# Lionfish Lair



## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I am still into fish keeping and while I do miss my Betta fish as does the office my boss has been kind enough to let me set up and keep a smallish (for reefing) tank in my Office. So naturally as this is the main attraction for the room I decided on a Predator tank with the most Venomous things that I can fit in here. 

Introducing my Dwarf Fuzzy Lionfish, the Real Swim Shady 
Instagram Feeding Videos
















Hoping to add a Valentini Puffer fish and keep this mostly FOWLR (fish only with live rock) unless my Bubble Tipped Anemones continue splitting in my home reef then i need to upgrade the lights and hope everything in the tank doesn't sting and eat each other


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Oh. My. Goodness. You have a lionfish!!!!
What's your kiddos name!? 

That is EPIC! 
I'm really looking into a reef tank when I'm older and keeping a lionfish, would you be willing to answer questions about it at some point?? If not, no worries!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

He is called the Real Swim Shady after an office poll for the name, Snoop Cod came in a close 2nd place, then Wiz KaReefer. 

More then happy answering questions, that is what these forums are all about sharing knowledge and experience. I also have a Mantis Shrimp in another tank so have two of my dream animals finally. He is in a Red Sea Max 130D (so 29gallons or 110 litre display), the main thing with reef keeping is patience and letting things stabilise and doing your best to keep them there









above is my Mantis Shrimp and the reason I cannot have fish in the tank









Started with a single Bubble Tipped Anemone about 5 months ago, I now have 5 of them as the mother seems to split once a month


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

I absolutely adore those names, they're great!! And Real Swim Shady is just awesome! 

That's so cool!! Are Mantis Shrimp the ones that can see a ridiculous amount of colours? Does he/she have a name? 

Thanks as well! I'll pick your brain then.. LOL

How do you keep the salt to water ratio at the right amount? Is there a way to tell? 

How much does Real Swim Shady eat and what does he get food wise? 

What are the parameters for a reef tank? 

How often do you do water changes? 

How difficult would you say it is to keep a reef tank? 

I might have more questions later.. I'll just ask that many right now though


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Yeah the Mantis shrimps are the ones with 16 colour cones to differentiate colours (we have 3) my Mantis Shrimp is called Vergis.

You need a variety of test kits and equipment to monitor multiple things in the tank.

Salinity - Refractometer, this measures the amount of salt in the water.
Temperature - I run a temp controller and a standard "non mercury" thermometer
Ammonia - want this to be 0 - i use Red Sea or Salifert test kits
Nitrates - i run these 10-20ppm i use Salifert test kits
Phosphates - i run these 0.05 to 0.1 I use Salifert Test kits
Depending on what corals you keep (SPS and LPS) you will also need to monitor Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium, as i dont keep sticks (SPS Corals) i dont test for these as they are not utilised by the animals that i keep. 

I feed Swim Shady 3 times a week, he gets a mixture of a lancefish (one approx 4" long), frozen Krill and Frozen Mussels, each of these i feed approximately half a tube. The clean up crew in the tank takes care of anything that has been left behind. 

My Parameters are as follows (this is for both tanks as I have found this is what my tanks naturally stabalise at, so i dont try and deviate from the numbers.)
Temperature - 78-79F
Salinity - 1.020 (FOWLR) and 1.025 (Mantis Reef - I have soft corals and anemones that need more salt in the water)
Ammonia - 0 
Nitrates - 10-20ppm
Phosphates - 0.05-0.1

I dont water change either tank, but I do have an Automatic Top Off device (ATO) that keeps the salinity stable by replacing the evaporated water with clean fresh RODI, I also run a Macroalgae refugium to keep Ammonia, Nitrates and Phosphates to the levels that I want. I harvest and give away this algae to other reefers who have herbivorous fish to feed (tangs and blennies), in my Mantis tank the soft corals take on the job of nutrient control, much like a planted tank. 

The most difficult part of a reef tank is the first 6 months, as that is the stage where the biological filtration is established and you enter the "ugly phase" where a lot of different types of algae start to establish themselves and work out a balance. I feel that many people go wrong at this point as they want to have that designer fish or coral. Both my tanks went entirely fallow for a full 3 months before i turned on the lights and let algae grow so i could add my clean up crew and start building life from the smallest t largest. 

I find that a Reef once established is far more stable then a freshwater set up, but everyone is different and no two tanks are the same. Also it doesnt help that there are multiple ways to start and run a reef tank these days, so i chose to go against internet wisdom and follow how my grandfather set up his reef tanks in the late 70s and 80s. Seems to work well and i have not had to deal with the real pains of reefing (Dinoflagellates)


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Oooo thanks!! That's intriguing. 

Where do you find everything you need? Are there specific online stores? 

Do you have to do anything special for the corals? 

I also never thought that saltwater tanks would get algae, that's cool! How different are the saltwater varieties from freshwater?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Equipment wise I hang out on a few saltwater forums so typically snap up any sales on the classifieds, alternatively my LFS stocks a lot of saltwater equipment and what they don't they can order in for me. You can also use amazon but I prefer to support my local store, breeders and businesses. 

BRS is a popular site for marine equipment in the USA but in my opinion the only real difference is that you want more flow or velocity in your water movement and different lighting (more blue spectrum and more wattage mostly) although you can use freshwater lighting to grow macroalage and sea grass (decorative seaweed). Also I have seen many people take advantage of the dollar per gallon sales, that are now 50% off o believe. Hell my first tank I used a standard aquarium, cannister filter and a par38 bulb, got laughed off the Internet but that tank looked amazing and was stable for 2 years before covid forced the office to close.

