Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Michael Hoaster]

After noticing my grammas have been a lot less visible lately, I removed two of the biggest females and the largest male molly from the display. These three seemed to challenge the grammas the most. Five days later and I can see the grammas again, so it appears to have worked.

Next up will be a big export/pruning. With the caulerpa going sexual more frequently lately, it would seem to indicate that plant biomass has outgrown available nutrients. My dosing regime has gone from every other day to once a week, so I need to reduce plant biomass to match inputs.

I really wish the mollies would get on with the baby-making! That's the only reason I got them-to provide a natural food source for Sheldon and the other fish. As a bonus, they've been quite visually dazzling, but they've been a little too dominant overall, for my taste. I'll probably reduce their numbers further, once I get a better sense of how prolific they are, and who is more prolific than others. And of course, I will remove them all if I can't find the right combination. If they don't benefit the overall ecosystem, they're gone!

On the other hand, if they do what I hope they'll do, it could be a very good thing.

[EdimarOliveira]

I'll give you a very personal opinion about your tank. Everything in it is wonderful except for the Molineas! They simply do not match the biotope ...

I know what your purpose is with them, but both are out of context that are bothering the Grammas ... I think you really should consider their convenience in the overall context ...

[Michael Hoaster]

I agree with you, Edimar, to some extent. I brought them in to provide a live food source, not to be the stars of the show. They have been hogging the show a bit!

However, if you consider the southern tip of Florida as part of the Caribbean, and I do, then the mollies are biotope-appropriate. They are found from North Carolina, all the way around Florida, to Texas. Remember, I am modeling an inland lagoon with variable salinity. That pretty much describes the mollies' preferred habitat.

As I said above, if they don't provide the benefits I'm looking for, they will be gone. So far, they provide no convenience at all! But if they start pumping out babies, like they should any day now, I'll be better able to decide if their inclusion is worth it.

[EdimarOliveira]

I think I've mispronounced ... I referred more to the fact that I see more Molineas as brackish water fish, but not "pure" marine fish ...

[Michael Hoaster]

You are right, they are more brackish than pure marine. But so is my tank. I think what you are saying is the mollies don't go with the other fish. As I said, I kind of agree with you, but really, they are biotope appropriate. If they'll just make some babies, I'll be better able to evaluate their qualifications as positive community members.

My pivotal species, Manatee grass prefer a salinity of 25ppt, which is a bit lower than natural seawater, at 35ppt. So my aquarium is not a pure marine tank. Seagrass lagoon biotopes are a melting pot of inland creatures and plants, and also pure marine species. So I have more options.

The mollies are kind of an experiment. I'm trying to figure out if there is an optimal number of them to reproduce prolifically, without being too numerous and detrimental to the ecosystem. We'll see!

[EdimarOliveira]

Michael, I could not read much of the posts yet, so I had not yet read your information on the lower salinity. It makes perfect sense then ... Now I understand the "general" idea of your system!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Edimar!

My lower salinity has not been discussed much in this thread, so it would be easy to miss! In my opinion, it's not a big deal. There is no "right" salinity, only the best for what we are keeping. In researching manatee grass, I found its preferred salinity, and decided to match it in my tank.

All other tank residents have adapted well, I think. If I had to guess which resident is least happy with it, I'd say the sponges. They have shown the least growth. I doubt salinity is the biggest factor though. With dosing, pruning and varying fish stocking levels, my aquarium isn't a model of stability.

I am happy to say my purple condylactis anemone is doing very well, going on two years now. For a creature that lives to be two hundred, it's not much to brag about, but these anemones have a terrible survival record in the hobby.

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

I am happy to say my purple condylactis anemone is doing very well, going on two years now. For a creature that lives to be two hundred, it's not much to brag about, but these anemones have a terrible survival record in the hobby.

I killed 2 condys. Both lasted about 2 weeks...

2 years is long in my book for a condy. Lol

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Sam. I think my tank is maybe better suited to condy keeping, than a typical reef tank. With no other stinging sessile invertabrates present, my condy has been able to wander around, without doing damage to itself or others. It's got good lighting and I feed it well, so it seems pretty happy.

