Weeds

[Chasmodes]

So cool that the barnacle blennies are breeding! That must be a fun thing to witness, and a tribute to your tank plan as well! Are you going to try and rear them some day?

As you know, mine keep laying eggs and I get fry about once a week. I don't have the setup to rear them yet, but I'm going to do that in the near future. My bet is that a similar setup will work on your fish. Do you have room to do something like that? With your blennies, you could probably do it in very small tanks since the adult fish are so tiny.

[sam.basye]

Went to the Grapevine Aquarium in Dallas yesterday and saw this exhibit.



Bring the root back!

[Michael Hoaster]

Kevin, the barnacle blennies spawning behavior is hilarious, like the rest of their behavior! I have no plans to attempt rearing any. My wife would kill me! She's anticipating me getting rid of all the extra tanks I've had up for months.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Sam! That kinda looks like my root! I've been thinking about it. I still haven't decided what I want to do. With so much other stuff going on, I'm not focusing on that right now. It would be cool to do a new one that looked better than the original. I've even pondered trying a real one.

For now, my focus is on the manatee grass, as well as the overall ecosystem development. It's like a wild west frontier in there right now! With new algae popping up, pods that somehow snuck in the with grasses, and the amorous blennies, there's no shortage of distractions. Let's revisit the root remake a little later.

Have you seen Kevin's new roots? They're pretty impressive!

And how about an update on your tank.

[Michael Hoaster]

I love the contrast of the tropical setting of my aquarium, to the winter paradise I go out to play in. So different! After a cold day of winter sports outside, I get comfy on the couch and enjoy my little slice of life in the tropics. Ahh!

The ulva is still growing. The grasses look happier, without the coating. I hope to see new growth soon. My water still isn't as clear as it could be. It looks alive with phytoplankton - even with the UV. There's still a fair amount of diatoms on the sand. New life is bursting out all over. I'll continue to add biodiversity, over time, and watch to see what happens.

Assembling natural elements of a functioning ecosystem is very interesting to me. I only have a loose understanding of what's going on, but Nature always knows what to do!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by sam.basye

Went to the Grapevine Aquarium in Dallas yesterday and saw this exhibit.



Bring the root back!

AMEN!!! When you are ready Michael. We are not pushing you or anything, ha ha!

[Chasmodes]

I like your approach Michael. Although I like the root, you can always add that at any time. The establishment of your ecosystem is a good priority. A new root, or revamped one, would be a nice project for you once your tank is pretty much self sustaining.

A root would provide additional cryptic space, and that's intriguing. Not many tanks incorporate that into their display. You still have some of that though, with the darker side of the tank as it is now.

That's a cool display Sam, thanks for sharing.

[Michael Hoaster]

Exactly. The root's a possibility. Right now, my focus is elsewhere.

I decided to suspend CO2 injection for now. I think it's too much of a good thing, too early in the tank's development. I expect to see a succession of algae, but I hope to keep it under some control. It may be best to delay CO2 until I have the algae that I want.

I need to diversify my snail population. I read that Nerite snails reproduce. I like reproducing snails a lot. Some more Ceriths and a couple Nassarius snails too. And worms and pods.

[SaltySully]

Watch out on the species of nerite a lot of them escape.

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk

[Michael Hoaster]

Good to know, SaltySully, thanks!

[Michael Hoaster]

Though this tank is very young, I'm already having a ball! It's impossible to convey the rhythmic swaying in a still image. It's also the sound - like the real thing! I promise I'll do a video soon.



Manatee grass with Ulva. That's two greens so far. I really think the ulva will help me weather the storm of algae succession. With an algae coating, the new fake wall blends right in!



From the right end. I'm liking the sand bar/live rock scape. Super minimal, simple, Zen!

[vlangel]

The new fake wall does indeed blend in well. Even it's slightly different color from the old fake wall looks like it is due to that being the lighter side of the tank.

It looks like the manatee grass is greener than it was before you trimmed it. I definitely like it.

Is that a little white fresh water converted molly in the one pic?

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn!

It's coming along. I'm crossing my fingers the grasses will recover from transplanting and start growing new leaves. I guess the roots need to start the ball rolling, so I'm trying not to disturb them.

The new fake wall isn't perfect, but it'll do!

