Got a house!

Good news is that I have a house in PA now. In it, there is a nice office with a great place for a fish tank. The wife suggested a corner for the tank... which will make it a bow one. Well, I kinda always wanted a bow corner tank. On other news, there is a great fish store just 6 miles away from the house! And last but not least, the house has an RO unit in the kitchen... so I can get my own water without going to the store. Thinks are looking good. I will sell impose a goal of 8/1 for having a tank with water in it.

Store: http://www.wetpetsandfriends.com/

Still searching...

House hunting is going well, but we are not close to being done. Houses in PIT are fairly expensive in the areas we like, duh. We are looking for the best schools and those district houses are in high demand. Good houses last 1 or 2 days, not so good houses are there for ever. We are looking at mid april for the official selection of a residence... with a nice place for a huge tank.

I am starting to think about it...

I am in the process of moving again (move #9 in 18 years)... But this time I am thinking that I won't move again for a while. So while I am in the process of finding a new residence, I often look for areas where I can set my new, bigger and better fish tank. Hopefully by the time summer comes around I can be posting pics of a new reef in process.

It's all gone.

With much sadness, the tank was taken down last month. I accepted a new job in we are relocating to Wisconsin. I was able to sell some pieces of corals to a friend that actually sold me must of the live rock to me when I started, because he was moving. Also, I got the local FS guy to come over and he took the tank down and boxed it up in an hour or so. Then he sold a lot of the livestock to one of his clients and the rest went to the local FS for a store credit. Oh well. I will come back bigger and better. I promise!

Updated view of the tank

Full view of the tank.

Bubble Coral & Maroon Clown

I recently added this maroon clown and it has become attached to the bubble coral. This is a bit odd since they do that with anemones. They have a neat relationship and the clown now nips my hand every time that it gets too close to the coral as he defends his home.

Bristleworm

I caught this nasty guy in my tank. I believe is some kind of bristle worm. I had been seeing him for a few days in the same spot. I identified the rock that he was using as a home and luckily it was one I could pick up. When I did, I raised the rock to the surface and turned it around and there it was, coiled up in a hole. I scooped him out with one of my tools. It was actually fairly easy to do, so I know I am lucky. I researched it on the internet and most sites say that it is harmful to corals. Some sites say that they can be harmless and are good scavengers. I decided to not take chances. Especially since I think he ate my red sea pulsating xenias.

I can't find Nemo!

My one year old percula clown jumped out of the tank last Saturday night. He used to sleep right on the surface against the glass. I am guessing that it got scared and jumped a bit and that was enough for him to clear the back of the tank. In the mornings, while the lunar lights were on, I could hear him his splash on the surface scared as you walked by the tank. This is not my first fish suicide. A couple of months back I lost a beautiful wrasse. In prior years, I have lost others. A six line wrasses and an awesome valentini puffer comes to mind. I am pretty upset about this one though. My son called him Marlin (Nemo’s dad). My son has not realized yet that Marlin is gone. I guess it’s back to the store now and the question is to replace or to get something different.

Red Zoanthids

Briareum

Frogspawn

Pink Zoanthids

I have been taking close-up pictures of the corals... I guess that I am adding a new hobby to the list! I get really interesting shots every once in a while. If you like any of these, drop me a line. They make nice wallpapers for the PC. People at the office usually ask what is it and then have a hard time believing that it is from my tank. Hope you enjoy!

Bubble Coral

Another type of coral that I wanted to have for a long time! This was a nice looking piece from the LFS. At home, it doubled in size almost immediately. It has been doing great since the introduction on 2/4/07. The sweeping tentacles pack a punch, so I am keeping an eye on the surroundings.


Quick Stats: Care Level: Easy; Light: Moderate; Water Flow: Low to Medium; Placement: Bottom; Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12; Color Form: White, Yellow; Temperament: Aggressive; Ideal Supplements: Calcium, Strontium, Trace Elements; Origin: Fiji; Family: Caryophylliidae

Red Mushrooms

Awesome colors! I have been trying to get these guys for a while. Red mushrooms are a bit pricier than all the other mushrooms. Also, at the store they usually sell you one or two… otherwise it is a pricy piece. This was a piece of rock with several of them. Someone trade it in at the store and that was my best opportunity. They were added on 2/4/07. I can’t wait for them to cover the entire rock.

