I received a box of rocks today.

[NY_Caveman]

Blue morning

 

[Brew12]

Blue morning

Those turned out really well! I love the way my tank looks under it's evening blues, but I can't get a photo anywhere near that nice.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Those turned out really well! I love the way my tank looks under it's evening blues, but I can't get a photo anywhere near that nice.

Thanks! I admit to using a little Photoshop.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

@Katrina71 what you don’t have these Urgh seriously, we won’t kick you out, but lol your on tank maintenance for a month for @NY_Caveman lol .

Those are amazing pics and nice hammer is it one that is used in the movie Mr. Magoriums wonder emporium lol does it squeak lol.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Hello,

@Katrina71 what you don’t have these Urgh seriously, we won’t kick you out, but lol your on tank maintenance for a month for @NY_Caveman lol .

Cool! The first thing that needs a good cleaning is the skimmer! Distilled white vinegar is in the laundry room.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks! I admit to using a little Photoshop.

I can't even photo shop them into a presentable manner.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Speaking of blue lights and photography, I wanted to mention I picked up this clip on lens kit on Amazon. It was about half the cost of the AquariClip and came with orange and yellow filter lenses and a 15x Macro lens.

I did not place my expectations high at that cheap price. When it arrived it had subpar packaging and the carrying bag was missing. The Macro lens was a 10x, not 15x. That said, the lenses were all intact and each had an individual plastic screw case. All three lenses can be screwed together easily to make different combinations. The clip was solid and fit fine on my phone.

The following are all iPhone 7 Plus photographs. They are raw with no Photoshop enhancement. Before taking each picture I would tap my phone on the Toadstool Leather to set focus and light.

UNDER BLUE LED

No filter

Orange filter

Yellow filter

Orange and Yellow filter

UNDER BLUES AND WHITE LED

No filter

Orange filter

Yellow filter

After seeing these in action I will say they do work. For my taste the hue used by the orange lens is much more helpful than the yellow lens, alone or in pairs. I would prefer the orange to be less dramatic. In other words, I would prefer a lens that split the difference between no filter and this orange filter. I am not sure much science went into selecting these lens colors. That does make me wonder how the AquariClip colored lens compares.

The yellow lens may have some use still. It should provide good contrast to the UV only moonlights which I have not tested yet. The yellow tended to highlight the shadowed areas. This had the effect of bringing out the room reflection more in the images.

Honestly, I have always liked the look of the blue glow. My problem was my iPhone was having trouble capturing the detail. I definitely think the orange lens captured the detail better. I will keep trying it out and see what I can do with it. At the very least, the kids and I can use these lenses for some fun non-aquarium photography.

 

[Katrina71]

Cool! The first thing that needs a good cleaning is the skimmer! Distilled white vinegar is in the laundry room.

He is making chili... I'm in!

 

[Katrina71]

@Sarah24! Hey hey! Don't I get extra credit for my 4"heels? C'mon...that should count for something dang it!

 

[Katrina71]

Seriously, the top rock on the left is interesting...if you run across another interesting rock, let me know. Andrew's little 3 gallon needs to have a centerpiece rock.

 

[Sarah24!]

@Katrina71 lol I am not coordinated to crawl in four inch heels not alone walk or heaven forbid run. I usually wear sandals or dansko shoes the most. One of my co-workers was telling me how she has an entire bedroom designed as a shoe room and she has over 50,000 in shoes. I can’t knock her hobby I just well I could not wear that many. But maybe @NY_Caveman he can start a thead that is I received a box of shoes. He can order a pair of shoes each week and give us ladies a review of what to buy and not buy . Jk

 

[GoVols]

But maybe @NY_Caveman he can start a thead that is I received a box of shoes. He can order a pair of shoes each week and give us ladies a review of what to buy and not buy . Jk

Lol!!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Fish Phenomena

When I considered adding a Clownfish, likely the last fish for our tank, I knew it would disrupt the two current fish. I was not certain how behaviors would change. It seemed though that three small fish should work fine in a 45 gallon system (30 gallon display).

Ruby, our Pink Streaked Wrasse was the first fish. She was 1” and should only get about twice that size. I selected her to be first because they are known to be very timid. For the first two weeks she hid in the main cave. She would poke out a few inches to grab food and then dart right back in. After a month, she was out and swimming freely, mostly through the back stretch of the rock work. She was still skiddish and would dart away when humans walked by the tank.

