PeeperKeeper

Sorry I hadn't been watching this thread as closely as I should have. The box is down at my office and I'm home now. I want to say it's 11" X 12" for a footprint, and maybe 15" tall. I'll try to remember to measure it tomorrow and post. No need to pay. Enough people have given me frags from this board, I feel the need to give back a little, although this is very little. If you're interested, PM me. I'll be more likely to see it if I forget to look here again. **edited: Now that I look at the pic again, 11" X 12" doesn't sound right, does it? I'll check tomorrow. You can call my office at 339-2020 to remind me if you want. That number will be answered "Parmer Eye Care". Just ask for Sundra.

I was given a small frag of a toadstool, and rubberbanded it to a rock. I didn't think I'd banded it too tight, but the rubber band cut it in half. So then I had an even smaller frag. What I ended up doing was putting it in a hole/low spot in a rock and making a "cage" for it with rubber bands to hold it in place. It was sitting in this little divot in the rock, not exactly a hole because I didn't want it to slip down in a deep hole. Then I took 3 or 4 rubber bands and just stretched them across the hole by hooking them over bumps on the rocks. When it swelled up and opened, it was touching the bands, but when it shrunk up at night, it didn't. I left it that way for at least 2 weeks and it finally attached. When it got big enough that it looked like the bands were putting pressure on it, I took them off one at a time. It's doing great now. HTH. If it's too big to make a rubber band cage around it, maybe you can just find a hole the right size to stick the stalk down in so it doesn't float away.

I have this from before Hammondegge redid my sump. I had put it up on MAAST and a guy said he wanted it, but it turned out he was in SA and didn't realize I was in ATX. So I thought I'd ask here if anyone wants it. I'll hold on to it for another week, then I'll have to "file it". It's got that little skimmer with it too. Not great but it works.

That's a really great deal! I wish I could take advantage of it, but I've already got my June aquarium budget spent (I'm trying to start disciplining myself after TOTALLY blowing it the past couple months) and I've barely made a dent in the bucket of TM I've already got. I hope you'll do more buys like this in the future. How long does it take you guys (Clint, Mike, Robert...) to go through the amounts you're ordering?

I wish. You say the words "reef tank" to my husband and he envisions dollar signs flying out the window. We have enough of that happening with planning this house already, I think his head would explode if I said we needed to design in a tank. He already knows from past experience how I am about buying stuff to go in a reef. confused5.gif I'll have to settle for finding a place for one after we've moved in and gotten over the sticker shock of building a new home. For now I'm happy being able to play around with the one at my office, and it's a bonus that it's deductible as a business expense. Sorry to hijack your thread Carlos. How are my little sailfin and clown doing? I'm really excited about them! Are they eating well?

Okay, bad news first. I was so upset Friday I couldn't even post. Just before I left the office I discovered that my beautiful Rose BTA that I got from Aquadoc/Mike was caught in the overflow and had been torn in two really busted up pieces. Both pieces looked so bad that I almost took them out, but I had seen stories of anemones recovering from some pretty bad stuff so I decided to put them in the tank, make sure the skimmer was working well and see what happens. Well, I went back down there Friday evening and they were still hangin in there. I checked on them again Sunday and at first I thought they were both gone, but my 6 year old was able to get her head around the side of the tank where I couldn't and could see at least one of them. This morning I was able to see it too! I don't know if the other half is still around or if it's fish food, but I'm really happy that at least one part of it is still alive. It's on the back of a rock, so I can't see it very well, but I was able to see enough to know that it is inflating tentacles and there are at least 7 or 8 tentacles (maybe more) that seem to be in a somewhat normal circular arrangement. I'm tempted to move the rock so I can see it better, but the whole problem was that it was constantly moving all over the tank before its accident so since it's been in the same place for at least 24 hours I don't want to upset it. I'm just going to leave it alone, maybe do a big water change tomorrow and hope for the best. The other bit of great news besides that the anemone is hanging on is that I was looking at the rock that used to have the super-bright orange skirted zoos that I thought had all died and there is one and a half polyp left of them! Woo Hoo! blob7.gif Now I just hope these two small vestiges of my two favorite items in the tank will survive and flourish. I really thought both of them were toast. With the zoos I had accepted their loss weeks ago. What a great surprise to possibly get them back!

Sorry, can't help you there. I've never had either one. Wasn't there an article on RC about jawfish a while back, or was I just reading a long post about them? It seems like it was in that online magazine they have. I didn't even know that sanddollars were in the pet trade. Have you actually seen them for sale, or were you thinking of collecting from the "deep blue"?

