This is it. My last build thread

[exnisstech]

I decided to try green chromis again.
I tried groups of 7 twice in the past and ended up with one each time. I tried them in a 6ft 150 and the 180 I transferred to the tank in this thread. Neither of those tanks had a lot if open swim room like this tank so maybe that will make a difference.
I kept a 10g running in the basement with a container of sand and some rubble and frag plugs to use as seed so I shut it down and started a 29g I have. I pulled some rock out of wet storage broke a clay pot and this is what I came up with as an observation tank.

I found the fish at a LFS that only does saltwater. The owner orders them in batches. He dates all of the tanks so I know when the fish came in. He does this with all fish that come in and is something I wish all stores would all do.
He had a fresh batch from this month but also had 10 from July in another tank so I bought all 10. $110 for 10 fish isn't bad I think.
Lots if poop means they've been eating which is good.

I saw no signs of euronema and since they've been at the store for over 2 months I'm optimistic.

When i added them they they huddled in corner but as soon as I added some reef roids and frozen calunus they started feeding.

Not sure how long I'll keep them down here in the basement. 30 days minimum for observation but it gives me a reason to hang out down here so we'll see.

 

[Ziggy17]

I decided to try green chromis again.
I tried groups of 7 twice in the past and ended up with one each time. I tried them in a 6ft 150 and the 180 I transferred to the tank in this thread. Neither of those tanks had a lot if open swim room like this tank so maybe that will make a difference.
I kept a 10g running in the basement with a container of sand and some rubble and frag plugs to use as seed so I shut it down and started a 29g I have. I pulled some rock out of wet storage broke a clay pot and this is what I came up with as an observation tank.

I found the fish at a LFS that only does saltwater. The owner orders them in batches. He dates all of the tanks so I know when the fish came in. He does this with all fish that come in and is something I wish all stores would all do.
He had a fresh batch from this month but also had 10 from July in another tank so I bought all 10. $110 for 10 fish isn't bad I think.
Lots if poop means they've been eating which is good.

I saw no signs of euronema and since they've been at the store for over 2 months I'm optimistic.

When i added them they they huddled in corner but as soon as I added some reef roids and frozen calunus they started feeding.

Not sure how long I'll keep them down here in the basement. 30 days minimum for observation but it gives me a reason to hang out down here so we'll see.

I decided to try green chromis again.
I tried groups of 7 twice in the past and ended up with one each time. I tried them in a 6ft 150 and the 180 I transferred to the tank in this thread. Neither of those tanks had a lot if open swim room like this tank so maybe that will make a difference.
I kept a 10g running in the basement with a container of sand and some rubble and frag plugs to use as seed so I shut it down and started a 29g I have. I pulled some rock out of wet storage broke a clay pot and this is what I came up with as an observation tank.

I found the fish at a LFS that only does saltwater. The owner orders them in batches. He dates all of the tanks so I know when the fish came in. He does this with all fish that come in and is something I wish all stores would all do.
He had a fresh batch from this month but also had 10 from July in another tank so I bought all 10. $110 for 10 fish isn't bad I think.
Lots if poop means they've been eating which is good.

I saw no signs of euronema and since they've been at the store for over 2 months I'm optimistic.

When i added them they they huddled in corner but as soon as I added some reef roids and frozen calunus they started feeding.

Not sure how long I'll keep them down here in the basement. 30 days minimum for observation but it gives me a reason to hang out down here so we'll see.

In this episode of Chromis Thunderdome, I bet $10 on that one to win!

10 fish enter, 1 fish leaves!!!!!!

 

[exnisstech]

In this episode of Chromis Thunderdome, I bet $10 on that one to win!

10 fish enter, 1 fish leaves!!!!!!

