Update!!!

I’ll start with the bad news.  The day my “Birthday” order arrived it was 16 degrees and snowing.  FedEx didn’t make it to my house until around 2:30pm which meant the box had been riding around in the back of that FedEx truck for way too long.  Although there where five heat packs in the box the water in the baggies was barely 50 degrees, OUCH! (FYI reef critters like temps closer to 80).  With the help of the whole family we went to work opening bags, and getting the critters into buckets for acclimating.  Over the course of 3-4 hours we slowly brought the temperature up to match my tank as well as matching the PH and salinity.  Amazingly, as the temperature increased some of the all-but-dead looking animals started crawling around in the bucket.  With the exception of a couple snails I think everything is going to pull through.  While most people don’t consider snails and crabs to be very exciting, I’m tickled to say that the new clean up crew has gone to work on the spots of algae I had growing and has already made a small but noticeable dent on it.  The Lawn Mower Blenny I ordered is an odd looking little fish and is still quite timid, but he too has been seen eating algae (don’t you just love fish that earn their keep).  The more exciting creatures include an awesome red Serpent Star and some very cool Ricordea corals (actually more closely related to anemones). So in the end this story has a happy ending (and a happy reefer!)

Happy Reefing!

OK, so I swear I really wasn’t looking to add more fish in the near future.  Sure, I have a few fish I’d like to add to the tank before I’m done stocking, but I was thinking a few months down the road.  As I’ve mentioned before I frequent a few saltwater/reef message forums.  One of these, salt-city.org, is local to my area.  I was browsing the new posts today and one of our local fish stores posted a sale on firefish gobies.  Five dollars apiece, I mean who could pass that up, right?  So I bought two!  More than one firefish per tank is generally a recipe for aggression, but they can sometimes be kept as a mated pair.  Some people have successfully kept schools of 5 or more firefish, but more often than not they eventually become aggressive and cull themselves down to one or two.  So far the two I brought home are staying together, with no aggression, but that may just be because they are still young, as they mature we’ll see what happens.  OK, no more new livestock till next year (New Years 2009 is only 12 days away)!

Happy Reefing!

I went to one of our local fish stores to pick up some much needed supplies a few days ago.  Like all reefers I had to check out all the livestock in the store even though I was really only planning to take home some dry goods and a few snails.  In the back of the store however, they had two of the most beautiful Coral Beauty Angles I’ve seen in a while.  After talking with my wife, the owner of the store and myself, I decided I wouldn’t get the fish.  Even though I think they are gorgeous fish I’ve always shied away from angels because of their reputation to nip at clams and corals.  After I got home I just couldn’t get those fish out of my head.  I have lost a couple fish over the last few months and hadn’t yet replaced them.  So, after a couple days, and some new research, I found enough people who have kept Coral Beauties as model citizens that I decided to go back and look at the fish again.  They were still there and after talking with the employee at the store (whom I know quite well and trust), and finding out the fish had been there for about two weeks and where eating well I decided to go for it.  The new fish is a bit timid like most new fish, but is coming out more and more and is eating well.  It’s truly a gorgeous animal and adds a lot to my tank.

Happy Reefing!