Derek

Everyone likes my marine beta. I am glad that he is active.

I wouldn't worry about it. You would have to have a lot of salt on your concrete for it to make any difference. Hopefully you sweep. Essentially you do note ant the salt crystals to build up on it. It makes the surface erode quickly.

Just don't dump your old salt water on your car or near it. I grew up in Corpus Christi and have seen my fair share of rusted out automobile frames. As my favorite saying goes, "When in doubt, rinse it out", meaning that if you're concerned about it, just spray it down with your garden hose.

I definitely wouldn't worry about it being in the ground soil by your foundation though.

Nice rock setup. I like it. Does the light have a mechanical lift on it?

Nice! Does your sump have a built in fuge chamber?

Sweet. You're going to have a nice setup.

Very nice. Does it have a canopy too? Do I see a reflection of another tank in that glass?

I am okay then. It's been over an hour and no sensations of pain other than right at the penetration point. It just feels like a splinter. No swelling or discoloration.

I think my main concern was that I had no basis of comparison for what it would feel like. I have not been stung by a bee or bitten by an ant in many many years.

Well, I'm not going to go and try for myself but if you didn't feel anything almost immediatly my guess is you didn't get any thing. Most toxins or venoms are going to give an immediate reaction like a bee sting or fire ant bite.

I'm not too sure if anything has happened as I do not know what to look for. I haven't barfed yet so I assume I'm okay.

I have heard that Radiata Urchins have venom. What kind of venom do they have? I just got jabbed by mine about 30 minutes ago. I soaked my hand in epsom saltwater for a bit. My finger does not hurt or anything. I just see the little stab mark where the needle went in.

I usually have them in the back of the tank, about half way up in the height of the tank.

Hmm, maybe I just don't have luck with them. It sucks because I really love bubble corals.

I have been having a heck of a time keeping bubble corals over the past year. I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. The placement seems fine. The tissue just keeps retracting and eventually it complete dies.

I just got a new lighting fixture to provide more lighting. I just do not want to invest in another piece if it is going to die again. Has anyone had luck keeping a bubble coral long term? If so, what is your secret?

What kind of clowns are they?

Hmm, I wouldn't worry about it then. He probably just grew really fast or a rock fell on him. I would only worry if it started to widen.

Hmm, that's weird. Maybe he got stuck under a rock that slipped or something. How are your calcium levels?

I live off of Braker and Metric. I'm fairly close to him I think.

I always get my fish from AquaDome and have lots of luck with them.

Same here. I have a small one that hasn't been used in a long while. The bulb should still be good but you'd need a pump for it.

Nice setup. I like it.

Just make sure that you have your oven hood fan on.

How long have you had them? How long are they?

Sorry to hear that. I've got a 2' long zebra in my DT that I had dreams that I found on the floor several times. I finally went and bought some 1/2" glass covers and I sleep better now.

I've got a really nice pair of golden dwarfs that I go back and forth about selling. Their color is great, they eat like pigs and they hang out together almost all the time. I honestly don't think they would ever try to escape, they just don't venture far from their home. I paid $185 each with shipping and would just keep them if I had to sell for less. Let me know if you are interested, I would only sell as a pair at this point.

They can be in a mixed reef as long as you don't plan on keeping shrimp or small fish. I kept mine in a side tank that is my "predator" tank. You can use an egg crate lid or a glass top. Either works.

It never fail. The night you leave the lid to the tank off, the eel takes a stroll along the tile floor. I would like to get a dwarf golden moray or even better a pair, hopefully a young pair.

If anyone sees a good deal on a pair, let me know.

Welcome. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I actually made a trap that has been super successful. It only cost me a about $25 bucks to make. I'm more than happy to share the design with you. Maybe you'll have some ideals on how to improve it.

I took a standard specimen container and a piece of acrylic. I cut the piece of acrylic to cover the top of the specimen box. I then cut a third of the piece of acrylic off and then siliconed that smaller piece to the specimen box as well as super glued it. Super glue first, then the silicon. Once it was all dried, I drilled two holes in the smaller piece and two holes in the larger piece. I used regular trash bag twist ties as "hinges". I drilled a hole in the middle of the other side of the acrylic for a string hole. I then use a magnet to fix it to the back of the tank. This part is super important, you have to have the trap as close to the sand bed as possible, the fish will not go in it if it isn't close to the bottom. I then just take my nori clip, put some nori in it, and put it in the tank. I usually put a mysid cube or a brine cube in there too.

It took me all of 30 minutes to catch my naso tang and my flagfin angel.

Note: I still use the trap to acclimate fish, corals, and invertebrates. It is still a fully functional specimen box. It could use some sort of latch for when it closes. If the fish is strong enough and you don't have enough tention on the line they can push out.

This is what the trap looks like: