Flashy's 20g Fresh Start

[Sasquatch]

I'm about to do the same and restart my tank in a new 20g.

My bubble algae crab may need a new home or temporary home because I will have newly cycled dry rocks entering the tank. (No food) if you want to provide shelter.

Also a Frag of my pink photosynthetic gorgonian looks like it would fit well in there.

 

[albertareef]

5 minutes ago, Flashy Fins said:

Agreed! I should check in with Roy and see how the two I sold him have grown. They were smaller than the one I kept and hadn't even developed full color yet. I imagine they are colored up and quite a bit larger by now.

The quarantine tank now has 3 forktail blennies in it.   They made it through 4 bucket transfers over 12 days and seem very pleased with the upgrade to an actual tank. I notice they are not overly skinny, but certainly not as fat as they started out, so my task now is to get them eligible for Weight Watchers!    I keep looking at them and trying to choose which one to keep, but they're all gorgeous!  Leaning towards the smallest, because that'll allow me to watch him grow, but considering the shape and color similarity to my Helfrichi, perhaps the largest would be best to keep. Ahhh, too many good options!  Fantastic problem to have, right? 

Nice!  Glad all the forktails are doing well.  Good luck deciding which one to keep!  I'm happy to rehome any of the non-chosen ones 

[Flashy Fins]

1 minute ago, Sasquatch said:

I'm about to do the same and restart my tank in a new 20g.

My bubble algae crab may need a new home or temporary home because I will have newly cycled dry rocks entering the tank. (No food) if you want to provide shelter.

Also a Frag of my pink photosynthetic gorgonian looks like it would fit well in there.

 

Restarting can be a blessing if you're having trouble, which I saw you mention in another thread. I know everyone has their own preferences, but I personally think a 20g long has a load of advantages over a 20g high or cube style. I'm a fish lover first, so length is always most important to me. I think the 20 long looks much larger, as well. People are usually surprised when I tell them it's a 20.

I've thought about getting an emerald crab or two, but I'm so on the fence about it. I quarantine corals and inverts in a fishless tank for at least 6 weeks (ich eradication), so that means I have to worry about it munching on QT'ed corals in that time. Then, if it does make it to the display, I have a lot of itty-bitty fish and fleshy LPS to worry about. Maybe my mistrust is out of proportion to their behavior, but the internet has led me to believe no crab is trustworthy!  I have a pom pom crab, but those hardly count. Have you had any trouble with emerald crabs going after things you don't want them touching?  I don't find them attractive, so if I did get any, I'd send them packing once the algae was gone. Would probably just purchase, since borrowing would be a long ordeal with my QT procedure + time to let them eat all the bubble algae, unless you're cool with all that. I don't know how fast they work. 

Gorgonian sounds interesting. What color are the polyps?  I've kept some gorgs before and thought about adding a couple to this tank, but I don't care for the ones with tan/brown polyps.  I might add a yellow finger gorg - those always remind me of giraffes, and who can resist a giraffe in a saltwater tank? 

[Sasquatch]

29 minutes ago, Flashy Fins said:

Restarting can be a blessing if you're having trouble, which I saw you mention in another thread. I know everyone has their own preferences, but I personally think a 20g long has a load of advantages over a 20g high or cube style. I'm a fish lover first, so length is always most important to me. I think the 20 long looks much larger, as well. People are usually surprised when I tell them it's a 20.

I've thought about getting an emerald crab or two, but I'm so on the fence about it. I quarantine corals and inverts in a fishless tank for at least 6 weeks (ich eradication), so that means I have to worry about it munching on QT'ed corals in that time. Then, if it does make it to the display, I have a lot of itty-bitty fish and fleshy LPS to worry about. Maybe my mistrust is out of proportion to their behavior, but the internet has led me to believe no crab is trustworthy!  I have a pom pom crab, but those hardly count. Have you had any trouble with emerald crabs going after things you don't want them touching?  I don't find them attractive, so if I did get any, I'd send them packing once the algae was gone. Would probably just purchase, since borrowing would be a long ordeal with my QT procedure + time to let them eat all the bubble algae, unless you're cool with all that. I don't know how fast they work. 

Gorgonian sounds interesting. What color are the polyps?  I've kept some gorgs before and thought about adding a couple to this tank, but I don't care for the ones with tan/brown polyps.  I might add a yellow finger gorg - those always remind me of giraffes, and who can resist a giraffe in a saltwater tank? 

It's pink with pink polyps. Also a smaller one that's purple with white polyps..

i have LPS and softies and the crabs don't pick on anything. I have one that's a pink morph instead of green.. it's my favorite but I would know it's going to a good home.. I have 3 in this 30 but want to go down to 1.

i have had a 20L in the past but setting up a 20g cube by Red Sea that's an all in one with skimmer, light, and ato all built in.

