Picture Update

It's been two or three weeks since the last pictures.  Here's how things are going...

Mushroom Update

Mushrooms Before	Mushrooms Current
Here is a comparison of the mushrooms.  If you look closely, you can see how they've increased in density.  Within the past few weeks, heads have begun to "pop off" or remove themselves from the colony.  About four so far have done this.  I've assisted each of the four heads in relocating in the hopes they will re-attach.

This is the rock immediately below the mushrooms.  The first two head that removed themselves were put here, but they ended up falling inside a hole in the rock when they closed up.  I'm not sure if they are both OK, but one pops out mid morning through this hole.

This is the fourth head that removed itself from the colony.  There was a little too much flow around the third head for it to attach in the same place, so I moved it up and to the right of the current colony.

This was the third head to remove itself.  This had no hands-on intervention by me.  It found a slow-flow area and was able to attach itself.  This rock is below the current colony and up in front on the tank.

Anthelia Update

Anthelia Before	Anthelia Current
Not much to say about the Anthelia except it, too, has gotten more dense. I suppose it's only a matter of time before they start removing themselves from the colony and setting up shop elsewhere in the tank.

Star Polyp Update

Star Polyp Before	Star Polyp Current
This may not be a fair comparison - the image on the left is effected my a majano anemone (just right of center) and a few aiptasia (left edge).  There are still a few aiptasia on the current photo but their placement does not effect the polyps as much as before.  I don't know if I necessary noticed this coral spreading, but in the places it is, it certainly looks better.  Also picture at the bottom left of the rock, a calciferous worm has taken up residence.  That is the horizontally running "white tube" just to the left of the bottom-most cluster.

Neomeris annulata update

N. annulata	N. annulata Current
The single "seedling" bleached out after the first picture was taken.  It happened during a time when the power filter was put back into use.  This tells me that nitrates need to be at or below 20 to have this algae.  The current picture isn't the best, but it's amount of spread can be distinguished by color alone.  Nitrates run no higher than 20 in the current setup.

Here's how the anemone is doing.  The male clown can be seen underneath and to the left tending to the eggs they've recently laid.

This particular rock has a sponge that is getting bigger.  It's also accumulating a lot of pineapple sponges.

Build it and They Will Come

Been a while since my last post.  I've mostly been hanging out at the Reef Tank forums... learning.  So I suppose a few updates are in order:

My single Stomatella now has company.  I've noticed at least three others.

Since turning my power filter into a chaeto house, water quality seems more stable.  Sure, there are nitrates, but they aren't increasing on a daily basis.  And it's been just over a week since the last water change.  I'm not stretching it to see how far I can go, but I'd also like to not have to blow through 50 pounds of salt in 6 weeks, either.

The last time I removed the power filter I noticed a single Neomeris annulata.  Then when incorporating the power filter once again, the annulata seemed to bleach and nearly go away.  This time I have a small mat of them.  I'll get pictures up sometime soon.

Within the past couple of days I've had another algae bloom.  Mostly cyanobacteria.  So any pictures before the next water change will reflect such.

I'm down to feeding the anemone once a week.  I generally give it three or four freeze-dried krill.  I'm basing this on the amount of krill I found during it's last waste expulsion.  It could probably eat every 5 days, but that's not the easiest thing to keep track of, so once a week it is.

I'm also noticing the beginning of purple and green coraline algae spots on the back glass.  I tend to neglect the back glass hoping that a coral will attach and use it as a growing surface.  Some corals seem like they only grow on the purple coraline, and others... well, I can't really see their perch like I can with star polyps so I can't really tell.

Lost another Dwarf Hermit Crab three days ago.  Not sure why.  Perhaps a lack of food?  I doubt it, but I don't know for sure.  The others (down to 6 from 10) seem to all be doing fine.  I don't know if I blogged about it, but a couple weeks ago I went and got 6 new larger shells for them.  At least three have changed shells.  I know for sure two of the larger ones have the new shells, and the smallest has move into one of the discarded shells.

I'm still working on charting water quality time frames comparing a power filter tank with a non-power filter tank.  It's a work in progress and will be published when results have sufficient data.

Running without the power filter (and a sump) definitely has it's drawbacks, but I'm learning to live with some particulates in the water.  They do eventually settle (over a few days vs a few hours), but are still in the tank waiting to be stirred up again.  I think that's why I'm letting the cyano and other algaes get more of a foothold than normal.  I'm hoping the algae, when removed, will take some of the settled particulates with them.