Corals typically get most of their nutrients from photosynthesis as well as some nutrients from the water column. All use Nitrates and phosphates, anything with a skeleton requires calcium,magnesium and other trace minerals which the salt that you mix with RO or RODI usually provide. Unless you have a heavily stocked sps tank with huge coral colonies in which case you most likely want to dose and then automate. I don't that's not relaxing or fun for me. 

Algae in a reef tank, hmmmmm. That's a long post, some are easy to remove and just look ugly (cyanobacteria), green hair algae, then get things like coralline algae (which does consume calcium so sps keepers don't like it, I think it looks interesting and glows pink under blue lights) then you get the pest algae like dinos, crysophytes, etc. Most things actually eat this algae, but as a reef keeper you need to keep it trimmed back for the Snails to be able to control it further. A lot of the skills are transferable, just slightly more complex in a marine tank


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

Woah, the one glows under light!? That's awesome!! 

Thank you so much for all the information and answering my questions too, it's fascinating!!  

You've definitely got me convinced to have a reef tank one day. They sound like a sort of challenge but also fun!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So firstly I do not like the heavy blue (actinic) so my lights are close to the freshwater spectrum as I think gives a more natural look.








Under blues certain colours produce a highly florescent colour. I tried to take from the same position. Plus my phone hates the blues and I cannot be bothered to play with the white balance or clip on lenses to filter the blue out.









You can also see the anemones reaction to losing the other colour spectrums (shrinks but will expand tentacles with bubbles to make more surface area).

Also Anemones will walk all over the tank, if you look at the first picture on the top left corner you can see my sand dwelling anemone at the water line 🤦‍♂️


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

They walk!?! 
How do they do that??


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

They are essentially a pretty mouth on a foot


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Am so glad to see you back!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I went into my LFS today, wanted to have a look at the plants, both Aquatic and Terrestrial as well as the Betta's. I was shocked at the price that they are selling a Betta for. A "Standard" fish retails for about £25.00, if you want a "premium" or different colour I am looking at roughly £35-£40. I picked up my Lionfish for roughly that price and spotted this absolute Beauty in store. Sadly I dont have my large tank up and running and cycled as otherwise I would have no second thoughts picking up this guy. 































Thankfully the plants are affordable, so at the very least the planned DIY tank can still go ahead and I can have an Orchid Paludarium with Waterfall


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So on Friday I decided to take a small risk and have some Mollies in the tank to act as dither fish for Swim Shady (the idea being to encourage him to use more of the tank then he currently is, he mostly hides under the weir). So after a long acclimation of 4 hours I acclimatised the Mollies to Saltwater and let them get used to the tank.

Within an hour Swim Shady had spotted them and was lurking after them around the tank.









Lights out time, love seeing all the details on this little guy.









I have also placed a reservation for the final two fish for this tank, after that it will be focusing on the aquascape and rockwork to allow for more hiding and swimming spaces, I have noticed that Swim Shady likes to perch on my powerhead and wavemaker. 

So the first fish is another Oddity, the Long Nosed Hawkfish









And the final fish for the tank is a Valentini Puffer fish









So all three of the fish contain a venom , with the puffer containing the most dangerous. Then I may look into getting some easy and colourful corals once the new rockwork has matured and I have gone through the ugly stage again.

Anyway onto Water Change and Tank maintenance now, so a busy afternoon in the Office


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Does anyone ever make an online order and forget all about it? Well i have, i forgot that i had ordered some Blue Discosoma Mushroom Corals, They arrived today shortly after my Amazon order.

Ignore my Weir Gate, this is an OOOOOOOOLD tank and is held together with a lot of bodge jobs.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I am trying to sort the rockwork and this is what i encounter, Swim Shady begging









FEEEEEEEED MEEEEEEEE!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So a few shots from around the tank, I added the rocks and mushrooms around my main rockwork as a sort of rubble zone. These corals propagate fast and walk around the tank so I will expect soon to have a lot of these throughout the tank. Not a problem as my LFS will take in Corals for Store credit and i do have an affinity for Reef tanks that are predominantly Soft Coral Based (Softies) Also have a snail in shot working the new algae of the rubble.










Below is one of my favourite Clean up Crew member a Nassarius Snail, these are Detritus eaters that live in the same with only there trunk exposed until the sense food, then they emerge from the sand like a Zombie raising from the grave hence the Hobby's nickname of Zombie Snails. 









Blue Discosoma Mushroom currently these are about 1/8"-1/2" but can and will grow up to 1.5" wide









Electric Blue Leg HErmit Crab, another Clean up Crew member, eats some algaes (not film) as well as Detritus.









The main attraction waiting for breakfast.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

I'm in love with this fish🥰 Maybe I should consider stealing him...🤨jk


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

put a few videos on instagram for his feeding

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http://instagr.am/p/CbPaiRwrekF/


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

How do we feel about the name "Carpi B" as a Female Dwarf Fuzzy? Looking at forming a pair


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That video of him eating is so precious!!!
And the way he watched the food fall for a moment 

That'd be a great name!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Yeah the tank is going to look like crap for a couple of weeks to a month if this other fish is indeed a female, after she goes through a QT phase at least.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So on my way to my LFS this lunch time, apparently they have another Dwarf Fuzzy in stock (hopefully actually a Dwarf Fuzzy not a Dwarf Zebra this time) so want to see if it is female. If so then I have roughly a week to set up a QT tank to make sure that she eats frozen and is actually a female and not a juvenile male. Photos to follow in a few hours


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Well although it is gorgeous its another male by the looks of things, although the Yellow on him is amazing will have to pass.









They did however have some of the other fish on my want list, teeny tiny Valentini Puffer









Also a Longnose Hawkfish


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Amazing looking fish!! Are you buyig any of them?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

betta4ever! said:


> Amazing looking fish!! Are you buyig any of them?