I'm going about it a little different this time so hopefully I'll have better luck. I'm home 24/7 now so I can feed often. Also I just dropped them in the DT before with no conditioning. If nothing else I can put one in every tank and that will leave me with 5

 

[Stang67]

I decided to try green chromis again.
I tried groups of 7 twice in the past and ended up with one each time. I tried them in a 6ft 150 and the 180 I transferred to the tank in this thread. Neither of those tanks had a lot if open swim room like this tank so maybe that will make a difference.
I kept a 10g running in the basement with a container of sand and some rubble and frag plugs to use as seed so I shut it down and started a 29g I have. I pulled some rock out of wet storage broke a clay pot and this is what I came up with as an observation tank.

I found the fish at a LFS that only does saltwater. The owner orders them in batches. He dates all of the tanks so I know when the fish came in. He does this with all fish that come in and is something I wish all stores would all do.
He had a fresh batch from this month but also had 10 from July in another tank so I bought all 10. $110 for 10 fish isn't bad I think.
Lots if poop means they've been eating which is good.

I saw no signs of euronema and since they've been at the store for over 2 months I'm optimistic.

When i added them they they huddled in corner but as soon as I added some reef roids and frozen calunus they started feeding.

Not sure how long I'll keep them down here in the basement. 30 days minimum for observation but it gives me a reason to hang out down here so we'll see.

Where do you go for a lfs again?

 

[exnisstech]

Where do you go for a lfs again?

I got the chromis from aquatic technology in Columbia station

 

[exnisstech]

.

 

[Stang67]

I got the chromis from aquatic technology in Columbia station

I thought so. That's a pretty great place. Gregg is weird but knows his stuff.

 

[exnisstech]

I thought so. That's a pretty great place. Gregg is weird but knows his stuff.

I couldn't have said it better lol

 

[X-37B]

They get big fast. I had 6 in my old 120. The Convict tang kept them inline. Convict quickly out grew the 120 and is in a lfs 500 display.
They are 3-4" now and still in a lfs display from where I moved.
Old 120 with 6 blue green.

 

[exnisstech]

They get big fast. I had 6 in my old 120. The Convict tang kept them inline. Convict quickly out grew the 120 and is in a lfs 500 display.
They are 3-4" now and still in a lfs display from where I moved.
Old 120 with 6 blue green.

Thanks I saw this tank a few days ago and thought about reaching out and asking about the chromis. I guess my thought must have traveled cross country
I'm hoping with all the tangs, convict included the chromis may be more inclined to shoal vs killing each other off but time will tell.
I mounted an old Hydra 26 HD so they aren't in the dark since the basement doesn't get much natural light.

They are already recognizing me and swimming to the front for food instead if hiding so that's a good sign.

 

[X-37B]

Thanks I saw this tank a few days ago and thought about reaching out and asking about the chromis. I guess my thought must have traveled cross country
I'm hoping with all the tangs, convict included the chromis may be more inclined to shoal vs killing each other off but time will tell.
I mounted an old Hydra 26 HD so they aren't in the dark since the basement doesn't get much natural light.

They are already recognizing me and swimming to the front for food instead if hiding so that's a good sign.

That's a good plan. I tried 6 yellowtail in my current 150 and have 1 left.
It will be interesting to see what transpires when they are added.
Mine were the first fish in my 120.

 

[Dj City]

I don't know why I don't get notifications when you post.

I wanted to stop by to see your progress.

I'm glad all is going well.
Everything is looking good!

 

[exnisstech]

Still have 10 chromis lol. These guys never stop swimming so I can see that keeping them long term will require many feedings. They spend the entire day swimming into to current from the power head and never stop moving. When lights go out they huddle together in a corner but they still keep moving. I started dosing some phyto to help with pods populating. I'm also hatching brine shrimp daily. They love small food like powdered coral food so I've been feeling that and they also after smaller pieces of mysis and ground up flake. They are as bad as the tangs at begging for food when they see me which is always a plus. Its hard to get food to fish that go into hiding when someone approaches the tank.
It will be interesting to see how they behave when I add them to the 330. I'm thinking of setting up an auto feeder and putting very small food in it that the tangs won't be interested in and hopefully i can get them trained on that. Thinking about it I'll probably start it off on the observation tank so they get used to the food being added at regular intervals.
They're actually an interesting fish to watch and give me another excuse to retreat to the basement for me time lol.

