seedoubleyou
Member
Only pictures or videos do it justice, Google it. But essentially it’s a ball or rock that has many holes, and in each hole their are inverts with really colourful little “feather dusters” shaped like Christmas trees.
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Journal Salty Fingers
- Thread starter Courtneybst
- Start date
seedoubleyou
Member
Marine fish are far more accustomed to frozen foods than any sort of flake or pellet (completely assuming you’re not already feeding frozen)
I’d also try some selcon to soak food in.
Frozen cubes are fine in a small pot in the fridge for a few days too.
mort
Member
- Joined
- 15 Nov 2015
- Messages
- 2,399
Christmas tree rocks are normally, but not always, a chunk of porites coral that has tube worms living in it. It's not really symbiosis because neither needs each other to survive but it is quite cool.
I would wager that your goby is just eating the live food produced in your tank naturally. They aren't the most active fish and I'd imagine you have plenty of pods, so it is probably devouring them. If you can get some live baby brine then that might illicit a feeding response but it's likely it will take supplemental food in time.
They do change colour quite frequently. Everytime I took a picture of mine I'd notice that it's cheeks went white.
I had one that I rehomed from someone that had it 5 years before it started clearing his sps skeletons (even though it was on its own and not breeding). I had it a further 9 years before I had to pass it on which is an unbelievable age for something so tiny. My tank was very much like yours but more gorgonian dominant woth slightly less macroalgae.
I would wager that your goby is just eating the live food produced in your tank naturally. They aren't the most active fish and I'd imagine you have plenty of pods, so it is probably devouring them. If you can get some live baby brine then that might illicit a feeding response but it's likely it will take supplemental food in time.
They do change colour quite frequently. Everytime I took a picture of mine I'd notice that it's cheeks went white.
I had one that I rehomed from someone that had it 5 years before it started clearing his sps skeletons (even though it was on its own and not breeding). I had it a further 9 years before I had to pass it on which is an unbelievable age for something so tiny. My tank was very much like yours but more gorgonian dominant woth slightly less macroalgae.
seedoubleyou
Member
Ah so that’s what it is, the texture didn’t always seem right to me for it to be outright rock, but never thought more of it.
Ok, you've peaked my interest! They are beautiful... I'm definitely intrigued to see if I could get a nice (not too large) one that would fit well in this scape.
I haven't tried any dry foods, but I've tried frozen brine, live baby brine, live daphnia, live tubifex, live Grindal worms, frozen mysis, frozen 'nano marine food', and frozen krill mixed with repashy.
The only thing I witnessed it respond to was the live baby brine shrimp and the nano marine (second time round). They feed them all sorts at the shop it came from so I assume it's just adjusting.
It wouldn't surprise me! It sometimes looks like it tries to hunt the pods but they are so quick and dart back into the rock. There's plenty of them, all different kinds.
Wow! I had no idea they lived so long.
I hope mine can live a long, happy life too.
I fed mine pods and frozen and all sorts of fussy stuff having read they can be really hard to get feeding. I did it with a pipette too. I can’t remember how long it took but it did eventually start to eat this and that. Now for more than a year it lives entirely off freeze-dried brineshrimp (not targeted) which it seems to eat more happily than anything else (non-live).
Blatantly Complacency
I had a slight mishap recently with the tank.
The clown goby was just starting to eat (hallelujah) but I got too complacent with the fact that it liked to stay in one place on the substrate. I removed the lid, thinking I was safe. Low and behold, it jumped out and became fish jerky. I was annoyed at the situation and annoyed at myself because it was totally avoidable.
So I took another break from adding anything to adsorb the lessons learnt. The tank continued to flourish but I couldn't help feeling it was incomplete.
Nothing but a pipe dream
I decided to take a trip to Advanced Aquarium Consultancy with @shangman to patch the void. I have to say, the crew in there always give stellar customer service and a great chinwag.
I went there primarily in search of Blue Striped Pipefish. I've wanted them for a long time and I'd heard they were one of the easiest Pipefish to feed frozen food. Well I wasn't disappointed...
I picked up a pair (male and female) which are not only inseparable, but are active and already eating frozen food! They've been picking pods and brine shrimp since the moment they landed in the tank. I hope to keep these guys happy and healthy and now I have a LID. It's an ADA + cling film combo. Not the most ideal but it works.
I also added a nice bright red fire shrimp. I've heard they hide most of the time but so far you can almost always see it. The Pipefish and the shrimp are wary of each other, having mini stand offs when either one gets close but they ultimately leave each other alone.
Lastly, I added a little lemon feather duster to add to my worm collection! My plan is to get a cluster (social feather duster) to finish it off.
Admittedly I haven't done a solid water change in over a month but it still looks pristine, water quality is where it should be and everything is happy and healthy. All in all the tank is going really well.
