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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 12, 2014 19:12:18 GMT
Thanks Chicken! I thought at first it was a form of bioluminscence but they only look that under certain spectra of light. I've read that it's actually caused by the zooxanthellae algae that live inside the corals and provide energy.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 12, 2014 19:13:20 GMT
I keep expecting those photos to move
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Post by chicken2012 on Jul 12, 2014 19:51:18 GMT
Haha, I know what you mean Jen. They look a bit like a holographic wildlife picture if you know what I mean.
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Post by Jenny on Jul 12, 2014 20:12:56 GMT
@ Timenova, I can't remember without looking back, have you taken video of the tank?
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 12, 2014 20:33:11 GMT
Come to think of it no. I'll see if I can do one at some point.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 20, 2014 12:54:46 GMT
More photos. I'm afraid the torch coral has finally succumbed, the brown jelly infection came back with a vengeance and finished off the remaining heads overnight. Very sad about that, it was a beautiful coral and I did everything by the book. Here's the new little zoanthids. I have moved them to the bottom and they seem happier there. The yellow polyps by day: The Ricordea mushroom, which has settled in well. I have identified it as Ricordea yuma as opposed to R.florida (Which is larger, and the little stubs/tentacles are more uniform): The Midas blenny with a bit of pellet food. He doesn't often actually swallow them but he loves to pick them up and swim around with them anyway. Green star polyps and just behind them, a tiny red mushroom I got as a freebie last week. Fiji blue devil damselfish. He used to be kept with another one, but he got bullied viciously until I removed him. This damselfish is now much more confident although he didn't like the six-line wrasse for the first few days. He's calmed down now. Pulsing xenia. It's growing very quickly! The pet shop buys small pieces of it for £5 each and its nearly time for me to trim it back. Female clownfish enjoying the hospitality of her anemone: The hermit crab from the last page has left his shell and selected a newer, bigger model! Closeup of the Kenya tree's polyps. Kenya trees don't rely on photosynthesis much, instead the little feathery tentacles on their polyps can catch particles of passing food. And here's a (Blurry) photo of the six-line wrasse during an unguarded moment when he doesn't hide. Uploading a video now, will post it once its ready.
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Post by chicken2012 on Jul 20, 2014 13:50:40 GMT
Your tank is looking very nice Timenova!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 20, 2014 15:16:21 GMT
Thanks! Here's the video, sorry if its not that great.
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Post by chicken2012 on Jul 20, 2014 15:45:13 GMT
The tank looks great Timenova in that video!
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Post by James O'Neill on Jul 20, 2014 23:38:44 GMT
That is a beautiful tank of coral and reef fish and is a great testament to the effort you've put into it. Well done, and I'm sure it's a great conversation piece for visitors in your house!
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 21, 2014 13:59:22 GMT
Thanks guys! Just now I hand fed the hermit crabs some pellets and apparently my trumpet coral noticed. Here it is with feeder tentacles extended, a rare sight in the day. Whilst fending off the clownfish (The trumpet is close to the anemone) I carefully dropped a pellet on each polyp. The tentacles dragged the food to the mouths, which engulfed their pellets. I noticed that one of the polyps let go of its pellet because of the current pulling it away, and saw the fine white mesenterial filaments partially extruded from the mouth before retracting. The mesenteries are the coral's "guts", and presumably it was getting ready to digest its pellet on the spot. Most corals swallow their food whole to digest it but a few extend their mesenteries to digest food outside. The coral seems quite happy!
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Post by chicken2012 on Jul 21, 2014 17:01:43 GMT
Wow, you were quite lucky to see all that timenova!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 23, 2014 13:03:11 GMT
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Post by TenebrousNova on Jul 24, 2014 16:10:54 GMT
Here you can see the new growth on the green star polyps. The actual coral consists of many polyps protruding from a rubbery purple mat that they can retract into when alarmed. The mat grows at a steady rate across virtually any surface from what I've read and seen, including glass. The pale edge is the new growth, and you can see the "baby" polyps forming on it. Meanwhile, my Midas blenny has been reclining on the trumpet coral.
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Post by fraggs on Jul 25, 2014 1:14:03 GMT
Hi Timenova, I'm sure you don't remember me but last time we spoke I believe you were just about to take the plunge into keeping a marine aquarium... Well look at you now! Your nano is beautiful and everything looks very healthy. That huge clump of pulsing looks great - I wish I still had mine but the anemone decided to take a walk and ended up sitting on it! I've only been on this forum a few hours and already I've found another salty keeper!
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