Update:
It has been a little while! School has kept me busy, but I am back with just a couple updates on the tank.
I named my clownfish Jacques, and Cousteau. Reading (looking through the pictures) of his books as a kid inspired me to love the ocean growing up, for the majority of my childhood I wanted to be a marine biologist. A few weeks after getting them Cousteau was showing a few white spots, I had ich in my tank. So I purchased a small 10 gallon hospital tank and ordered some copper power. My first treatment failed, I dont think I dosed enough copper, but after a second treatment they are ich free and I am just waiting for the 75 day follow period to be over (that is the 24th I am very excited to get them back in the DT).
I was battling the uglies, lots of algae was growing all over the rocks, and my 2 Astraeus snails couldn't keep up. Over the course of a few weeks I slowly added 2 new snails at a time, and put in some elbow grease with a tooth brush to clear the long filaments the the snails didn't seem to want to touch. This has worked in the end, and paired with the fact that I have been adding much less food to the tank while the clowns are in the QT my nutriants have been very low, I am really happy with how things are looking.
I also added some new livestock in addition to the snails. My current list of inverts is 6 Astraeus snails, 2 Nassarius snails, 1 velvet hermit crab, and the newest member of the tank a skunk cleaner shrimp.
The day I got the shrimp I also came home with my first coral, a frag of pulsing Xenia. It has been placed on its own rock down low, and the light I set to ramp up over a week from 20% Power to give it some time to get used to the tank. I'm really happy to report that 3 days after getting it its already fully extended and happily pulsing away.
Here is the current full tank shot, this is now a little over 4 months running. Been taking it slow and steady. I am hopeful that the xenia will stick to that separate rock, however am prepared to have to include the removal of any stray growth into my cleaning routine.
This is the pulsing Xenia! even with the tiny frag it is mesmerizing to watch, I love the movement it adds to the tank. After months of my fish being in the QT with just snails and the hermit crab the tank has been pretty slow paced, but the addition of the coral, and the cleaner shrimp has brought a lot of life back into the tank.
- short video of Xenia-
Speaking of the cleaner shrimp, here he is! I had read that they had personality, but I am blown away with how fun this little guy is to watch. from nose to tail he is probably 2 inches, and he is constantly up to something, whether its grooming his antenna, or exploring the rock work in search of food, he is a great addition to the tank.
This is the other crustacean in the tank, my scarlet hermit. they have helped tremendously with my algae growth, slowly but steadily grazing away on the rockwork.
Bonus shot of the current QT setup. the HOB filter adds a lot of noise to the room, so I will be glad to not have to run it next week, but I am glad to have it, and have learned my lesson with ich and will be quarantining any new fish in the future to keep the tank free of unwanted disease/parasites. The jug to the left is my ATO reservoir, it is on a bookshelf just to the right of my desk, its 5 gallons, and I must say I LOVE, only having to top off my ATO once a month or so.