Very tempted by the Puffer but will have to have a grow out tank for it, I really want to pair of Swim Shady with a gillfriend (🤣) so looking for a female he won't eat


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Decided to splash a bit of cash today and actually get a set of Reef Lights that are suitable for this tanks size.


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Wow, looks cool!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

In the home reef I ordered some clean up crew that will hopefully tough out the mantis taste for escargot

























More pictures later


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

The conch survived the first night intact


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Soooooo beautiful!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

betta4ever! said:


> Soooooo beautiful!


Useful too as they eat GHA as well as other "pest" algae's (Cyano, Diatoms)


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Those eyes are awesome I’ve never looked that hard at saltwater snails, I’ve clearly been missing out!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

X skully X said:


> Those eyes are awesome I’ve never looked that hard at saltwater snails, I’ve clearly been missing out!


Oh yeah Marine Life is weird and wonderful to be sure. I am hoping to pick up an Urchin at some point as well for Clean up Crew duties depending on how well the Conch does. Those little critters are hilarious as they pick up and transport anything that isnt glued down including corals and even other snails and crabs


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Video of my mantis shrimp stealing anemones food 








Vergis The Mantis Shrimp on Instagram: "Feeding time for the #mantishrimp #mantisshrimptank #nanoreefersofinstagram #nanoreef #fluvalevo13 #fluvalevo #bubbletipanemone"


Vergis The Mantis Shrimp shared a post on Instagram: "Feeding time for the #mantishrimp #mantisshrimptank #nanoreefersofinstagram #nanoreef #fluvalevo13 #fluvalevo #bubbletipanemone". Follow their account to see 30 posts.




www.instagram.com


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

and a couple of Swim Shady from todays feed


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Close up of the eyes and Facial Markings


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So a bit of an update on both tanks. 

Mantis Murder Manor - continues to live up to its name. The only clean up crew i have remaining is the Conch, one Hermit in a huge shell and a lone Nassarius Snail. The rest have turned into snacks for the Mantis Shrimp. Other than that the Shrimp herself is doing great and is nearly up to full size. However I have noticed that one of her eyes is missing. I am hoping that in her next moult she will start to regrow the missing eye and will look even weirder for the next few moults. Oh yes and also my Bubble Tipped Anemone has split once again so I now have 5! I am going to monitor algae growth and see if i need to include some more clean up crew. If so might try a small urchin.

Lionfish Lair. Still looking for a female to introduce to Swim Shady, other than that my Mushroom Corals are expanding and reproducing, I might bring some of these home and swap them for some of the anemones, as the corals and anemones are in the same genus, they shouldn't have much of chemical warfare with each other. I also noticed that a few pest anemones are popping up on the rocks so will have to look for some Berghia Nudibranches (fancy sea slugs) that will eat these and establish a population in the tank to control it. 

Picture of Swim Shady so its not all text








His fins are just beautiful, like a butterfly


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So i got into work this morning to notice that I have a tank full of snacks.... molly fry. Will be interesting to see how they cope with the flow in the reef tank and if they can escape the Real Swim Shady









Unable to do a full count but i estimate somewhere between 7 and 12 Fry


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

Wait, you have moly in the salt water tank? I'm lost.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

betta4ever! said:


> Wait, you have moly in the salt water tank? I'm lost.


Oh yes! In nature they typically inhabit Brackish Estuaries, Rivers and Streams. They can tolerate very high salinity and are also a really useful addition that will show Marine Ich in the system but not be infected with it themselves, they also eat a lot of the nuisance algaes that grows in the system (Ulva and GHA mostly).

The difficulty is acclimating them back to Fresh Water after being in full salt. Oh they also breed as much in SW as FW but produce fewer offspring. I purposely choose Mollies with very short fins to cope with the high velocity flow in the marine tank (250x turnover or 600GPH wide pumps)

can do the same with Guppies as well I have been told


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That's really cool, I never knew that! 

I'm guessing they're the kind you just find in the pet store? Or did you find a specific type somewhere else?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

The ones I have are sailfin mollies, but have also had balloon mollies in a previous reef. Both work just as well and can colour up to rival the most expensive marine fish. Not bad when 4 cost me £12.


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That's neat!

Did you have to acclimate them to salt water? How do you do that if so? Is it similar to acclimating to any new tank, but just add salinity? 
You mentioned(?), they eat algae, do you have to give them anything else? 

Hope you don't mind me picking your brain too much


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

The way I personally have acclimated them to salt water is to temp match and then take a turkey baster of water from the tank to their bag every few minutes for about an hour. Test salinity and make sure it matches and then since I had the Lionfish in already I added them to a isolation bucket (4G bucket with airstone and rock) and left them for 24 hours before seeing how they ate and if they survived the night. 

I also purposely feed them marine algae wafer, omnivore pellets. They also eat the mysis, krill, Crab eggs, mussels and the remains of the lancefish I feed the lion. 🤷‍♂️ The main concern is that people in marines use them as a feeder fish for predators like mine or eels etc. They don't have the same fatty acids that marine fish do but their offspring will do if raised in a marine environment. I like shoaling fish but without a huge tank I can't really do that, and if thr lionfish does eat the young it's a good population control


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That's really neat, thanks for explaining!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Mantis shrimp out and about, excuse the algae the conch is being lazy

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http://instagr.am/p/CdOf9ujLsQa/


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So i have been thinking about the Mantis Murder Manor tank for a little while now, my main gripe with the tank is the amount of undesirable algae that I am getting in the display portion of the tank. If I didnt have a Mantis Shrimp in here that loves to attack and eat snails I would simply increase the clean up crew, however since i dont want to bankrupt myself feeding her escargot i need to consider an alternative method.