So where's the rabbit, Clint? I only see one highly-expensive-could-lose-it the-day-after-you-put-it-in-the-tank-fish. So how much have you spent on a coral or clam that could die? Hmmmmm?

Hey Carlos! Good to see you here. As you can see, we've been talkin' aboutcha (uhm, did you see the "River City Aquatics - props" post? Thought that one might catch your eye. laughing7.gif ) Anyway, welcome to ARC. By the way, in case you hadn't figured it out, you know me. I'm Sundra. I'll see you at the store sometime. I wish I were going to be able to come Friday, but I don't think it's going to work out. My husband and I have an appt. with an architect in Georgetown we have to go to right after work, and then we're planning to stay at my parents' place. I will be there if I can work it out though. I may have to come back to Austin to get our stuff for the weekend and maybe I can sneak in a stop-off at RCA.

So didja make to any LFS's? Which ones did you check out and how did you like them?

I bet you could find someone with a nice big FOWLR who might want your little green man just for the interest. I'd post an ad (here, MAAST maybe) saying what the problem is and see if anyone wants him. Somebody with a big tank and no coral probably wouldn't mind him munching a little coraline. I bought 2 or 3 emeralds from SWF.com a while back. It took a while before I saw any of them, but one has definitely gotten over his shyness and he really is cool to watch.

I'd like the coral predator prevention workshop. Include dips, which ones for what type of corals, etc. The fragging workshop is a good idea too, but some of us need to learn to keep the corals alive and growing before we have anything to frag.

I'm partial to Rivercity Aquatics. They're located in North Austin, on 183 (aka Research Blvd) between McNeil and Anderson Mill. As you're heading North on 183, take the Anderson Mill exit (I think, it could be the exit before that. Can someone confirm?) and get on the feeder road. On your right, you'll see a Mexicanaria (lots of clay pots and Southwestern Yard Art) and right after that a small sign to tell you where to turn right. Aquatek has been carrying more frags lately too, and they have an awesome display tank. Worth seeing. They're on Burnet Rd. just North of Anderson Lane (not to be confused with Anderson Mill above. They are two different roads.).

I saw Carlos yesterday, and he said he will definitely make donations to our meetings, a bucket of salt or something like that each time. Also, their big sales are on the first Friday of every month. That's when they do the big stock-up, offer huge discounts and stay open until 10pm. That's next Friday! blob7.gif

That's a great description of Emma's introduction! I had been thinking of a Royal Gramma, but after an experience I had recently with a neon dottyback getting very mean very quickly, I was afraid to try another dottyback type fish. But now you make me want one more! I especially like what you said about being "charmed by royal grammas' insistence on flaunting convention when choosing which direction is "up", for the moment!". I had named the neon dottyback I had briefly "whomee" (pronounced HOOOmee) because whenever I would look at him, he would look at me, then look behind himself and to the side like he was trying to figure out if my attention was on him or not. Do RG's tend to be bullies when established, like my Whomee was? In one night, between a Sunday evening and Monday morning, he tore my firefish up pretty bad when he got past the divider I had put in the Q tank they were in. I know for your tank, with Joey in there, something that can stand up for itself is good, but I just worry about my peaceful firefish, 6 line, cardinals and any new fish I might want to introduce later on like a sailfin tang and a Mandarin.

You guys are too kind! Several people have given me frags and wouldn't let me pay. I only hope I can keep things healthy enough and growing to be able to return the favors one day! Here's a pic of the ones I'm wanting to replace. This was just a day or two after I got them. They never did open up as nice as they were in the store. When I bought them, they TOTALLY covered the rock. The centers look a little blue in the picture, but they didn't really look that way in real life.

No, those aren't the same ones, but they look nice. I will take some from ya. No, I didn't see that thread after I posted on it. The ones I got from RCA had super bright orange skirts, but the center was just kinda neutral, not orange like yours. How much do you want for them? I'm leaving the office in a little while, but since the office is open until 6:00, I don't have to be here if you want to drop them off. They just have to be temp acclimated, right? You or one of my staff can put them in the small Q tank back in my office and I can dip them and move them to my regular tank next time I'm in. The staff can pay you out of petty cash. I still need to get the stuff that post was talking about for a zoo dip. I'll PM you my #.