Other than the process of planning a benthic sump (which will obviously be documented), nothing much else going on except tank watching and forum reading.  I'll see what I can do to get pictures up soon.

And the Seedling Is...

Neomeris annulata

Also known as Spindleweed Algae, Sea Sausage, Caterpillar Weed, Fuzzy Tip Algae.

From www.midwestmarineguy.com

Requires high lighting like that needed by clams and SPS corals. Neomeris Annulata also requires a lot of calcium to keep growth steady. Pristine water conditions are also necessary, only trace amounts of nitrates to keep the Neomeris Annulata fueled, should be in the water.

Treat the Neomeris Annulata as if it were a coral it should grow like wild for you. This is a very tricky macro algae to keep around(for many who want to keep it) for long periods of time.

Neomeris annulata produces chemicals which deter fish from eating it. Parrot fish , urchins, nudibranchs, and Rabbitfish don’t seem to eat them. Sea Hares will eat the Neomeris Annulata, but it is inconsistent between Sea Hares and the Sea Hare will not rid the tank of the Neomeris Annulata. The Neomeris annulata algae is on the obnoxious algae list.

So it -can- be a nuisance algae, but it is a very, in my opinion, attractive algae that behaves as if coral.  On the "difficulty to maintain" it ranks a 4 out of 5 (5 being the hardest).

We'll see what happens.

Noticings of Early May

I've been eying a few new discoveries in the tank.  Some have been for weeks, others only a couple of days.

Not sure what this is, but to the eye it looks like a seedling.  Here with magnification, I'm back to being stumped.

Not sure what these two things are, either.  A good picture of the "Feather-Mounds" is in the first image of the "seedling" directly to the left.

Long Time No Pics

Nothing much going on today:

• Cleaned glass and noticed I have green coraline algae.  It's on the back glass and the front at the bottom, so no need for a scraper yet.
• The "chaeto-bugs" are everywhere.  While cleaning the glass, the clowns had an appetizer to their mysis.  I don't notice, however, any inhabitants picking the "chaeto-bugs" off the glass for a mid-day snack.
• A combination of new flow and growth had dislocated the chaeto.  Got it tucked back down.
• Still noticing some cyano which points out my areas of low-flow.  I still either need more flow, or just flow rearrangement.  The powerhead I added to the right side of the tank doesn't seem to be alleviating the dead spot over there, so I'll start with moving that one around some.

And it seems as though I'm overdue for some pictures.

There is all sorts of strange things going on with this specific live rock...  A (relatively) large sponge, some white off-shoots, some orange outgrowths...

As you can see, the Star Polyps are coming back nicely after killing the aiptasia.  And also as you can see, the aiptasia is coming back.

Also notice the regrowth from where the mojano anemone used to be.  The flow is obstructing a clear view of the entire region, but enough is shown to get the point.

And Yesterday Continues Today

I eventually found the time for a water change, but not time for pictures.  I'll get those later on today once the lights turn back on.  Same with water testing.  That'll have to wait, too.

Ended up flattening out the chaeto instead of separating it into multiple clumps.  It's about the size of an index card now.

After the cleaning, I didn't notice any "life" moving within the chaeto.  However, I didn't have much of an opportunity to stare at it, either.

Fed a total of four krill to the anemone today.  I can't be sure, but I believe I am beginning to understand it's behavior...  at least the hunger parts of it.

Shortest post ever?

New Sightings

While feeding the tank a mysis cube today, I noticed what looked like a piece of detritus on a small rock up close to the tank.  It was moving a little, but in slow, stop-start movements.  The power filter was off due to feeding, so I figured the weak movement was due to the power head flow from the opposite end of the tank.

I looked around the side of the tank to maybe get a better perspective, but I lost it.  I think the chaeto ball was blocking it.  So I kept an eye out...just in case.

A short while later I noticed two small elongated "pieces of detritus" on the rock.  So I watched.  They approached each other and did a full circle on the rock as if they were dancing.  Whoah.  That's not poop.

I then saw another one of these things "cliff dive" off the same rock, only to disappear over the lip of the ledge it ran at.

Then I notice something lime green twirling around in the chaeto.  I then see even more of these small creamy critters moving about at the perimeter of the chaeto.  I've never seen a copepod in person, but I'm wondering if that's what those are.  I don't have a clue as to what that lime green thing could be, though.  All these critters are pin head or two pin heads in size.