So my idea is to implement a DIY algae scrubber, essentially this means inserting a plastic craft mesh with a roughed up area into the filtration that algae strands can adhere too and light this on a reverse schedule so that the algae continues to grow in the tank but in a way that I can better manage to removal and therefore nutrient control. 

I shall play around with the idea tonight and post up a photo of what i come up with along with a regular update, also need to find someone that has a Algae Blenny or Tang that would benefit from the algae from the scrubber (if it works) as I think that I have a spare 12W freshwater light (and algae is closer to plants then coral so the spectrum doesnt need to be more than freshwater i believe)


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So as part of my preparations for summer I have also decided that I would improve the look and the natural filtration of my Office Reef tank. Eventually I want to completely hide the lighting from view using a Mangrove or two so last week I placed an Order for a pair of Red Mangrove Pods. Today they arrived.










They arrived in good condition and have some decent rooting offshoots 









I found some Styrofoam, punched a couple holes through to make a rudimentary floating device and added them to the tank









Looking forwards to seeing how these develop and whether they can eventually be "bonsai'd" as they grow


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Someone's really active tonight


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So its been a week since i jankily put together a DIY algae scrubber and I already can see some issues with the filtration that I want to resolve with version 2.0. The idea seems to work in practise as well as theory so the next version will be a bit more robust and hopefully improved, plus will give me a chance to have a play with things.











So first improvement will be making sure that no light bleeds through the filtration system into the display, but as mentioned janky test of an idea, I am currently looking at plastic tupperware and an airstone for version 2 to see if that would produce more algae than i am getting currently, essentially i need to boost the amount of surface area for algae growth so need a lot more craft mesh to attemp a couple of sheets of grwoth. The airstone will increase the oxygenation level of the tank and hopefully encourage the algae to grow thicker utilising more nutrients









I also intend to modify the filtration flow from chamber 1 into chamber 2 so may need to swap heaters and locate an automatic top off device for the pump compartment


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Just had a thought, i cannot remember the last time that i changed the media n my RODI unit, might be another reason why i am struggling with algae lately in this tank. I have also ordered a refugium pack to restock the little critters in the tank


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Got a very weird Algae growth over the last few weeks on my liverock in the Lionfish Lair tank


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That's cool! 

They kind of remind me of little mushrooms. Do you know what type it is?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I haven't a clue to be honest, I think maybe an Acetabularia species but not 100% sure. I need to get some under a microscope


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Tonight I have decided to invest in an alarm for my RODI system. I forgot I left it running in the basement....


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I've done it, I found a Female!!!!








Placing the reservation fee tonight once i have seen her, confirmed (as much as i can) that it is female, and most importantly make sure it is feeding, preferably on Frozen but live will do also. Can wean another one onto Frozen


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I took a look at the fish again last night before I went home, I aim to pop in again at lunch time again today. I do have a couple of concerns on the fish. Firstly it did not eat frozen in the store, which while not a huge deal is a bit annoying although I do have some experience of weening fish onto frozen and otherwise prepared foods it is not ideal for me. 

Next concern is the size of the fish, it is tiny (even for a Dwarf Lion) perhaps at most 1.25-1.5" so with the size of Shady's mouth this is concerning. This is also causing me a lot of issues with being able to sex the fish, I am aware of several methods of sexing visually these fish but with this one i am not 100% sure as i am sure that it is a juvenile and i dont want to risk the pair if one of them is not a good match.

Also Mantis has made it so that i need to restock all my CuC again!

Another expensive month for the tanks


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

My Mangrove Pods however have started putting out roots


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Love this thread! 
Your little mantis shrimp is totally adorable!! And that little lion fish is also pretty darn cute! How can such deadly little critters be so sweet looking?!?!?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Well today was water change day and algae harvest from the scrubber. I would say it is working


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I got into the office and sorted out Swim's breakfast (frozen mussel today) and then came up to my desk and looked at the tank, I see only the one Molly in the display which sounds about right since i added 3 before the weekend. I also noticed a complete and utter lack of Swim Shady.









Where in the flying is my fish?








Absolute idiot of a fish, i am guessing that he chased the other two Mollies into here and got stuck over the weekend or yesterday. So with my heart in my mouth I managed to remove the weir box and release him into the display again.








He then sulked

Also Roots are growing 😍


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ack!!! Silly fish! So glad he’s ok!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> Ack!!! Silly fish! So glad he’s ok!


Same here, gave me a massive shock. I am going to be looking for a large breeder box/isolation chamber that I can float and attach to the glass via suction cup (cannot be a net due to Swims Spines I dont want him getting stuck) I think that I will then attempt to use Guppies as a feeder fish and keep these contained to this large chamber until a time where i can invest in a separate system for breeding feeder fish


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I have had my eye on one of these fish for a while now (Long Nosed Hawkfish) another ambush predator (you can tell this by the red colouration, most ambushers are a shade of red, brown or orange/yellow as red light is the first part of the spectrum filtered out by water) so I was looking for feeder fish in the LFS and sadly most of the Freshwater tanks were empty and undergoing maintenance. So i wondered over to the Saltwater section (a mistake) 









Sadly still no female Dwarf Fuzzy Lionfish but they did have this guy, and since he has been at the store for a while (at least 6 months) they let me take him home for a much reduced price (usually around £65-75 for one of these) I got him for the take home now price of £17.99!!

Currently he is in my QT Bin in the office (in the stand of the RSM130D - this is 15 Gallons, no light, wavemaker for water movement, heater for obvious reasons and a small amount of live rock (dead coral skeleton) for biological filtration) He will be in here for a minimum of 28 days before being introduced and released into the Thunder Dome!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So a couple of images of the Hawkfish in the QT Bin, he has PVC Pipes and a few fake plants, he seems to really enjoy the PVC and spends most of the time in there unless he is feeding (which he eats like an absolute pig) thinking about calling him The Ghost Face Krilla instead due to his appetite for frozen Krill of all sizes.









