Simon's 450

elisa h · Apr 13, 2018

Wow your tank is a work of art! Love all the pyramid butterflyfish. Do they school or do their own thing?

ca1ore · Apr 13, 2018

I'm rapidly approaching fish 'saturation'. I still plan to add a trigger of some kind (either red or pink tail) and possibly an Achilles. I have a flame angel, a six pack of Bartletts, three chalk basslets and 25 yellow tail damsels in QT already. Once they go in that'll be about it. Maintenance mode at that point (and dull).

ca1ore · Apr 13, 2018

elisa h said:
Wow your tank is a work of art! Love all the pyramid butterflyfish. Do they school or do their own thing?

They do interact, but more often their own thing. Most of the interactions (with the anthias too) tend to occur as the lights dim down and go off. Mostly jockeying for the prime sleeping spots.

ca1ore · Apr 16, 2018

'Rescued' a large vlamingi tang from a local reefer this weekend. Not entirely sure that even my tank isn't too small for this fish .....

ca1ore · Apr 23, 2018

I have concluded that even a 450 is too small for a 14" fish - he was laying waste to the tank. I shall have to find him an even bigger home. Cleaner wrasse will be sad, he was finally a big enough fish that the wrasses had an opportunity to do what it does.

ca1ore · Apr 29, 2018

Six pack of bartletts became a five pack, and they're in the display. Sixth one just went poof. No body in the tank, nothing that I could find on the floor. Strange. I don't doubt it's on the floor somewhere, but I cannot find it. Added the 25 damsels yesterday.

Victoria M · Apr 29, 2018

This thread is in need of a video! I need to see what these schools look like!!!!

Victoria M · Apr 29, 2018

This thread is in need of a video! I need to see what these schools look like!!!!

ca1ore · Apr 29, 2018

The damsels are mostly hiding still .....

Phone was next to the vortech pump, so best watched with the sound off LOL. Unicorn always photo bombs me.

ca1ore · Apr 30, 2018

This is better ....

Anthias (16 of them) mostly congregate in the left end of the tank, as do all the other fish when they think it's feeding time.

Victoria M · Apr 30, 2018

That was very satisfying ! I watched it at work and it reset me for the rest of the day! Lol thank you!

User1 · Apr 30, 2018

@ca1ore you are right - 2nd video is a lot nicer. Thanks for the update. I really like it. Hope one day I can get some similar growth of some form of branching SPS if I can find some right pieces to start with. I like the pyramids. I also found somehow this weekend while reading someone recommending Zoster's which I guess are the same or similar? I'm personally going to try 2 or possibly 3 Millesteeds once the tank matures more. If I don't end up with those I may go with the pyramids - I just wanted more yellow and black if you will whereas the pyramids are more white in the center. Still a pretty fish.

Great tank btw. I really like it.

ca1ore · Apr 30, 2018

Zoster is essentially the same fish with different coloring. I have kept both; don't really have a preference. Zosters seem harder to find, particularly in smaller size.

User1 · Apr 30, 2018

Forgot to mention that the Regal is super awesome sauce! Really would like one of those.

ca1ore · May 1, 2018

Six month update .....

Mostly looks the same as the 5 month update LOL, so I will probably move to quarterly rather than monthly updates. Amazing how 36 damsels disappear into the aquascape. The green slimmer is now within a 1/2" of the water's surface. Going to have to do some fragging soon.

I did end up re-rehoming the large vlamingi tang that I had taken in as a rehome. Given the coral growth, it was clear that a 14" fish with girth was going to be a problem.

Almost done with fish. Up to around 80, with the 36 damsels, 16 anthias, etc. I have a few more wrasses in QT. Still would like to replace my potters angel and Achilles tang, but we shall see with the latter. I'm also going to add a red tail/sargassum trigger at some point and perhaps a few more resplendent/randalls anthias. But otherwise, absolutely no more fish LOL.

User1 · May 1, 2018

Looks great. Are the regals in another tank?

ca1ore · May 1, 2018

Regal .... just one. He's in there. You can see him bottom left in the FTS. He's been fighting with another fish though; got a few torn fins.

revhtree · May 1, 2018

ca1ore said:
This is better ....

Anthias (16 of them) mostly congregate in the left end of the tank, as do all the other fish when they think it's feeding time.

Amazing reef! Very well done!