Reef Tank DIY - For Dummies

[Dash]

My mandarin used up the second of his 9 lives (at least I hope he has that many). The first life gone was due to me being an idiot and cutting the top off the bag too fast. It exploded and he splashed onto the floor, right in between the washer and dryer. In a controlled panic, I carefully used my net to coax him into jumping towards me, then ran to dump him into the DT. So much for acclimation, etc. Now two years later, I was staring into the tank and thought, huh what's that pretty blue stripey thing inside the rock...turns out it's Po's face staring out at me. He somehow found a tunnel entrance under the rock where the pistol shrimp lives and got stuck coming out. Luckily my scape is not glued together, so I lifted up the rock & he swam out. Hid in his cave for 2 days barely moving, then he was fine. Any other rock and I wouldn't have seen him but this one was right in front. Whew!

He is especially grateful because JL came through and let me know they had a lady friend for him. She's lovely and the perfect size for him. This guy who does not know other living creatures exist (other than pods) immediately perked up upon seeing her, raising his fin. A little spirited chasing, nothing aggressive. She slept in his cave the first night, but don't judge her. Hoping to see the mating dance soon.

Well, hello... (Is that your dorsal fin or are you just happy to see me?)


The hawkfish trying not to notice the politically incorrect behavior



You'll be back - you can't resist me...

[DKoKoMan]

Hahaha love the story book!!! I had a good laugh reading through your last posts. On a serious note, I think this has made me want to finally acquire a mandarin

[smokinreefer]

Stunning fish!

[lastlight]

Really enjoyed reading all your posts. Totally reminds me of that initial wonder I felt when I setup my first tank. No matter how into the hobby I get I can't quite capture those same feelings again. The new tank is really coming along well done!

[Dash]

Thanks!
Finally finding a female is the culmination of a lot of planning and waiting. I only added one rock when I upgraded to the larger tank. I really think the chaeto & sump has helped boost the pod population.

[Dash]

Lastlight, thanks for the kind words. Religiously reading everyone’s build threads (including yours) helped so much; if I only relied on LFS info, I’m pretty sure I would have failed miserably. This hobby has been so much fun. It’s pretty funny remembering how excited I was to get mushrooms with my rock when I was setting up my first tank. I was so worried they wouldn’t make it through the 5-minute car ride home.

[WarDog]

Tank is looking really good! Keep doing what you're doing!