Personality wise i think he so far seems extremely confident and isn't afraid of "barking" at me as the below extremely lucky image captured


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## Eridanus (Jul 1, 2021)

That name idea is amazing and he's really cool!! 

Why do they "bark"? Is it a defense mechanism?


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

He's so incredibly cute 😍!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Eridanus said:


> That name idea is amazing and he's really cool!!
> 
> Why do they "bark"? Is it a defense mechanism?


Yes its a aggression/territorial display. Very much like how Betta fish Flare. There are a few species of Marine Fish that do this, some you can actually hear outside the tank. Particularly Damselfish.



betta4ever! said:


> He's so incredibly cute 😍!


He is and is a complete idiot, he has already jumped from the QT bin at feeding time so need to be more careful in future. I have added some eggcrate under the condensation tray so that i can drop food through the gaps and not have him escape and turn into fish jerky! 

They do not have a swim bladder and as such can accelerate rapidly over short distances. Usually in an upwards direction as again Ambush Predator.

I am now thinking about Macroalgae (Seaweed and Seagrass) and really invasive "pest" corals to add to the tank to give some contrast to the Red Coloured Fish, so thinking Greens


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

First load of zoathanids found and paid for, from a local Reefer. These contain a toxin called palytoxin, again toxic. It is a mixed rock (reds and greens) people also get really excited by sales names for these corals and can charge silly money per polyp. However the guy seems to be an old school Reefer like myself and just refers to them as a mixed zoa cluster. £9 including delivery.








If these were purchased from a store I would be looking at more like £30-40 for this amount of polyps, more if they had fancy names.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I am trying at the moment to source to encrusting soft corals, that will fill the tank with colour as well as use up excess nutrients as I am working abroad a fair amount this year. 

First up is Green Star Polyps, or commonly in the reefing trade GSP. I want this to be able to completely cover the rear glass of the tank for this type of look. 








As you can see this can get invasive, which is why typically it is placed on the glass, as with the use of a sharp razorblade you can cut and peel sections of the encrusting mat away and pass on the frags to a LFS or another local reefer so that they can grow it in their tanks. 

I would also like to start adding more options of Mushroom Corals and Zoathanids and Palythoas (similar coral, slightly different appearance hence the names) 

I was also considering a Mangrove in this tank too, but it would mean I would need secondary lighting, probably removing the hood and having to install jump guards so a lot of work for very very little gain


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Those are really cool looking!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Today I present the reason that my Clean up Crew does not last long in the tank. This is Derp, Derp is well named and also my longest surviving creature in this tank, although it is pushing its luck wondering close to one of the burrow entrances.









Much like myself she doesn't like it when people loiter near the front door, so she pops out to see what all the fuss is about









Quick as a flash, she pops out gives it a smack (not a full force blow, mearly a love tap - that still hurts from personal experience) and retreats back into the burrow.

It is also annoying to deal with Aiptasia in this tank (pest anemone) as it is hard to be precise with a needle and Kalk solution when the shrimp keeps trying to punch it!! But the task is complete, shouldn't have to do this again for another month or so


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

And also while going through my old phone i managed to save one of the photos of my very first coral tank, no fish in this as i required VERY, VERY precise water requirements 









thats a standard 5 Gallon, this tank died when the cleaner at work sprayed biocide and fungicide in the office pre Covid shutdown


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

All i can say is WOW!! This tank looks amazing! I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful as this. And I didn't even know what a coral tank was! Thanks for sharing.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

betta4ever! said:


> All i can say is WOW!! This tank looks amazing! I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful as this. And I didn't even know what a coral tank was! Thanks for sharing.


Coral only or Fish only are probably the easiest ways to keep the saltwater hobby if i am being honest. Especially when you get away from Soft corals into LPS and SPS as the last two require very little nutrients in the water to thrive, so those with both in the tank either have to feed sparingly (not a fan of this approach) or have a robust nutrient export system such as protein skimmers, calcium reactors and algae scrubbers (i need this last one in my Mantis Tank as she kills every snail and crab in the tank) 

Anyway, since I am going to Download festival tonight i decided that I would introduce the Long Nose Hawkfish into the display tank.









There was a bit of a squabble over the cave that you can see the Lionfish in so will have to source and add some more live rock some point soon but they seem to get on with each other so far. The benefit of the Hawkfish is that they can inflate themselves in size so that he is far larger than the Lionfish's mouth which is a good thing. 

Both Mangroves now have measurable roots, so I would expect at some point in the next month for the leaves to start forming and I can start to play with these much like you would a bonsai tree. 

















The Hawkfish seems to be the new photobomber of the tank


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Love them!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Roots are growing and Swim Shady is begging


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Aww!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I got the Zoa's delivered this morning, I have already filed a claim with the delivery company as the polybox arrived damaged and leaking, must have been delivered by Ace Ventura!










Since these Corals contain Palytoxin I was a little worried opening the box as there is always the potential that they can release the toxins into the water and air. Thankfully though when i opened the box there was no death smell, just a lot of water









Zoas looked in decent condition, the water was still warm and no one is feeling any ill effects 30 minutes later









Usually I would temperature match, acclimate to my tank conditions before adding to the tank under the lights but there was no water in the bag which was leaking excessively so I added them to my isolation box that i use to acclimate and added some activated carbon to the tank incase the Zoas released any toxins









Now we wait for them to open so i can see what colours I have, can already see Greens and Reds as the lights are slowly ramping up


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ok. I’m lazy… what’s a zoa? They look like a type of coral?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Yes they are a type of soft coral, Zoathanids are the full name, also come in a variety called Palyzoa and Protopalyzoa


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Starting to open now









Eventually these will populate the rock and provide some colour, will be bringing some other corals from home tank for redundancy of frags. So if I lose one tank I still have some corals left in each 👍


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I need to stop going to my LFS, think my long search for a female has come to an end.









