Nano Sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef
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Something Old, Something New?
I bought a Halloween Hermit on Halloween of 2020. The cone shell that it occupied had what looked like a glued on limpet shell. I check on this hermit every few days and the limpet-like shell''s position has never noticeably changed. Fast forward to today and I saw a couple pitch black tentacles sticking out:
Color me surprised! Four months after purchase and I am shocked to see that this limpet is actually alive! It has to feed somehow and since I've never seen it detach or move, the only thing that I can come up with is that maybe it detaches from the cone shell to forage at night, then goes back to it's home location when done.
I managed to get a detailed closeup with 'everything hanging out'
...and a short vid:
Fun little addition to a fun little tank, but still a bit of a puzzler as to exactly what it is and what it eats. While the shell looks like a limpet's, the long forked 'tongue' is not a radula as one would expect for a limpet.
I bought a Halloween Hermit on Halloween of 2020. The cone shell that it occupied had what looked like a glued on limpet shell. I check on this hermit every few days and the limpet-like shell''s position has never noticeably changed. Fast forward to today and I saw a couple pitch black tentacles sticking out:
Color me surprised! Four months after purchase and I am shocked to see that this limpet is actually alive! It has to feed somehow and since I've never seen it detach or move, the only thing that I can come up with is that maybe it detaches from the cone shell to forage at night, then goes back to it's home location when done.
I managed to get a detailed closeup with 'everything hanging out'
...and a short vid:
Fun little addition to a fun little tank, but still a bit of a puzzler as to exactly what it is and what it eats. While the shell looks like a limpet's, the long forked 'tongue' is not a radula as one would expect for a limpet.
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Yup, that's a forked devil tongue! ;Vamp And it can curl the tongue back which exposes a snow white radula for rasping. Nature, an unending conglomeration of oddities...
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Spotlight on the little Bowerbanki twins, which are not so little anymore!
I got this pair for a 'a song and a dance' when around the size of a nickel and dime (respectively) since the LFS didn't think they were very nice ones. Personally, I think that the blue-white feeding tentacles, especially, are super
I was a bit concerned about how compatible Bowerbanki and M. lords would be. So far, no issue at all and they have been touching for a good part of the daylight period now for over a month.
Bonus item:
And I picked up this ridiculously large Utter Chaos zoa morph. This was the smallest polyp of the group (other than the little baby attached to the side), but it's still the size of a quarter tentacle tip to tentacle tip!
And in all my years reefing, I've never seen a Zoa not close up for at least a little while when newly introduced before opening up again. This one just shrunk slightly in the bag and then puffed out immediately when attached to the rock. Just awesome!
I placed this Zoa right in the middle of a large Leptoseris colony that received too much light and lost tissue. Instead of lowering lights too low for some other coral to maybe get the Lep to recover, using the Zoa to spread out with it's wide skirts for shade beneath seems like a good way to go.
I got this pair for a 'a song and a dance' when around the size of a nickel and dime (respectively) since the LFS didn't think they were very nice ones. Personally, I think that the blue-white feeding tentacles, especially, are super
I was a bit concerned about how compatible Bowerbanki and M. lords would be. So far, no issue at all and they have been touching for a good part of the daylight period now for over a month.
Bonus item:
And I picked up this ridiculously large Utter Chaos zoa morph. This was the smallest polyp of the group (other than the little baby attached to the side), but it's still the size of a quarter tentacle tip to tentacle tip!
And in all my years reefing, I've never seen a Zoa not close up for at least a little while when newly introduced before opening up again. This one just shrunk slightly in the bag and then puffed out immediately when attached to the rock. Just awesome!
I placed this Zoa right in the middle of a large Leptoseris colony that received too much light and lost tissue. Instead of lowering lights too low for some other coral to maybe get the Lep to recover, using the Zoa to spread out with it's wide skirts for shade beneath seems like a good way to go.
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Yes, considering some online info has indicated that the Bowerbanki will harm the Lords. One thing I've learned about LPS is that they can play nice for a good long while, but then one day 'BAM'! Time will tell how this works out in the long run...
