Islandoftiki

All of my tanks are tiny, so they usually get about 1" to 1 1/2" deep sand bed. I keep a lot of nassarius snails in there to keep the sand bed turned, and my pistol shrimp pretty much prevents any detritus from building up in 2/3 of the tank. It seems like I've heard too many stories of deeper sand beds getting disturbed and causing all manner of death and destruction. Maybe on a really large tank that's less of an issue.

This is what I am planning to do with my 25 gallon mantis tank. It isn't going to have a lot of coral in it, so I want the rockscape to be an attraction in and of itself. Thanks for the great post, it gave me some ideas.

Yeah, they're something like that. I'll keep an eye on them. If they keep to themselves, I'm happy to leave them. I tend to have a different idea of what constitutes a pest than some people. My biggest concern right now is going to be knocking back the GSP a little bit. Apparently it doesn't play well with green slimer SPS. I might try to extract a couple and throw them into the pest tank and see what happens there.

Ooooh! I would so like to have a Portuguese man o' war so that I could keep a Glaucus atlanticus sea slug! Yeah, yeah. I know. Not going to happen. I was thinking colonial something or other. I have other hydroids in the tank. In the back shadows, there are a number of hydroids, including digitate and at least one other type. They mostly keep to the shadows and stay out of the main viewing area, so they are welcome to stay. They aren't bothering the cleaner shrimp or my sixline, and they don't come out into the light, so they don't bother the corals, so I see no harm in them. I did a couple of Google image searches for colonial hydroids and didn't come up with anything like these. I found some minor similarities with some colonial anemones. I didn't get home early enough to grab any more pictures today (They vanish after the lights turn off). I'll post more detailed pictures when I get a chance.

Yeah, these look like they're on a little stalk. They're a relative size and shape of an aiptasia, but they're a little different. I think it would help if I had a better picture. I'll get out the good camera when I get home. They're cool looking. I don't think they're invasive, but I'm not sure. My best guess is that these are something that came in as a hitchhiker on a crocea clam that I had for a short while about a year ago. They disappeared, and then I upgraded from the old 2 gallon (the pest tank before it was a pest tank) to the 10 gallon, and they were nowhere to be seen. They've been absent for all that time, and I think these are they. I think at one time figured out what they were, but I forgot all about them since I thought they were gonners. Anyhow, they just showed up again.

I can also try to get a better picture when I get home tonight.

Zoom in! Enhance!

So, these little guys just popped up out of nowhere. I'm sure I've seen them before, but I'm drawing a blank as to exactly what they are. They're tiny. Maybe 2mm - 4mm across, including the skirt. They're growing in a group. They're bright fluorescent green. They have very tiny tentacles. I'm almost positive they aren't majanos, or if they are, they don't look anything like any of the ones I intentionally keep. I don't think they get much bigger than they are, they just multiply. Anybody know off to top of your head?

Welcome to the wacky antics of the Pacific Northwest saltwater community! I think you'll like it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv2colP35qk&hd=1

Kate, don't forget that pamela and I are just getting into archery right now, bows are not as noisy, but they're a good challenge. You could come shoot with us. You can get a good starter bow, arrows and gear for about $140 or so.

Looks like he found a spot he likes. Didn't think he'd fit in that small of a hole.

One of the best tricks I've learned is to apply super glue gel to the frag, then a wad of mixed up epoxy putty, then super glue on top of that. Press it in place and let it set. It's a really strong bond.

I'm excited to see how this goes for someone who has a good clue about saltwater tank husbandry. I think the bad rap for these tanks comes in large part from the fact that they're often sold as home decor. This should be a fun project.

What kind of crab is that? Will he eat stuff other than coral?

Well, I seem to be doing quite well at growing SPS in my 10 gallon under T5's. My arrangement is four 24" T5 HO bulbs on an inexpensive Odyssea fixture (It's not bad, really. The reflectors are decent and the daylight, actinics and moonlighting are on separate circuits). From back to front, the bulbs are: ATI Blue +, ATI Blue +, Geissmann midday, ATI Purple +. So, that's a total of 96 watts of T5 HO on a 10 gallon 24"x10"x10" tank. I'm surprised at the growth rate--almost as good as most bigger tanks with fancier lighting. Also, the colors really pop with this configuration. I think the Purple + adds a lot, and I suspect the midday bulb is largely responsible for the better growth. I should mention that this is enough light to bleach out a lot of corals. I have to hide chalices in the shadows, and some softies just bleach out.

This being his tiny tank, this is probably the best way to go. Do you have any coral dip, Scott?

The more I think about it, the more I'd suggest pulling the rockwork, if you can, and treat it in a bucket with a powehead and a heater. Maybe do a Coral RX dip as well?

I bought it for my 2 gallon pico a while back, before it was a pest tank. Of course, now I say bring on the flatworms! Sadly, their numbers stay in check in the pest tank. Same with the asterina stars. I think the majanos and aiptasia eat them. Anyhow, I have nearly a full bottle as I only used a couple drops as well. I'll say this. You had better get them all the first time. I ended up with flatworm resistant flatworms. And thus I had to get a baby sixline, which worked great! And then a 10 gallon tank for the sixline after it cleaned up the flatworms. You know the drill. I'd probably go for a double or triple dose to start with. (after manually removing as many as possible with a turkey baster). Sometimes if you're diligent enough, you can get rid of them by sucking them out every time you see one. But that's a pain in the backside. Maybe pull your rockwork out and treat it outside of the tank in a super heavy concentration? Not like we're talking about treating a 120 gallon tank here.

Only one? It will get lonely... Besides, I've seen tangs in smaller tanks. They're fine! A pre-apology for the off topic, but you started it. ;-)

He works a couple blocks from where I work. I got this one.

Yep, I'll bring it to work tomorrow.

Mike, There are some species that stay very small and can be kept in a pico tank, like my littlest guy in the pest tank--he's maybe 1.5" to 2" total length. There are even some really colorful ones that stay small. Some of the Green Mantis (G. Viridis) are bright lime green. And do a search for G. Smithii if you're interested, they can be kept in a 5 gallon and are considered very interactive. Most of the little ones are safe to keep in glass tanks and can handle bright reef lighting. They run the gamut in size from about 1.5" to the big Peacock and some spearers that gets up to 7". I would recommend a smasher type mantis as the spearers require a special deep sandbed. And it's really only the Peacocks that need darker tanks due to a condition called shell rot. They come from deeper water where it's much darker. Mantis shrimp are safe with corals, with maybe one exception. My new one, he will chip live branching corals. I'm not going to keep any colorful fuzzy sticks in with him though. One thing to consider is that it should be a species only tank. Don't put anything in the tank that you don't consider expendable. Clean-up crew, such as snails and hermit crabs are tasty snacks to a smasher. Fish are dinner for a spearer. Sometimes you can keep a fish with a smasher, but they can kill fish, so consider them like the Star Trek guys wearing the red shirts. Here's a list of all of the common ones that you're likely to encounter in the hobby. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/index.html#directory

Yeah, and you can have a lighted tank with a Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. Can you say 25 gallon pest tank?