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Post by TenebrousNova on May 3, 2014 21:38:27 GMT
I bought this new trumpet coral home this morning! There are fifteen polyps, but as you can see, several are pinching off in a figure of eight shape. This is how they multiply. Altogether there are 26 mouths which will become seperate polyps. I like to think that if the green trumpet wasn't sent via post for three days but came straight here, it would be just as healthy. At night the trumpet drops its innocent facade and reveals many feeder tentacles, each containing cnidocytes for stunning and capturing prey. I have fed it several brine shrimp which went down well. I'm looking forward to seeing this large-polyped stony coral eventually grow!
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 12, 2014 21:16:57 GMT
Here is a photo of the trumpet coral that I took this morning. It seems to be happy and puffs itself up each day. Next to it is the little green one that I bought before, which seems to be very slowly recovering. The new trumpet seems to be very greedy and has eaten all the food I've offered it. An hour ago I fed the anemone a piece of squid, and almost immediately the trumpet's feeder tentacles were extended! Feeding it isn't necessary as they carry Zooxanthellae in their tissues for photosynthesis, but it makes them grow at an accelerated rate. In other news, the green star polyps on the previous page have now encrusted onto the rock. The mat seems to grow a little further each day with tiny new polyps popping up. This is wonderful as not only may I end up with that lawn effect I mentioned, but I no longer have to worry about the hermit crabs knocking the coral off the rock.
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 19, 2014 16:58:12 GMT
Seeing how I will be away for ten days from Wednesday onwards, I have put all the animals in their old nano tank to make it easier for the neighbours who have taken on the very important job of looking after my pets. Everyone is fine now! The female clownfish is becoming her usual aggressive self again. She is currently patrolling her anemone, shoving her partner out of it and attacking her own reflection. Male (Left) and female (Right): The female glaring into the camera: I was worried about moving the anemone as they are such delicate animals, but my one seems to have reverted to its happy self after a few hours of being deflated. It was almost bigger than my hand when inflated, but forcefully expelled water from its mouth when I took it out. Hopefully they'll be fine during my absence.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 13, 2014 18:06:21 GMT
Everything seems to have gone fine with these critters whilst I was away, I am very pleased to report. The only animal that didn't do so well was the trumpet coral for some reason. The polyps were receded most of the way into the skeleton (Revealing the sharp septa that the flesh normally covers) but now they are starting to come out again. The bubble tip anemone has managed to grow even more during my absence and is now larger than my hand when fully inflated. Its tentacles actively quest around the rock and substrate near it for bits of food. Unfortunately, the male clownfish seems to be very defensive and attacks me whenever I need to do anything in the tank...I now have to fend them both off with a disposable toothbrush. I read one account about a female clownfish who once leaped out of the water to bite her owner's face! I'll be off to the pet shop first thing tomorrow, so perhaps I'll be able to bring something new back.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 15, 2014 10:54:45 GMT
Well, I didn't bring anything back yesterday, but there were some gorgeous corals, three of which I've wanted to keep for a long time but couldn't afford. There was a green open brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi): A bubble coral (Plerogyra sinuosa): And a torch coral (Euphyllia glabrescens): All three of these species are LPS corals that I am determined to eventually look after. In other news, the people at the pet shop have said that they may consider offering me a job there. That'd give me more experience with saltwater animals, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 17, 2014 10:10:02 GMT
Took this last night. My pair of Nassarius vibex snails are nocturnal and only come out when they can smell food. Below them is the much larger whelk. I'm still not sure what species it is, but it looks like a Babylonian whelk to me. It behaves similarly to the Nassarius snails but has a much larger appetite (And I suspect it caused the disappearances of my old hermit crabs). Both kinds of snail feed with a long and flexible proboscis, shown on the whelk. Honestly, I'm still not sure if I ought to give it to the pet shop or not. Here's a nice photo of the anemone, taken a few days ago to illustrate its size. As you can see, the Sarcophyton toadstool to the left had retracted the polyps around the edge because it was getting stung. I have moved the Sarcophyton further away and it has made a full recovery. Bubble tip anemones actually have very mild stings compared to most species. I can't feel it at all (Apart from a sticking sensation) but some people report pain when they touch one. Other species such as giant carpet anemones will almost glue themselves to you, such is the strength of their sting! Finally, here's the green star polyp's progress. They are spreading rapidly and glow a vibrant green under the blue actinic lights.
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Post by chicken2012 on Jun 17, 2014 16:32:50 GMT
Wow, you are so lucky to be able to afford to keep a marine aquarium, and to have somewhere to put one in the first place. It looks great!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 17, 2014 19:00:34 GMT
Once its set up and everything, the costs aren't so bad. And it takes up no more room than any other tank I've had...my nano one was small enough to sit on the desk.
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Post by chicken2012 on Jun 17, 2014 19:36:06 GMT
I've only got about £80 so I know I haven't got enough money, and it'd have to go in my room somewhere, and I don't want to get rid of my fresh water tank. Maybe after my room is re-decorated and stuff is moved about I may have space though. I'll definitely ask you for advice if I do go ahead and do it though.
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Post by jayshren93 on Jun 18, 2014 8:49:43 GMT
Hey there, that is a nice marine tank set up. Meanwhile did you install a chiller unit for your soft corals?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 20, 2014 22:27:01 GMT
Hey there, that is a nice marine tank set up. Meanwhile did you install a chiller unit for your soft corals? Nope, I just have the essentials to be honest. The soft corals seem to be happy as long as they get a decent flow rate and lots of light. I intend to buy a torch coral tomorrow morning. Going to be incredibly careful with this one and will acclimate it for at least a few hours, I don't want it getting infected by brown jelly disease like my old frogspawn did. This is the specimen that I have picked out at the shop. There's a much smaller one for the same price, so naturally I'll get the larger and healthier looking one. Looks like there's two or three heads on it: A fellow hobbyist who also frequents the pet shop promised me a free Ricordea florida mushroom and an Acropora coral once his get big enough to frag. Acropora is the coral that forms colourful branches in reefs, and is a small-polyped stony coral. They are slightly more demanding than LPS but they apparently do well with high flow, high lighting and pristine water. You can see an Acropora left to the torch. I think he said it'd be about a month until they're ready.
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Post by jayshren93 on Jun 21, 2014 3:29:50 GMT
Ah, I see. I can't imagine the amount of maintenance work you have to do every other day topping up water, since high water flow = high rate of evaporation. Meanwhile, this corals are simply majestic. I love when a pair of percula clown fish swim in between these corals. Alrighty then, GOOD LUCK with your marine system there.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 21, 2014 11:08:25 GMT
I return triumphantly from the pet shop with a happy torch coral! It has two main branches and four heads/polyps in total. Let's hope it stays happy. Euphyllia (Frogspawn, torch and hammer corals) can reach the size of a beach ball in the wild.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jun 30, 2014 17:54:55 GMT
The torch is still doing well! I've secured it to a rock via an elastic band, so that's put an end to my fears of it falling and dying. Here's a photo of one of its mouths. It looks like it's joined in the middle, which could (Hopefully) mean that two mouths will develop. Corals do this when they're getting ready to split into two. Very happy with this coral so far. The gentle swaying of its tentacles in the current make it pleasant to watch.
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Post by chicken2012 on Jul 1, 2014 14:50:28 GMT
Glad to read that the new coral is doing well Timenova.
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