Weeds

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Stephen! I'm so grateful for the seagrass you collected for me. It's doing well!

If anyone's looking for seagrasses, SaltySully is your guy!

[Chasmodes]

Oh wow. Can you treat Uronema with meds?

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes. The problem is that once you see it, it's too late. I'm currently looking into meds, to prophylactically treat new fish. Chromis are especially prone to getting it, which is why I gave up on them and switched to damsels. Now I'm finding that damsels get it too. Yay.

[vlangel]

Michael, what is uronema? I am not familiar with that malady.

[Michael Hoaster]

It's a parasite.

Here's a link: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/dise...emamarinum.php

I started hypo salinity today, in all three QTs. I had them at about half way to hypo on introduction. I went ahead and added erythromycin to combat any bacterial infection.

[Michael Hoaster]

I like this one so much I'm posting it again in a larger format.



A little tighter crop on Sargassum and reds.



Tighter crop on the Barnacle Blennies.

[Chasmodes]

I love those pics!!! Just like a real lagoon.

[McPuff]

Wow, you're getting a lot of growth on and around those rocks. Very cool!!! Lots of diversity too.

Sorry about bringing up the jawfish. Too soon... :0)

Michael, consider Divers Den if you haven't already. I've got a 100% success rate with them. Their fish also have 14 day guarantee and they are wysiwyg which is very nice. Just gotta keep looking to find what you want.

For damsels, I'm surprised they keep coming in with illness. Maybe place a special order and pick them up before they are released at the store. You do all the acclimation. Less stressful for the fish and if they die within a short time, your LFS may write them off to the supplier. Mine has offered to do this before. Worth checking.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin! I love 'em too! It seems like every time I post pics, it goes to the next page, so you don't see them. So I make up an excuse to repost 'em!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks McPuff! Yes, the stuff growing out of the live rock is much more than I expected, and is mostly reds, which is good since that's where I want reds. I love Florida farmed live rock!

No worries on the jawfish suggestion. It has come up before - too soon indeed!

I buy from Live Aquaria. Do you think they treat DD fish any better? I am mulling over different buying strategies, including through my LFS. I wonder if damsels in general aren't getting treated as carefully as other fish, throughout the chain of custody.

[Michael Hoaster]

This reminds me of van Gogh's "Starry Night".


Note the smaller, thinner, darker Shoal Grass in front.


Red Macros on patch reef.


Green versus Red.

[Chasmodes]

I love the pics! The Codium almost looks like a coral head! So cool! I want some! For me to get it, I have to collect a couple hours further South or East to the Ocean. I plan to do that. I want some Codium for sure. But, also, a spotfin butterflyfish is on my list to collect. I won't find them at my current stomping grounds (not salty enough).

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin! I agree, Codium does look like coral. After not having much luck with it in the past, I'm stoked to have it doing well this time around. Dropping my heater setting to 77 degrees and putting them in better light seems to have made the difference.

I could see Codium in your tank, for sure. A Butterfly fish would be cool too, but they might go after your anemones. I have looked at some Butterflies too, for my tank. My concern would be for my worms in the sand bed. The Heniochus Butterflies look like my best bet, as they are more of a water column plankton picker. A great schooling fish as well, I'd love to have about four of them!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Thanks Kevin! I agree, Codium does look like coral. After not having much luck with it in the past, I'm stoked to have it doing well this time around. Dropping my heater setting to 77 degrees and putting them in better light seems to have made the difference.

I could see Codium in your tank, for sure. A Butterfly fish would be cool too, but they might go after your anemones. I have looked at some Butterflies too, for my tank. My concern would be for my worms in the sand bed. The Heniochus Butterflies look like my best bet, as they are more of a water column plankton picker. A great schooling fish as well, I'd love to have about four of them!

The pics are great. I can't believe how many snails are working on the grasses! I can totally see 4 heniochus iin your tank if they don''t eat things they shouldn't.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn! Yes, the 'plague of snails' does a very good job. I'm so relieved to not to have to clean the grasses myself anymore! The Heniochus are very tempting…

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Thanks Dawn! Yes, the 'plague of snails' does a very good job. I'm so relieved to not to have to clean the grasses myself anymore! The Heniochus are very tempting…

Hey, I love the new avatar! Very appropriate.

[Michael Hoaster]

Oh thanks Dawn! I thought it was more appropriate as well, but I'm not sure it is clear enough. Knowing me, it'll get messed with, until I'm happy with it!

I just revised it. It looks a little clearer now.

[Michael Hoaster]

Wow, that's kind of addictive. I just went through about ten different avatar images. I ended up back where I started, but with a tighter crop on the photo of the Codium and Manatee Grass. I just think, for such a tiny image, it needs to be a close-up. And I wanted a plant pic. This is maybe the best image I have right now, but I'll keep trying.

It's an interesting challenge, getting the best photo for the tiny format.

[McPuff]

Heniochus would look great in there. Do it!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks McPuff! They are tempting.

Of all the butterfly fish, Heniochus are the closest to 'reef safe', because they are plankton pickers, primarily. But they still go after some corals and benthic invertebrates. My main concern would be for my sand bed worms, which are very important members of the food web in my tank, helping to process detritus into plant food.

Can I make it work? I don't know.

[vlangel]

I could not see Van Gogh's Starry Night the first time I saw the pic, but today when I scrolled down all of a sudden there it was...Starry Night.

[Michael Hoaster]

Really? That's awesome Dawn! I know it's a bit of a stretch, but the way the grasses sort of swirl reminds me of that painting.

I really wanted to feature that in my avatar, but it just didn't quite read well enough, in my opinion. So I cropped it down to feature the Codium more and I think it works better.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Really? That's awesome Dawn! I know it's a bit of a stretch, but the way the grasses sort of swirl reminds me of that painting.

I really wanted to feature that in my avatar, but it just didn't quite read well enough, in my opinion. So I cropped it down to feature the Codium more and I think it works better.

I am an artist, but the first time I saw the pic my eye went right to the codium as a focal point. From there I looked at other small details and never looked at the photo as a whole. When I was scrolling down however my eye caught the photo as a whole and thats when I saw it.

My guess is that an avatar is just too small to capture the real swirl effect. It would be cool to do a painting of that pic mimmicking Van Gogh's impressionistic style.

[Michael Hoaster]

It's funny you should mention painting it. I'm not much of a painter but in photoshop there is a filter that produces that effect, and I played around with it. I considered using that as my avatar, but again, in the small format, it just didn't read well enough.

I do love the Impressionists!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

It's funny you should mention painting it. I'm not much of a painter but in photoshop there is a filter that produces that effect, and I played around with it. I considered using that as my avatar, but again, in the small format, it just didn't read well enough.

I do love the Impressionists!

Although my own artwork is super realism, I also love the impressionist, especially Monet.