Skyler, our Midas Blenny, came next. He is about 2” and may grow to 5-6”. Lucky for us, when we introduced him to the tank, he immediately found his rock hole home right in the front of the main rock structure. We easily see his little head poking out when he is resting. Later he setup a backup hole on the other side of that rock for emergency scares. While Ruby tended to stay along the back of the rocks, Skyler danced around the entire front. It was perfect.

After a short while, both fish were out all of the time. Ruby stopped running away when we approached the tank. In fact, it seemed they both began to associate the approach of humans with the possibility of food. Now they were coming toward us rather than running away.

When Ruby and Skyler crossed paths, the reactions were mostly indifference. I rarely saw any aggression, but Ruby was more wary and always seemed to give Skyler the “right of way.” This was no surprise. A couple of times during feeding time Skyler would shoo Ruby away from him, but it was quick and never relentless.

Back on post #654 I described some of the initial reaction when our A. ocellaris was added. After five days I can report some interesting behavior. Some good, some not so good, but all of it interesting.

Ruby and Skyler were immediately fascinated by the Clownfish. It was as if they knew Clowns were the most popular reef fish and they both wanted to make friends with him. That first day they left their normal zones and hovered around the Clown on the right side of the tank. They were mimicking the Clowns behavior for a while all swimming and dancing to their reflections in the glass. It was really cool to see how they immediately acted differently almost trying to be like the Clownfish. After Skyler tired out, Ruby and the Clown were practically schooling for a long time. I should note the Clown is 1/2 the size of Ruby and 1/4 the length of Skyler.

The next day things started to change. Skyler, like a young child, decided he wanted his new friend for himself. He was swimming around with the Clown most of the day. I know Midas Blennies will school with other fish like Anthias sometimes, so I figured he was displaying some behavior similar to that. Then, for the first time, I saw he would dart at Ruby every time she approached. He would even dart a couple of times to make sure she was pushed away. He never seemed to be biting or overly relentless, just sending a clear message, “go away!” She is faster than he though and can generally avoid him as needed.

Lucky for Ruby, Skyler has no swim bladder. Trying to keep up with a Clownfish really tires him out. He will frequently return to his hole to rest. Sometimes he gets so tired he will just flop down to the gap between the glass and rest his head on the Starboard. Pretty cute actually. Then Ruby has some quality time with the Clown.

Throughout all of this the Clownfish just does his own thing. He notices the other fish but being a juvenile, he just keeps merrily on his way with one of the other fish swimming around him. He also stays up late compared to the other two. Everyone else goes to sleep as the lights come down, but he is always up a little while into the darkness and is up in the morning before the 420nm moonlights come on.

Overall, everyone is settling in. Ruby is still claiming the cave and generally has resumed her area along the back of the tank. She does frequent the open, center passageway much more though and generally may be seen throughout the entire tank more often. Skyler has his rock hole on the left side of the tank and still hangs out front and center. He frequents the right side of the tank quite a bit though to pal around with the Clownfish.

I am not too concerned for now, but I find it all very interesting. My general feeling for my pets has been this: I will provide them a good home for their basic needs, but I will not coddle them. They need to fend for themselves on the specifics and are free to adapt to their environment in their own way. Intervention will only come from me if a fish is subject to relentless attacks, or is injured. The present dynamic reiterates to me my feelings before adding the Clownfish. He will be the final fish.

 

[Brew12]

Fish Phenomena

When I considered adding a Clownfish, likely the last fish for our tank, I knew it would disrupt the two current fish. I was not certain how behaviors would change. It seemed though that three small fish should work fine in a 45 gallon system (30 gallon display).

Ruby, our Pink Streaked Wrasse was the first fish. She was 1” and should only get about twice that size. I selected her to be first because they are known to be very timid. For the first two weeks she hid in the main cave. She would poke out a few inches to grab food and then dart right back in. After a month, she was out and swimming freely, mostly through the back stretch of the rock work. She was still skiddish and would dart away when humans walked by the tank.

Skyler, our Midas Blenny, came next. He is about 2” and may grow to 5-6”. Lucky for us, when we introduced him to the tank, he immediately found his rock hole home right in the front of the main rock structure. We easily see his little head poking out when he is resting. Later he setup a backup hole on the other side of that rock for emergency scares. While Ruby tended to stay along the back of the rocks, Skyler danced around the entire front. It was perfect.

