Islandoftiki Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 Here's a new thing I found in the pest tank today! An awesome little shrimp-like creature! He's about 6mm to 8mm in length. He hides out in the in the blue clove polyps and darts out like you see in the video and back again. He does this about every minute... over and over. Cool little dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenW Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 My tank is full of tiny star fish if you want some of those they're all blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 One more month down on the nano-reef.com contest and I thought I would share with you the official Full Tank Shots, Full Equipment Shots. And just for fun... the Full Mantis Shot. ;-) FTS: FES: And FMS: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Two separate things here... Update on the tank: The tank is really flourishing, and everything is doing awesome with one exception. I went away last weekend and came home to the pulsing xenia looking a little upset. I didn't think too much of it at first because it can be temperamental from time to time. Over the next three days, it took a rapid decline. All the while, everything else in the tank is looking great. I didn't have time to run a full array of tests on the tank, so I simply did my weekly 20% water change and figured I'd throw in a new chemipure elite bag. Most of you know that pulsing xenia can just up and die for no obvious detectable reason. A couple theories would include: Chemical warfare. Probably from the devil's hand leather coral. Possibly not enough nutrients in the water--xenia likes it a little dirty, if you know what I mean. Or it could just be xenia being xenia. Regardless, removed the pulsing xenia today (the blue xenia still looks awesome fwiw). In doing so, it spewed forth a cloud of decaying flesh and I don't know what all. I let the filter floss pick up most of the gunk and did a 50% water change. Everything seems fine now, and I'll try throwing a frag of the same xenia from my 10 gallon tank back in there and see what happens. Second story: I'm converting my old 7.5 gallon cube into a majano factory. I've run out of majanos to swipe from the pest tank and I'm still getting requests from people for more. A fellow pico competition contestant offered up some majanos for me if I would pay shipping. So, they arrived today. The shipping company nearly crushed the package and therefore ruptured the bag inside. There was maybe two tablespoons of water left in the bag (and it was well packaged). When I opened the bag, it smelled like warmed-over death. I thought uh-oh, but when I pulled out the stinky piece of live rock, all of the majanos looked in tact. There were also about 6 loose in the bag and all looked fine as well. So I threw the stinky piece of rock into the already cycled 7.5 gallon tank and placed all of the loose majanos onto the rockwork. In less than 10 minutes, all of the majanos were open and happy. Amazing. I swear they could survive a direct nuclear blast or Justin Bieber music. Or the movie Twilight. So, I got about a dozen. Several varieties of brown and about 6 green/red ones. It will be a great start to my majano farming adventure. Note: Pictures taken about 10 minutes after rescuing them from the stinky mess they were in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Just a quick update... The pest tank is doing awesome. Everything is growing like, well, pests. Lots of competition for space now. Shadie the mantis shrimp has been very reclusive in the past week and a half. He walled up his little cave and hiding out. Today he finally took down the little wall and showed himself. I'd say he molted because his meral spots are not bright white now. I have't gotten a good look at his full body to see if any other coloration changes have happened. You can see the white pots on the end of his raptorial appendages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Best looking pest tank i have seen. Keep up the great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Shadie the mantis shrimp came out to eat last night. Watch the little glut grabbing armloads on mysis shrimp. Good thing there are lots of anemones in the tank to finish off what he doesn't eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 So, I'm watching TV tonight and I hear loud clicking from the pest tank. I grabbed my phone and shot this video of my mantis shrimp beating the living tar out of a rock. You do not want to get hit by this little guy. (The chatter in the background is our African Grey parrot, Dory) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Wow that little guy has some power. I can see how the big ones can crack tanks (scary) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 When the lights go out, the mysis shrimp come out to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 So, the field of competition that the pest tank is entered into is shrinking. We originally started with 50 contestants. Every month, the field has been almost exactly halved. As of August 1st, we're down to 5 remaining entries, which is kinda sad, but on the bright side, every single one of us that makes it to the end will receive a prize. But at this rate, with the final day of the competition being October 1st, I figure two of us will be splitting all of the prizes. Or I'll win them all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Update time! Pictures! Full tank shot... notice the awesome hitchhiker macro algae that is growing like mad in the back left corner! Happy majanos! Note the baby one at the bottom of the rock! The devil's hand leather that Gill gave me is doing really well: The graveyard of shattered dreams and and cerith shells. Awesome macro algae... no idea where it came from: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I think I just got an accurate ID on that macro algae. It appears to be Dictyota cf. humifusa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Who's for dinner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 All this talk of a pest tank on N-R, and I never knew you were in the PNW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 All this talk of a pest tank on N-R' date=' and I never knew you were in the PNW![/quote'] Yep, right here in PDX! If you're ever down here in Portland, let me know, I'd be happy to show you the pest tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollermonkey Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Looks like I'll be at the meet on Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Looks like I'll be at the meet on Saturday. And... this weekend is the last weekend I'll be busy for a while. Next time. Next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 So, the pico tank competition that I entered six months ago on Nano-Reef is coming to an end. October 1st is the final day. I'm assembling a video of the pest tank, along with pictures and a full write up of the awesome and unexpected discoveries I've come across along the way. Thus far, the pest tank has been one of the most enjoyable things I've done in my salty adventures. So, in preparation for the big final reveal, I give you a sneak peek of my favorite inhabitant of the pest tank. My adorable and personable Gonodactylus Viridis Mantis shrimp. Don't stick your finger in the tank... He'll make you bleed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuttleFishandCoral Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 That's awesome. Love the vid, especially the end when it leave the hole. Great tease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Alright folks, this is it. The competition ends tomorrow. The day of reckoning is upon us. The good news is that the pest tank has been an overwhelming success. It has far exceeded my wildest expectations. What happens when you put the vilest denizens of the saltwater aquarium hobby together into one tank? Something truly amazing and beautiful. You all get a sneak peek at the final Full Tank Shots and Final Equipment Shots for the competition... The final competition video is processing as I type this... Stay tuned for a close up and intimate look at the most despised and evil creatures in the saltwater hobby. Muahahaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 You saw it here first... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Watch throughout the video, the mantis shrimp was photobombing most of the shots. He was very curious about what I was doing while I was filming the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 This tank has turned out to be a piece of art (clap) You just might get the other reefers to rethink calling some of those things pests. Maybe (whistle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 I gotta say, I owe this success to our local reefing community. Many people donated frags and rock to this tank to make it what it is. I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who contributed to this fiendish little marvel. Ok, who's going to be the next one to build a pest tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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