20 Gallons of Life, a hand collected Bahamian reef.

[MombasaLionfish]

Quick update, everything is doing fine, no drama with the tank (fingers crossed, knock on wood). Goby and shrimp are eating good. I have not seen the Flame Cardinal eat, but he is still there hiding under the rocks during the day with his friends the two Coral Banded shrimp. At night time he roams all over the tank so i guess he is eating little critters and things then. One day i will get a pic of him.

See-through Goby.

Coral Banded Shrimp, walking around like they own the tank

Some cool little worms/dusters.

A fuzzy, Tan colored Hermit Crab. never seen one before, very cool.

Nice. How big is the hermit?

 

[Island Reef 242]

Nice. How big is the hermit?

Thanks, the shell he is in is about 1 1/4" in diameter.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Hmm still not sure of the type.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Hmm still not sure of the type.

I have no idea. Will try to gat a better pic later and post it in the critter ID forum.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Good idea.

 

[Blutspitze]

Tank looking great; jealous of the tan crab - haven't seen any of those either.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Good Morning, everything chugging along in my small box of water. I have been getting better at doing 50% water changes every week. Corals and feather dusters seem to be doing good. I have not seen the Flame Cardinal in two days. But I did get a new friend, a Saddled Blenny. Still trying to get a good pic of the furry tan hermit crab, he is camera shy. I thought he passed away the other day, but was happy to see it was just his molt.

My new friend, a Saddled Blenny.

Hermit crabs can be real bullies.

My mangroves roots have really taken off.

Just to let everyone know, I have been getting prepared for Hurricane Dorian. It looks like it will miss me, but I am worried about the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. I have been through countless hurricanes, a cat 1 or 2 is just a good breeze to us, but a cat 4 is nothing to play with.
All of you reefers living from Ft Lauderdale up to Vero Beach need to be preparing now. I will pray for all those directly effected, stay safe.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Well this past week has been historic, and not in a good way. From preparing for Dorian, watching it become the strongest hurricane to hit the northern Bahamas in recorded history, seeing it sit over Grand Bahama and Abaco for 24 hours, to now dealing with the aftermath and hearing the horror stories of those lucky enough to survive.

Me and my family are fine. Here in Nassau we only got some feeder bands that brought flooding and island wide power outages. I have a small generator so my tank, corals and fish are fine to.

I have finally herd that all my friends in Abaco and Grand Bahama are alive and well. Unfortunately many others did not make it, and the death toll will only get higher as the water recedes in Grand Bahama. The stories I have been hearing are even more unbelievable than what Hollywood could make up. Some parts of Abaco are totally destroyed and uninhabitable right now. And some of my friends who survived have lost everything, their home, business and all possessions, are thinking of moving to Canada as they have to start all over again. This is the biggest catastrophe the Bahamas has seen in a long long time. The Islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama will never be the same. It will take years to rebuild and for any normalcy to return to those residence.

I know some of you are wondering why people decided to stay and not evacuate. Well first of all there is no legislation for mandatory evacuation like you have in the US. On an Island there is no where to really go. I would say that those two Islands hold at least 1/5th of the entire pop of the Bahamas, where could they go, with only 2 days notice. Remember, less than a week before it hit it was only supposed to be a tropical storm. And it built up from a cat 3 120mph to cat 5 185mph in less than two days. We have been through many hurricanes and have one of the highest standards of building in the world. But when faced with sustained 185mph winds in a storm moving 5mph then stopping, and gusts over 210mph, not much can survive. Those who could afford it did evacuate, but many could not.

The whole of the Bahamas has come together to help our brothers and sisters, and the overflow of help from surrounding countries, businesses, and people, are so greatly appreciated as thousands are now displaced and have no possessions. We as a country are a strong and proud nation, and we will get through this. To quote our national anthem, " Lift up your head, to the rising sun Bahama land. Till the road you trod, leads unto your God. March on, Bahama land", and as it says on our coat of arms, "Forward, Upward, Onward, together." We will get through this.

Chris

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Well this past week has been historic, and not in a good way. From preparing for Dorian, watching it become the strongest hurricane to hit the northern Bahamas in recorded history, seeing it sit over Grand Bahama and Abaco for 24 hours, to now dealing with the aftermath and hearing the horror stories of those lucky enough to survive.