[Flashy Fins]

5 minutes ago, Sasquatch said:

It's pink with pink polyps. Also a smaller one that's purple with white polyps..

i have LPS and softies and the crabs don't pick on anything. I have one that's a pink morph instead of green.. it's my favorite but I would know it's going to a good home.. I have 3 in this 30 but want to go down to 1.

i have had a 20L in the past but setting up a 20g cube by Red Sea that's an all in one with skimmer, light, and ato all built in.

Yeah, the gorgonians sound nice. I don't really have anything worthy of a trade right now, but I can trade for some cash. 

You should keep the pink emerald, because I'd just be using the crabs as janitors with limited time in the tank. How large are the green ones?

I don't blame you for going with a Red Sea all-in-one!  Fancy! 

[Flashy Fins]

Man, I'm a slacker when it comes to updating lately! Going through my photos, I realize I tend to post things in various places on the forum and forget to include them in my tank thread, so this is a mix of old and new. A few of these pictures might be getting old for the regulars who've seen them multiples times, but I promise there are new ones in the bunch.  

My rarely seen, but rather photogenic nem-less pom pom crab. I think not having anemones causes him to feel extra vulnerable, so he stays hidden. Nice little treat when he does pop out. Unfortunately, that jack-o-lantern lepto was later stung by another coral and died. 

Stunningly beautiful urchin, ID'ed to the best of my amateur ability as Salmacis bicolor. Unfortunately, I can no longer keep fooling myself into believing he's reef safe.  He has cleaned off large patches of my Montipora setosa. Given my rigorous QT procedures, I'm confident I don't have monti-eating nudis, and the damage always appears directly after I've spotted the urchin on top of the monti. He has also taken noticeable chunks off my blue sponge, which I sometimes see bits of in his poop. His bad behavior hasn't gotten him kicked out yet, but I suspect the day will come when he munches on something I can't forgive him for. He is an omnivore and enjoys squares of nori, so I try to shove those under him regularly. 

Comparison of the new urchin under my old one, who was kicked out for being too plain looking. He now lives in a tank owned by someone far less superficial than me when it comes to an urchin's appearance and who finds it necessary that his urchins eat algae, rather than coral. 

 

My barnacle blenny spends most of his time in his bolt hole with only his head sticking out, as they do in the wild, but he's comfortable enough to lounge with his whole body exposed at times. It makes me happy that he feels that relaxed. He reminds me a bit of a lizard and is a fun little fish to have. 

 

BAD SHRIMP!  This coral was a stunner for weeks in my QT, then ended up with a tiny tear in his flesh during the move to display tank. It was almost nothing, a tear so small you could barely see it, but in a day's time, my largest sexy shrimp had pecked away nearly all of its flesh! Although only one of the shrimp seemed guilty in this case, all three sexies were evicted. They were irritating my pink flowerpot before this, and I realized I was no longer getting much joy out of having them. I had maxi-minis in there for them, but the shrimp were all too aware of the lack of predators in my tank and rarely spent any time on the nems. Now, they live in a fish-filled tank where they'd better stay put on their host anemone, lest they become dinner! 

I placed the coral in a container with no lid, which the shrimp were surprisingly wary to go inside of, and it made a full recovery in short time. 

Spectacularly neon! Treasure I found at Seahorse and almost didn't ask the price of, because I didn't think I could afford it, but I was happily wrong about that! 

When it puffs up, all I can think is, "Plate coral or jellyfish?"  Freaky in the loveliest way!  The yellow feather duster, I found at TPA in Salem. Always on the hunt for unusual things like this in bright colors. Need to get myself a coco worm soon! 

Unfortunate news about this sunburst anthias...   A tiny spot of lympho turned into a large chunk of it directly on the gills, leading to some trouble that did her in. It's not usually a fatal disease, but the location was the worst place to have it. It's possible it ruptured and led to an infection, but I couldn't tell much from the corpse. You can see some redness near the face in this photo, so something bacterial was probably going on due to her weakened state (lympho was on the side of her body you don't see). Very frustrating to lose a fish after it so smoothly sailed through QT, ate like a pig, and seemed to be settling in well, but sometimes it happens. The silver lining is that the famous Cindy Lou from Sirena's tank took her place and has done really well, quickly becoming queen of the tank! Cindy is a nicer looking specimen and larger in size, which contrasts really well with my other fish. It's not how I planned it, but when is anything in our tanks ever how we planned? I'm just happy to have my favorite small fish again! (I would say favorite without the qualifier of small, but ain't no anthias a match for an outlandishly colored parrotfish! ) 

Speaking of fish, how many can you spot in this photo? The Helfrichi is rather obvious, but there are actually 4 fish in the shot. Challenge yourself to spot them! Or just give up and see them circled out. The red Eviota goby is the smallest, a fish I added about a month ago and didn't see again until just the other day. How surprised I was when a little flicker of red caught my eye! Confirmation he's alive!  I've seen him a few times since, so I think it was just a period of getting used to the tank and working up the courage to wander out. He's still very shy, but he wasn't in the store tank, so I have hope it's just a matter of time till I see him out more often.