Well for the fish tank at least 🤣


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Well i am more confidant today that she is a female, the LFS also let me feed the tank a small amount of frozen mysis shrimp so i know that she eats and i dont have to worry about sourcing months supplies of feeder shrimp for the tank which is always a plus.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Boring Bits first, the Zoas are colouring up and a nice shade of green with Yellow Centres.









Finally picked up the Female Dwarf Fuzzy
















Decided on another Rap Musicians name: Carpi B









She is mostly brown with hints of the most beautiful yellow


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## betta4ever! (Oct 5, 2021)

She's BEAUTIFUL!! Waiting for photos of her in the tank 🥰


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

betta4ever! said:


> She's BEAUTIFUL!! Waiting for photos of her in the tank 🥰


Thanks, she really is a very pretty fish, just need to play with Macro Lenses and Phone Camera settings to capture the yellow hues. She will be in the QT tank for a week so I can ensure that she eats. 

Due to her small size I will have to introduce her into the display via an isolation box and carefully watch how much attention Swim Shady gives her, as previously said she is tiny compared to Swim Shady, thankfully I dont think his mouth is larger then she is


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

She is an absolute beast when it comes to eating, so far she has taken a variety of frozen foods and pellets that I feed to the fish in the display tank.

This includes
Lobster Eggs
Mysis
Krill Superba (Large)
Krill Pacifica (Small)
Chopped Mussel
Carnivore Pellets 
Chopped Clams


















I also noted that I have a Hitch Hiker or several in the Display tank, these most likely either came in on the Zoa Rock that I added earlier in the month or survived deep in the live rock that I picked up from another reefer and added to the tank.









This thing is tiny (0.5mm) so getting a positive Identification is difficult.








But I think it is either a Dive Snail or a Nano Conch. Either of these two are beneficial additions to a reef tank and will feed on micro fauna and micro algae within the tank. It could also be a Whelk which would be an issue to my Clean Up Crew if it gets large enough to start eating my snail population, i should know if it a whelk if it grows much larger than 25mm but that could take a while


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Awww… your little murder butterfly is adorable!

Are sea snails able to quickly reproduce like some land snails?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> Awww… your little murder butterfly is adorable!
> 
> Are sea snails able to quickly reproduce like some land snails?


Some species of snails reproduce quickly in a reef/marine environment, specifically Dove Snails, Cerith Snails, Trocus Snails and Stormatella (this last one is Gary from Spongebob) all of which i try and encourage within the tank. Some people say that the Nassarius have bred in their tanks but i have never experienced that


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So since I remembered to bring my Macro Lenses to work with me i took the change to photograph some of the life that exists on the rocks and sand bed. 

Below in the centre of the image we have a Tunicate (type of colonial sponge) I have several of these around the tank, also the pink/purple colour on the rocks is coralline algae; a hard calcifying algae, I love this tuff on the rocks and hate it on the glass









Micro Bristle Star in amongst some of my Macro Algae (this one is a Red Grape Algae) 








A little Filter feeding Tube Worm in the sandbed, I have these over my rocks as well as a huge colony in the rear filtration section









Finally the smallest life in the tank that I am most impressed with, this is a Blue Tunicate (as well as another tube worm) this Sponge filters the water through vents in the side back into the water column.









All the above microlife add a lot of life and filtration to the water. Which is why I dose the tank with a combination of Phytoplankton, Rotifers, Copepods and Isopods. Ensuring that I keep the biodiversity in the tank healthy from the smallest to largest of living things


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So I entered my office this morning to discover that the carpet was absolutely sodden, fearing the worst I checked out the display tank and discovered no leak. However the storage tub that I use as a QT tank had lost nearly all of its water volume (roughly 3 Gallons left in a 18 Gallon) due to the loss of water the pump had also burned itself out. 

I did lose the Guppies and Livebeares that I acclimated to saltwater to act as my breeder fish for live feeder fish as they were in a large hang on the side isolation box within the QT tank and with the water loss they were not submerged when I arrived this morning and looked like a form of jerky.

So urgent transfer of a venomous fish into the display complete using my hands and a lot of muttered prayers and threats as the water level was too low to scoop her out with anything, i also could not make up new water as it would leak directly out again!

You can also see clearer the size difference and why i was concerned about adding her to the display 









So the office stinks like a fish market (or if you have been unlucky enough to visit the place Grimsby )








But Swim Shady shows some interest into the new addition, thankfully not a feeding response. I do love the colour variation between these two fish as well. I dont really want to let her into the display just yet but unsure of keeping her contained in the breeder box over the weekend


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Oh, no! That’s terrible about the water loss. I hope you can get it fixed soon!

BTW… those pictures with the macro lens are amazing!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Yeah the tub is in the work skip at the moment as it is not recoverable. I am not planning any further additions (unless i find a Bright Yellow Female) as I am probably slightly over fully stocked as it is. But I do have additional biological filtration on the way in the form of a Protein Skimmer and more Macroalgae. 

