Islandoftiki

99% sure he's a Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis now, which is a bonus. That makes him an intertidal species that is much less prone to shell rot, and can handle bright lights. This means I can keep corals in with him! Hmmmm... 25 gallon pest tank?

Someone mentioned that he might be a Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis, which I suspect is actually correct. I'll do a little more research to confirm.

Here's his new home: It has an opaque top to reduce light from the refugium lamp that is growing chaeto. A small amount of indirect light bleeds through, but it should be dim enough that it won't promote shell rot which can happen to deeper water species like the Peacock if lighting is too bright. Filtration is a basic AC70 HOB filter with chemipure elite, purigen and chaeto and a filter pad. The same basic setup as my 10 gallon tank. There is also a 300gph nano powerhead in the tank for circulation on top of what the AC70 provides. I used some black shelf paper to cover the back of the tank and half of the sides: The rockscape is pretty basic with a U-shaped tube buried underneath to provide a ready-made home. If he doesn't like the tube, I've provided a large amount of live rock rubble for home building. I can't wait to get some better pictures that really show his color. It's pretty amazing. Hopefully he'll come out today and be social, but I'm not counting on that too much. It took my little mantis a couple weeks to associate me with food and other good things.

A big thank you to Kim and Beth for my newest addition to the family... We're now a two dog, two parrot, two mantis family. He's a 3.5" Male Peacock Mantis. (Edit: Turns out he's actualy a Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis) Cute as a button. He's going to temporarily live in the majano propagation tank until my 25 gallon tank gets here later this month. The majano tank has been modified for mantis habitation and will work well until I have the bigger tank up and running. Here he is in a tupperware container being acclimated to the new tank.

I like the RKLs on my systems.

Wow, that's some thick acrylic! What is it being set with? Is that a urethane sealant like they use in automotive windshields?

I was just thinking, if you want to do a quick test of your kit, mix up some fresh saltwater and test that. See if the alk reading on the new saltwater is plausible.

How many gallons are we talking about?

The fact that you're getting precipitation makes me think one of your test kits might be off. I'd want a second opinion on Alk, Calc and Mag.

It sounds like you were getting some precipitation, maybe your test kit is wacky? If you want to double check against mine, you could bring a water sample over tonight and we'll run it with my kit.

What is your Calc and Mag, and are you 100% confident about your ALK test kit?

Hmmmm. I haven't done enough research about it, but a lot of people are keeping clams in nano aquariums. I wonder if I could keep a small one in my 10 gallon. Probably not long-term. I already have to dose for alk.

Yeah, I don't know that there's much of anything left alive in that tank. No need to clean the glass. I suspect the majano I sent him is still alive and well.

As soon as the judges make their decisions, I'll let you all know. Out of like 50 tanks at the start, only 5 remain. Here are the Full Tank Shots of the final 5: Islandoftiki (Me!) ReefersEdge Kazooie BGJ223 funkngroovy Judge for yourselves...

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?

Xenia can be weird stuff. It will be a weed in some peoples tanks and will melt away in others. It grows well in my 10 gallon and my pest tank, but it shrinks up and looks awful in the 7.5 gallon tank. That may have to do with not enough light. The 7.5 has a 24 watt fluorescent 50/50 fixture, but the 10 gallon tank has 96 watts! And the pest tank has a crazy bright par 30 LED lamp. What kind of light do you have? The xenia in the pest tank is surrounded by and touching majanos, aiptasia and brow polyps with no ill effects.

Double post.

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.

Aiptasia growout contest? I'm in! How about a majano growout contest? I have a bunch of the pretty green/red ones that I'm propagating already.

You saw it here first...

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!

Ok, after October 1st, the competition is over for the pest tank and I can add new livestock, so I just may be hitting you up. I can't keep any other cleanup crew alive in there! Snails = snacks for the mantis shrimp. The blue leg hermit seems to persist despite a fair amount of shell damage, but there is only one. More bristle worms would be an awesome addition. I have no idea what has happened to all of my asterina starfish. I was throwing them in there by the dozens. Maybe all of the majanos ate them. I'm looking forward to adding more pests!

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.