After a short while, both fish were out all of the time. Ruby stopped running away when we approached the tank. In fact, it seemed they both began to associate the approach of humans with the possibility of food. Now they were coming toward us rather than running away.

When Ruby and Skyler crossed paths, the reactions were mostly indifference. I rarely saw any aggression, but Ruby was more wary and always seemed to give Skyler the “right of way.” This was no surprise. A couple of times during feeding time Skyler would shoo Ruby away from him, but it was quick and never relentless.

Back on post #654 I described some of the initial reaction when our A. ocellaris was added. After five days I can report some interesting behavior. Some good, some not so good, but all of it interesting.

Ruby and Skyler were immediately fascinated by the Clownfish. It was as if they knew Clowns were the most popular reef fish and they both wanted to make friends with him. That first day they left their normal zones and hovered around the Clown on the right side of the tank. They were mimicking the Clowns behavior for a while all swimming and dancing to their reflections in the glass. It was really cool to see how they immediately acted differently almost trying to be like the Clownfish. After Skyler tired out, Ruby and the Clown were practically schooling for a long time. I should note the Clown is 1/2 the size of Ruby and 1/4 the length of Skyler.

The next day things started to change. Skyler, like a young child, decided he wanted his new friend for himself. He was swimming around with the Clown most of the day. I know Midas Blennies will school with other fish like Anthias sometimes, so I figured he was displaying some behavior similar to that. Then, for the first time, I saw he would dart at Ruby every time she approached. He would even dart a couple of times to make sure she was pushed away. He never seemed to be biting or overly relentless, just sending a clear message, “go away!” She is faster than he though and can generally avoid him as needed.

Lucky for Ruby, Skyler has no swim bladder. Trying to keep up with a Clownfish really tires him out. He will frequently return to his hole to rest. Sometimes he gets so tired he will just flop down to the gap between the glass and rest his head on the Starboard. Pretty cute actually. Then Ruby has some quality time with the Clown.

Throughout all of this the Clownfish just does his own thing. He notices the other fish but being a juvenile, he just keeps merrily on his way with one of the other fish swimming around him. He also stays up late compared to the other two. Everyone else goes to sleep as the lights come down, but he is always up a little while into the darkness and is up in the morning before the 420nm moonlights come on.

Overall, everyone is settling in. Ruby is still claiming the cave and generally has resumed her area along the back of the tank. She does frequent the open, center passageway much more though and generally may be seen throughout the entire tank more often. Skyler has his rock hole on the left side of the tank and still hangs out front and center. He frequents the right side of the tank quite a bit though to pal around with the Clownfish.

I am not too concerned for now, but I find it all very interesting. My general feeling for my pets has been this: I will provide them a good home for their basic needs, but I will not coddle them. They need to fend for themselves on the specifics and are free to adapt to their environment in their own way. Intervention will only come from me if a fish is subject to relentless attacks, or is injured. The present dynamic reiterates to me my feelings before adding the Clownfish. He will be the final fish.

That really is fascinating. It makes you wonder if we don't give fish enough credit. Is everything just instinct? Could a fish possibly feel jealousy?

 

[NY_Caveman]

That really is fascinating. It makes you wonder if we don't give fish enough credit. Is everything just instinct? Could a fish possibly feel jealousy?

As I have two little kids I probably transpose a bit. Still it does seem like the Clownfish is the popular kid and the others are competing for BFF status. I feel for the Wrasse as she is too passive to really compete, but I also feel bad for the Blenny because he is special needs with his frequent rest stops. I guess everyone being different and imperfect is what makes it a family.

 

[najer]

Fish Phenomena

When I considered adding a Clownfish, likely the last fish for our tank, I knew it would disrupt the two current fish. I was not certain how behaviors would change. It seemed though that three small fish should work fine in a 45 gallon system (30 gallon display).

Ruby, our Pink Streaked Wrasse was the first fish. She was 1” and should only get about twice that size. I selected her to be first because they are known to be very timid. For the first two weeks she hid in the main cave. She would poke out a few inches to grab food and then dart right back in. After a month, she was out and swimming freely, mostly through the back stretch of the rock work. She was still skiddish and would dart away when humans walked by the tank.

