Jill's 14 gallon Biotopia

[Ahruk]

Yep, he's a rather small fighting conch named Jabber, had him for over a year and absolutely love him. Here's a picture from when I first got him.

He's looks like an elephant with his long trunk.

I've been really surprised how much I enjoyed the green toadstool. My boyfriend got it for me one day out of the blue. I was stoked but was unsure if I would really like it long term (was really worried that it would grow too fast). I wanna say I've had it for at least 6 months and it's gone from 1" to maybe 2" so not exactly a fast grower at least in my tank.

@zoacrazy42 thanks Hopefully yours isn't convered in black spots from trying to host zoas, nearly scared me half to death before I figured out what it was from xD

 

[Flameback Pair]

Jill,
Love your tank. Who says nanos aren't interesting? Yours is very diverse. What level of bio-l0ad would you say you have?

 

[Ahruk]

Thanks I currently just have a pair of clown fish and a skunk cleaner shrimp (don't really consider him clean up crew as I add extra food to the tank just for him). Eventually I plan to add one more fish (currently barnacle blenny is in the lead just have to track one down) and another pom Pom crab or two. Your question though makes me curious how high my current bioload is in terms of nitrates (may have to break out the dreaded tests kits and do an experiment).

Personally, I absolutely love having a nano I feel like it allows me to more fully appreciate every little Zoa and creature in my tank no matter how small. Not to mention how easy it makes it tank maintenance

 

[DeniseAndy]

I know what you mean. I love my large tank, but I am always setting up smaller tanks too.

 

[zoacrazy42]

I did not know that about the black spots. Mine are trying to host the monti plate I have. Gonna need to move it. Anyways I like the updates looking great going to be nice watching your tank grow out! Keep them pics rolling

 

[Ahruk]

Okay so I may have impulse bought something I may or may not be able to take care of >_< I bought this beautiful gorg. I've been wanting some for quite a while and figured for $8 it was good opportunity to test whether or not I'm capable of keeping one... Been doing a lot more research and am still not totally clear on what food to feed them. I fed him some reefroids this morning but after reeding the advanced aquarist article on gorgs it seems likely that they eat bigger particle stuff. So now I'm gonna feed some of rods frozen food (I feel like now we're getting too big but don't really know where the happy balance is). If you have a gorg, let me know what you feed it. Anyway picture time

 

[DeniseAndy]

That is a non-photosynthetic gorg. It will need lots of feeding. What size, I cannot say due to polyps in pic, no idea. You will want to try lots of sizes and see what it takes. You can feed it by covering it for a period of time with the food (so no flow or competition) and do this at least every other day. These guys are not easy. Beautiful though.

I have had a species dominated gorg tank for over two years now. I am just starting to get into a pattern that I feel comfortable getting some NPS. Mainly, I am now culturing stuff to feed them.

Good luck and keep us updated on progress. I would love to see how it goes.

 

[Ahruk]

I don't know how to tell if he's taking or just closing up bc I'm blowing food his way or because the other tank inhabitants are trying to grab the food out from under him..... I've been turning off the flow and just squirting stuff in his direction. What do you cover it with? a bottle? Any other tips for dealing with annoying fish/crabs and shrimp trying to steal his food? Been trying to feed to at the other side of the tank but umm....its a small tank and they eat fast... Finally what foods do you feed?

 

[Ahruk]

I'm definitely willing to put in the work to try to make this work. If I can keep him alive long term (a year? is that long term?) I would really really love to get one of these guys if I ever upgrade, I think they are just so beautiful and cool.... I would happily plan a tank around this coral. The ones I've seen look even cooler then this.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I had to do this with my brains at times. I took a old pop bottle/water bottle, or whatever will fit in your tank. Cut to fit over the coral. Turn off flow so the bottle does not take off. Now squirt food into the bottle from the top and let it sit on it for at least ten minutes.

Honestly, I have not tried the NPS yet. I am raising brine (using as baby brine not adult), phyto, and working on raising other zooplankton (rotifers, etc). I will also be feeding oyster eggs, marine snow, and cyclops. I will be running a continuous feeding once I get more in the system. Like I said, lots of food.

I have heard of success using the bottle method, but it takes lots of energy to keep it up.

 

[DeniseAndy]

A Blueberry, yep, that is where I am heading. I will start with Yellow finger or Red finger first. I really want to try carnation corals, but that will be way down the road.

1 year is a good start, but success is tough to measure. My success is seeing things grow and reproduce. Sometimes things just take a year to die.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Here is a recent shot of my tank. I am not good with pics and the tank is thru 40 yr old glass, so colors are muted, but you get the idea. The tank is 7ft x 2ft x 2ft (210g).

 

[Ahruk]

Will this work for the bottle trick?

Your tank looks beautiful. Wish I space/dedication for live food (and my boyfriend would allow it, probably the biggest obstacle right there...) So if it grows does that for sure mean it healthy?

 

[Ahruk]

D@#$ pretty sure they have some that carnation coral stuff at the local fish store. Almost picked some up figuring it was some type of easy leather/softy, good thing I didn't....

 

[DeniseAndy]

That should work. Yep, keep an eye on growth. Best indicator. Sometimes gorgs grow very slowly. I have had some that still look like I got them three years ago and some I have had to frag three times in a year. Crazy the different species.

Carnation corals are rarely expensive, but they die quickly.

 

[Ahruk]

I'll definitely keep an eye on him and if I don't think I can keep up with his needs for any reason I'll make sure to find him a new home ASAP.

 

[Flameback Pair]

Jill, BRS sells a little squirt bottle it promotes with their Reef Chili coral food that works by adding a little coral food to the bottle, some tank water, then shake up the bottle and squirt into the top-end of the cut-off water bottle you are already using to cover the coral during feeding.

 

[Ahruk]

I'm actually finally getting comfortable with the turkey baster but thanks for the suggestion Really more looking for coral food suggestions for the gorgonian. Still can't tell if he's actually eating the mysis/brine mix I'm feeding him or just hanging on to it until I turn away for a second.

Anyway, just got back from REEF-A-PALOOZA and can't wait to take picture of my new coral once they're as happy as I am with them

 

[Flameback Pair]

I don't know if you know this but some gorgonians are photosynthetic and will absorb the nutrients in the water just to feed the zooxanthellae side.

 

[Ahruk]

Yea, unfortunately those are generally ones with tan (or was it white? I don't know I did the research a couple of weeks ago and I already forgot) polyps. Mine is almost certainly NOT photosynthetic unfortunately I was also told he was a deep water gorg when I bought him and that he was non photosyntheic. Today I think I'm gonna try feeding him pellets and see what he does with them... (it'd be great for my water quality if he accepts them xD) Is there any reason why this is a bad idea to try? I don't plan always feeding pellets but I figure that pellets would help help diversify the food (meaty, planty, ect.) in a way that I don't think the frozen foods do.