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Spotlight on the little Bowerbanki twins, which are not so little anymore!
I got this pair for a 'a song and a dance' when around the size of a nickel and dime (respectively) since the LFS didn't think they were very nice ones. Personally, I think that the blue-white feeding tentacles, especially, are super
I was a bit concerned about how compatible Bowerbanki and M. lords would be. So far, no issue at all and they have been touching for a good part of the daylight period now for over a month.
Bonus item:
And I picked up this ridiculously large Utter Chaos zoa morph. This was the smallest polyp of the group (other than the little baby attached to the side), but it's still the size of a quarter tentacle tip to tentacle tip!
And in all my years reefing, I've never seen a Zoa not close up for at least a little while when newly introduced before opening up again. This one just shrunk slightly in the bag and then puffed out immediately when attached to the rock. Just awesome!
I placed this Zoa right in the middle of a large Leptoseris colony that received too much light and lost tissue. Instead of lowering lights too low for some other coral to maybe get the Lep to recover, using the Zoa to spread out with it's wide skirts for shade beneath seems like a good way to go.
Looks great!
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New Coral and a Fish (sadly, fish didn't make it...)
One of my rare LFS visits and netted a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis) and a couple corals. Unfortunately, after proper acclimation and the fish behaving as expected for the first day in a new tank (completely normal respiration), the next morning I found it stone-cold dead. Really odd, as it was even exploring the new digs on the first day. The only thing I could possibly think of is that I saw it eat a spaghetti worm from the substrate, but I've never heard of these being toxic. Oh well, c'est la vie...
On a brighter note, a few corals I picked up from the 'bargain bin' section:
A nice 'standard' 1" Blastomussa wellsi (with a couple tiny baby buds):
Fat and happy RPE ('Red People Eaters') Zoas:
I'm a sucker for any really big and juicy zoa!
'Fox Coral' (Nemenzophyllia turbida).
One of those 'old school' corals that takes me back to the beginning of reef keeping. Back in the 80s/90s nearly every LFS had these as they were very popular, but it is one of those corals that I have never actually kept. Bought as a little 3/4" frag that after a few short days has now expanded to 2". Looked very pale green under the LFS high blue LEDs, but is now showing a beautiful pearlescent coloration under my fuller spectrum lighting
One of my rare LFS visits and netted a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis) and a couple corals. Unfortunately, after proper acclimation and the fish behaving as expected for the first day in a new tank (completely normal respiration), the next morning I found it stone-cold dead. Really odd, as it was even exploring the new digs on the first day. The only thing I could possibly think of is that I saw it eat a spaghetti worm from the substrate, but I've never heard of these being toxic. Oh well, c'est la vie...
On a brighter note, a few corals I picked up from the 'bargain bin' section:
A nice 'standard' 1" Blastomussa wellsi (with a couple tiny baby buds):
Fat and happy RPE ('Red People Eaters') Zoas:
I'm a sucker for any really big and juicy zoa!
'Fox Coral' (Nemenzophyllia turbida).
One of those 'old school' corals that takes me back to the beginning of reef keeping. Back in the 80s/90s nearly every LFS had these as they were very popular, but it is one of those corals that I have never actually kept. Bought as a little 3/4" frag that after a few short days has now expanded to 2". Looked very pale green under the LFS high blue LEDs, but is now showing a beautiful pearlescent coloration under my fuller spectrum lighting
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Me too! Looking good. Those lords next to the Zoas have some really nice colors. Did those lords look like that at the LFS? Have the colors changed much with your lights?
I have yet to ever have a blasto in my tank. Do you think if my lords are doing well a blasto should too?
Sorry about the fish, Hawk fish are really neat. Never had one though.
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I bought three varieties of Lords at the same time and the one you are seeing in the photo didn't morph much compared to the other two (this one gets the least amount of light of the three). IME, the more light they get the more apt they are to change coloration.
Once again IME, if a reef aquarium can sustain healthy Lords then it should do the same for Blastos. One caveat is that Lords and Blastos must be fully intact and healed when purchased and placed in the tank (they are prone to brown-jelly infections, that often spread to any other Mussids). Lords can also take more light than Blastos, so mount Blastos down low (even under partially shaded areas is fine). Blastos also tend to hold their original coloration much better than Lords.