Just thought I'd check if anyone has any of these they want to find homes for. I've been watching the LFS's (at least RCA and Aquatek) but haven't seen what I'm looking for. I bought a rock of zoos with super-bright orange skirts about a month ago at RCA, give or take. They had several pieces of them so I wondered who got the others and if they made it. Mine didn't make it, but I don't really think it was my tank because all the rest of my stuff was doing fine, including other zoos, pumping xenia, buttons, etc. If anyone has a healthy colony of those zoos, I'd love a frag one day. As for the sailfin, I'd like a small one that wouldn't outgrow my 75G for a couple of years. By that time I hope to have a bigger tank. I'd like one or two clowns to use the beautiful Rose BTA I got from Aquadoc. Ocelaris (sp?) are my faves but most of the ones I'm seeing seem to be tank raised (okay, maybe they're regular percs, I'm not sure) and I'm afraid they won't use an anemone host.

I'm not positive about the day either, but when they do that, they always do a big buy for it so they have some great selections and they stay open until like 10:00pm (but all the best stuff goes right after the sale begins). I asked them about becoming a sponsor when I was in there the other day. Carlos wasn't around, but the guy I talked to said they had intended to do it, but had been really busy with something on the freshwater side. New website, maybe?

Glad you finally got up there, Robert. Yup, Carlos is great, and I'm actually surprised he's not a sponsor already. He's very supportive of the Austin reef community. I'll ask him about it next time I'm in there. They are definitely my favorite LFS right now. When you're looking for them, heading North on 183/Research, you turn right just after that Mexicanaria/Imports place with all the clay pots and Southwestern yard art.

Thanks Marlin, same to you! I just popped over to your site yesterday. I guess we got started at the same time. happy2.gif

Having gotten tired of introducing new fish who turn out to be sick and get the rest of my tank sick, I decided to set up a very small (10 gallon) Q tank to put new fish in for a couple of weeks before introducing them to my main display. After cycling the QT, I got a firefish to put in it and he did fine. A week or so later, I bought a tank raised neon dottyback and put him in as well. In less than 2 days it became obvious that the dottyback was becoming aggressive towards the firefish. So I made a barrier out of egg crate and screen material to divide the 10 gallon tank and keep them separated. Problem solved. Yesterday afternoon, I checked on them and all was fine. This morning I came in and the barrier had shifted so that the dottyback got in the firefish's side and the firefish is looking extremely ragged after only one night. My question is will this be a problem when I put them in my 75 gallon display? I imagine the dottyback has been frustrated, only having less than 5 gallons worth of territory, so maybe he was just taking out that frustration on the firefish last night. I purposely gave him less than half the tank when I put the barrier in because I figured maybe that would get him used to only having a small territory and he wouldn't feel like he had to stake out a big area in my display as his own. What do you guys think? Anyone have any experience with neon dottybacks and if so, are they bullies with other fish (besides other dottybacks, I know you can't have more than one dottyback in a tank my size) in general? I really like this guy because he's beautiful and has a lot of expression and personality, but if once I introduce him to my display I won't be able to add new fish, I don't know. I only have two PJ cards in the display now, and I eventually want to have them, the dottyback, a 6 line wrasse, the firefish, a clown or two and a sailfin tang. Oh, and a Mandarin when my pod population fills in. I'd say I could wait and add the dottyback last, but I hate to keep him in such a small area for so long. help.gif

Joe, I don't think the leather is actually what was causing the problem. I was just asking about it because I thought of it as one possibility. The orange zoas were new and I think they just didn't do well in my tank for whatever reason. They did end up dying, but the big rock covered in zoas that you gave me is thriving, as are the button polyps and the little leather you gave me. When I went to check on the tank after the meeting today, I discovered something that really irritated me. As many of you know, my tank is in the waiting room of my office. Well, somebody (probably a little kid) stole the little pegs off of my light timer, so I think my lights have been on 24/7 lately. I think it's probably been going on for about a week, just because around that time I did notice that the corals didn't seem to be just opening up when I get there in the morning, and they open and close a lot during the day. So I turned off the lights when I was down there at about 5:30pm today, and I need to get to Home Depot for a timer to put on tomorrow. I needed a second one so the actinics could act as moonlights anyway, and they always come with an extra set of pegs.

How's the anemone doing? I just got a rose BTA from Aquadoc yesterday that I'm really excited about. You said you did a water change when you noticed the high salinity. You might just want to replace a little salt water with fresh water. Just do it a little at a time until you get to the salinity you want. Be careful with the swingarm hydrometers. They can be off sometimes, and you have to make sure there's not any bubbles stuck to the arm which can throw off the reading. I just bought a refractometer the other day. It's a lot easier to work with and I trust it more. Could be that when you mixed up your last batch of water change water (before you noticed the high salinity) the hydrometer made you add too much salt. dontknow.gif

Hi, welcome to ARC. Did I see you at the meeting at Clint's today? Seems like I heard someone introduce themselves as Nate, but I didn't get to talk to them. Was that you?