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LCDRDATA

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Posts posted by LCDRDATA

    Any Dentists out there?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by LCDRDATA

    I was having a root canal earlier in the week and needed an impression made, the 'goo' used in the mold took 90 seconds to set and made me think it would be a great medium for mounting frags. Dries in wet environment, non toxic (I hope) and workable long enough to mount a frag. ... Any professionals out there have any input?

     

    I don't know offhand, BUT I have a father who's an orthodontist and a brother who's a dentist, and I can check with them. I don't know if they'll be able to answer how the alginate (sp?) is likely to perform in salt water  :why: , but it never hurts to ask. 

    74 gallon tower stock questions...

    in General Discussion

    Our Leopard Wrasse is always cycling throughout the water column, and the same for our Banggai Cardinals. In my other tank, the Zebra Dart (AKA Bar) Gobies started out hiding at the bottom all the time, but now they drift in the middle/upper portion quite a bit. I think with your setup Scissortail Gobies would look even better.

    Kids' favorites

    in General Discussion

    How about I tape pinups to the back glass as a background?

     

    Preferable to putting girls in the tank, but I wouldn't do anything to encourage the boys in that direction (not that it will likely require any encouragement).

    Kids' favorites

    in General Discussion

    I'm not including the various hermits and snails you'd expect in a clean-up crew

     

    Crustaceans: Fire shrimp and/or skunk cleaner shrimp; "halloween" hermit crab. Coral banded shrimp and (especially) arrow crabs are "cool looking" but with a bad attitude. 

    Echinoderms: Large Serpent/brittle stars, Tuxedo and/or pincushion urchins

    Mollusks: Tiger or fighting conchs 

    Annelids: Feather duster/Coco worms, Christmas Tree worms

    Softies: pulsing Xenia (most kids I've seen love the movement); branching gorgonians/sea whips

    LPS: Bubble coral, frogspawn/hammer

    Fish: I think you'll be better off with peaceful, "plays well with others" types, which admittedly limits you somewhat. Even so, I think there are some fun options for kids. For example, an engineer goby will give you the look of an eel without worrying about who else in the tank it's going to eat. If you're going with a sandy substrate, once its well populated with microfauna I'd suggest a scooter blenny (aka ocellated dragonet). Our kids loved ours, which they named "Puff" because of the fine substrate he ejected through his gills while feeding. Our kids also really liked the sharknose cleaner and yellow clown gobies we've had.

    Looking for Bryopsis

    in General Discussion

    As Alan says, I am culturing a few species of Elysia.  The one I work with most, E. clarki, really, really likes Bryopsis.  So far, the only times they have laid eggs on a regular basis have been when they have had tons of Bryopsis to eat.  You will probably not be surprised to hear that the collectors I get other species of algae from will not collect Bryopsis.

     

    I understand why you would be puzzled that i would want such a pest.  I ask myself the same question when people sell red mushrooms or Anthelia.  One person's pest is another's pet.

     

    By the way, does anyone want to buy some red mushrooms or Anthelia?  Lots available.

     

    I think I can collect a reasonable amount for you. Care to trade for a couple of those red mushrooms?  :happy:

    She said don't think about it.

    in General Discussion

    What was going on with that foam? Looks like someone put dish soap in your reef.

     

    I had that happen once when I switched out my filter socks and the new ones apparently hadn't gotten rinsed well enough on their last trip through the washing machine. There was no permanent damage, fortunately, but with a skimmer it only takes a minuscule amount to generate a ton of suds.

     

    Beyond that, it sounds like he made the right choice, although in the back of my mind I couldn't help hearing Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone, "Where's my super suit?! ...

    What was your snowmageddon disaster?

    in General Discussion

    Not a disaster per se, but three trips out on Thursday/Friday to get everything for my little generator that I kept forgetting on the previous trip -- new spark plug, additional gas cans (which I had to fill with Premium since the corner gas station was out of everything else Thursday night), more two-cycle oil, bolts to attach the handle to replace the ones I lost, 10-gauge wire and 18" spike to properly ground the thing ... and then a wife extremely irritated with me for wasting so much time not taking care of everything in one shot. Not that the last isn't a valid point. Ultimately not even a blip with the power, which is still after all a good thing - especially since with the snow drifting I'd probably need to go out a ground floor window with a shovel to remove the probably three feet of snow from the spot I had selected to put the darn thing! And then spending most of the day today shoveling walks and driveway and getting snow off of cars, not that they'll be moving anytime soon.

    Who has damsels?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by LCDRDATA

    Would like to know details about what species you are keeping with what other fish, in what numbers and what tank sizes. Any other information would be good.

