The Dr. Seuss Tank | Northwest's 29 Gallon NPS Aquarium

[Slocke]

Almost 5 months in and I finally got an updated FTS! I wanted to get one where all the corals were open. Things are looking amazing. If I'm being 100% honest, I did get lazy when I was studying for Finals and didn't feed this tank for a few days. While nothing died, there is some noticeable tissue loss on the big Menella and the Swiftia is a bit skinny. I started feeding really heavy a week ago to get things back on track and im already noticing some recovery.

I'm on the hunt for a Pink Seafan with Yellow Tips. There are 2 species I've seen come in with that color combo, Acanthogorgia isoxya & Paramurciea clavata. I've seen the A. Isoxya come in through ACI before so I'll have to reach out to my LFS' and see if they can request one.
There's not much variety coming in lately but hopefully I'll be adding more Gorgs and Seafans soon

And some other shots from last night

That Red Sea whip is magnificent!! Really shows a coral you can’t get on the light side!

 

[itgoeson]

Wow! Great thread - very cool to see such incredible corals and the substantial work to keep them successfully. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Thanks everyone! Lot of attention coming to the thread recently haha
I did find a Blueberry Gorg that I'm tempted to pick up but I'm still not that confident I'll be able to keep it alive long term so I'll probably wait.
Something I'll be adding to my Reef Nutrition feeding regime this week is RotiFeast, I've heard rotifers are really good for smaller polyp seafans and corals since the micron size makes it easy for them eat. Other than that, I'm really looking forward to diversifying the color in the tank since everything is mostly Red, Orange, and Yellow haha.

Bonus picture i thought was cool since you can see the whole Chili + part of a Menella

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Some exciting updates; I have another Gorgonian coming next week since the store didn't want to ship anything out the week of July 4th due to shipping risks / delays (smart move by them) due to Independance Day. This one is pretty difficult, though we've had really good success (so far, knock on wood) at the Aquarium so hopefully I can apply the same diet at home. This one will definitely add some color.
I also contacted my LFS since they're connected to ACI and they have me on the list for when an Acanthogorgia isoxya pops up since Chris and Amanda seem like the only ones that are able to bring them in. If I can get that one in, that would be huge so I'm excited for that.

Another exciting thing going on, and it's still in the early stages since we need to go over the list of things I might bring in, but some of the corals may go on display at the Aquarium in our NPS Tank! Specifically the smaller (but growing) piece of the Red & Gold Menella, a piece of the Red Sea Whip, and a piece of the A. isoxya if I can get that one in.
We have the Purple species of Menella so the Red & Gold would be a nice contrast. We are missing some red in the tank, so the Red Sea Whip would be a nice addition. And the A. isoxya speaks for itself, it's a really beautiful gorgonian with the pink branches and yellow tips. I'll keep ya'll updated on how it goes but I'm very excited.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I also contacted my LFS since they're connected to ACI and they have me on the list for when an Acanthogorgia isoxya pops up since Chris and Amanda seem like the only ones that are able to bring them in. If I can get that one in, that would be huge so I'm excited for that.

My LFS got back to me and to my surprise, Chris set some aside for them and they'll be arriving next week! I'm definitely grabbing one or two. I was shocked to see the response, finally crossing this one off my bucketlist!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

The day is here, it was a bit of shock since I wasn't expecting it this fast but shoutout to my LFS (Barrier Reef Aquariums if you're in Washington) and Chris Meckley!
Funny story is Chris went on vacation so his staff was packing the order, when my LFS got the invoice, the gorg wasn't on it. So i thought it'd be another week till it came in. Then the lfs found a separate invoice for just the Gorgonian and it's here!

The common name seems to be "Pink Warty Gorgonian" which is weird since i thought it'd be something like "Pink and Yellow Gorgonian", just shows how wack common names can be sometimes. It's Acanthogorgia isoxya!
I've seen some polyps out, but it'll likely take a few more days to fully extended + color up a bit more.
I wasn't expecting it to come in so big either so it adds a lot to the tank!

 

[NanoJHB]

Always get excited when I see an update on this thread!

That one didn't disappoint either, absolutely beautiful

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Always get excited when I see an update on this thread!

That one didn't disappoint either, absolutely beautiful

Thank you! Yeah this one is definitely the show-stopper so far. This one has been on my bucketlist for a few years since seeing it in someone else's tank and I wasn't sure if I'd ever get it due to how the market for NPS is in the US.
I should have another arriving Tuesday I'm also particularly excited for, it should also add a good bit of color to the tank!

 

[NanoJHB]

Keep them coming! I'm living my NPS dreams through your tank for now

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Something I didn't mention was there was a smaller colony growing on the same rock, so I fragged it off and glued it to the other structure. This one will most likely go to the Aquarium with me for our Non-Photosynthetic Display once it grows a bit.
Both pieces are currently shedding most likely due to being moved between 3 systems in under a day but the smaller piece is starting to open which is awesome! Just a small sample of what this Coral will like once it's fully open.

Closed

Partially open

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

To my surprise, the big one was actually open this morning! Along with the smaller one having more extension. You can see a bunch of the shed stuff coming off so most likely these two will be out a lot more. Fed it ASAP after I saw it out. Seems happy so far!

 

[Slocke]

To my surprise, the big one was actually open this morning! Along with the smaller one having more extension. You can see a bunch of the shed stuff coming off so most likely these two will be out a lot more. Fed it ASAP after I saw it out. Seems happy so far!

Had I only seen that first photo I would have said that that is just some fake plastic ornament. Corals can’t possibly be that color. It’s a crazy and beautiful world down there.

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Had I only seen that first photo I would have said that that is just some fake plastic ornament. Corals can’t possibly be that color. It’s a crazy and beautiful world down there.

Oh definitely, especially since when they're shedding, the filmy stuff makes them look really shiny and like plastic so I could definitely see how someone would think it's fake. I'd love to see these in the wild where there's 100s of them in a field with other Non-Photosynthetics

 

[NanoJHB]

The shapes and colours!! Amazing

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

A couple various shots from tonight, the Acanthogorgia is getting more polyp extension each day as the shed comes off!

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Pretty exciting day as another species joined the tank; A Blueberry Gorgonian!
Notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, the ones at the Aquarium have been doing really well so I have confidence I'll be able to keep this small colony alive. I also talked to some aquarists at the Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) that also have a really healthy thriving colony and asked what they do so hopefully I can apply those same principles.
It's already got a few polyps that are starting to open, but it'll most likely take a for it to fully open. Awesome to have some Blue in this tank now!

When the polyps are fully closed, you can see why they call it 'Blueberry'

 

[NanoJHB]

The tank is filling up at a rate! Great new addition

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

The tank is filling up at a rate! Great new addition

My hope was to have a big colony on the left structure but I haven't seen any big colonies come in for a while so this one is quite small but hopefully it'll grow in overtime

 

[afrokobe]

Absolutely gorgeous

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Pretty exciting day as another species joined the tank; A Blueberry Gorgonian!
Notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, the ones at the Aquarium have been doing really well so I have confidence I'll be able to keep this small colony alive. I also talked to some aquarists at the Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) that also have a really healthy thriving colony and asked what they do so hopefully I can apply those same principles.
It's already got a few polyps that are starting to open, but it'll most likely take a for it to fully open. Awesome to have some Blue in this tank now!

When the polyps are fully closed, you can see why they call it 'Blueberry'

Great looking pictures as always!