I considered adding a second one, so they could have sex, but it's growing so well, it's already taking up valuable real estate on the DSB. So I'll just keep the one. I've seen big ones while snorkeling and they are unbefreakinglievable.



4/17/16. This was maybe the best pic I got of Spot, the spotted anemone shrimp. He disappeared while I was camping. I may try adding another one, when the nem gets bigger. It always seemed to me it was a bit small for hosting.

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by sam.basye

I killed 2 condys. Both lasted about 2 weeks...

2 years is long in my book for a condy. Lol

Really!?!? I find that curious. I've had a couple, one I had for 4+ years before I sold it to a friend who still has it 3 years later. They were (past tense) so easy to collect in the Keys. Due to a cold winter a few years ago they experienced a big die off and now they are a protected species and can't be legally collected in Florida with a basic saltwater license. But we always found them quite hearty.

Love seeing one with an anemone shrimp. The shrimp are such cute little guys!

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Really!?!? I find that curious. I've had a couple, one I had for 4+ years before I sold it to a friend who still has it 3 years later. They were (past tense) so easy to collect in the Keys. Due to a cold winter a few years ago they experienced a big die off and now they are a protected species and can't be legally collected in Florida with a basic saltwater license. But we always found them quite hearty.

Love seeing one with an anemone shrimp. The shrimp are such cute little guys!

Not sure why, but I was never able to get either to attach to anything. The first one I bought was probably fist size and tan, the second was golf ball sized and white/red foot. Neither would attach to anything and would end up floating around the sandbed or upside down. Keep in mind they were both from Petco and neither were attached when purchased.

One of the funniest things I've ever witnessed my tank was the look of fear and panic in my hermit crabs eyes when the first condy grabbed ahold of its shell and started pulling it in. I've never seen a hermit crab run and fight for its life like that one did. Lol


That is a great pic, Michael. One of your better ones

[Michael Hoaster]

I think you pinpointed the problem with the store name! Luckily, none of the big box pet stores around here carry marine stuff. So this cheapskate isn't tempted! Condies are from shallow water and need very bright light. I suspect yours were too long removed from their homes and were never able to recover in Petco's system.

Thanks for the pic compliment, Sam! It may be my best pic ever. It's one thing to get the nem and shrimp in focus, it's a whole other thing when you capture its eyes looking right into your own!

[sam.basye]

Yeah, I was excited to get a local Petco a couple years ago, but this one is somewhat of a disappointment.

I've been in one that would carry carpet nems and fully stocked coral tanks that were all thriving. Sadly, this one is not all that great..

Aquaria photography is a fickle B****. Lol
Most times you pretty much have to take a butt load of pictures to get one or two good ones.

[Michael Hoaster]

Yes, taking aquarium pics is a real challenge. Fish are so uncooperative!

You pretty much summed up my photo methods. I shoot a ton, I mean butt load, then I hook up my phone to my iMac, and see what I got. Then it's delete, delete, delete! I'll shoot a hundred to get five. Once I have it down to the decent ones, I'll play around with editing.

I have to admit, I'm getting excited about doing more videos. I've still got to watch the CJ vid on editing in iMovie!

[sam.basye]

Me and editing software don't get along. Lol

It blew my mind when I watched the video where he is sitting in his car and says that his car is his sound booth and records all the audio in it.

I don't think I bothered to watch the iMovie one being I don't have an iPhone or Mac. Lol

[Michael Hoaster]

[sam.basye]

I was thinking of you today

Was at the LFS and found your Mollie replacement!

Longspine Cardinal's

They are silvery white and they had probably 20 in a tight peaceful school.
They were being herded by a Wyoming white clownfish. Lol

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by sam.basye

I was thinking of you today

Was at the LFS and found your Mollie replacement!

Longspine Cardinal's

They are silvery white and they had probably 20 in a tight peaceful school.
They were being herded by a Wyoming white clownfish. Lol

Nuts, just pretend they are Caribbean... Lol

[sam.basye]

Hey!! Still alive??
Your not on another "camping" trip are you...

Or are my responses not good enough??? Lol

I need some more boring plant talk.