Yep, that's a molly. I still have a few more in QT, if needed. They were all born in my system, in salt water. They're great algae eaters. I've personally witnessed them even eating cyanobacteria. They have utility similar to snails. Plus they are livebearers, so if you need feeders, they can do that too.

[Chasmodes]

I think the walls look great! I love the pics and the scape too. The grasses look nice and green, and the Ulva also gives the tank nice large splashes of green as well. Lookin' forward to the vid!

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Thanks Dawn!

It's coming along. I'm crossing my fingers the grasses will recover from transplanting and start growing new leaves. I guess the roots need to start the ball rolling, so I'm trying not to disturb them.

The new fake wall isn't perfect, but it'll do!

Yep, that's a molly. I still have a few more in QT, if needed. They were all born in my system, in salt water. They're great algae eaters. I've personally witnessed them even eating cyanobacteria. They have utility similar to snails. Plus they are livebearers, so if you need feeders, they can do that too.

I hope your manatee grass takes off too.

So since you like naming your fish, what is the molly's name? Do the barnacle blennies have names too or are there too many of them to differentiate between them?

I may have to consider acclimating mollies some time. Maybe in the pony tank. I am sure the seahorses would love snacking on the fry. ( wow, that sounds heartless as I type it, LOL). Nature can be so brutal, ha ha!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Kevin!

You've really helped me appreciate the new fake wall. Lot's of green for sure. Lots of new, uninvited green stuff popping up too. I have the feeling it's about to get ugly!

I will shoot a vid, once the tank looks pretty enough to show off.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Dawn!

The manatee grass looks good so far, so I think it'll come around. I haven't named the molly yet. I haven't decided on whether it will stay in the display or not, so I haven't gotten around to it. With the blennies, I could name them if they stayed in their current locations, but they keep shopping around, so they may not get names, for awhile. Come to think of it, if I'm doing schools of all new fish, naming will be difficult. We'll see!

Would molly fry work for sea horses? They're very fast. Even adult mollies can hardly catch them. I did see a gramma eat one once.

[Michael Hoaster]

WEEK 5.

I ordered some pods and snails. With new algae growth, it's time to bring in more recruits - and diversity - and nature! I'm slowly gathering the players of the trophic structure party. If I get it right, my job is a lot easier. Nature does the hard part.

[Chasmodes]

You could name it "Molly"...

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Chasmodes

You could name it "Molly"...

Hey, I like that!

[Michael Hoaster]

Well, there was a 50% chance…but he's a he.

Today I emptied the holding tank. I got another round of snails out and had a fairly successful worm hunt too. Snails and worms went into the display. I also exported for the first time, from the display. I removed all Ulva that wasn't attached to a wall, and put it into one of two QTs. Man that stuff grows fast!

I'm going to do a water change to the big QT and the display, as soon as my salt mix arrives.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Well, there was a 50% chance…but he's a he.

Today I emptied the holding tank. I got another round of snails out and had a fairly successful worm hunt too. Snails and worms went into the display. I also exported for the first time, from the display. I removed all Ulva that wasn't attached to a wall, and put it into one of two QTs. Man that stuff grows fast!

I'm going to do a water change to the big QT and the display, as soon as my salt mix arrives.

Jr is a girl, so......

[Michael Hoaster]

Either way, he is Molly…

Salt arrived late. Instead, I exported some algae that needed attention. It was growing on the grasses. I tidied up. I'll get the water changes tomorrow. I think my new snails arrive too.

[vlangel]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Either way, he is Molly…

Salt arrived late. Instead, I exported some algae that needed attention. It was growing on the grasses. I tidied up. I'll get the water changes tomorrow. I think my new snails arrive too.

Ha ha, hopefully Molly does not have the same experience as ' A boy named Sue!' LOL

[Michael Hoaster]

Today I received pods, snails, and a very small sponge frag, from aquarium depot. Thirty bucks for a less-than one inch square sponge frag is not a great deal. Also, one of the snails turned out to be a hermit crab. Lucky me!

It is good to add diversity! I'm very happy to get those pods especially. The snails include Ceriths, Nassarius, and Nerite. All but the Nassarius will reproduce in the tank, which is very good. The spaghetti worms I added yesterday have settled in too. Not a whole lot left for me to add specifically, for the bottom of the food chain. I still plan to add another ten pounds of live rock and live sand as well, which will add non-specific diversity.

So I just about have my whole crew. Now they just need to do what comes naturally!