I also noticed the starfish caught some of the krill today.  He switched corners for the day and ended up near the dead spot in the tank.  I noticed him working the krill up his leg toward his body.  Eat well, my friend.

Still planning on vacuuming the tank today as soon as I get an hour free.  I'm also still planning to do something with the chaeto to reform it.  Since there are critters in it, I'm wondering if I should just flatten it out instead of breaking it up into smaller balls.

I was thinking last night what my next milestone will be.  It has to be a "free" milestone, so getting a live sump hooked up isn't on the list.  I think perhaps "zero nitrates/phosphates" followed by "coraline growth" will be considered my next milestones, unless my newness to the hobby is clouding what is actually yet to be.

I'll get some pics up later after the water change.

Word's Back on the New Coral...

...and it's not coral.

It's a Majano Anemone.  It's a pest anemone like aiptasia.

Looks like I have one more target next week when I pick up aiptasiaX or Joe's Juice.

Here's what I want to do to them:

Two New Friends

Ended up picking up another Peppermint Shrimp today... Initial observations are that no one has told the new guy he's supposed to be nocturnal, which is good. He got the other shrimp to come out and play as well.

I dropped him into the aptasia corner. He hit it on the way down. After a couple of minutes of exploring, he came across the bigger of the three aptasia. He boxed it a few punches, then went on, so he knows they're there.

After a little while longer, he came across the first shrimp and they both began to roam. It's nice to see them both out in the light.

We also discovered what appears to be another coral in the tank. I'm sure it can be seen on other pictures of the star polyp coral, but it's grown enough to be able to tell what it is, in a general sense. Fron a dark spot within the coral to something additional.... Good day.

Speaking of good day, it was another good experience at the LFS.

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Observation - Aiptasia, Mushrooms, and Anemone Tentacles

This morning the aiptasia seemed a lot smaller than it was yesterday.  FINALLY!  The peppermint shrimp is earning it's keep!

That was until later we noticed the aiptasia back to it's normal size.  Eh.  Maybe it's time to get a couple more peppermints.

Notice today a few tentacles on the anemone are wilted.  I wonder what's causing that.  They are relatively few and spread out across the anemone, but there is one quarter-sized patch that's entirely wilted.  Something to keep an eye on.

And the mushrooms look like they are doing really well.  They seem to be getting larger, which is a good sign.

Here are today's pics, along with a mushroom comparison:

April 2nd Mushrooms

Mushrooms from about 5 days ago.

The two aiptasia can be seen on the left of this rock around the side.  They are growing, too.
 Need to make them a meal before too much longer...

T plus 89:00

It's been 89 hours since the cloudy tank was discovered, and 89 hours of closely monitoring the anemone.

By the time I'd gotten home from a short day of work the daylights had already had their 4 hour cycle.  The anemone still looks nice and full, even if a little "pale".  I bumped up the light timer one notch, which is 20 minutes or so (I think there are three notches per hour, but it's hard to tell).  I'm going to keep bumping it one notch a day until the anemone begins to shrink - a sign that it's getting too much light.  Then perhaps we'll start the additional hour per week for light acclimation.

I had enough things to do on my "need to get" list that I dropped by my LFS.  The atmosphere was a nice one today, I must say.  The owner was not around, but his wife was.  We swapped a few stories - she said she walked in today to what she thought was a shrimp birth...  Hundreds of these things swimming around.  It was neat to hear how excited she still gets with saltwater discoveries like that.  It gives me hope this hobby won't get old, at least for my wife and me.

I grabbed a phosphate test kit from the get-go, and the browsed while she helped the customer before me.  I spotted the Peppermint Shrimp and eyed them quickly before searching for their price.  Ten dollars each, or three for $24.  Phosphate kit was also ten bucks. So far so good... can't spend too much.  I told her about the tribulations with the anemone.  She conveyed a couple anecdotes about her experiences with anemones.  The moral of her story was that if it were going to die, it would be obvious.  Good news there.

While I was there, I inquired about the Cardinals.  They've only snacked a bit here and there for the last week.  I asked what they use to feed theirs - she said "Krill".  I have Krill pellets... "No, I mean Krill".  Show me this Krill.  She produced a can of freeze dried krill.  I quickly scanned the ingredients - krill and a vitamin supplement.  She demonstrated how to feed krill on their clown/anemone tank.  To my surprise, she placed the last bit of krill right into the anemone.  It closed up on her fingers and she pulled her hand out.  Wow, I haven't yet gotten the nerve to do that.

