Crab Rangoon

I'm looking to buy a few leather corals. I would prefer they were not frag size, hopefully already 2"+, but if you have a good deal on a frag I may take you up on it anyway. I'm looking for the following: - Fiji Yellow Leather - Tonga Yellow Leather - ORA Green Toadstool - Tyree Green Toadstool Here are some visual examples (none of which are mine) You can PM or e-mail (oovwoo at gmail dot com) me for quickest response - thanks!

I've had my calls answered 75% of the time, or more - and have had a decent rate of calls returned to me via voice-mail. I haven't really had luck with the online contact form, though. Just be sure you're calling during business hours - but they are indeed a pretty busy 2 man team, and cellphones & water don't mix well ask me how I know.

I never advocated trying to cheat and make a system of beyond 20g with only a 20g display tank - but I don't think that a 20g would need anything beyond, say, a 2217 or 2227 filter on it (avoids frequent filter cleaning and the need for powerhead) and about 8-12lb of liverock to give all your different fish territories. Sure, a 5g waterchanges every 10-15 days, but that's no daunting task since I know many customers who already do this on their 20-35g tanks that don't even need it that frequently. No skimmer necessary unless you're feeding a staple diet of frozen food - but smaller less delicate fish typically wean onto pellet pretty easily, so why not set up an autofeeder to drop a minute amount of food in 4x a day? Done. Anyone that thinks that is nuts hasn't tried it, but like I said, I'd never stick fish in that small a space unless they were able to cohabitate without quarrel. While I do have a skimmer, I certainly don't have any chemical/media form of filtration to make up for my feedings - and I feed well beyond 4x/day (and never even hit 20-25 nitrate, nor have I/do I register any ammonia or nitrite). You have to be smart about feeding - know how much to apply per feeding, how many times to feed per day, and what foods to/not-to use. Like I said, feeding pellets and flake every day will make for a cleaner tank and less need for skimming/carbon, but if relying on frozen foods you will certainly need to rinse them well before feeding, as well as use carbon or a skimmer. You're probably thinking of gobies that are inopportune for mixing. Having a nano yourself, I presume you're pretty familiar with gobies that AREN'T sand dwellers, and AREN'T jumpers. There are a lot of small options out there, well under that 2" mark, that wouldn't quarrel in close quarters (well, beyond 10-15g) because they don't eat very much, move very much, or have a very competitive or dominant demeanor. When you get into sand-dwellers, its a whole 'nother story, and I suggest avoiding mixing them at all costs - you'll just end up with one jumping. I did say that the cubed dimensions would only work better for SOME fish, but when dealing with custom tanks, you're really not limited to anything. For the sake of the 55g argument, it could be a 48x12x20, or a 48x18x15, or 36x24x18, or even 40x40x10" Just for the record, long & skinny isn't always best, and while a longer/larger fish will certainly want to be able to dart in one direction without interruption, that same fish isn't comfortable darting back and forth down a narrow stretch with nowhere else to turn. Compare it to couping your dogs up in a part of the house, when you're at work. Would you close your adult Great Dane in a long narrow hallway, that might have some decorative pots along one wall? Or would you rather he was in a wider, but shorter, rectangular or square bedroom? If you had 10 3-5lb puppies, would they be better suited to be in a 12x4' area, or a 8x9' area? FWIW, I'm not arguing, just helping the conversation move forward. I really promise that most people do NOT think out of the box - whether it's what fish 'can go together' versus 'would do exceptionally well together', or their diets, or fitting a fish to a tank. This is a healthy conversation, and I hope you're not taking this as snippy I can tell you that my 150g has 3 Butterflyfishes, 5 Angelfishes, 10 Cardinals, and a Wrasse (and til this weekend, a Moorish Idol). I feed nori/algae 2-3x a day, pellet 2-4x a day, and frozen 3-4x a day - and sometimes more on the weekends. I just make sure to never introduce any more food than will be immediately eaten, and often the fish are left having had something, but not enough to be full. They're all actively and readily eating directly out of the net, or biting at the syringe/baster, and I seriously have the most lax maintenance regimen you can imagine. Feeding my fish MANY times a day, in very small controlled doses allows me to avoid all their aggression, and to avoid getting any sort of waste build up. My skimmer doesn't exactly go crazy, but I've never tested out with an undesirable amount of ammo/nitrite/nitrate - and I'm still adding more fish to the equation. For those on the side of "you can't fit that many fish in that size tank" or against mixing certain types of fish with one another, you should really branch out and start viewing some of the Japanese tank blogs, they'll blow you away with how much harmony and balance they achieve with insane amounts of fish, unbelievable #'s of feedings, and never a speck of algae (and without being invested in many thousands of dollars in equipment). To each his own, of course, but thinking outside the box is definitely a good and fresh thing for this type of hobby.

If these two are available, and you could bring them to RCA tomorrow, I'd gladly buy them. If Chris follows through on the CP Monti, I'd still take just the Franken by itself. I'll be there from 12-6pm.

