Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Michael Hoaster]

The Mysis are in!

Tiny little guys swarming in places, looks natural. Time will tell if they can integrate into the local ecosystem and sustain their population. It looks cool now!

[Pandagobyguy]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

The Mysis are in!

Tiny little guys swarming in places, looks natural. Time will tell if they can integrate into the local ecosystem and sustain their population. It looks cool now!

Can you get video? Find any good links on care/info?

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[Michael Hoaster]

Seagrass with ulva.

It's cool how it's coming back lately-looks natural. On the bottom, you may be able to make out the female sailfin blenny. She's lighter, like the substrate. She's definitely stalking mysids! There are so many, she can't decide. I couldn't get any decent pics of them.

[Subsea]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Seagrass with ulva.

It's cool how it's coming back lately-looks natural. On the bottom, you may be able to make out the female sailfin blenny. She's lighter, like the substrate. She's definitely stalking mysids! There are so many, she can't decide. I couldn't get any decent pics of them.

I so much like that back wall. What light spectrum is this picture? Is it any differrent than your full daytime lighting.

[Subsea]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Yes, I think bristle worms would help. I had them in my last tank, and they just got out of hand-they were everywhere! I admit I think they are ugly, and I'm pretty happy that none have shown up. I'm hoping to get some reproducing micro brittle stars instead. Spaghetti and other sand-dwelling worms do capture particulates. I'm trying to diversify my particulate/detritus crew, to see if I can get the buildup to stop. I'm hoping that a diverse crew can accomplish this.

I see in another thread, you are attempting a Chili Coral, in your new cryptic refugium. I look forward to following your progress, as they are another particulate filter feeder that Steve Tyree mentioned in his book. Good luck!

The red tree sponge should be right at home in the dimmer end of my tank. I'm hoping this one is attached to a rock. Otherwise, it is difficult to get the sponge 'planted' in a stable position. Given that hitchhiker live rock sponges have done well in my tank, I think there is plenty of food for them to eat.

The duster clusters and sponge should be here tomorrow. Stoked!

With respect to Chilli, a rock wall crash on the first night started a ripple effect that put him in my unlit refugium, mud cryptic refugium. Mostly due to neglect on a 25 year old 6” deep Jaubert Plenum I am dealing with much detritus as I gradually siphon sandbed down. A 120G new build will not see a 6” sandbed. I am not interested in de-nitrification chemistry. I want nitrogen to go into growing desirable biomass. Instead, I will copy cat PaulB. Reverse flow undergravel filter with 2” of aroggonite sandbed.

[Michael Hoaster]

Video would be great, Pandagobyguy! I couldn't get a good focus on them for stills, but I'll give it a try. I read a few things, but nothing worth noting. They did appear to be feeding on detritus on the bottom, which is good, and the reason I got them. They look so natural!

Thanks Subsea, the wall is coming along nicely. The new MH bulb is 5200K, which is noticeably yellower than the 5500K it replaced, but brighter. Other than a lunar LED for nighttime, that is my only light source.

[Michael Hoaster]

It looks like my shoal grass is finally putting up new shoots! As usual it's a mystery. My theory is that the shoal grass actually LIKED hypo salinity, while my manatee grass died. When I brought salinity back up, it took months to readjust, and now it's ready to grow again. I'm still toying with 'the soup' dosing-wise. As plant biomass increases, I'm dealing with a 'bigger mouth to feed', so I have to stay on top of dosing.

I really love plants, and how they fit into ecosystems. This whole ecosystem approach is so much fun! Now I have these cool, tiny shrimp. Will they survive and reproduce? Will they impact detritus buildup? I'm already seeing hunting behavior in the female sailfin blenny. So fun to watch! She doesn't appear to be fast enough to catch any, but I imagine she succeeds occasionally.

I still have a bit of a diatom bloom, but it seems to be diminishing. Between the back wall, the seagrass and ulva, I'm seeing a welcome return of green to the tank's color palate. Greens make the reds look better, reds make the greens look better.

[Subsea]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

It looks like my shoal grass is finally putting up new shoots! As usual it's a mystery. My theory is that the shoal grass actually LIKED hypo salinity, while my manatee grass died. When I brought salinity back up, it took months to readjust, and now it's ready to grow again. I'm still toying with 'the soup' dosing-wise. As plant biomass increases, I'm dealing with a 'bigger mouth to feed', so I have to stay on top of dosing.

I really love plants, and how they fit into ecosystems. This whole ecosystem approach is so much fun! Now I have these cool, tiny shrimp. Will they survive and reproduce? Will they impact detritus buildup? I'm already seeing hunting behavior in the female sailfin blenny. So fun to watch! She doesn't appear to be fast enough to catch any, but I imagine she succeeds occasionally.

I still have a bit of a diatom bloom, but it seems to be diminishing. Between the back wall, the seagrass and ulva, I'm seeing a welcome return of green to the tank's color palate. Greens make the reds look better, reds make the greens look better.

Favorite colors.

[taricha]

I read that culturing mysis requires pods or other mysis to eat. So I didn't attempt any.
I'll have to read the sea apple info.
Cucumbers are also talked about as sensitive time bombs, but mine (common cuke from KP) has been a model citizen, great worker, and survived tank overheating disaster that killed most of the fish.


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[Michael Hoaster]

It was a pretty cheap experiment. I found a place nearby to sell me some. They are cannibalistic but also eat detritus. I've got plenty of pods as well. I feed the tank frozen mysis, rotifers, cyclops and some other plankton, so I'm guessing they will get some of that. This is good, since the tiny barnacle blennies go after the larger frozen mysis. I have added two new nassarius snails for excess food clean up too.