I told her if the Cardinals keep snacking this week, I'll be in for some.

I explained my concerns for the anemone being bleached and told her I've read they can be nursed back as long as they are target fed everyday - I've heard of using Mysis Shrimp for this.  She agreed that they love it and produced a frozen package of it.

Out the door for $28 and change and had one of the most reassuring and informative visits I've had in a little while.

Once I got home my wife was excited to hear the story about the owners wife hand-feeding their anemone.  She wanted to try it.  She did so successfully.  She even played a bit with the tentacles.  I asked if they were sticky or slimy.  They're sticky - good!  The Clowns had some of the shrimp, but not much.  The Cardinals weren't interested in it at all.

The Peppermint Shrimp, once in the tank, headed to the opposite end of the tank as the aiptasia, so no aiptasia will be consumed today.  And the small cloudy white snail we saw a week or to ago... Found it on the glass today.  The shell is beginning to become pronounced.  From the looks of it, it could be a Chiton, Limpet, or Stomatella.  As it matures, I'm sure it will become obvious.

Here are some photo's from this afternoon:

The Brittle Starfish made a small appearance this afternoon.

Here is the side view of the "Snail" we saw a couple weeks ago.

Here is the underside of the unknown "Snail".

Wasn't thinking too well.  It's the only picture so far of the Peppermint Shrimp.

A Biological Experiment?

Yes, it is.

The whole thing is.

I consider the tank my own personal BioLab.  I am keening interested in the processes of cause and effect in relation to our 75 gallon saltwater tank.  That is why the main page of this blog publishes different aspects of readings along with the days actions so that changes in those readings may be directly correlated to actions of the past.

Why the scientific slant for a lead up?

Because yesterday, my wife and I observed a new form of life in the tank:

It was a creamy white and about 3/4's of an inch in length.  It's a ground-based life form, so no swimming.  We first noticed it moving toward an opening in one of the rocks we have toward the front of the tank.  It was wandering in and out of the rock and occasionally onto the substrate.

At first, as it was moving away from us, it appeared to have a fuzzy head with a single leg extending from the rear.  I initially described it as a one legged jellyfish.  It then disappeared into the rock.

Moments later it became visible again as it exited the opening in the rock.  I could see what look like two appendages in front of the animal.  Those appendages ended with spheres.

With this new detail observed, it appears as though this animal is some sort of snail.  I didn't notice a shell at all.  Or at least the shell is the same creamy white as the animal itself.

While we scrambled to get the camera set to the macro setting in order to take a picture, we lost it.  I'll be keeping a close eye out for it today.  I'd like to get a picture of it.

So where does the "Biological Experiment" title come into play?

• I have not intentionally added any life forms except Damsels and Dwarf Hermit Crabs.
• It has been two or three weeks since anything new (15 lbs of live rock) was added to the tank.
• In the past week I've stopped using tap water for water changes and top-off's (mainly because I'm out of salt mix).  I've been using RO/DI water from the LFS.  In the past 4 days I've added 15 gallons (20%), and I think it's interesting to monitor nutrient levels since the switch.

I think it's amazing to see watch the effects of simple everyday causes that I introduce into the system, plus the contributions of the tank itself as it matures.  I suppose if I didn't, I probably shouldn't have a tank.

So here I am wondering what single cause would produce this effect of a new snail hitchhiker...  It's probably not a single cause, but the orchestra of multiple causes.

• The use of RO/DI instead of tap water causing an increase of the health of the tank
• The addition of live rock a couple weeks ago
• The addition of the Aqualite at the same time as the rock
• The addition of flow into the tank within the week

It's been two weeks since adding the live rock.  This snail was most definitely a hitchhiker on the rock.  I wonder in what form I received the snail...

Eggs?  If so, how many?  The snail is pretty small and due to it's color is really hard to notice on the white crushed coral substrate.  About a third of my live rock is white, also.  I may have more of them, but until they mature, they will be hard to see.

Immature hatch-lings?  Maybe.  This would account for so far seeing only one.  If it were eggs, I would think that I would notice more of them, especially near the hatching site (where ever that is).

Could the rock work I performed this week have somehow allowed this snail to become viable?  Or at least noticeable?  What about the removal of the Damsels?  Could they have been eating these critters?  Now without a possible "predator", perhaps "they" are now able to grow to a size that more noticeable.

And should I hold off on vacuuming substrate for a week or two in the hopes this snail becomes more visible so that I may avoid throwing it out with a water change?