Finally, this beauty is mine! Regretfully, I sold off a well-loved forktail blenny before I moved, then had trouble finding another. I snatched up the first one I saw in a store without looking it over well (they were crowded, I was overly excited - bad combo), only to get home with it and notice a terrible face injury. I did what I could to help him, but that fish was doomed from the start, unable to swallow any food. Back to the drawing board, I was more observant with the next couple I saw in stores, choosing not to buy them. After a seemingly never-ending quest for a healthy specimen, I caved and bought a trio from Diver's Den. I got them all through QT, chose my favorite to keep, and found new homes for the other two. I must admit, I considered attempting to breed them, since there is excellent info available on breeding fang blennies, and it sounds to be a manageable task for a dedicated aquarist. However, that would mean setting up another tank, a larger one at that, and buying a few more blennies to allow me to weed out excess males. As much as I'd love to give it a try someday, I'm glad I talked myself out of it for now. 

Similar in shape and size to the Helfrichi for now, the blenny will eventually grow larger. Fang blennies are open-water swimmers, never hiding in the rocks that way most blennies do. I love looking over at the tank at any given time and seeing fish swimming around in plain sight. My yellow clown goby and neon goby are ever-visible, as well, but of course they perch and hop more than they swim. Nothing like having fish that come right up to the glass to greet you when you're in front of the tank.

 

 

 

BIG FAT EMPTY SPACE where I should be posting pictures of all the corals I've added in the last month or two, but since it's midnight and my lights are out, they will have to wait! 

 

 

 

Updated FTS!  I regret that some of the corals aren't fluffed and puffed out to their fullest, but considering how many tank photos I've taken this year and not gotten around to posting, this is more of a "JUST GET IT DONE AND POST IT" image!  I take photos often, but I don't always like them and/or I convince myself to wait another week or two, till certain corals are out of QT and in the display, or I've cleaned up the algae/cyano/whatever I feel is making things ugly. Basically, I'm great at coming up with excuses for putting off updates! Hoping to outgrow that habit. I am dealing with a nasty cyano problem, but I've added a couple more conch snails to help out, and I have a box of Chemi-Clean waiting for me to get brave enough to go for it. Maybe I'll get to it this weekend and snap some photos to fill in that space up there ^. 

Why do I still have no background/that weird green color showing through from my wall?! (Love it for my dining room; do not love it as a reef backdrop!) I forget it's like this until I take pictures, because in person, I'm focused on the fish and corals. I tried black contact paper months ago, but failed miserably to get it smooth and ripped it all off. Must try something else soon. If it's still green in my next update, someone tell me to get it together already! 

[MrsBret]

Wow, gorgeous!

[Gil&Fin]

Cherany, I love it!  You are an artist.  You have clearly made well thought out decisions on every fish and coral.  And I love that you didn't just go for all high-end or all low-end stuff.  You went with what you like and fits your personality.  I know you shop at all our sponsor stores, not just one or two, and I'm guessing that is why you have been able to find so many unique pieces.  Bravo!

[albertareef]

Looking great Cherany!  I love both your fish and coral choices and how awesome they are together.  You are really deliberate in your selections and it really pays off. I try to do that but there is always something random that catches my eye...  BTW - I should have known it was you that ended up with that plate from Seahorse - really striking.  Thanks again for the beautiful forktail - it is quite outgoing and inquisitive in the tank and looks super. ?

[Flashy Fins]

Holly and Sean, you guys are fantastic cheerleaders!  I do enjoy planning things out and making sure I have a variety of shapes, colors, and textures, but that doesn't mean I never have regrets. Things often look different than I imagined they would or colors look duller under my lights than they did under strong blue lighting wherever I bought them, so I spend a lot of time rearranging corals and trading things out. Some of my frags have amassed blobs of glue larger than the actual coral from being placed in different spots so many times! Worst is when I add anemones and change my mind on them. I was able to remove a couple of maxi-minis I regretted (level 10 difficulty, nearly killed one of them), but I have not been able to remove a rock flower nem I want out; not sure it's worth it to keep trying, since it's small, and I can just add more colorful things around it, but I know my stubborn self well enough to be sure I will try again and again. As I add new livestock, I try to make sure it all harmonizes and doesn't look like I just keep tossing in more stuff with no rhyme or reason. Zoanthids worry me with their propensity to take over, so all the zoas I have are currently isolated to a single piece of rock I can easily remove (barely visible in the photos above, but I'll take more pics soon). Once I have most of the stony corals I want in place, I plan to strategically add the zoa frags onto my main rocks, but I want to acquire several more corals before doing that.