The good news is that both fish seem to be interacting well in the display tank, I have seen what I think is pairing/bonding behaviour but as many people dont keep or study these fish this is purely guesswork at the moment. However they swim cheek to cheek (through the box) with Swim Shady flaring ALL his fins and spines, he looks beautiful and the seem to match their lunge forwards while doing this "dance" 

Both fish colours are darkening as well during this so I know this is not a stress response (colours fade with stress). I plan on feeding the tank heavily today and tomorrow and then plan the release into the display tank on Tuesday so i have a chance to monitor and intervene if it goes wrong day 1.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Well seems like Carpi B is part Dolphin judging by how she jumped out the Breeder Box


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So my morning greeting when I saw the tank today









To my absolute delight, it seems that a bond is starting between the two Lionfish.









They stay within a couple of inches of each other at all times, whether its swimming, feeding or perching on the rocks. I ave also seen the cheek to cheek swimming happen more than once today so it seems my fears about compatibility are so far unfounded. Lets hope that it continues


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Since it is a rather quiet day in the office today I took the chance to grab a few more photos from around the tank. Firstly I removed the unsightly Polystyrene Mangrove Pod floater and glued two 90 hooks to the rear of the display that I cable tied the mangroves too, this should encourage growth and make the display look a little more finished.

The root systems are now approaching 6" so i hope that the leaves start forming soon, i know its a tree but its so slow growing 









Under the Mangroves are my current corals for this tank, a mixed rock of Green and Red Zoas. I still need to dial in the lighting so that the colours really pop and it doesnt offend my eyes as I dont like the heavy blue look that most reefers shoot for. Also Red Zoas in the back are still sulking so no idea whats up with those









And then the Mushroom Corals that pop up all over my tanks









Now onto the fun stuff. THE FISHIES

GHOST FACED KRILLA









SWIM SHADY
















and last but not least

CARPI B


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

After following this thread I can finally see the appeal of saltwater. I’d never even consider doing it myself, but I see why people love it.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Well I have been reading a lot of scientific papers lately that have given me an idea for a truly crazy experiment based purely on one type of coral and a small but stable environment. Just need to swing it with the bosses


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

picked up a velcro covered bulldozer today (Pincushion Sea Urchin) lovely white and purples, should help me with the hair algae woes


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

A quick snap of Carpi from earlier today, she's quickly learned that since she's small if she swims amongst the rocks she can catch bits as the larger boys of the tank scrap it out at feeding at the top, since I only turn off my wavemaker for feeding this blows the frozen shrimp around by the return pump and she scoots after it
*







*
She's colouring up nicely, I'm really hoping for yellow but think she will stay brown but with orange and little blue flecks in the pectoral fins

Swim was shedding his cuticle today (mucus membrane as they don't have scales) so didn't look too happy 🤣









Carpi didn't seem to mind though and followed him around although still can't swim through the velocity of the wavemaker. Still I think it will be 3 - 4 months time till they are similar size so might still see a scrap or two down the line


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Everyone is home now

























Will sort out rockwork later


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I was in town this past week and had to stop at the small, local aquarium store to see everything.

They have a large tank with several full size lion fish and one of them was shaking off mucus. The employee gave a brief explanation so I know exactly what you’re talking about with Swim!

I also got to see the smaller fuzzy lion fish in person. They’re so cute!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Any idea what type of lions they were? I would love a Voiltans if I had a tank large enough, but that would also open me to panther grouper and other larger moray eels. So no 🤣.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> Any idea what type of lions they were? I would love a Voiltans if I had a tank large enough, but that would also open me to panther grouper and other larger moray eels. So no 🤣.


Sorry. No clue. Big, dangerous, and slime throwing were about all I can remember about the larger sized ones. Cute and fluffy is it for the little ones. This place isn’t big on clear labels. Most tanks are either unmarked, have very small labels, or they’re hand written and practically illegible.

They did have a “banana eel” at one point and this time they were all excited about the $1200 tile fish? I think that’s the name. It was very expensive.

They frequently have exotic or more difficult to find fish and plant varieties.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> Sorry. No clue. Big, dangerous, and slime throwing were about all I can remember about the larger sized ones. Cute and fluffy is it for the little ones. This place isn’t big on clear labels. Most tanks are either unmarked, have very small labels, or they’re hand written and practically illegible.
> 
> They did have a “banana eel” at one point and this time they were all excited about the $1200 tile fish? I think that’s the name. It was very expensive.
> 
> They frequently have exotic or more difficult to find fish and plant varieties.


Probably an orange spotted file fish, looks a bit like a puffer fish mixed with a wrasse?


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> Probably an orange spotted file fish, looks a bit like a puffer fish mixed with a wrasse?
> View attachment 1045557


If I was looking at the right fish I seem to remember a long thin body with a rounded face, and it had a purple-ish color along its back and a lighter colored belly. I had a friend with me and we were commenting on how crazy expensive it was.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> If I was looking at the right fish I seem to remember a long thin body with a rounded face, and it had a purple-ish color along its back and a lighter colored belly. I had a friend with me and we were commenting on how crazy expensive it was.


Hmmmm this is a fun game. Next two guesses would be a 

Candy Basslet









Or a Crosshatch Trigger









Probably Trigger looking at description


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I’m pretty sure it was an oreni tilefish. I sent my friend a picture and she agreed that that’s the fish we saw.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> oreni tilefish


Wow, never heard or seen that fish before


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> Wow, never heard or seen that fish before


It seems to be fairly rare in the hobby, which would explain the fanboy/fangirl attitude of the employees. It was a neat looking fish but I think I’ll stick to my bettas!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> It seems to be fairly rare in the hobby, which would explain the fanboy/fangirl attitude of the employees. It was a neat looking fish but I think I’ll stick to my bettas!


Had a quick read and they do best in pairs or Trios apparently, so $3-5K to keep them happy and not stressed


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Ratvan said:


> Had a quick read and they do best in pairs or Trios apparently, so $3-5K to keep them happy and not stressed


 Sadly it looked like they only had the one.