I had a slight mishap recently with the tank.
The clown goby was just starting to eat (hallelujah) but I got too complacent with the fact that it liked to stay in one place on the substrate. I removed the lid, thinking I was safe. Low and behold, it jumped out and became fish jerky. I was annoyed at the situation and annoyed at myself because it was totally avoidable.
So I took another break from adding anything to adsorb the lessons learnt. The tank continued to flourish but I couldn't help feeling it was incomplete.
Nothing but a pipe dream
I decided to take a trip to Advanced Aquarium Consultancy with @shangman to patch the void. I have to say, the crew in there always give stellar customer service and a great chinwag.
I went there primarily in search of Blue Striped Pipefish. I've wanted them for a long time and I'd heard they were one of the easiest Pipefish to feed frozen food. Well I wasn't disappointed...
I picked up a pair (male and female) which are not only inseparable, but are active and already eating frozen food! They've been picking pods and brine shrimp since the moment they landed in the tank. I hope to keep these guys happy and healthy and now I have a LID. It's an ADA + cling film combo. Not the most ideal but it works.
I also added a nice bright red fire shrimp. I've heard they hide most of the time but so far you can almost always see it. The Pipefish and the shrimp are wary of each other, having mini stand offs when either one gets close but they ultimately leave each other alone.
Lastly, I added a little lemon feather duster to add to my worm collection! My plan is to get a cluster (social feather duster) to finish it off.
Admittedly I haven't done a solid water change in over a month but it still looks pristine, water quality is where it should be and everything is happy and healthy. All in all the tank is going really well.
This is breathtakingly, and what I always envisaged an Aquascaper doing with a Marine scape.
Do you mind me asking how much these were ?
Do you mind me asking how much these were ?
I don't have any scapes atm, but my local Deans has a nice marine room now and I am so tempted by a nano tank.
Awesome setup @Courtneybst 😍
Thank you! 😭😭
Thank you Gill!
Not at all. I think the Pipefish were £33 each.
Definitely have a go if you're able to and your interest is peaked! I don't know if you've kept a marine tank before but it's very rewarding and the way I've set mine up, the experience is remarkably similar to keeping a planted tank. For me this is just a saltwater nature aquarium.
Thank you Geoffrey! 😁
I have kept Brackish a few times and a Marine Pico and Nano a very long time ago. And found them ok to manage, so very tempted and I have the patience to grow the micro organisms 1st etc and all the little critters.
I would only want to keep shrimp and pipes and maybe a seahorse later down the line.
Thats not a bad price for the pipes, As the price of FW pipes have risen to about that price aswell.
seedoubleyou
Member
@Courtneybst i could be wrong but you may now actually be fine without the lid.
I’m sure pipefish, like their cousins (the seahorse) cannot jump even if they wanted too.
I’m sure pipefish, like their cousins (the seahorse) cannot jump even if they wanted too.
G
Guest
Guest
@Courtneybst, Looking awesome Courtney. I've been thinking about doing something similar, What equipment are you using behind the scenes in terms of water quality management? Sorry if you've already mentioned it earlier on.
Yeah from I've read on other forums it seems very very rare to have one jump. But for now I'm just too traumatised from the last time so I'll probably keep it on until the trauma wears off lol.
The tank does look much better without a lid but it also keeps the evaporation down meaning I have to top up less often. Swings and roundabouts. 🙃
Thank you Tim! I'm sure your interpretation of a tank like this would be stunning.
I've got an Oase Biomaster Thermo 350 for filtration, which I never open. I've 'cleaned' the filter once in 5 months. I was told it would become a nitrate factory but for a macroalgae tank, that's just free fertiliser! It might prove different now that I have fish, but to be honest I doubt it.
I also use a D-D auto top off to maintain the salinity, with a rigid food container for my reservoir. I drilled a hole in the lid and fitted a rubber grommet to reduce evaporation of the RO water.
G
Guest
Guest
Thanks Courtney
seedoubleyou
Member
That’s only the case if you use the sponges they come with (exception for the pre filter).
It’s also not uncommon to see tanks thrive with high NO3.
I would recommend some sort of six monthly maintenance if possible though, saltwater has a habit of damaging things.
Do you mean the media or the equipment itself?
seedoubleyou
Member
The equipment itself. Although it wouldn’t hurt to rinse the media once or twice a year to help keep its effectiveness, especially if it’s siporax as that requires quite good flow to work to its fullest.
I ran a reef on a biomaster and the salt residue left behind could sometimes make catches and moving parts not operate quite as well as they should.
This could be isolated to me only though.
Thanks, that's good to know. I'll inspect it once I muster up the courage to clean the pipes 😅