     

    I had a pair of Yellowtail Blue damsels (Chrysiptera parasema) in my first, 25 gallon tank 30+ years ago, as well as in my 75 gallon DT for several years. These fish all lived up to their reputation as attractive, hardy, and relatively less aggressive. They'd get a little territorial at times but not out-and-out belligerent. I had a Neon damsel (Neoglyphidodon oxyodon) in my 55 FOWLR, he got along reasonably well with the other fish but started out as the smallest fish in the tank and the other inhabitants were well equipped to take care of themselves. He's gone through a growth spurt since I upgraded that tank to a 90. The only folks he seems to pick on at all is the pair of Black damsels (Neoglyphidodon meles) I added when I upgraded. These were originally in my 30 cube -- and purchased as Lemon Chromis -- but turned a solid blue-black when they reached maturity. The only other fish in the cube at the time was a Pink-Spotted Watchman goby, and they generally left him alone. They were smaller than the Neon when I added them to the 90 FOWLR and there was some initial aggression as the Neon established who was boss, but they get along with him (and everyone else) now, which is good because they've both grown considerably since they went into the 90 and the larger of the pair is now roughly equal in size to the Neon. That having been said, I don't think the Neon or the Black damsel would be something you would want in a tank when adding anything that wasn't at least semi-aggressive on its own, and would want them small -- preferably smaller than anything else -- if adding them to an existing tank. I hope this helps -- good luck! :bluefish:

    Water cooled LED fixture

    in Do It Yourself

    That is my antique Baush&Loumb microscope and it is from the early 1900s. It is very sharp. Here is a new born brine shrimp.

     

    Lovely brine shrimp, but are you sure it's really newborn? I think it's already depleted its yolk sac.  :tongue:

    New Tank Mates - Your Advice, please

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by LCDRDATA

    Yeah, Koles are cool -- I had one many years ago, and he always seemed to get along.  Based on what I've read, I was counting on a pair of Banggais, and a small school of Chromis -- would six be too many?  It's only a 125, and knowing that I have some livestock already and am looking for a variety, I don't want to overdo it.

     

    And would the Banggais and Chromis get along?  Any issues with either and LPS?

     

    Thanks, and Happy New Year!

    Matt

    :

    I've got a pair of Banggai and a pair of regular false percs in my 75 DT, along with several other fish. The Banggai occasionally get a bit ornery with my leopard wrasse, but are generally well-behaved. I've got a number of LPS in my tank and have never had any issue with them. Beyond that, with what you're describing the most likely aggression scenario I see could be between the Azure Damsels and the Reef Chromis, but IMO there should be plenty of room in a 125 for them to sort things out. I have heard that as a rule of thumb your schools should start with an odd number of fish (in your case, then, either five or seven Reef Chromis), and it makes intuitive sense, but I can't point to an "authoritative" source for that.

     

    Just FYI, for years I'd wondered why a "Kole" ("coal") tang was spelled with a K. Turns out that it's the Hawaiian name for that particular fish ("KOE-lay"). When I was there a few years ago I saw several of them picking the algae off of a green sea turtle. :bluefish:

     

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    New Tank Mates - Your Advice, please

    in General Discussion

    I love Kole tangs, and would personally take one over a Yellow any day. With the Banggais or Blue Reef Chromis, are you looking at a small school or just an individual? If you have a sandbed, you might want to include one of the reef-safe wrasses like a melanarus, leopard, etc and maybe a shrimp goby such as a Randall's or (pick your color/pattern) Watchman. Another candidate might be an individual (or small school of) striped fang blenny and/or a single individual Midas blenny or a less-aggressive dottyback (orchid, springeri, ORA hybrid). Ultimately it's what kind of "look" you want and who gets along with whom. :bluefish: 

    Looking to Borrow/Rent Majano Wand

    in General Discussion

    Do you guys find they work? I had one, used it, but never seemed to do the trick. So, I just stick to Aiptasia x.

     

    I guess I'll find out. My main target is a pair of aiptasia that seem to be able to pull back far enough the Aiptasia X falls off or something, because I've already hit them with it multiple times and they keep coming back. Of course, it is called a "majano wand," apparently because they can't "run away" as well as aiptasia can.

    Looking to Borrow/Rent Majano Wand

    in General Discussion

    As the title says, I'm looking for someone (hopefully nearby) who would be willing to lend/rent me a majano wand. I've got a couple of large, "well-placed" aiptasia that have already survived multiple applications of Aiptasia-X and really need to die. :blast:Thanks!   

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