 

[exnisstech]

RIP Flame angel. He didn't make it. I think it may have had eye damage because it acted like it had trouble seeing. Maybe there was something wrong with its vision and that's why the coral beauty decided to start attacking it after being together over a year.

I'm thinking about removing the Niger. I had one previously for 6 years and he was chill with the other fish. This one is a little frisky for my taste. His cave is front and center and he protects that. He's also doing some chasing. That mystery CBB death is nagging at me and my Gal keeps pointing out the Niger when he's acting out. I saw a wrasse slam into the glass and die instantly once and I'm wondering if something like that may have happened here. Insert another Wednesday shrug lol.
After a year in the reefer 300 the Harlequin has the asterina population almost finished off. The 330 has stars everywhere so if I catch the trigger I'll bring the shrimp over to this tank. There's enough asterinas I may add a female and have a pair to watch.
I'll update if I get the trigger. He only has one way in and out of his cave so I'm hoping to get a couple of nets and have my Gal move the rock while he's sleeping.

 

[exnisstech]

Well catching the trigger was easier than I thought it would be. I couldn't catch him in his cave but was able to scoop him while he was eating. I took him into a lfs for rehoming.
I moved the Harlequin over tonight.

He was in the other tank for almost a year and I was still seeing a few asterinas on the glass. This tank is full of them so he should be good for at least another year or longer. Hopefully he doesn't disappear in this big tank.

While at the lfs I spotted a little barnacle blenny and I couldn't resist so I added it to the little 8g. Its the cutest little thing and it was kind enough to choose a hole in the front of the rocks vs in the back.

 

[exnisstech]

Starfish don't have a brain but they must have some type of predator detection. As soon as the shrimp was added the the stars start climbing the glass.

 

[twentyleagues]

Starfish don't have a brain but they must have some type of predator detection. As soon as the shrimp was added the the stars start climbing the glass.

I think so too as I have seen this as well. They do have a nervous system though and senses primitive brain of sorts. I wonder if the shrimp exudes some sort of pheromone or something would seem counter productive though.

 

[tharbin]

Starfish don't have a brain but they must have some type of predator detection. As soon as the shrimp was added the the stars start climbing the glass.

Pretty sure that is known as the 'Oh S**t' response.

 

[twentyleagues]

Pretty sure that is known as the 'Oh S**t' response.

I am going with the pheromone since they cant talk smack. Its basically saying " I'm here to chew bubblegum and eat stars! And i'm all out of bubblegum!"

 

[exnisstech]

Still have 10 chromis yay. I have a plank feeder coming next week. I'm going to try to train them on the feeder before bringing them up to the DT . My thoughts are to feed very small almost powdered food because the chromis seem to prefer it and it may keep the other fish from being too interested so hopefully chromis can get plenty.

I've started skimming wetter, changing socks before they overflow and emptying the ATS regularly. NO3 is down to 17.

6 days of growth in the ATS. This will feed the tangs all week. They love it so I don't even feed nori when this is available.

I've been using some rowaphos in a reactor to keep PO4 down a bit. I'm at 0.47 after running 1 cup for a week. I swapped it out today and added 3/4 cup. I'm going to try to keep it around 0.3 or so but am not gonna fret over it. The tank looks good so.....

The Harlequin is loving the big tank. The flow was so high in the previous tank he had to stay in a cave clinging to a rock all day. I had the flow slow to 5% at night so he could hunt which worked for a year. He is going from end to end in this tank. Hopefully he'll start eating some of the nasty little grey asterinas that like to eat zoas and leave scars on the leathers.
Here he is climbing

Then he did some acrobatics.