[Michael Hoaster]

I just got back from eight days of camping in Moab, for Thanksgiving. As soon as I can get the glass cleaned, I'll check to make sure all are accounted for.

Sam, the longspine cardinals are great, but not caribbean, and most importantly, not live-bearers. The flame or stop light cardinals are caribbean, and on my list of possibilities. There are lots of cool looking cardinals out there, but they're kind of boring, just hovering around all day, until coming alive at feeding time.

So the Molly Experiment continues. I thought for sure at least one of them would have babies while I was gone. No luck. One of these days…

My tank is getting more and more overgrown. I wish I had an Atlantic Blue Tang right now.

[zachxlutz]

Saw these guys at one of the LFS yesterday and snapped a pic for you. Such odd fish!

[Michael Hoaster]

That's funny, Zach, I was watching cyclocross vids today and thought of you! How's that going? Are you getting enough suffering? I got on the skate skis for the first time this season today, so the bike may be put away for the winter. On the other hand, I may still sneak another desert camping/mountain biking trip in!

They are odd fish! I'm torn between getting Sheldon another lookdown buddy, and getting rid of him and the mollies altogether. Still no babies. I thought surely one of them would 'pop' while I was gone. I am determined to see it through, to see how it works out.

I did a massive pruning this weekend. It was just too overgrown. With bigger gaps between dosing, letting the plants get too big is a no-no. I added some new plant tabs for the seagrasses too. After reading that they prefer root uptake of phosphate, I got a tab with more phosphate than the last ones I was using. I'd really like to get another growth spurt out of them.

I had some serious growth on the front glass as well. This stuff was so hard to remove, I scratched the acrylic. It'll buff right out though-the beauty of acrylic!

[zachxlutz]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

That's funny, Zach, I was watching cyclocross vids today and thought of you! How's that going? Are you getting enough suffering? I got on the skate skis for the first time this season today, so the bike may be put away for the winter. On the other hand, I may still sneak another desert camping/mountain biking trip in!

They are odd fish! I'm torn between getting Sheldon another lookdown buddy, and getting rid of him and the mollies altogether. Still no babies. I thought surely one of them would 'pop' while I was gone. I am determined to see it through, to see how it works out.

I did a massive pruning this weekend. It was just too overgrown. With bigger gaps between dosing, letting the plants get too big is a no-no. I added some new plant tabs for the seagrasses too. After reading that they prefer root uptake of phosphate, I got a tab with more phosphate than the last ones I was using. I'd really like to get another growth spurt out of them.

I had some serious growth on the front glass as well. This stuff was so hard to remove, I scratched the acrylic. It'll buff right out though-the beauty of acrylic!

Cyclocross season started out great. I was getting decent results, a bit better than last season... and then I cracked. I lost all motivation to train and race. I decided to shut it down for the year, take about a month off the bike and then start fresh for road next season. I'm target a couple early season stage races in march/april so getting a head start on base training will really help for those. I start back riding this week. Kinda excited!

I'm excited to see what path you take with Sheldon and the mollie food factories.

[EdimarOliveira]

Michael, how's the control of aiptasias there? I notice there are quite a few of them, especially in the less lighted area of the tank. You said you added Berghias - have you seen them more often?

If I dare to suggest, I'd say you should, yes, get rid of Sheldon and Mollies ... rrrsss ...

[Michael Hoaster]

I here you Zach! That's why I stay off the bike for the winter and ski. Also, I haven't raced in years! Good luck in 2017!

Edimar, aiptasias continue to pop up, and also disappear, thanks to the berghias. As I said, it's a very slow process, when you don't add enough, like I did. I'm hoping their population will increase.

As for the lookdown and mollies, I'm still waiting to see how things progress when they start having babies. Once they do, I'll have a better idea of how well they 'work' in my tank. So far, I do not like how they have affected the ecosystem. If I do get rid of them, I will post my experience and reasons for doing so. One thing I'm not liking about them is that they are pigs! I've never spent so much on fish food. But once the molly food factory kicks in, I'm hoping to have to feed less. I'm still playing around with the number I keep in the display as well.

It seems likely I will get rid of them, but I'm determined to see this experiment through. I think it will be a valuable experience, going forward.