Speaking of new additions, I'm not too sure on some of those SPS frags I've added and may switch some of those out. I love the green stylo and the orange setosa; the others, I'm mixed on, but I'm trying to give them a chance to rebound some color and vibrancy before I write them off. I don't think six weeks in my dirty QT tank with low flow did them any favors, and they've only been in the display a week, so they deserve some recovery time. There's a green slimer frag that looks really dull, a mini colony of purple stylo I'm not sure I like the color of (near the sun coral in the FTS), and another type of purple stylo that is a nice color, but not as nice in shape as the cat's paw stylo. We'll see. I've never been a big SPS fan, but it's hard filling in the top space with brain corals. I may try a gorgonian or two, but that beautiful monster of an urchin has a horrible reputation for eating gorgs, according to my research. I might still chance a yellow finger gorg, because I can't get over the giraffe look of them. 

I'm treating with Chemi-Clean at the moment. Added several airstones for extra oxygen like the instructions recommend, so fingers crossed this stuff bombs the cyano and gives me a leg up keeping it out. I got lazy for a bit with water changes, which is my only method of nutrient export, so I'll have to bump those up again to keep this nasty stuff at bay. Tank looks weird with all the airlines and stones, so it's hard to get nice pictures, but I did snap one of this incredible open brain:

Absolute stunner from Cuttlefish & Corals! He had three similar beauties in the tank the week before we took our party bus tour, and although I technically did nothing wrong, I felt like a sneaky little bugger picking out the best of the bunch and buying it a few days before.  

Yucky cyano mess, today is eviction day!  I've siphoned out so much sand trying to get this stuff under control in the last few weeks, I feel like that method is going to leave me with no sand if I keep at it. It's never been a good way to deal with it, anyhow, since it literally comes back just hours later. Will report back how the Chemi-Clean treatment goes! 

[albertareef]

I am just getting to the point of thinking about rearranging some of the coral in my tank to get better aesthetics. Up to this point have mainly been focused on collecting a variety and figuring out what does well and where. Tried to give some thought to how things went together and growth patterns but wasn't a primary consideration. Will no doubt be moving things around for a while myself. Still will be haphazard compared to yours though ?

Edited June 4, 2017 by albertareef

[Flashy Fins]

Quick video taken with my phone. Apologies for the reflections and glare. 

 

 

Summers involve very little attention paid to my tank, so this is somewhat of a “before” reference video, hopefully to be followed by a spectacular “after” vid in a few months. Plans for fall including getting the tank back to shining star status with more fish, more corals, and more color!

Current fish in the tank are a forktail blenny, Helfrichi firefish, McCosker’s wrasse, yellow clown goby, neon goby, eviota goby, and a barnacle blenny. Soon to be moved from QT to display are a sunburst anthias and a Lubbock’s wrasse. 

[Flashy Fins]

Hmm, the video doesn't show up on my desktop, but it does on my phone. Hope at least some of you can see it.

[albertareef]

Looks pretty darn good for being neglected!  (Video worked on my phone). 

[Knuckledragger]

Beautiful tank and specimens! I am interested to see how the Chemi-Clean does on the cyano. I have been battling cyano for several months now. Feeding minimal every other day, siphoning with 50% water changes every two weeks......it just keeps coming back even stronger......I just ordered some Chemi-Clean.

[Flashy Fins]

3 hours ago, Knuckledragger said:

Beautiful tank and specimens! I am interested to see how the Chemi-Clean does on the cyano. I have been battling cyano for several months now. Feeding minimal every other day, siphoning with 50% water changes every two weeks......it just keeps coming back even stronger......I just ordered some Chemi-Clean.

Oh, that issue was ages ago, but I can tell you how it went. The chemi-clean worked well, but a week later, it needed another treatment. After a few rounds of that, I investigated other causes/treatments. What actually took care of the problem for good was replacing my T5 bulbs that were old. I now replace them yearly, if not sooner. I also upgraded to a fixture with a fan built in to keep the bulbs from overheating and wearing out so fast. Good luck!

[Knuckledragger]

Thank you! Obviously did not look at the date of your last post. Glad to hear you got it worked out and hope I have similar success.........