Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[rishma]

Day 73 Update

All fish made it through the night. Remarkably, the two mandarins are still hunting the same area. The yellow tang is clearly looking for suspended foods, not attached to surfaces. I presume it will learn, but I will be promoting that idea by shredding some algae foods for now. It seems to eat TLF purple seaweed ripped into small pieces, as well as the Prime Reef flake.

The chromis are still hanging out as a tight knit group. They are also eating the Prime Reef flake.

Still no problems with dinos in the display and the refugium looks pretty good. We will see what happens there over the next few days. The overflow change has prevented surface accumulation.

Since I can easily add nutrients now, both in foods and as additives, I plan to restart phyto tonight.

I am by no means a dino expert, but I am a little battle scared. A lesson I learned was letting my guard down a little too soon. I feel like my dino issues (both times) were caused by bottoming out nutrients. After the dinos seemed to be receding and nutrients were stable, I tested nutrients less often. Then dinos came roaring back. I then found my nutrients we bottomed out again.

I like the idea of starting phyto, just sharing to recommend keeping a close eye on nutrients.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am by no means a dino expert, but I am a little battle scared. A lesson I learned was letting my guard down a little too soon. I feel like my dino issues (both times) were caused by bottoming out nutrients. After the dinos seemed to be receding and nutrients were stable, I tested nutrients less often. Then dinos came roaring back. I then found my nutrients we bottomed out again.

I like the idea of starting phyto, just sharing to recommend keeping a close eye on nutrients.

Thanks. I'm certainly wary of dinos and will keep a close eye on them. Now that I'm feeding the fish a lot (8x per day by the autofeeders plus macroalgae), and boosted nitrate by 10 ppm, I'm thinking the demand is being met, but I will keep track.

 

[rishma]

Thanks. I'm certainly wary of dinos and will keep a close eye on them. Now that I'm feeding the fish a lot (8x per day by the autofeeders plus macroalgae), and boosted nitrate by 10 ppm, I'm thinking the demand is being met, but I will keep track.

8x a day! Ya, bet you’ll be just fine :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

8x a day! Ya, bet you’ll be just fine :)

Small amount each time. I want to keep the chromis engaged in getting food, not pestering each other. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Coral Update

The new corals are all doing well except the tort. It may be ok, but looks partly bleached and is extending no polyps. Problem? Anything to do but watch and hope?

 

[rishma]

Small amount each time. I want to keep the chromis engaged in getting food, not pestering each other. :)

I’ve always wanted a school of chromis. Hope it works!

 

[dwest]

It looks like the tort didn’t like shipping. You can cut the white part off but it looks like it’s not going to make it.

 

[rtparty]

Randy, I wouldn’t base too much off test kit readings right now if it were me. Just dose ammonia and phosphate in decent amounts

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Keep us posted on what foods your yellow tang likes please. I’ll be receiving my order from Dr. Reef Friday which includes one :)

FYI, the yellow tang also likes TDO chroma boost pellets. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, I wouldn’t base too much off test kit readings right now if it were me. Just dose ammonia and phosphate in decent amounts

Thanks. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It looks like the tort didn’t like shipping. You can cut the white part off but it looks like it’s not going to make it.

Yep, it may not. Thanks for sending it, though. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The best new piece of equipment since I last started a tank 30 years ago is…

The cheap scale from Amazon.

What a breeze to measure out all sorts of things in seconds. Solids, liquids, containers to track dosed fluids, etc.

Love it!

 

[areefer01]

FYI, the yellow tang also likes TDO chroma boost pellets. :)

I believe the route of that yellow is via Biota->Dr. Reef->hobbyist (you) and Biota lists the foods they feed. The Yellow tang is fed TDO along with some others. I do not know what Dr. Reef feeds but my point I guess is that TDO is a no brainer for most Biota fish as it is one of their staples. It also helps that it comes in multiple sized. I use it all the time for my fish. Keep it in the refrigerator for longer freshness.

Hope your day is well.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I believe the route of that yellow is via Biota->Dr. Reef->hobbyist (you) and Biota lists the foods they feed. The Yellow tang is fed TDO along with some others. I do not know what Dr. Reef feeds but my point I guess is that TDO is a no brainer for most Biota fish as it is one of their staples. It also helps that it comes in multiple sized. I use it all the time for my fish. Keep it in the refrigerator for longer freshness.