That is just a matter of opinion The 20g could be 24x20x10" or 20x15x15" and the concept of keeping 10-15 small fish in a layout like that (unless it's absolutely crowded with 20+ pounds of liverock..) is not far fetched. Imagine a species only tank with a school of damsels, cardinals, or chromis. You could even mix & match a dozen different gobies of 1-2" size as long as avoiding aggressive ones, and still experience no difficulties other than finding an occasional jumper on the floor. People just don't think outside of the box enough, and often don't feed frequently enough and/or give too much food per feeding. I think people focus too much on the number of fish per volume. People think a 55g tank, and they picture a 48x12" footprint, rather than a 24" cube. In the cube, there is enough space for some fish that would otherwise not fit comfortably & happily in a long narrow tank with it's girth crowded by a long wall of rock. An aquarium should be stocked based on what kind of health and longevity you can provide the fish with. - If you are considering fish that are grazers by nature, and have a high metabolism - do not put them in a tank that only eats once a day. (Only keep fish you can maintain the appetite of) - If you are not equipped with a fuge, adequate skimmer, or a nitrate reactor - do not stock the tank with grazers, and feed them many times a day. (Only feed as much as you can clean up after) - If you're keeping a variety of coral that only thrive in a brightly lit environment, and have a high-powered light over the tank - do not put skittish fish, collected in deeper waters. (Only keep fish that will thrive in your temperature and light environment) - If you plan to have many fish in the tank, that are constant active swimmers - do not keep shy/solitary/cryptic fish. (Only keep fish that will be comfortable & compatible with one another) - If keeping fish that are famous for not accepting prepared foods, do not stock multiples that will compete for the same limited food-source. (Only keep as many as you can DEFINITELY sustain the appetite of, NEVER MORE) Realize that your aquarium is a habitat, or environment, that you are responsible for. When a Tang eventually gets too large for your aquarium, or begins fighting with similar inhabitants, or keeps getting skinnier and skinnier over time - only YOU are to blame, not the fish. You are the one responsible for where the fish is today, and the condition that it's in. Only purchase fish that you are SURE you can maintain, as it's not just money lost when you lose a fish. I hope this is read as considerate and helpful, rather than ranting and fish-nazi

If you add the Berghia, please make sure to do one/both of the following: 1) turn some of your bigger powerheads off 2) dial large powerheads down I've had far too many friends and customers purchase & acclimate them, only to have them get vaporized by a Tunze/VorTech/MaxiJet/Korallia That being said, if you purchase the Berghia, do be sure to get an adequate number of them for your size aquarium. It should be pretty easy to resell them to somebody else after you're done, to ensure they keep doing their job & do not starve to death. There is always somebody in town with Aiptasia who could benefit from helping the little guys food supply, and help you recoup some of your cost

I can vouch for him trading the rock in on Sunday, I saw it happen

is that smallest/front-most piece one of the AAF rainbow pieces?

Na, not bleached, we got those in on Sunday from a friend of mine - he has a plump colony of them in his tank, and brings a 1-3 plugs of them by every few weeks. They've been growing under an 8-lamp TekLight for a long time now, so rest assured that while color may vary based upon your lighting, these aren't bleached

Which were the new fish introduced after the transition into the 185? I didn't realize you'd already been introducing things. Also, regarding the Bellus pair - when you get closer to wanting to make the move on them, let Jake at RCA know to keep an eye out for you. Bellus pairs have been very off & on lately, so it might take a couple weeks to source some that are already paired, and introduce them simultaneously.

I agree with you Mike - yet for the first week or so that these were available, many resellers were actually selling them for $75-100/ea, and getting it

A possible GB would be good, as these will be rather difficult to get a hold of due to ORA limiting stores to a maximum of 2 Mandarins per order. BTW the fish ship too small to tell a definite difference between males & females. Just food for thought for any hoping to try for a pair.

Count me in - I can hold off on my filter socks for this.

Any GB going on for BRS this month? All I need are filter socks, and no matter how many/few I get it's still $10 for shipping :\ was hoping to go in on it with someone.

I hate to be a naysayer, as it's entirely possible that by some sort of accident the power could go out for a whole day, or more. But I can't honestly imagine it happening for days on end, as stated. I've lived here for 20+ years and not once had my power go out for more than a few hours - THANKFULLY! In a power outage concerning my livestock's well-being, I'd have to just borrow one of our generators from my workplace, though.

Dang, that's across the street from my house. I'd love to know the next time you're running up to town and are fraggable - I definitely caught the thread a day too late. I could meet you at the Dome if you wanted, or if you come up on a Sunday you know I'll be at River City

Let me start with referencing a post from John Coppolino who might as well be an F'n wizard at successfully keeping fish - if you haven't read up on him, followed his tanks/expeditions/experience, there is a LOT of insightful stuff to read. You can read the entire post, and much more about his QT banter starting about here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13954917#post13954917 & http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13940800&postcount=115 Typically the most sound/efficient way to maintain the QT is to fill it with water from your display, and when doing water-changes, continue using water from your display tank. This will in turn make for very small but frequent changes on your DT - but ensures that the water you're using in the QT is definitely mixed & primed beyond necessity. I also see no reason to use standard salinity in the QT - running a mild hyposalinity is easier as you'll be mixing less saltwater per water-change (say a 2:1 or 3:1 saltwater:RO/DI ratio), and will be just-as-good if not better for QTing & medicating a fish. I would maintain it with Cupramine for sure, but you don't have to stop there.. You could go the extra mile and run Formalin, or Prazi - and once the fish is readily feeding, you could also soak the food in some Metronidazol as a preventive for 3-4 days; but this is more than some people will want to mess with :shrug: Oh, and make sure you don't put the QT on the floor it'll compound the PITA-factor of removing the water for water-changes due to zero gravity feed for a hose, and I don't recommend using a pump to do it (just personal preference). Hope that helps!