Yeah, loosing this Hawkfish (actually, a type of Anthias) was a downer and the most difficult thing is I have no idea why. Life can be fragile...
WV Reefer
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I love Fox Coral. They are very underrated in my opinion. I was so sad when mine died.New Coral and a Fish (sadly, fish didn't make it...)
One of my rare LFS visits and netted a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis) and a couple corals. Unfortunately, after proper acclimation and the fish behaving as expected for the first day in a new tank (completely normal respiration), the next morning I found it stone-cold dead. Really odd, as it was even exploring the new digs on the first day. The only thing I could possibly think of is that I saw it eat a spaghetti worm from the substrate, but I've never heard of these being toxic. Oh well, c'est la vie...
On a brighter note, a few corals I picked up from the 'bargain bin' section:
A nice 'standard' 1" Blastomussa wellsi (with a couple tiny baby buds):
Fat and happy RPE ('Red People Eaters') Zoas:
I'm a sucker for any really big and juicy zoa!
'Fox Coral' (Nemenzophyllia turbida).
One of those 'old school' corals that takes me back to the beginning of reef keeping. Back in the 80s/90s nearly every LFS had these as they were very popular, but it is one of those corals that I have never actually kept. Bought as a little 3/4" frag that after a few short days has now expanded to 2". Looked very pale green under the LFS high blue LEDs, but is now showing a beautiful pearlescent coloration under my fuller spectrum lighting
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Sorry to hear that yours died. Any particular cause?
It is a very interesting coral with quite a unique pedigree. It's the only species (turbida) in the genus Nemenzophyllia. It was named after Dr. Francisco Nemonzo, a pioneer coral researcher from the Philippines and it was only given a name in 1981.
What I can't figure out is how 2" diameter of coral polyp tissue can near fully retract into a skeletal box structure that's only about 3/16"/side square...
WV Reefer
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I was out of town and the power heads kicked up a sandstorm and buried it.
I wanted one after seeing Gena’s drop off tank........ hers was beautiful.
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I was out of town and the power heads kicked up a sandstorm and buried it.
I wanted one after seeing Gena’s drop off tank........ hers was beautiful.
Gosh, so many ways for things to go wrong...and usually when we aren't home. I once lost a 55g full of Euphyllia and Plerogyra while on a one week vacation due to a sea cucumber getting too cozy with a powerhead....
I remember Gina's drop off and the pastel color scheme...very nice, IMO.
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Awesome tank. I read the post from beginning to en as if it was a novel. haha
Very nice simple setup. It always reminds all of us that reef tanks may not need be thousands of dollars in high end equipment. Consistency and simplicity is always key.
Very nice simple setup. It always reminds all of us that reef tanks may not need be thousands of dollars in high end equipment. Consistency and simplicity is always key.
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New Coral and a Fish (sadly, fish didn't make it...)
One of my rare LFS visits and netted a Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish (Plectranthias inermis) and a couple corals. Unfortunately, after proper acclimation and the fish behaving as expected for the first day in a new tank (completely normal respiration), the next morning I found it stone-cold dead. Really odd, as it was even exploring the new digs on the first day. The only thing I could possibly think of is that I saw it eat a spaghetti worm from the substrate, but I've never heard of these being toxic. Oh well, c'est la vie...
On a brighter note, a few corals I picked up from the 'bargain bin' section:
A nice 'standard' 1" Blastomussa wellsi (with a couple tiny baby buds):
Fat and happy RPE ('Red People Eaters') Zoas:
I'm a sucker for any really big and juicy zoa!
'Fox Coral' (Nemenzophyllia turbida).
One of those 'old school' corals that takes me back to the beginning of reef keeping. Back in the 80s/90s nearly every LFS had these as they were very popular, but it is one of those corals that I have never actually kept. Bought as a little 3/4" frag that after a few short days has now expanded to 2". Looked very pale green under the LFS high blue LEDs, but is now showing a beautiful pearlescent coloration under my fuller spectrum lighting
Taking me back! My first coral about 15 years ago was a fox coral.