Hope your day is well.

Yes, thanks. I saw the list Biota recommends, which is why I got the TDO chromaboost (for the mandarins, which they recommend it for). I don't know if the mandarins have eaten any since I don't (yet) try to add it right next to them, but they seem very content to be hunting the sand so I figure they are finding what they need, or would move elsewhere in the tank.

I may try to dump some next to them and see what they do. I watched a local reefer feed his that way a few weeks ago.

While there is no appreciably algae growing on the rocks at the moment, I'm hoping and expecting the yellow tang will earn his keep by grazing the rock if and when it starts.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hitchhiker:Filter Feeding Worm

There have been many interesting sorts of hitchhikers on the TBS rock. The filter feeding worm pictured below is one such critter. Several are this color and at least one looked black.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fish update

The mandarins continue to do well. They are not always together, but in the picture below they swam together over the sea cucumber and past a nearby hermit who is sporting a new shell from the Massachusetts shore. :)

 

[Miami Reef]

Did you add the sea cucumbers?

The tank feels so alive and intricate, like a little ecosystem where every animal has its own role.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Did you add the sea cucumbers?

The tank feels so alive and intricate, like a little ecosystem where every animal has its own role.

Yes, the two sand cucumbers were in the tbs clean up crew that comes as part of the tbs package.

It is very alive and fascinating. :)

 

[jonelder68]

FYI, the yellow tang also likes TDO chroma boost pellets. :)

Awesome thanks! My Anthias along with every fish so far love TDO chroma boost. I just restocked on small size so hopefully that will work.

 

[X-37B]

First Fish Today!

Day 1 Refugium Started
Day 37 TBS Live sand and base rock added
Day 45 Phyto dosing started
Day 45 Copepods added
Day 66 TBS premium rock and CUC crew
Day 71 First Corals
Day 72 First Fish

This morning I got the following fish kindly donated by Dr Reef (Thanks, Dr Reef!)

1 tank raised yellow tang
4 quarantined green chromis (1 was DOA; Dr Reef was happy to ship another two to make 5 total, but I declined as I'm in no rush for them)
2 tank raised mandarins (pair)

All the bags were in good shape with no leaks. Temp in bags were fine in low/mid 70's. Salinity seemed to vary and was lowest in yellow tang bag.

All were floated a bit to warm them and then I began to equilibrate them to higher salinity as needed.

Lights were off when each were first added, but quickly went up to 6% intensity and will stay there for the day.

Mandarins went in first. Wow, they are small and super cute. I was prepared for them to run for cover and disappear, but no, they stayed pretty much where they landed on the sand and have been hunting the same square foot of sand and adjacent rock edge for at least six hours. They are periodically grabbing things to eat, though I cannot see what they might be eating. I have to believe they are finding food such as pods from the live rock and/or Dinkins pod additions, or they would have migrated to a different location as they searched. I can see how they might get eaten in a tank with large fish. Be careful of that. I was a little afraid the largest chromis might even make a run at them, but no, it just swam by, scaring them. lol


Chromis went in next. The three of them form quite a group: big (bigger than I ever had before), medium, and small. I know it may not last, but they have been swimming about closely together all day. They look quite healthy. I was worried they might be thin due to QT, but were not.

Yellow tang went in last as it had the most salinity to make up. It hung out behind the rocks for an hour, but now is swimming about the tank. It looks good and is a little larger than I had expected, but still smaller than typical wild yellow tangs I recall from the old days. It appears quite healthy. I brought up some green hair algae and some other macro rubber banded to a rock, but it ignores that for now.

Test feeding with Formula two flake was a bust. The chromis took it in and spit it out. Tang ignored it. Prime reef flake seemed to be eaten by both the chromis and the yellow tang. I had set up two Eheim feeders to add these foods, but given that result, I switched both to the Prime Reef. I have a couple of algae clips and some Whole Foods nori and TLF sea veggies to try tomorrow.


All in all a great start to the fish!

Nice! Love the green chromis. I had 6 in my old 120. The convict tang was the tanks policeman and any time they were aggressive the tang stop it. Mine got big and Iive in a lfs show tank now.
Love the live rock and your system.