Marineland 5g Portrait Build

T-MIKE · Apr 14, 2019

lolmatt said:
A 5 watt led probably won't keep an anemone alive long term. Consider a stronger light once things settle in, hipargero led on Amazon is a great light for $60. Clowns should be easy to net at night, can put both plus the nem in an acclimation box for a couple days and they may decide to use it. Haven't gotten my ocellaris pair to use one after 2 years ...they spawn on the other side of the rock that it's on and never touch it.

How did you try to get your ocellaris to go into the anemone? I just went to look at my tank in very low light and one of the clownfish is kind of lying in the sand bed. I’m not sure how I will net it the way it is but it seems like a good way to catch them.

I got a bubble tip anemone so it should make bubble tips if it’s happy, right now the tips seems to be taking shape but not fully. If it does not improve in a few weeks I will think about getting another light.

lolmatt · Apr 14, 2019

They won't necessarily bubble ime. I've tried all the methods...put them in a box for a week (they used it in the box then forgot when released immediately), playing video, putting up a photo, etc.

KorD · Apr 14, 2019

I see you have a pink slunk clown.. the nems they like to host the most are Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica)

Leathery (Sebae) Sea Anemone (Heteractis crispa)

Corkscrew (Long Tentacle) Sea Anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis)

Giant Carpet Sea Anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea)
They are not fans of the BTA too much

T-MIKE · Apr 14, 2019

KorD said:
I see you have a pink slunk clown.. the nems they like to host the most are Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica)

Leathery (Sebae) Sea Anemone (Heteractis crispa)

Corkscrew (Long Tentacle) Sea Anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis)

Giant Carpet Sea Anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea)
They are not fans of the BTA too much

Hmm, thanks for lookin that up. I got to because of some other internet sources and I’ll just list them here for reference but that’s a good point, if they don’t host each other I may go get a Sebae anemone.

https://www.seaandreef.com/marine-ornamental-fish/clownfish/pink-skunk-orange-fiji-morph

https://vividaquariums.com/products/pink-skunk-clownfish

https://reefbuilders.com/2017/03/14/amphiprion-perideraion/

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233510

I’m going to try using a trap today, hope they swim in!

KorD · Apr 14, 2019

T-MIKE said:
Hmm, thanks for lookin that up. I got to because of some other internet sources and I’ll just list them here for reference but that’s a good point, if they don’t host each other I may go get a Sebae anemone.

https://www.seaandreef.com/marine-ornamental-fish/clownfish/pink-skunk-orange-fiji-morph

https://vividaquariums.com/products/pink-skunk-clownfish

https://reefbuilders.com/2017/03/14/amphiprion-perideraion/

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233510

I’m going to try using a trap today, hope they swim in!

No worries.. I just would hate to see a wasted effort with bad results.
I'm starting to flow water in my new tank today. I was at a reef store yesterday and they are going to specially hold two clowns for me. These clowns are amazing. They are called blue maroon lightning.
At $89 a clown, they better be awesome..lol
I was watching them host a RBTA. One was actually suckling on one of the tips.. it was the cutest dang thing I have seen in a while.

T-MIKE · Apr 14, 2019

Expensive. I see people with nice tanks, do they just spend hundreds of dollars on frags?

You can also see I got a turbo snail, it’s doing doing good work on my rock eating the diatoms or algae. Way faster then the Astrea snail. If it continues doing it’s thing I may not have to worry so much about lowering the water parameters because I’ll actually need to have enough food for it to eat.

Build another trap today, didn’t like the first one.

T-MIKE · Apr 14, 2019

Well, the clownfish wouldn’t go anywhere near the trap after an hour so I drained most of the water and got one of the clownfish netted and down the tube but after 30 min it escaped through a crack between the anemone and tube. I’ll try again next week but I’ll put them in a basket instead. It did sit in the anemone for a while but after it escaped it didn’t seem to want to go back.

Lingwendil · Apr 15, 2019

I like the portrait a lot, I have one on my nightstand. Hard to scape with how small of a footprint they have- But they are nice for sure. Mine is a freshwater planted.

Older pic-

I think you should hunt down some tonga branch rock for it, and start scaping upwards, use that height to your advantage

T-MIKE · Apr 15, 2019

Lingwendil said:
I like the portrait a lot, I have one on my nightstand. Hard to scape with how small of a footprint they have- But they are nice for sure. Mine is a freshwater planted.

Older pic-

I think you should hunt down some tonga branch rock for it, and start scaping upwards, use that height to your advantage

I did intend to build upwards but I havent't figured out how to get it higher then it is right now. I thought about gluing some rocks higher up to the back but I'm not sure. This is my first aquarium so I'm still figuring stuff out.

Lingwendil · Apr 15, 2019

You just have to keep an eye out for the awkward, loooooong pieces at the shops, and don't be afraid to take a hammer to them

T-MIKE · Apr 16, 2019

I’m not sure but I think the bigger clownfish wants to host but is being very cautious. I’ve only seen it stick its tail in in.

T-MIKE · Apr 20, 2019

Checked my water parameters this morning:
Specific Gravity: 1.0255
pH: 7.8
Total Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Calcium: 1500 ppm
Magnesium: 1350 ppm
Alkalinity: 11 dKh

Also, my anemone is hosting my Pink Skunk Clownfish! Hallelujah!

T-MIKE · May 2, 2019

The anemone has been moving around these 2~3 weeks. It still has not eaten anything I fed as far as I can tell.

It got up on the rock today which was odd, it usually hides in a shaded area. It’s only been less then a day since it moved there but are my corals in danger? It’s tentacle are touching the Xenia and very close to the Goniopora.

tonysnow1990 · May 4, 2019

I enjoy following this thread! Keep it up!

T-MIKE · May 5, 2019

tonysnow1990 said:
I enjoy following this thread! Keep it up!

Post a picture of your tank!

flchamp89 · May 5, 2019

Looking good. Following

T-MIKE · May 5, 2019

Refugium made from the first broken tank they sent me. I replaced the back glass piece with a cutting board and reinforced the sides with aluminum L shaped strips. Loctite clear silicone water sealant worked well and you can get it from your local hardware store. It is aquarium safe.

The Firefish is in it recovering right now because my Pink Skunk Clownfish bit off a third of its fins when I first got it. I also moved the Strawberry crab to this tank since it was pushing stuff over and stealing my Pistol shrimps home. Other then that, I have a turbo and Peppermint shrimp in it.

The white box you see at the top houses my Lettuce macroalgae. I had to put it in there because my Turbo was eating it. I also have some Feather caulerpa, a shaving brush and a small ball of Chaetomorpha.