Quick Stats: Care Level: Moderate; Light: Moderate; Water Flow: Low to Medium; Placement: All; Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12; Color Form: Bright Red, Pinkish Purple; Temperament: Semi-aggressive; Ideal Supplements: Iodine, Trace Elements; Origin: Indonesia; Family: Actinodiscidae/Discosomatidae.

Nephthya

Added on 5/28, this soft coral has almost doubled in size. It is up in the middle of the tank now. This picture is a close up that shows the detail of the branches and the feeding tubes. It is a great coral since it is easy to keep and it is truly beautiful. The problem is that it grows really quick so you have to watch the area around it for compatibility issues.

Quick Stats: Care Level: Easy, Light: Moderate to High, Water Flow: Medium to Strong, Placement: All, Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12, Color Form: Brown, Cream, Gray, Green, Temperament: Semi-aggressive, Ideal Supplements: Iodine, Strontium, Trace Elements, Origin: Indo-Pacific, Family: Nephtheidae.

Cleaner Shrimp

Merry Xmas & Happy New Year. This is one of a mating pair of cleaner shrimps. I decided to include this picture since it came out so nice. These guys are the life of the tank. They are very nosy and aggressive when it comes to food. Whenever my hand is inside the tank for cleaning, they climb on it and try to clean it too. They are a lot of fun to watch.

Quick Stats: Care Level: Easy, Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12, Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 2", Color Form: Red, White, Temperament: Peaceful, Reef Compatible: Yes, Diet: Carnivore, Origin: Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka, Family: Hippolytidae.

Galaxea

This is my favorite coral. The piece is very large and I was able to trade in another coral in order to get a good price for it. Yet another coral that has amazing movements with the water flow. It is fairly aggressive since it has feeding tentacles that extend about 6-7 inches out and it sting anything around it.


Quick Stats: Care Level: Moderate, Light: Moderate to High
Water Flow: Medium, Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12, Color Form: Green, Temperament: Aggressive, Ideal Supplements: Calcium, Iodine, Strontium, Trace Elements, Family: Oculinidae.

Royal Gamma

This guy was introduced on 1/8/06 to the tank. It is huge! One of the biggest I have seen. It has an appetite and it is very passive and somewhat timid. It is a very colorful fish with a huge mouth. It has done very well in the tank. For a while, it looked sick with ick (white spots due to parasites). However, it came back strong and it is one of the leaders of the tank.

Quick Stats: Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons, Care Level: Easy, Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12, Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 3", Color Form: Purple, Bright Yellow, Temperament: Peaceful, Reef Compatible: Yes, Diet: Carnivore, Compatibility: View Chart, Origin: Caribbean, Family: Grammidae.

Briareum

This is a great looking coral, and very strange. With water movement, it looks like feathers in the wind. I have had it for several months and just realized that I missed writing down when did I actually bought it. I have it right in the middle at the top of the rocks and it loved the light and water circulation. In the base, it started growing towards a rock and it is spreading fast.

Quick Stats: Care Level: Easy, Light: High, Water Flow: Strong
Placement: All, Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.023-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4, Color Form: Brown, Gray, Green, Orange, Purple, Temperament: Semi-aggressive, Ideal Supplements: Calcium, Iodine, Strontium, Trace Elements, Origin: Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Western Pacific, Family: Briareidae.

Flame Angel

This is my pride and joy of the fish. The flame angel is stunning (at least I think so). I wanted one for the longest time... and finally on 3/5/06 I got one. Well, as a birthday gift (I did not want to spend the $'s). It has been doing fantastic in the tank. A limitation to having a reef tank is that a lot of fish species can not be in the same tank since they will eat and nib on your coral. Angels are classified in the "maybe is reef compatible" section ... so it can go either way. So I got lucky! In the picture you can also see a cleaner shrimp. They are a great addition to any tank due to colors and an amazing personality. They are curios scavengers and go crazy at feeding time going against fish and corals for food. Taking pics of fish is a painful task. My camera can't handle the movement most of the time. I need advise on that topic.

Quick Stats: Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons; Care Level: Moderate; Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12; Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 4"; Color Form: Orange, Yellow; Temperament: Semi-aggressive; Reef Compatible: With Caution; Diet: Omnivore; Compatibility: View Chart; Origin: Christmas Island, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Tahiti; Family: Pomacanthidae.