Skyler, our Midas Blenny, came next. He is about 2” and may grow to 5-6”. Lucky for us, when we introduced him to the tank, he immediately found his rock hole home right in the front of the main rock structure. We easily see his little head poking out when he is resting. Later he setup a backup hole on the other side of that rock for emergency scares. While Ruby tended to stay along the back of the rocks, Skyler danced around the entire front. It was perfect.

After a short while, both fish were out all of the time. Ruby stopped running away when we approached the tank. In fact, it seemed they both began to associate the approach of humans with the possibility of food. Now they were coming toward us rather than running away.

When Ruby and Skyler crossed paths, the reactions were mostly indifference. I rarely saw any aggression, but Ruby was more wary and always seemed to give Skyler the “right of way.” This was no surprise. A couple of times during feeding time Skyler would shoo Ruby away from him, but it was quick and never relentless.

Back on post #654 I described some of the initial reaction when our A. ocellaris was added. After five days I can report some interesting behavior. Some good, some not so good, but all of it interesting.

Ruby and Skyler were immediately fascinated by the Clownfish. It was as if they knew Clowns were the most popular reef fish and they both wanted to make friends with him. That first day they left their normal zones and hovered around the Clown on the right side of the tank. They were mimicking the Clowns behavior for a while all swimming and dancing to their reflections in the glass. It was really cool to see how they immediately acted differently almost trying to be like the Clownfish. After Skyler tired out, Ruby and the Clown were practically schooling for a long time. I should note the Clown is 1/2 the size of Ruby and 1/4 the length of Skyler.

The next day things started to change. Skyler, like a young child, decided he wanted his new friend for himself. He was swimming around with the Clown most of the day. I know Midas Blennies will school with other fish like Anthias sometimes, so I figured he was displaying some behavior similar to that. Then, for the first time, I saw he would dart at Ruby every time she approached. He would even dart a couple of times to make sure she was pushed away. He never seemed to be biting or overly relentless, just sending a clear message, “go away!” She is faster than he though and can generally avoid him as needed.

Lucky for Ruby, Skyler has no swim bladder. Trying to keep up with a Clownfish really tires him out. He will frequently return to his hole to rest. Sometimes he gets so tired he will just flop down to the gap between the glass and rest his head on the Starboard. Pretty cute actually. Then Ruby has some quality time with the Clown.

Throughout all of this the Clownfish just does his own thing. He notices the other fish but being a juvenile, he just keeps merrily on his way with one of the other fish swimming around him. He also stays up late compared to the other two. Everyone else goes to sleep as the lights come down, but he is always up a little while into the darkness and is up in the morning before the 420nm moonlights come on.

Overall, everyone is settling in. Ruby is still claiming the cave and generally has resumed her area along the back of the tank. She does frequent the open, center passageway much more though and generally may be seen throughout the entire tank more often. Skyler has his rock hole on the left side of the tank and still hangs out front and center. He frequents the right side of the tank quite a bit though to pal around with the Clownfish.

I am not too concerned for now, but I find it all very interesting. My general feeling for my pets has been this: I will provide them a good home for their basic needs, but I will not coddle them. They need to fend for themselves on the specifics and are free to adapt to their environment in their own way. Intervention will only come from me if a fish is subject to relentless attacks, or is injured. The present dynamic reiterates to me my feelings before adding the Clownfish. He will be the final fish.

I spend a lot of time with my Little Reef Rockpool when I am not at work.
I have no fish that swim around aimlessly, they graze, hunt and / or scavenge.
I have fish I only ever see at feed time.
I watch my fish interact all the time, a few of them have interesting "friends"!

 

[Katrina71]

Dogs and cats get jealous, why not fish?

 

[Fudsey]

My clowns reside on the right side of my tank between the glass and the rock. The cardinals usually are just on the other side of that same rock work. They all will cross over the rocks but I never see any hostilities between them. The female clown will bully the male but he will stand his ground. The Hawk uses the whole tank and they all seem indifferent to each other. 1 cardinal will venture all the way to the left between the rock and glass but usually alone. I love the interactions between all of them right now.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I have not been around much for a couple of days. I had quite a bit going on including a new addition to our family. Say hello to Toby

It is the first dog for the kids and I and I must say I get it. I immediately knew we made the right decision. We looked long and hard for a dog I could handle allergy wise and would work with kids. Could not be happier.

 

[Rattzreef]

aww congrats.. He's beautiful !!