I'm not certain mysis will survive long term, but I've wanted to try them forever. I think they would make a excellent addition to the crew. I do think there is room in the trophic structure of the system for them. I just don't know if they can match predation with reproduction, given that ALL the fish eat them. But hey, I've got pods all over, so who knows!

Yes, I agree Taricha-cucumbers often starve to death, but like the sea apples, it takes years. Unless you have a huge sand bed, one should be plenty. I waited for the tank to accumulate a lot of detritus, before adding mine. It was hard not to tidy up but I think allowing some buildup, then adding various detrivores to let THEM whittle it down, was good idea. What a beautiful, lazy excuse! Seriously, I have really enjoyed working on the bottom of the food chain. (Of course I personally don't do any of the actual work)

This way of doing things, employing natural beings, teaches me so much!

[Michael Hoaster]

I exported a bunch of grasilaria hayi today. Some had broken off the fake root, so I decided it would be a good time to prune them down a bit. I left little remnants so they should come back easily. I'll try to get a pick later, when it's darker. Too many reflections at the moment.

[Michael Hoaster]

Note the Grasilaria hayi on the fake roots has been reduced.



Leroy Brown.



Shoal grass with ulva.



Lots of new shoots that aren't tall yet. Diatoms, pearling.

[Subsea]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

It was a pretty cheap experiment. I found a place nearby to sell me some. They are cannibalistic but also eat detritus. I've got plenty of pods as well. I feed the tank frozen mysis, rotifers, cyclops and some other plankton, so I'm guessing they will get some of that. This is good, since the tiny barnacle blennies go after the larger frozen mysis. I have added two new nassarius snails for excess food clean up too.

I'm not certain mysis will survive long term, but I've wanted to try them forever. I think they would make a excellent addition to the crew. I do think there is room in the trophic structure of the system for them. I just don't know if they can match predation with reproduction, given that ALL the fish eat them. But hey, I've got pods all over, so who knows!

Yes, I agree Taricha-cucumbers often starve to death, but like the sea apples, it takes years. Unless you have a huge sand bed, one should be plenty. I waited for the tank to accumulate a lot of detritus, before adding mine. It was hard not to tidy up but I think allowing some buildup, then adding various detrivores to let THEM whittle it down, was good idea. What a beautiful, lazy excuse! Seriously, I have really enjoyed working on the bottom of the food chain. (Of course I personally don't do any of the actual work)

This way of doing things, employing natural beings, teaches me so much!

Michael,
To see the complexity of our eco systems operating under the laws of science, with little intervention from us is the real testament to our husbandry skills. I, like you, try to find that harmony.

It is always good to read your post. Consider this grass shrimp in your food chain. I have used them in my systems for 40 years. They are easily caught in both fresh and salt water like mollies and sheepshead minnows.

https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/ShrimpJanitor.htm

[Chasmodes]

Look terrific!

Leroy Brown...cracks me up. Awesome pic, I love it.

Thanks for sharing pics and the update. I also added more shrimp (grass shrimp) to my tank for the same reasons. I figure I'll have to restock them a couple times each year because of some limited predation, but also because they only live about 6 months. They're fun to watch too.

[BonesCJ]

Originally Posted by Subsea

Consider this grass shrimp in your food chain. I have used them in my systems for 40 years. They are easily caught in both fresh and salt water like mollies and sheepshead minnows.

https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/ShrimpJanitor.htm

Do you know if you can order these online anywhere?

[Michael Hoaster]

Right on, Subsea. The tricky part for me is understanding all those laws, and figuring out how to use them for my benefit! I have had those shrimps before. They are cool!

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks Chasmodes!

He's mean. He's brown. Leroy seemed appropriate.

[Michael Hoaster]

BonesCJ, just click the link.

[Chasmodes]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Thanks Chasmodes!

He's mean. He's brown. Leroy seemed appropriate.

Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog!!!

[Michael Hoaster]

He's bad. We're old…

[Michael Hoaster]

I've been wondering what's taking my caulerpa so long to come back. It has popped up all around, but it hasn't taken off. I gave it a closer look today, and I could see that it's being eaten! The only real change has been the reproduction of the green sea hares that showed up awhile back. So, I suspect them, especially since they look like caulerpa. Nudibranchs often look like their prey.

With turkey baster and net, I removed as many as I could find, which was a lot. There are plenty more I'm sure, but I'll have to wait for them to grow a bit. It's too bad their population exploded. It would have been nice to keep a few. Who knows, maybe I will. In a perfect world, I'd have just the right number to keep the caulerpa under control, so I wouldn't have to prune it, but not so many that it wipes it out. Unfortunately, these sea hares breed like rabbits…

[taricha]

That's cool. Got a pic of these sea hares?


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[Michael Hoaster]

There are several sea hares (hare?) in this pic. The one under the gorgonian is the easiest to see. The biggest ones just got removed.

[Michael Hoaster]

Female sailfin blenny. She blends in well.



Barnacle blennies. Can you spot them?



Finally, the grasses are multiplying. Lots more shoots than a week ago. Yay!


Not my best pic, but Big Daddy 2.0 was posing so hard I had to give it to him. It's weird having only one after having a harem. Occasionally I'm reminded, he's a gorgeous fish!

[sam.basye]

Tank is looking good, Michael.

I really like the sailfin Blenny pic. That would be my favorite part of having your tank. Watching and looking for animals you would normally overlook and having to really look for creatures because they blend in so well. Like one big Where's Waldo!

I still think you need another big show fish, like the tang and lookdowns. Big movement amongst the small movement.

How much light does your seagrass require?