Dreams become Reality
- Thread starter richards
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Yeah. SPS is easy once things are stable.
The aqua cultured purple and yellow Tangs seem to get along pretty well. Occasional nipped fins, probably from the singular Saul. A pair of Whitetail bristle tooth Tangs are gentle. The tangs tend to school together.
The Sohal is the only one with food aggression, and insists in getting his fill from a new leaf of dinosaur kale before allowing the others to join. Peculiarly, I hang a large leaf of kale with a lettuce clip on each side of the aquarium, but the fish only eat together at one location. There’s no aggression with broadcast food.
They all say hello hello hello hello hello hello….
Aquarium is 6‘ x 4‘ and 30 inches in depth. 13 months since filling the tank. Fish are in their eighth month.
The Sohal is the only one with food aggression, and insists in getting his fill from a new leaf of dinosaur kale before allowing the others to join. Peculiarly, I hang a large leaf of kale with a lettuce clip on each side of the aquarium, but the fish only eat together at one location. There’s no aggression with broadcast food.
They all say hello hello hello hello hello hello….
Aquarium is 6‘ x 4‘ and 30 inches in depth. 13 months since filling the tank. Fish are in their eighth month.
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That’s a really good question. I just pay the bills every month. Not as expensive as one may think, as I’ve purchased material that has been in the hobby a long time. And that material has grown dramatically. For instance, the acropora are only single color individuals, lol.
It is fascinating to see how some of the individual coral specimens have grown dramatically in the past year. And the soft Corals could end up taking over the tank, lol. Some of the acro has been in the hobby forever, the blue Oregon tort, the green slimmer, red digi.
The LPS have also grown dramatically, especially the branching hammers and torches. The torches were small heads last year and are now Robust colonies…. In another year, I’ll have to frag the LPS or relocate individuals within the system.
The technology has advanced wildly this generation. I added an ultraviolet sterilizer and ozone last year, and the automatic water change system.
It’s fascinating to watch everything grow and interact. I used minimum rock, and designed the landscape of the aquarium with a lot of negative space, to allow for both a lot of fish, and larger coral specimens. Let’s see what happens……
It is fascinating to see how some of the individual coral specimens have grown dramatically in the past year. And the soft Corals could end up taking over the tank, lol. Some of the acro has been in the hobby forever, the blue Oregon tort, the green slimmer, red digi.
The LPS have also grown dramatically, especially the branching hammers and torches. The torches were small heads last year and are now Robust colonies…. In another year, I’ll have to frag the LPS or relocate individuals within the system.
The technology has advanced wildly this generation. I added an ultraviolet sterilizer and ozone last year, and the automatic water change system.
It’s fascinating to watch everything grow and interact. I used minimum rock, and designed the landscape of the aquarium with a lot of negative space, to allow for both a lot of fish, and larger coral specimens. Let’s see what happens……
why kale and lettuce tho? why not just a sheet of nori?
Good question. A lifetime ago I spoke with an employee of the Chattanooga aquarium, and that facility was manufacturing their own food for the saltwater fish. The tangs were eating food prepared from many fresh veggies diced and mixed together, including broccoli, carrots and squash (I no longer have the recipe). The facility also made food from blending a variety of fresh saltwater fish, mussels, clams, etc. I also use Nori, and nori always gives enough iron to cause a mild algae bloom on the glass of the aquarium, lol. Kale is just a wild guess on my part, and the tangs have learned to feast on the dinosaur variety......I guess the proof of a healthy diet will be demonstrated through the years....best wishes. This year I have been rotating weeks between kale and broccoli..... I also use a variety of frozen food, and reef roids.
Of course, I believe the fish waste feeds the coral. It took six months to source the baby purple & yellow tangs, the 1st fish added to the tank. Before the introduction of the fish, I had to dose both phosphate and nitrate to keep the coral alive. Before the fish, I had to feed sinking pellets for the "peppermint" shrimp, that were starving and eating the coral.....for whatever reason, I've never seen aiptasia. I do play games with frequency of frozen food and reef roids - to limit algal growth.
With the growth of both SPS and Coraline algae, I've been required to supplement the successful CA reactor. I now use metered daily dosing pumps as required to maintain CA and ALK. And recently added Kalckwasser to the tank of evaporative top of water (a trick I saw on YouTube).
But are they doing it for cost efficiency due to the amount of livestock they have to feed? Many pellets / prepared foods these days have all the vitamins and minerals the fish need. I too believe in a balanced diet, hence why I mix over 6 pellets, 4 different frozens, and nori for my fish. I'm just not sure if adding kale or lettuce is necessary, nor does it really add value to the fish health.
Good point. That stated, I think fresh veggies add phyto nutrients and fiber that may be missing in the prepared diets....I do it all....kind of funny to watch the wrasse go after the nori, LOL. And the purchase of frozen and pelleted food is a real budget, for sure....
CIVICS14 - you have an amazing tank! May I have access to see your profile?
I didn’t even realize my profile was private. Not sure if there is much there.
So for your veggies, do you blanch them first? Or are the tangs able to tear enough off on each bite.
Man the feeding tangs lettus, broccoli, and even carrots was popular....like 25 years ago. Once nori became available, and since you can get huge packs for cheap all that fell out of use. Basically boiling down to why would you feed land stuff to aquatic stuff?
You can find nori at the farmers market in 100 sheet packs for like $8. Or im currently using a pack of this stuff.
Nori on amazon
You can find nori at the farmers market in 100 sheet packs for like $8. Or im currently using a pack of this stuff.
Nori on amazon
Thanks. I also use Nori. I put organic broccoli and dinosaur kale into the tank raw. The fish do work to eat.
I also use a Korean organic seaweed that has nothing added per the package label, and 50 large sheets in one 4.76 ounce sushi pack.
I also use a Korean organic seaweed that has nothing added per the package label, and 50 large sheets in one 4.76 ounce sushi pack.
Do you feed Nori every day? Does it cause a bloom of dust green algae on your aquarium glass?
Yes. 1/2 a sheet a day. Not sure if there is any different in dust algae since nitrates and phosphates is the same no matter the source.