Coming from someone who's had ich on 95% of the fish I've introduced to my current tank, I can say that ich is MOST prominent in the morning. The only time any of my affected specimens "look bad" is bright & early in the morning. By the time I get home from work they've had 4 feedings & have been swimming around for 9-10 hours, and have cleared up to very minor/minimal ich coverage.

This is absolutely true, and I don't (currently) really flinch when my fish have ich, as 99% of the fish I get are very finicky - if not difficult - fish. This is true of tangs, too, and while it's suggested to add many of them early on, before allowing any dominance to set in - you're much better off quarantining before adding to a display. I get 99.9% of all my fish directly from the shipping box, while I know this isn't an option available to everyone, it's certainly the easiest on the fish. My method is to acclimate the fish to the tank from the shipping bag, and introduce it to my refugium - which I use more as a QT than a fuge. I'm obviously not quarantining effectively for viruses/disease this way, but I'm definitely able to let the fish get it's wits about it as it finishes adjusting to my water parameters, and I can focus on feeding it. Only once I've had a QT fish taking well to at least two kinds of food, and typically pretty warmed up to the net/syringe as it's food source, do I introduce it to the aquarium. Introducing new additions directly to the display is a lot more risky for the health of the new fish, more than the health of your current fish. A new specimen can suffer in the DT since it's not in the pecking order of your current fish come feeding time - and will often be a bit crypic/less active, and won't feel confident about picking up food quite yet. I'm taking it one step further, and am going to rig a clear box up so that I may introduce the new specimen to the aquarium without letting any aggression play out. After being seen by the current fish for 2-3 days like that, I'll feel even more confident about it's journey into my tank being a safe one without issues. Hope that helps, and that your next Tangs pull through better!

Like I said, only two of the lights are turned on here. I'll tinker more tonight and see if there's anyway for me to use all 6 lamps and have a pic turn out, but so far I've tried and none of them are satisfactory.

Hopefully some will be in town next week

Thanks I'm working on the full tank & lighting rig shots right now, I should be able to post em before dinner. I have a 36x36 panel of plywood that I've mounted the light tracks & Stunner Strips to. We branched a pair of 1x2" planks across 3 studs in the ceiling, at the front and back of the tank - then I installed hooks into the planks and have the plywood hung with Sunlight Supply Pro-Grip suspension kit for easy raising & lowering at each corner. I'll find out soon enough about the coral colors and growth I couldn't tell you anything about the coraline algae, though - I've only had the lights mounted since last Friday! All said & done, until I have some corals truly DEMANDING this much light.. this is absolute overkill. On a daily basis, I run only 2 of my PAR38's, and that would truly be enough if I were to stay FOWLER I will eventually re-aim and angle my lighting based upon where I'm mounting corals, and I might end up not even using all 6 after all. The PAR38's run about $100/ea if ordering 5+, and I've got about $100 thrown in all together for the plywood, track lighting, suspension kits, and acrylic panels to house the lighting. I can indeed make waves with the MP40, but most of the time I have it on a more energy conscious setting. I also moved the unit further towards the corner where my auto-feeder sits, so the waves aren't as prominent as they were when the unit was centered on the back wall. After introducing a handful of coral, I'll probably change the settings again, and relocate it as necessary.

Who's FTS? That group of anemones in the tank is nuts. Are the 3rd and 4th pics of yours, and only the blue one © is available?

It'll certainly be a threat to any worms, or things resembling worms (I'd be very weary of things like Dendros/Duncans, but not Euphillia). But that Butterfly wound up jumping, oddly enough (they're not known jumpers, and he was a happy settled specimen ), and since they are only available for a very short time each year, I wasn't able to replace it I look forward to picking up a Chelmon Muelleri & Chelmon Marginalis, which are the most similar to the Altivelis that I'll be able to get for a while, but both of those are still scarce at this time. Last week I added two standard Pyramid Butterflies (Hemitaurichthys polylepis), and am anticipating adding 1-2 Zoster, and a single Yellow Zoster.

...and one month later, I've found that I'm not very good at taking timely update photos Finally got all my lighting set-up, stand enclosed, and supplies for enclosing my lighting. Also turned the temp from 74 up to 76 temporarily, and realized I need to re-glue my plumbing for the UV (or continue suffering a creeping slow drip ). Also planning to install the new reflectors for all the Stunner Strips, and add one more each of UV & 453nm Stunners. Eye candy time (first fish pics w/the new camera + lens)