Me and my family are fine. Here in Nassau we only got some feeder bands that brought flooding and island wide power outages. I have a small generator so my tank, corals and fish are fine to.

I have finally herd that all my friends in Abaco and Grand Bahama are alive and well. Unfortunately many others did not make it, and the death toll will only get higher as the water recedes in Grand Bahama. The stories I have been hearing are even more unbelievable than what Hollywood could make up. Some parts of Abaco are totally destroyed and uninhabitable right now. And some of my friends who survived have lost everything, their home, business and all possessions, are thinking of moving to Canada as they have to start all over again. This is the biggest catastrophe the Bahamas has seen in a long long time. The Islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama will never be the same. It will take years to rebuild and for any normalcy to return to those residence.

I know some of you are wondering why people decided to stay and not evacuate. Well first of all there is no legislation for mandatory evacuation like you have in the US. On an Island there is no where to really go. I would say that those two Islands hold at least 1/5th of the entire pop of the Bahamas, where could they go, with only 2 days notice. Remember, less than a week before it hit it was only supposed to be a tropical storm. And it built up from a cat 3 120mph to cat 5 185mph in less than two days. We have been through many hurricanes and have one of the highest standards of building in the world. But when faced with sustained 185mph winds in a storm moving 5mph then stopping, and gusts over 210mph, not much can survive. Those who could afford it did evacuate, but many could not.

The whole of the Bahamas has come together to help our brothers and sisters, and the overflow of help from surrounding countries, businesses, and people, are so greatly appreciated as thousands are now displaced and have no possessions. We as a country are a strong and proud nation, and we will get through this. To quote our national anthem, " Lift up your head, to the rising sun Bahama land. Till the road you trod, leads unto your God. March on, Bahama land", and as it says on our coat of arms, "Forward, Upward, Onward, together." We will get through this.

Chris

Yikes.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Update, bad news first, there always seems to be bad news, but as long as I learn something from it I am ok. I did a water change yesterday and my Saddled Blenny had disappeared . He greeted me before the water change and with his inquisitive eye, looked me up and down as if to ask, what the heck I was doing with all his water. When I came back with the fresh water, he was gone. The only explanation i can think of is that one of the anemones got him cause the water was so low. The tentacles on them are very strong and sticky, and they move very fast. I have seen them try to pull in boulders as I was cleaning the tank. I think I might have to let them go, it will be bitter sweet cause they are some of the few things that have been in the tank since the beginning. Although I cant help but think that a lot more things might have survived if they were not in the tank .

RIP Saddled Blenny

I often feel bad ( as I am sure a lot of us do ) when I think of all the fish that have passed while in my care. So anytime I get a chance to save a fish, I take it. There is a large tide pool of sorts outside my house. At high tide fish can get washed into it, but at low tide it gets completely dry. The other day I noticed a school of small Yellow Tails had been trapped in there along with a bunch of minnos/pilchards that they had been chasing. When the tide was low enough for me to catch them easily I caught them and released them into the ocean. There were about 15 of them, and I felt good like I had redeemed myself a bit by saving them from doom. But, then I proceeded to catch all the pilchards that were left in the pool. Not to free them, but to freeze them to be chopped up later for fish food. I thought to myself, why do I feel bad about accidentally killing one type of fish but not about killing hundreds of another type? I realized we all do this in one way or another. The smaller plane looking fish/sea creatures are expendable and used as food. While the larger colorful fish are revered. I felt a little bad now about catching the pilchards, but I no longer felt as bad about one of my fish passing away in my tank. As long as it was unintentional and I learned something from its death I was ok with it. And If I do intentionally kill a fish It will only be to help another fish survive, or to put on my plate.

Fish food

Snack time.

Some very small shrimp that I occasionally catch and give to my tank for a treat.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Update, bad news first, there always seems to be bad news, but as long as I learn something from it I am ok. I did a water change yesterday and my Saddled Blenny had disappeared . He greeted me before the water change and with his inquisitive eye, looked me up and down as if to ask, what the heck I was doing with all his water. When I came back with the fresh water, he was gone. The only explanation i can think of is that one of the anemones got him cause the water was so low. The tentacles on them are very strong and sticky, and they move very fast. I have seen them try to pull in boulders as I was cleaning the tank. I think I might have to let them go, it will be bitter sweet cause they are some of the few things that have been in the tank since the beginning. Although I cant help but think that a lot more things might have survived if they were not in the tank .