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> Sadly it looked like they only had the one.


Yeah that sounds about right sadly. Anyways looking at potential tank mates for my Eel


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So can anyone guess what got delivered to my LFS today at a reasonable cost of only £600?










Oreni Tilefish, what are the chances 🤣


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

That’s crazy!! And that is a bargain price!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So the tank move went well, I set up the 110 Litre System a couple of weeks before from the shut down Mantis Tank and some of the rock and sand from the Red Sea Max 130D and biomedia and instant cycle.









The Fish look fat and Happy

























Corals have settled in nicely and are populating the rockwork









Mini Maxi Anenome looking nice too









The Red Sea Max is looking okay midway through the tank clean









Decided to go with T5 2x 24W for lighting and will hang a 18W PAR38 Bulb for the Mangroves


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

Always love seeing your updates. What’s become of the Pico contest tank or did I miss an update on that one?


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Currently have it broken down into these two due to changing job, i can set it up later if the mood takes me but i do prefer the smaller amount of maintenance on the larger tanks at the minute. Well once they have been set up and gone through the cycling uglies its almost auto pilot


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So a bit of a change here, lately I've been witnessing a lot of aggression from Swim Shady towards little Carpi B. As a result I decided that I would have to split the pair, which while a shame for me aesthetically is the best decision for the fish. Also this means that I had to cancel the order for the Snowflake Eel.

So in my Juwel Primo 110 Reef I have
Swim Shady
Ghost Faced Krilla
Ebenezer Goode. 

RSM130D Reef
Carpi B
+2 fish currently undecided on.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

That’s a bummer!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

I know, thankfully I had another tank that I can separate them into. One of the joys and pains of the aquatic hobby always having a backup incase things go wrong


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Looking lovely in his new home, the Artist formerly known as Carpi B.









I can just about make out the 8th coloured band on the pectoral fin now


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Apologies for lack of updates, taken a new job as a mental health crisis support worker on nights so feeling a little overwhelmed but the tanks and the inhabitants do cheer me up and relax me. 

So my 12 year old wavemaker finally stopped working tonight, so I have currently a 1200lph/300gph pump in there currently. My Hawkfish especially misses his favourite perching spot.








I pulled the thing apart and nothing appears broken and have replaced the prop and drive shafts and fuse so it's dead, dead, dead 😞

Swim Shady doesn't seem to mind and has been sleeping in some very weird places. Worse then a clownfish are there for floating upside down randomly 🤣








The tear in the fin is healing well, got it from Jay Sea (formerly Carpi B) little scrap before I separated them. 

Speaking of, becoming much more interactive lately which is good to see. 









Decided that I want to try and find an Aiptasia Eating/Matted Filefish with Jay Sea plus some snails for clean up crew. The last one I had was a character, other fish again I'm thinking about Mollies as Ebenezer is an Algae eating MACHINE. In saltwater that's a godsend. As a result though I have very few pictures of him where is isn't pooping.








Also as an omnivore eats all the mysis, krill and clam that the Hawk and Lion get.

Want to get some more corals for both tanks, thinking about sticking to Leathers or Toadstools as they are "easy" soft corals and can look fantastic in a dedicated tank like mine. So more or less back to where this set up was but with more reliable and proven lighting then when it looked like this before covid wiped it out. 








Had to find it in an archived journal on a reefing forum 🤣

Oh as I have lots of "pest" Aiptasia in the tank I ordered some Berghia Nudibranches (Sea slugs that eat these anemones) which I forgot the Hawkfish would eat 😅 so he had a Michellin meal on myself 🤦‍♂️, he also devours the eggs that my Nassarius snails lay on the glass and the hermit crabs too.


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

I now need to go back and watch this again…


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

sparkyjoe said:


> I now need to go back and watch this again…


Literally 20 seconds in the pubic hair ones, 3 for £25. Immediately were picked off by the Hawkfish

And yes re watching, that's hilarious so far


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So Jay Sea is currently going through a growth spurt of sorts, today he shed his mucus coat (apologies for the green I dosed heavily with phytoplankton today so the water is very green)









Also the tank is undergoing a "slight" infestation of vermitid snails, here is my heater









Might need a small scraping soon


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## sparkyjoe (Feb 27, 2012)

That’s a bunch of snails!!!


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

Probably the reason I'm going through so much phytoplankton if I think about it 🤔, also would explain why my sponges don't look great. Tomorrow's job that


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## Ratvan (Oct 31, 2018)

So today was cleaning day, scraped the heater free of the vermitid snails, thankfully going to work shortly so the smell should have gone by the time I get back tonight. 
The cryptic zone in my AIO section looks a bit better now. Can see my sponges at last.









I was also going to clean out the refugium in the Things that sting reef but it actually looks really nice fully grown in at last.








I will need to trim the macro algae back some but hoping that I can do a swap for the final fish for this tank as I need an aiptasia anemone eater (not nudibranches). Can also see lots of limpets on the glass as well that I didn't realise that I had. Will most likely move my urchin on as well as it seems to have got a taste for mangroves which I do not approve of.










24 hours later all phytoplankton has been consumed, generally I leave the algae on that side glass as food for the copepods and rotifers, I am also after a trio of mollies for this tank to see if I can get them breeding in salt water and a reliable source of food for Jay Sea. Thrn can look at getting some more corals for the tank, not really sure what type to try this time around. I do love soft corals but am missing my SPS corals so might go for Montipora dominant again. Or maybe gorgonians and macroalgae 🤷‍♂️

Finally have placed an order for some spare T5 and T8 bulbs for both tanks as mine has been running for nearly 9 months now so are likely to need changing over soon. I prefer these to the LEDs that are on the market as the "old school" lighting has a more reliable spectrum then LEDs


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