can laugh about it now. I showed her.

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[JohnZena]

Hi , I had a set back. I was reast to start my build and word came down from corporate that they needed me and the wife to transfer to a new facility. Thank God I didnt start the build. So I have a 2 month set back. Growllll!

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[Michael Hoaster]

Feel better JohnZena! Two months will give you more time to plan. What ARE you planning build-wise?

[Chasmodes]

Yay, more pics coming! I bet your new fish look fantastic in there. I guess the only fish left to introduce are the rest of the gramma harem? Or did you do that already? I can't remember yesterday, LOL.

Jeez John, you've been through a lot! Good luck with the move.

[Michael Hoaster]

Yep, the Gramma harem will be next, I think. The chromis are still in QT. I'm a little concerned about adding new, small grammas to the tank with Big Daddy so well established. I have set the trap a couple of times, but I've only caught Mollies. I have never been able to catch a single gramma! I'm worried he may harass newcomers too much. On the other hand, it could have the affect of settling down the pecking order much more quickly. With my original harem, it took months for them to figure out who was going to change to male, so there was a lot of bickering, but nobody died. I think I'll try to catch him a few more times. If I can't, then we'll see how it goes. In my favor, I'll be adding a lot of grammas, so hopefully, his aggression will be spread out among all of them. I would never add a single gramma to a tank with one well established male.

This brings up a point I think is important. I never get so attached to any one fish (or invert or plant) that I would keep it, if I saw that it was detrimental to the tank as a whole. For those that do, I suggest species tanks. If someone is causing trouble, or is preying on valuable members of the food web, they are gone!

[Michael Hoaster]

The new plants are planted! The tufted joint algae and caulerpa cupressoides look to be a nice green boost. As usual GCE was generous with the portions! And beautiful specimens too. My plan is to get the tank prettied up in the morning, and then I can get some pics!

I've kept the tufted joint before. I wasn't quite able to keep it alive through the hypo. I had one small piece that almost made it. It did well before the hypo. The caulerpa cupressoides looks to be a good, slower growing replacement for the C. racemosa peltata. I love all the green life caulerpa brings to a tank, but I don't love pruning frequently.

I've got some detritus building up. Right now I've got serpent stars, multiple worm species and assorted pods on detritus duty. I'm going to look into another detrivore. Maybe a sea cucumber. If I can get the bottom community dialed, I'll be a happy camper. It's so fun, performing all these maintenance tasks, using the creatures designed to do them, all right in the display!

[Michael Hoaster]

I got a great day of obsessive compulsive cleaning and pruning in! So here are some pics:

[Chasmodes]

Lookin' good! The macros in the last pic are the new caulerpa, right? They look fantastic! How are your blennies doing?

I added a tiny and medium sized blenny to my tank a couple weeks after adding the first two. They were picked on for a few days but eventually settled in and have started a pecking order. All of them defend themselves and also take pot shots at the dominant one now and then which seems to keep him on his toes. At first, I thought that the attacks looked a bit brutal and relentless, but when I examine the ones that are picked on up close there is no fin damage.

I guess my point is that in nature, fish need to mix a bit to keep the gene pool fresh, so pecking orders are constantly challenged anyway. Maybe your big gramma needs to be the king of the harem

As far as a bully goes, I nearly yanked my biggest blenny out when I saw this happening, but stayed patient since I didn't see any fin damage. Things are settling down more and more. But, I have the same philosophy, if something isn't working out, make a change, even a fish.

[JohnZena]

The tank does look good. With the additional time I have waiting on my move I have decided to use it wisely. I am cutting liverock int ledges. The plan is to line my overflows and rear wall of my tank with rock. I am cutting 2"×8"×1" pieces flat on 2 sides and gluing them as I build my wall. End result will look like a continuous seemless wall. I am going to litter 8 or so ledges on the wall to place coral. I did a mock wall and it looked outrageous. I am sure many have done this but I have never seen it. I promise to log everything and take plenty of pictures for the unveil.

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[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks chasmodes. In the last pic, the green plant towards the left is the tufted joint algae. The new caulerpa is seen at the far right behind the red gracilaria. Basically, there are two strands of it - with one at each end of the DSB, running back to front. I also put a piece up in the overflow-turned-refugium.

The blennies are doing well. Most of them hang at the right end of the tank, where they are less visible, which is kind of a shame, but they are still fun to watch. Having kept the barnacle blennies before, I expect they will explore more of the tank, over time.

I like your thoughts on gene pool mixing and pecking orders. My concern with the grammas is mostly due to the unnatural limitations of my aquarium. Big Daddy is large-probably four times the weight of any newcomers, and he's had the back wall all to himself, for months. An influx of new 'girlfriends' in nature, with unlimited room, would be no problem. Anyone that didn't feel welcome can just swim away. Not so in my tank. THAT is my worry. I remember the smallest member of the original harem struggling to integrate. There were times when it looked like it might not make it. How will having a large, established male affect the scenario? I suspect it will be something of a war zone, before things eventually settle down. But how many fish do I lose in the process? Would I lose fewer fish without him?

I think I'll go and set my fish trap…

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks JohZena! As I wait impatiently for the seagrasses to come around, all the other plants are doing nicely. I'm also seeing new stuff popping up on the back wall that looks kind of 'turfy'.

You back wall idea sounds amazing! How about some 'in process' pics? You could do a thread just for your wall alone. I have questions. How are you keeping the live rock alive, through the process? How are you affixing the rock? What is the wall's purpose? I'd love to hear more!

[Michael Hoaster]

Another quick update: I caught two mollies with the trap, leaving just one in the display and two in QT. I noticed them eating tufts, of the tufted joint algae, so it may be time for the display to be molly-free. Maybe, just maybe, I'll catch Big Daddy 2.0. I need a miracle!

[Chasmodes]

There's always microfishing!

[Michael Hoaster]

I had no luck with that before, but I'm willing to try again. Maybe I'll even give the net a go. The point is, I think it would be better if Big Daddy was gone before I introduce the next harem. But I could be wrong. In the likely event I don't catch him, I hope I am!