Seahorse & Pipefish Haven Part II

[Beaun]

I'm jealous of your Spotfin's and Grey Trigger, did you get those at Shinnecock? I will have to get some this summer for my own local tank. It's a bit further west than I want to collect from, but Shinnecock is one of the few "tropical" places. You'r macros look great, what have you had the best luck with? Are you using halides (sorry to ask, its probably stated somewhere, just too much to look through)?

 

[Domboski]

I'm jealous of your Spotfin's and Grey Trigger, did you get those at Shinnecock? I will have to get some this summer for my own local tank. It's a bit further west than I want to collect from, but Shinnecock is one of the few "tropical" places. You'r macros look great, what have you had the best luck with? Are you using halides (sorry to ask, its probably stated somewhere, just too much to look through)?

Hi Beaun,

I do not have a grey trigger. You must be mistaking the planehead filefish for the trigger. Most of these fish were collected near Jones Beach last summer but a couple were collected at shinnecock. I do use metal halide lights (2 150watt Ushio 14K DE).

Do you mean macroalgae when you say "best luck with"? If so, All macros have done quite well in the tank. The local Codium is the only one that dies off on me

 

[Domboski]

I just had another spawning! I don't know what the deal is with my tanks lately. This time there is round white larvae all over this tank. They look like white eggs floating through the water column but I collected a bunch in a glass and they can move around and look like a pod. :scratch: I'm guessing it is either my spotted seahare or my clams. I took a video before the MH went off but the file got corrupted somehow. I'll try to take a video tomorrow if they are still floating around the tank.

 

[Beaun]

Hi Beaun,

I do not have a grey trigger. You must be mistaking the planehead filefish for the trigger. Most of these fish were collected near Jones Beach last summer but a couple were collected at shinnecock. I do use metal halide lights (2 150watt Ushio 14K DE).

Do you mean macroalgae when you say "best luck with"? If so, All macros have done quite well in the tank. The local Codium is the only one that dies off on me

Ah, so it is, a second look would have revealed the planehead, was just browsing through your pics. Its interesting that Codium is the one that does not do well. It's so invasive out here, it was the first macro that I was going to try. Maybe I wll have better luck under T5's and colder water..dont know, it will be a trial and error i guess. The tank looks great though.

 

[Domboski]

PaulB had better luck with codium than I did. I really have no explanation why it doesn't do well in my system. Codium is awesome and I'd love to have it for the seahorses but I just can't get it to live. Maybe you'll have better luck

 

[Beaun]

My parts came in yesterday and I got my tank on saturday, I was wondering how you started your tank off. What steps did you take that were different from setting up a reef tank? How long did you wait to add macros, fish, inverts? Is the live rock from local waters or did you buy that?

 

[Domboski]

My parts came in yesterday and I got my tank on saturday, I was wondering how you started your tank off. What steps did you take that were different from setting up a reef tank? How long did you wait to add macros, fish, inverts? Is the live rock from local waters or did you buy that?

I collected Sand from Shinnecock Inlet. I sifted the sand so only the finest sand was used for the tank. I waited until after the tank cycled before I added anything. I only have 1 small piece of local rock. The rest of the rock was dead with a couple of live pieces.

The biggest thing is to get everything set up (filters, chillers, lights, etc) and test to make sure everything works and looks the way you like. Once you have that all to your liking wait for the tank to cycle. Once cycled, you can start adding livestock slowly.

 

[Beaun]

Thanks for the info, thats what I figured. I have a couple of pieces of "dead rock" with good hiding places, and i am going to fill in the area around the overflow with "live rock" from montauk point area. I'm setting up the tank tonight with my brother, lets hope I ordered everything I need. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Domboski]

Cool! Good luck.

 

[Domboski]

I like to frag new seafans when I get them and put them in this tank to see if they like cooler waters better. Here is the latest:

 

[Domboski]

Whitespotted Pygmy Filefish

Spotted Seahare

Locally Collected Anemone

 

[Beaun]

When/Where did you get the anemone? I got my tank set up and its running great, will post some pics in my own thread soon. really looking forward to getting some good stuff in there. Cant wait for the summer to get some tropical strays. Love seeing updated pics. Keep them comming.

 

[Domboski]

I got the anemone on the rocks at shinnecock inlet this past summer. It has split into 6 or so.

 

[Beaun]

Do you add any supplements to the tank for you macro's?

 

[Domboski]

No but mainly because I do large weekly water changes (25-30 gallons).

 

[Domboski]

I just fed this guy but apparently he wanted more. After I took the pics I did give him more macroalgae

 

[ellebelle]

Here are a few of Dom's local tank. Bowfronts suck for photos taking.

enormous burrowing amphipods

more tomorrow.

 

[Domboski]

Thanks Lissa I was lucky enough to FINALLY have my White-Spotted Pygmy Filefish lay eggs See pics below:

Mom Guarding the Nest:

Top Down Shots (you can see the white eggs in the second pic):

Eggs in Nest:

 

[Bob 1000]

Niceboxfish and love that Bob's seagrass,,lol..

 

[ellebelle]