A Reefkeepers Journey (Short Story)

[bsn_rn_cen]

Welcome to reef2reef.

 

[SPR1968]

That’s a great write up and welcome to R2R!

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! @Fish_Sticks you should be a book writer. I enjoy your story. Waiting to see some pictures of your tank.

 

[PDR]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Great into! You’ve gotten a lot of people’s attention. I used to frequent a store called Seafari too. It shut down last year tho...

 

[Fish_Sticks]

(It seems we can all relate to some degree I'll probably consolidate all this to one post soon. Thanks for all the welcomes, and its nice to see people from my area.)

(continued...)
Five, six, seven mushroom corals. Within one year my one mushroom coral had turned into seven! They began detaching and growing all over the tank. I loved my perfect tank. A non-drilled tank with no skimmer, no controller, a handful of friendly fish with great personalities, and somehow, I managed to maintain good water parameters. Everything was perfect and my fish and coral were happy. What other creatures would enjoy the fray?


Over the years I’ve acquired a taste for new fish, more rocks, and new coral. A spontaneous visit to the petstore has become a pastime. Remember that clownfish I had talked about? Spud is a tank raised snowflake clown that only sleeps in the top corner of the tank. Sneaky, a six line wrasse that glides around the tank like an underwater surfer defying all my expectations with his underwater maneuvers. Scuba, a Royal Gramma who is a bit shy, and a little bit fond of a candy cane coral. Obi-gobi, master of levitation, an underwater helicopter perfectly suspended in place, a yellow watchman goby. Frogspawn, mushrooms, ricordias, toadstool leathers, xenia, each one of these gelatinous creatures sharing with me more secrets to their survival and their mastery of adaptation. Creatures completely unknown to most of the world no less than 100 years ago.


My empty glass box is now filled with a handful of alien creatures. Much like that crazy witch in Halloween movies you see tending to her bubbling cauldron, she escapes from the dry airy world around by peering into some magical fantasy, a fantasy found way underwater.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

 

[P-Dub]

Welcome! Great story and storytelling!
Please continue and you MUST share some photos!
Looking forward to the continued saga.
Share and like often.

 

[RtomKinMad]

Enjoying your post! Pictures please!

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Welcome aboard

Great story

 

[Ashley Kekua]

welcome to here!

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Keep going!

Is that a lawn mower blenny? I just rescued one from petco cause they were remodeling and trying to get rid of fish. Hes in QT at the moment -- very timid.
Here is a photo of him and his maroon buddy. Taken from a remote IP Camera because I can't even go next to the QT tank without him hiding. He has so much personality.

My current favorite fish I have is a yellow watchman goby.

 

[JasonK84]

Is that a lawn mower blenny? I just rescued one from petco cause they were remodeling and trying to get rid of fish. Hes in QT at the moment -- very timid.
Here is a photo of him and his maroon buddy. Taken from a remote IP Camera because I can't even go next to the QT tank without him hiding. He has so much personality.

My current favorite fish I have is a yellow watchman goby.

He is a Molly Miller blenny that I caught while on vacation in Galveston last August. I caught him, a female Molly Miller, and a feather duster blenny as well. They all survived several days in a hotel (5gallon bucket with heater and air stone) and a 12 hour drive home (plugged into the 110v receptacle of the truck). All 3 are still alive and grew quickly. The male and female Molly Miller blennies actually spawned in my aquarium at the end of last week. Here are pics of all the eggs and some fry that I spotted on the glass. The pic is magnified 30x with a jewelers loop.

 

[Fish_Sticks]

He is a Molly Miller blenny that I caught while on vacation in Galveston last August. I caught him, a female Molly Miller, and a feather duster blenny as well. They all survived several days in a hotel (5gallon bucket with heater and air stone) and a 12 hour drive home (plugged into the 110v receptacle of the truck). All 3 are still alive and grew quickly. The male and female Molly Miller blennies actually spawned in my aquarium at the end of last week. Here are pics of all the eggs and some fry that I spotted on the glass. The pic is magnified 30x with a jewelers loop.

That's awesome. I grew up catching juvenile freshwater fish and raising them in tanks. Where did you manage to catch them? On the shore with a cast nest? I tried that in Florida while on vacation and only managed to bring up shoals of Atlantic Bumpers:

Needless to say, I threw them back. If I lived in Flordia, I would most likely have a tank dedicated to wild caught juvenile marine fish.

 

[JasonK84]

That's awesome. I grew up catching juvenile freshwater fish and raising them in tanks. Where did you manage to catch them? On the shore with a cast nest? I tried that in Florida while on vacation and only managed to bring up shoals of Atlantic Bumpers:

Needless to say, I threw them back. If I lived in Flordia, I would most likely have a tank dedicated to wild caught juvenile marine fish.

With a small handled net and right on the beach along the Galveston sea wall. There are giant granite rock jetties that lead to piers. Just run your net between the rocks. As the waves retreat little puddles are left behind. Scoop out the puddles with the net.

Make sure you have a Texas saltwater fishing license before trying this.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Fun story so far, following