RIP Saddled Blenny

I often feel bad ( as I am sure a lot of us do ) when I think of all the fish that have passed while in my care. So anytime I get a chance to save a fish, I take it. There is a large tide pool of sorts outside my house. At high tide fish can get washed into it, but at low tide it gets completely dry. The other day I noticed a school of small Yellow Tails had been trapped in there along with a bunch of minnos/pilchards that they had been chasing. When the tide was low enough for me to catch them easily I caught them and released them into the ocean. There were about 15 of them, and I felt good like I had redeemed myself a bit by saving them from doom. But, then I proceeded to catch all the pilchards that were left in the pool. Not to free them, but to freeze them to be chopped up later for fish food. I thought to myself, why do I feel bad about accidentally killing one type of fish but not about killing hundreds of another type? I realized we all do this in one way or another. The smaller plane looking fish/sea creatures are expendable and used as food. While the larger colorful fish are revered. I felt a little bad now about catching the pilchards, but I no longer felt as bad about one of my fish passing away in my tank. As long as it was unintentional and I learned something from its death I was ok with it. And If I do intentionally kill a fish It will only be to help another fish survive, or to put on my plate.

Fish food

Snack time.

Some very small shrimp that I occasionally catch and give to my tank for a treat.

Sorry about the saddled blenny.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Sorry about the saddled blenny.

Thanks, I will be on the look out for another one. He had a lot of personality.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Its been a while but the tank is still running, with more ups and downs. I have been keeping up with 30-50% water change every week or so with natural sea water from my back yard. I also clean a sponge filter on the intake of a HOB filter that has no filter media in it, although I do believe some cryptic things are growing in the chamber. It is just used for flow and aeration. I also have one small in-tank pump to help with flow, and a Kessil light over the tank. This is about as simple a set-up as you can get with minimal maintenance. And most things survive, and thrive in the tank.

This is a recent FTS.

For those who have been following you will see some new things as well as some things missing. I will deal with the bad news first. All my fish are gone . I believe I have had my first ever disease ;Doctor. I had a beautiful juvenile blue tang that was eating and very active for over a month. I also had a goby and a blenny. One day the tang was fine, the next he looked like a zombie, and the following day he disappeared. The same thing happened to my goby a few days later, and my blenny just vanished. I do have 3 neems and a beast of a clean up crew, so if a fish is careless or something happens to it, it will disappear. But I have never had a fish look like this:-

My first diseased looking fish, RIP little blue tang. Anybody know what disease this may be?

The good news is all my shrimp, coral, crabs, and snails are doing fine. I got a couple Gorgonians that were broken off and washed up by some rough seas, and they seem to be doing fine. My finger coral seems to have finally stopped its STR and has great polyp extension.

Some of my corals that are thriving. Don't mind the hair algae, that was taken care of by the crabs.

One of my smaller snails. If you look closely you can see some pods on the glass as well. Since all the fish are gone there are pods all over the place. I was not sure if I had a decent pod population or not until now.

I recently came back from a short trip to my friends house in West Palm Beach. I ordered some stuff and had it sent to him. Reef Roids, Selcon, Kalkwasser, New Life Spectrum Probiotic, a TDS meter, grow light strip, and a culture of phytoplankton. Some of this stuff is in prep for a 75g coming in the future.

I split the bottle of phyto into two rum bottles, added fresh sea water and fertilizer. and made the set up you see above. One bottle crashed three days after setup, it went clear and clumped up at the bottom and sides. The second looked like it was crashing, clumping up a bit on the sides, but has stayed green and gotten darker. It has been 8 days since I started it, and I will split the good bottle this afternoon and hope for the best. I am thinking of filtering out any clumps in the good bottle before splitting, what do y'all think?

Well, thats what has been going on the last two months. I currently have one emerald crab, two mating coral banded shrimp, 6 hermit crabs, at least 7 corals, 11 mangroves, a bunch of snails, hundreds of pods, and thousands of phytoplankton (I think). So I am a happy reefer . I will try to get some fish when I can. The water is freezing now (at least to me) and I don't know where my wet suit is. I will leave y'all with two more photos to enjoy.

