Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

Here, no matter were we go it's English.

The beaches out here on the east end are basically deserted, especially now. In the summer you will see some people on these beaches but not the mobs that visit the ocean beaches on the South Shore.

People go there for the surf and sand. Here the beaches are rocky because the Sound was made when a glacier receded
20,000 years ago. Even before I was born.

 

[Rybren]

Here, no matter were we go it's English.

The beaches out here on the east end are basically deserted, especially now. In the summer you will see some people on these beaches but not the mobs that visit the ocean beaches on the South Shore.

People go there for the surf and sand. Here the beaches are rocky because the Sound was made when a glacier receded
20,000 years ago. Even before I was born.

But only the day before.

The last of the snow melted from my front lawn today. My back yard is still mostly covered in ice and snow.

 

[Paul B]

My friend who is still very sick came back negative again for Corona Virus. He still has a fever for like 2 weeks, is hallucinating, can't get up and lost control of bodily functions.

His wife is going nuts but being he tests negative, they won't help him. He lives in Nassau New York which is the epicenter of the disease with more cases than anywhere in the country. I live just outside Nassau in Suffolk so we are probably second in the country.

 

[najer]

Best wishes to them.

 

[atoll]

That's awful Paul, we get regular updates about NY and the USA in general, seems the death rates continue to rise which is similar to the UK. It was looking like death rates were dropping up they have shot up again. However contacting the virus has dropped. Seems like a bit of a rollercoaster virus. Take care and be wise.

 

[Paul B]

They are saying that Nassau is two weeks behind the rest of the country for some reason. But people here are very tightly packed together.

 

[Paul B]

On a brighter story, I noticed my last batch of Fireclown eggs hatched so with nothing else to do, I figured I would try to find some of them.

I turned off all the powerheads, I have 5 of them. And I looked closely at the film on the surface of the water.

After a while I saw one. A couple of seconds went by and I started to see more and more of them. Of course I can barely see them but there are quite a few all over the place.

I don't raise fish any more so they will become gorgonian food but thats just the way it is. Even if I wanted to raise them, I couldn't as I can't get rotifers now. Maybe in the future I will again raise some fish but now I have more pressing things to do and these guys spawn constantly. I don't even like Fireclowns as they are not that interesting even though thy are quite rare as I rarely see them anywhere.

I got the male 29 years ago as a baby and I thought it was a RedHawk fish because I never saw a Fireclown.

 

[atoll]

Some years ago I was looking after a 20' x 2' deep but only 1' wide tank in a Chinese restaurant round the corner from where I lived. I got them a genuine pair of fire clowns off a guy who was break his tank down. I put them in the tank and when I returned the following day to check on them they had spawned on the end glass. That must be some kind of record as when I put my genuine pair of commons in my tank which had been spawning took about 6 months before they started to spawn again since which they have never stopped.

 

[User1]

Pretty cool. One of the other boards I frequent has a frag and sump system outside down in LA that is tied to his larger display in the house. A pair of his Banggai Cardinals did their thing often but he never was able to raise them (or didn't have the time - I really don't know). In any case one day he was working out back and in the sump behind a pipe he found a baby. He guesses it made its way through the plumbing and what not and survived. Enough to eat. Pretty cool how Mother Nature works.

You catch the MLB story this week? They are talking about having the games down in Arizona and I guess the players are all up in arms being away from their family for a few months. Not only that they are also getting paid 4k or so a day while not working. Just goes to show how out of touch sports, and their respected followers, are. I guess us Vets had it easy being away months on end (I kid)...and I can't even imagine the poor squids on the boats being gone 6 to 12 months at a time. I was typically gone 45 days on our TDY's and thought it was rough... Another reason for me to continue to boycott this crap.

Hope all is well with you, your family, and friends.

 

[Paul B]

I don't think I ever had a pair of fish that didn't spawn. All healthy fish spawn constantly. You can't stop a healthy fish from spawning. I think my rainsford gobies, sunburst anthius and watchman gobies are spawning now.

My tiny female bluestripe pipefish has been trying to spawn with my much larger, completely different species Janss Pipefish for months. It can't happen as the plumbing is just to different but this silly little pipefish just doesn't get it and she constantly swims right next to it's much larger cousin.

 

[atoll]

If you provide the correct conditions, feed well, create the right environment and have the number of fish required of the right sex then try and stop them from doing what comes naturally. There is a BIG clue there and it's the word natural. That's something we read little about from most reefers on R2R.

 

[Nanorock1970]

In a couple of weeks my reef will will have reached 40 years old.
Unfortunately I don't remember when I was 40 but I remember when I set it up. I was a skinny 22 year old just back from Viet Nam.
It is still running very well, still using the same reverse UG filter, same dolomite substrait but none of the fish are original. The oldest one, a fireclown is just over 16, all of the older fish died in an accident that was due to my carelessness.
The tank is mostly LPS, gorgonians, giant mushrooms and a few leathers.
There are only three SPS corals, two of which have been with me for a few years and are growing nicely.
I am not sure is any of the original NSW from the Long Island Sound is still in there or any of the original amphipods but maybe much later generations.
I still can't take a decent picture and the tank is not as blue as these pictures but it is what it is.

Ha Dolomite Gravel and reverse UG....That was my first tank build...Just a kid at the time and my ability to keep it going was very short lived. I had 8 years of fresh water under my belt but ehh I just didn't figure out the whole tank cycle thing and info was scarce without the internet back then. Cool to see someone still running a successful tank old school all these years. My new attempt is a year and a half old and looks to be doing well...I think I am in with both feet now and no stopping....Congrats again on the longevity of your tank!!

 

[Nanorock1970]

If you provide the correct conditions, feed well, create the right environment and have the number of fish required of the right sex then try and stop them from doing what comes naturally. There is a BIG clue there and it's the word natural. That's something we read little about from most reefers on R2R.

Guess I must be doing something right then, My pair of clowns have spawned twice...No survivors but they are trying...

 

[atoll]

Guess I must be doing something right then, My pair of clowns have spawned twice...No survivors but they are trying...

Unfortunately, none are likely to survive without your great help providing a seperate tank, the correct food and in the correct quantity

 

[Nanorock1970]

Unfortunately, none are likely to survive without your great help providing a seperate tank, the correct food and in the correct quantity

Yes I do agree...Not to that level yet but maybe someday...

 

[Paul B]

I can't find any flatworms in my tank and a few months ago I had thousands. To get rid of them, I went out to dinner and had some Pino Noir. That was before this Pandemic of course.

Flatworms, like most things in this hobby get bored and disappear on their own even though many people like to throw Flatworm exit in their tanks. I don't know what that stuff is made out of but I would never put it in my tank.

I have two of these guys and they are not spawning so they must be both males or belong to a different political party as they can't seem to stand each other and never interact.

 

[atoll]

Yesterday I power washed a pile of old dead rock then put it in my tank. I didn't want to disturb the existing structure so most went in behind it. You can see the new at the back as it looks...well new I guess. Lots more caves and overhangs for my fish to hide and swim through.

A classic case where more does mean more and the fish are thankful for it. Well so they tell me, I can't hear them of course but I can lip read.

 

[Paul B]

To update my friend who is sick got worse. He can no longer stand and is incoherent.
His Corona Virus test came back negative twice which leads me to believe those tests may be from China and not reliable.

They won't take him in the hospital because he tests negative and the hospitals are full

I am very worried about him and his wife.

 

[atoll]

Not good at all Paul, lets hope something can be done for him and soon.

 

[Paul B]

My Great friend Tommy passed away last night.