Myka's 69 SPS Tank 2015

[Myka]

Well, I finally got some nitrate in the tank! I took a 5-gallon pail from a client's tank and put it into my tank. The client's tank is 0.04 ppm PO4 and ~25 ppm NO3. Perfect dose of nitrate for my tank. Here's today's readings:

Cal 435 ppm (Salifert)
Alk 160 ppm 8.9 dKH (Hanna)
Mg 1320 ppm (Salifert)
NO3 0.5 ppm (Salifert)
PO4 0.00 ppm (Hanna 713)

I ordered a group of Maldives Flame Anthias (P. ignitus) from my LFS. This species is very similar to Dispar Anthias and similarly are difficult to get eating. I waited until Quality Marine had them in stock so that I could get the healthiest fish possible rather than getting my LFS to order the (cheaper) Anthias from an overseas supplier. They arrived on Wednesday evening, and picked them up straight out of the shipping box. There are 6 small females and 2 big males. I put them into a 40-gallon quarantine tank and got some brine shrimp eggs in the hatcher. I also ordered some live blackworms from Petland, but they won't be here until next week. Thursday morning I fed a mix of PE Mysis, R.O.E., and frozen Cyclopeeze. 5 of the females came out to eat, and pecked around, ate a few bits. Very good. The two males and one female stayed hiding behind the pot. Thursday afternoon they were fed again and they all came out and ate a few bits. I fed them twice more and most of them ate a few bits, but not as well as earlier in the day. They were all most interested in the Cyclopeeze, but ate a few Mysis. This morning the 5 females were out pecking and eating a bit, and the males and one female were interested, but no action. The Brine Shrimp eggs failed to hatch. So I mixed up a cube of Hikari Mysis, Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp, and R.O.E. All the fish except the one shy female were very excited about the Brine Shrimp, and quickly grabbed a piece, but promptly spat it out. They repeatedly did this. Grrr! I did see one female eat one Brine Shrimp. No interest in the R.O.E. nor the Mysis. The two males and one female remain very shy.

The smallest female has a mark on her back - I haven't been able to look close enough to tell what it is. She is one of the more active ones. It may be bruising or it may be aberrant markings which would be cool. There's a possibility that it's a sore, but at this point I don't think it is. That's where we're at now.

Here's most of the herd:

[gregzz4]

Nice looking fishies Mindy
Hope you have better luck with your herd than I did with mine - RIP all 7 Lyretails

[Myka]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Nice looking fishies Mindy
Hope you have better luck with your herd than I did with mine - RIP all 7 Lyretails

I'm hoping so! Jeez, you must have had a bad batch - Lyretails are usually pretty easy as far as Anthias go. I would have loved to put Lyretails in my tank, but they get too big. The Flame Anthias only get abut 3 1/2" which is one of the main factors in my choice.

[Myka]

New clam



Sarmentosa frag I got a couple weeks back. Browned out for now.



Dorky Blenny

[Skimmer Juice]

that clam is nice , really wish lfs around me would get some barnacle blenny's. Got a nice barnacle just need the fish , how many do you have ?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Skimmer Juice

that clam is nice , really wish lfs around me would get some barnacle blenny's. Got a nice barnacle just need the fish , how many do you have ?

I have two of the Blennies. I'd like to have a whole herd of them, but there's a lot more fish I want too, so I have to save some space!

Originally Posted by duncangweller

I'm a big fan of those barnacle blennies after seeing them in seabreeze's tank. They are a lot of fun to watch

Ya, they are entertaining at feeding time! They are SO fast! They zip out, grab food, and zip back. They bounce off the rock, bonce off other fish. They are totally out of control. It's hilarious. I should video them. Their names are Flash and Streaker.

[Myka]

It's been 4 weeks now, and I'm finally I'm starting to see some color coming back to the SPS after the epoxy spaz my tank had. It certainly took long enough. I'm sure it's helping now that there is a bit of nitrate in there too. It's been 8 1/2 weeks since the tank transfer.

The Flame Anthias are doing well so far. The one male remains very, very skittish. He doesn't eat much, but he is eating. The second male is also skittish, but he eats pretty well. The females are all pigs. Once I have them fattened up I will dose them with PraziPro. Since Praziquantel can cause temporary anorexia in fish, I want to make sure they are fat enough to make it through the treatment should they choose to be anorexic.