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Yay, made it to the 13th year anniversary:
This was a bit of a challenging year what with lighting issues (from my own tinkering/experimentation), test kit failures leading to chemical imbalances, nutrient challenges and digitate hydroids.
Over the last few months I've reduced lighting from 170 PAR mid tank to around 140 and slightly adjusted the spectrum (lowered the Violet/Hyper Violet channel intensity). This resulted in less stressed corals and my Ponape BN going from 'Pocilliporin Pink' back to the more typical fluorescent green/pinkish tips. Also picked up a small Acropora echinata frag seen on the lower right side just to see how a deepwater would do in the system (please excuse the two retracted Mystic Monti frags as they were just added to the tank an hour before I took the photo):
I had some difficulty keeping PO4/NO3 in balance due to having only one slimish Eyebrow Barnacle Blenny in the tank. Adding a little extra food to raise PO4 would result in rising NO3, so I'm addressing the imbalance by the addition of an extra fish, namely an Azure Damsel:
Based on past experience, having just the right balance of fish to coral in a system (that's not overfed) seems to promote a more reef acceptable PO4 to NO3 balance. Since fish process nitrogen in the food by excreting it mostly as ammonia (preferential coral nitrogen food source), this is much better than having excess food lying around in the tank (to try and maintain PO4) that bacteria then have to process...nitrification -> denitrification -> denitrogen gas (often denitrification can't keep up with steadily rising nitrates in many reef aquaria). The other option would have been adding a PO4 supplement, but I'd rather try and tackle this issue in a more 'naturalistic' way...and more fish equals more fun! (most of the time).
The digitate hydroids have done some fair damage to Zoas and LPS, mostly. A combination of minimizing small food particles, a Halloween Hermit and my constant picking at them has however greatly reduced their numbers. As of right now, I only know of one that is in an inaccessible spot underneath an Acan colony. One day, I hope to have the system free of these persistent organisms!
Being a small mixed reef with all types of coral compacted into a smallish area, all-in-all I'd say that almost everything is doing well enough
This was a bit of a challenging year what with lighting issues (from my own tinkering/experimentation), test kit failures leading to chemical imbalances, nutrient challenges and digitate hydroids.
Over the last few months I've reduced lighting from 170 PAR mid tank to around 140 and slightly adjusted the spectrum (lowered the Violet/Hyper Violet channel intensity). This resulted in less stressed corals and my Ponape BN going from 'Pocilliporin Pink' back to the more typical fluorescent green/pinkish tips. Also picked up a small Acropora echinata frag seen on the lower right side just to see how a deepwater would do in the system (please excuse the two retracted Mystic Monti frags as they were just added to the tank an hour before I took the photo):
I had some difficulty keeping PO4/NO3 in balance due to having only one slimish Eyebrow Barnacle Blenny in the tank. Adding a little extra food to raise PO4 would result in rising NO3, so I'm addressing the imbalance by the addition of an extra fish, namely an Azure Damsel:
Based on past experience, having just the right balance of fish to coral in a system (that's not overfed) seems to promote a more reef acceptable PO4 to NO3 balance. Since fish process nitrogen in the food by excreting it mostly as ammonia (preferential coral nitrogen food source), this is much better than having excess food lying around in the tank (to try and maintain PO4) that bacteria then have to process...nitrification -> denitrification -> denitrogen gas (often denitrification can't keep up with steadily rising nitrates in many reef aquaria). The other option would have been adding a PO4 supplement, but I'd rather try and tackle this issue in a more 'naturalistic' way...and more fish equals more fun! (most of the time).
The digitate hydroids have done some fair damage to Zoas and LPS, mostly. A combination of minimizing small food particles, a Halloween Hermit and my constant picking at them has however greatly reduced their numbers. As of right now, I only know of one that is in an inaccessible spot underneath an Acan colony. One day, I hope to have the system free of these persistent organisms!
Being a small mixed reef with all types of coral compacted into a smallish area, all-in-all I'd say that almost everything is doing well enough
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