Two of my anemones below mangrove roots.

My hermit crabs. Still don't know what that fuzzy one is.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

What kind of anemones are those? The disease could be flukes.

 

[Island Reef 242]

What kind of anemones are those? The disease could be flukes.

It is a Warty Sea Anemone.

 

[Island Reef 242]

Well I went to redo the phyto culture I tried to start and noticed that there was mold on the corks i was using as bottle stoppers ;Facepalm . I have cleaned everything and am starting over using the contents of the darker green bottle. Wish me luck.

Anyone know what creature this is? it is only about 12 centimeters long, but very cool.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Nassarius snail.

 

[Blutspitze]

Glad you've had more ups than downs, at least. That's some good news for sure. Great seeing everything progressing!

 

[Island Reef 242]

The Tank is officially 1 year old ;Woot.

Well to be exact it was one year ago I got back into keeping saltwater tanks, I have gone through two tanks already . Those who have been following along know that my first (two) 10 gallon tanks had defects and leaked. I got this current 20g at the beginning of the summer. There have been some ups and downs over the past year as I figure out what can co-exist and what I can keep alive. But I feel that I can say with confidence that I have a thriving little slice of the ocean. I base this on a couple facts. Coraline algae is growing where it never was before, copepods are all over the place, and corals are growing. Below are some closeup pics of corals and comparisons.

These Palys have more than doubled since I first got them in April.

The encrusting zoas have added a few extra polyps since April to. They have also gotten darker.

Some Gorgonians I got after a storm a few months ago, they seem to be doing alright.

The Zoas were put in about 2 months ago and seem to be doing good. The finger coral was added during the summer and started some STN, but has stopped and looks real healthy now.

I started culturing some Phyto in November. I went on a trip to Fl and brought some back, as well as reef roids, new pellet food, and some selcon that I will be adding to some homemade food. I believe these have made a big difference in the overall health of the system, which is as basic as you can get. As I have mentioned before, all I do for maintenance is a water change about every other week now, and clean a sponge pre-filter on my HOB. The only things I currently add to the tank are food and phyto, oh and some fresh water for top up when deeded.

Above is a pic of my female Coral Banded Shrimp carrying eggs, and my hardest working member of my clean up crew.

Stay Tuned, I braved the cold water last weekend and collected a few more corals and two fish. I will introduce them shortly.

-Chris-

 

[MombasaLionfish]

The Tank is officially 1 year old ;Woot.

Well to be exact it was one year ago I got back into keeping saltwater tanks, I have gone through two tanks already . Those who have been following along know that my first (two) 10 gallon tanks had defects and leaked. I got this current 20g at the beginning of the summer. There have been some ups and downs over the past year as I figure out what can co-exist and what I can keep alive. But I feel that I can say with confidence that I have a thriving little slice of the ocean. I base this on a couple facts. Coraline algae is growing where it never was before, copepods are all over the place, and corals are growing. Below are some closeup pics of corals and comparisons.

These Palys have more than doubled since I first got them in April.

The encrusting zoas have added a few extra polyps since April to. They have also gotten darker.

Some Gorgonians I got after a storm a few months ago, they seem to be doing alright.

The Zoas were put in about 2 months ago and seem to be doing good. The finger coral was added during the summer and started some STN, but has stopped and looks real healthy now.

I started culturing some Phyto in November. I went on a trip to Fl and brought some back, as well as reef roids, new pellet food, and some selcon that I will be adding to some homemade food. I believe these have made a big difference in the overall health of the system, which is as basic as you can get. As I have mentioned before, all I do for maintenance is a water change about every other week now, and clean a sponge pre-filter on my HOB. The only things I currently add to the tank are food and phyto, oh and some fresh water for top up when deeded.

Above is a pic of my female Coral Banded Shrimp carrying eggs, and my hardest working member of my clean up crew.

Stay Tuned, I braved the cold water last weekend and collected a few more corals and two fish. I will introduce them shortly.

-Chris-

+1 My tank is a year old too. I started it at the end of december/beginning of january.