nice tank..... :
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blange3's 180 upgrade
- Thread starter blange3
- Start date
blange3 said:I just noticed something very disturbing!
When the post padders work their way down the Tale of the Tank Forum with their insightful "Nice Tank" posts; they always skip me!
I'm crushed. ;D
It is like getting a sales call during dinner so be happy.
For what it is worth I have that same Bud can on my Christmas tree ;D. Well mine is in better shape, of course it has only been an ornament for 18 years so has not been around as long as the one in your tank.
blange3 said:OK, so The Great Blackworm Experiment is about to begin!
PaulB must think I'm some sort of crazy groupie-stalker by now; but I like a lot of his ideas on running a tank. ;D
I'm going to start feeding blackworms and watch the changes in behavior of 3 pairs of fish I have; ocellaris clowns, pj cardinals and filamented fairy wrasses.
The clowns are an 11 year old male and a 6 year old female who have been together for about a year.
The PJ's have been with me over 3 years.
The fairy wrasses have been in the 180 for 3 or 4 months.
Aquatic Obsessions brought the worms in for me. They have a few extra portions if anyone else is interested. Pics of the happy couples to follow!
OK, so I hate taking pictures, so the happy couple shots haven't happened. And now for the update on the blackworm experiment.
It seems the fish may not recognize these wiggly guys as food at first! I was expecting everyone to wolf them down immediately, but that wasn't the case. The fisrt few days only the male filamented fairy wrasse and a yellow tail blue damsel would eat them. I think the fish were scared of the baster at first and then it took a while to recognize the worms as food.
I fed some worms the same time I fed the other foods and some more fish gave them a try. Once a fish gets a good taste of them, they love them. So now I have the pair of fairy wrasses and the Pj cardinals eating them along with the female clown. The purple tang can't get enough of them. The Tomini Tang and the Swallowtail Angel aren't interested. The worms never make it to the Citron Goby or the Watchmen Goby who is a chronic hider.
I wish I had discovered these guys back in my early freshwater days. They are cleaner and much hardier than tubifex.
So I'm going to focus on feeding now and if the spawning starts, I'll be adding some natural seawater next,
Paul B said:
They came in a bag that claims to exchange CO2 for oxygen. They are in the fridge and I rinse when I feed. They even partially froze when they got moved to the back of the fridge and were fine when thawed out.
So far very low maintenance. A single portion for $3.99 will be a weeks worth when everyone is eating and I'll jus have AO order one for me every week.
Well everyone now eats blackworms. Although the first fish to eat them has disappeared. I haven't seen the male filamented fairy wrasse for almost 2 weeks now. The female only comes out for feedings as well. I was hoping it was spawning behavior, but I think he has been MIA for too long now.
There is a new tank inhabitant, a copper banded butterfly. I was going to fatten him up in QT, but he wasn't eating there. He did eat really well in the store. He's taken an occasional blackworm in the main tank, but I ran out. Getting more tomorrow. He is picking at the rocks and getting more comfortable in his new home. Hopefully he start eating more aggressively soon. I may have to build a feeder; got to find Merv's thread! ;D
Ever since I got a blood shrimp, my peppermints have disappeared and some aptasia have popped up. Hopefully the CBB will take care of them.
I haven't seen the male filamented fairy wrasse for almost 2 weeks now. The female only comes out for feedings as well. I was hoping it was spawning behavior, but I think he has been MIA for too long now.There is a new tank inhabitant, a copper banded butterfly. I was going to fatten him up in QT, but he wasn't eating there. He did eat really well in the store. He's taken an occasional blackworm in the main tank, but I ran out. Getting more tomorrow. He is picking at the rocks and getting more comfortable in his new home. Hopefully he start eating more aggressively soon. I may have to build a feeder; got to find Merv's thread! ;D
Ever since I got a blood shrimp, my peppermints have disappeared and some aptasia have popped up. Hopefully the CBB will take care of them.
Nah, I don't think the worms had anything to do with the wrasse, unless of course it gave him enough strenth to bust through the netting that keeps him from jumping out! I was hoping that the worms has inspired a spawn and he was tending eggs or something.
So I got a new batch of worms today and the CBB is eating. Hopefully he'll go back to eating some other foods as well.
Got some gift cetificates/cards today. Got to figure out how that will affect the tank. One is specifically for AO. The other is an AMEX gift card. Not sure Will takes AMEX.
So I got a new batch of worms today and the CBB is eating. Hopefully he'll go back to eating some other foods as well.
Got some gift cetificates/cards today. Got to figure out how that will affect the tank. One is specifically for AO. The other is an AMEX gift card. Not sure Will takes AMEX.
Well I'm pretty sure the male fairy wrasse has passed on. Why?
Because the female is starting to change into a male! ;D
At least it sure looks that way. Her color is deepening and developing patterns similar to the male, and most of all her/him's dorsal and anal fins are starting to change.
I know, I know. Let's see some pictures. :
Because the female is starting to change into a male! ;D
At least it sure looks that way. Her color is deepening and developing patterns similar to the male, and most of all her/him's dorsal and anal fins are starting to change.
I know, I know. Let's see some pictures. :
A quick update.
The CBB still only eats blackworms, but he does so with gusto! ;D He comes right up to the baster and practically sticks his snout up inside to get his meal.
The lack of QT did not cause any problems, yet. I'm pushing the envelope a little further by adding four new fish without any QT at all!
I took advantage of AO's current Fouth of July sale to get some Lyretail Anthias.
WARNING...DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
I have been an advocate of QT FOREVER! I have taken this radical approach for the following reasons:
1) The CBB stopped eating in QT and I wanted him to at least have a chance to catch some natural food and possibly learn to eat from the other fish.
2)The current inhabitants of the tank had recently resisted an outbreak of ich and have been conditioned lately through the routine feeding of blackworms.
3) I really wanted a group of anthias, but they usually don't make it through QT.
I gave the current group of Anthias a shot since I had some gift certificates to AO and they have been there for two weeks. They were eating well and actually seemed to gain some weight.
They settled in the 180 immediately, have been eating aggresively and there has been a bare minimum of aggression from their tankmates.
I have a fresh supply of blackworms so I'll keep everyone in tip-top shape! Wish me luck.
And no PaulB, I hven't tried fish roe yet!
The CBB still only eats blackworms, but he does so with gusto! ;D He comes right up to the baster and practically sticks his snout up inside to get his meal.
The lack of QT did not cause any problems, yet. I'm pushing the envelope a little further by adding four new fish without any QT at all!
I took advantage of AO's current Fouth of July sale to get some Lyretail Anthias.
WARNING...DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
I have been an advocate of QT FOREVER! I have taken this radical approach for the following reasons:
1) The CBB stopped eating in QT and I wanted him to at least have a chance to catch some natural food and possibly learn to eat from the other fish.
2)The current inhabitants of the tank had recently resisted an outbreak of ich and have been conditioned lately through the routine feeding of blackworms.
3) I really wanted a group of anthias, but they usually don't make it through QT.
I gave the current group of Anthias a shot since I had some gift certificates to AO and they have been there for two weeks. They were eating well and actually seemed to gain some weight.
They settled in the 180 immediately, have been eating aggresively and there has been a bare minimum of aggression from their tankmates.
I have a fresh supply of blackworms so I'll keep everyone in tip-top shape! Wish me luck.
And no PaulB, I hven't tried fish roe yet!