Diatoms issue resolved.

It seems the filter media I was using was leeching bad stuff back into the tank even though nothing was showing up in the water param tests. Once I replaced the media the diatoms cleared up in about a week-and-a-half. The coral are still a lil upset; I'm hoping they get happy again soon since the diatoms are no longer choking them out and the water is cleaner. I may have lost the SPS coral and the Candy Cane coral although the Candy Cane still has visible flesh even though much of its skeleton is exposed and is closed tightly. I guess time will tell. I'll have to monitor the water params a little closer over the next few weeks.

I think I may have lost my Pom Pom crab as well. I fed the tank last week and didn't see her dancing anywhere and haven't seen her at all in the past couple weeks :( Hopefully, she's just up to her usual good hiding game.

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Plate Coral has regenerated!

I'm so happy right now; I came into work this morning and the Plate Coral has regenerated! I noticed that it looked like it had a mouth again which got my attention and then I noticed that it was all puffed up! I'm so glad I decided not to take it out of the tank this weekend thinking it was too far dead to regenerate. I really hope it pulls through; I have high hopes for it ^.^

On another note: it looks like I may have a diatoms issue again and I think it's due to the fact that I haven't replaced the filter media in a while which is long overdue. I bought some new media and replaced it this morning. Things should (hopefully) clear up in the next couple weeks.

Until next time,

~ Keep on Swimming! ~ 

Peppermint Shrimp ate some corals :(

Very upsetting day to come into work and see 2 of your corals have been eaten. I had a 3 day weekend because I took Friday off. Came in this morning and the Purple Hammer Coral flesh is completely gone. Even more upsetting is the Plate Coral is all but gone; it's skeleton is fully exposed :( I do not believe it will recover. I'm very sad because it was one of my favorites in the tank. I'm going to keep an eye on the Shrimp and up his feeding a lil to see if that fixes anything. If not, I'll have to give him away.

Hammer Split and new Live Stock

LiveAquaria finally got a restock of the Spiny Star Astraea Snails so I've been able to place an order to replace the previous one that died a few months back. The old one was not actually a SSA so it was a incorrectly sent item on LAs part.

In order to meet the $29.99 min order criteria I also ordered a replacement Super Tongan Nassarius Snail, Peppermint Shrimp and a Two Spot Bimaculatus Blenny. The blenny is an omnivore so I'm hoping he'll help control some algae as well as eat any uneaten food.

The Nassarius snail is significantly bigger than the previous one I had so I'm hoping there will be plenty of food for all the new guys.

The Hammer coral has split a head again and is growing like crazy. Not sure why he is so happy and the other Corals as not as the water params are just fine.

Hammer Coral continues to grow 

Hammer Coral growth progression

Normally I'd do a water change tomorrow but considering I just added some new livestock I may put it off to next week.

~ Keep on Swimming ~

Filter Clog

Been having an algae issue again and have cut the feeding down to about once a month to get it down but it never did. I also lost a snail; I'm thinking the hermit killed and ate him because of the tank food cut.

But I just discovered the filter tube was completely clogged with hair algae; water wasn't even moving through it. It looked like it was working because the filter still had water movement and was spilling back into the tank but it's flow had diminished. I cleaned out all the algae from the tube and the filter is working back to full efficiency. I just hope this does not cause a mini tank cycle...

Guess we'll see what the future holds...

Pom Pom Crab is still alive!!!

So excited! I happened to notice crab shells on the sand and thought the Pom Pom Crab may have officially died but I wasn't able to tell if it was a molt or not. I decided to do a small feeding of the tank to see if I could coax her out if she were alive. I didn't have high hopes.

But lo and behold I happened to catch her by random luck! So glad she's still alive :)

Pom Pom Crab feeding (w/ flash)

Pom Pom Crab feeding (no flash)

I also noticed a bivalve shell in the Zoas that was not there before. I've occasionally seen a couple of these guys show up in the tank but this is the biggest one I've seen so far. Unfortunately, I think they guys was a meal for the hermit crab that you can see right next to the open shell.

Hermit crab next to Bivalve shell 

And lastly, the Green Hammer is exploding! My last post has a picture of the Hammer from 1 month ago and it's crazy to see its growth; 2 more of the heads are splitting! No idea why the hammer grows so much and so efficiently while the other corals are a little slower or angry. Irony is for a few months after getting the hammer it stayed closed with its skeleton exposed and I thought it wasn't going to make it. Haha, this tank is still proving to be quite the adventure.

Hammer Coral is growing like crazy!

Until next time!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Tank is stable and recovering

After weeks of stability issues, the tank seems to be stable again and the Coral are starting to open up more. The Candy Cane Coral is really the only one that is still a bit closed up. However, all the coral fed fine on Thursday so things seem to be looking up. 

I believe I lost the Pom Pom crab as there was a huge algae bloom during the stability issues and I didn't see her when I fed the tank. Sad day :(

Also, one of the Hammer Coral heads is beginning to split again so I should soon have 5 fully grown and working heads in the next couple weeks. The body buds on some of the other coral still continue to grow.

Hammer Coral

The Plate Coral continues to astound me with its beauty. The tentacles are getting really long and I love watching them sway in the current. These pictures do not due it justice.

Plate coral tentacles are getting long

Until next time,

~ Keep on Swimming! ~