Green star polyps ala vase

I added two little frags of pink zoanthids to my vase a few days back. This resulted in tipping my shell frag of GSP, as well as taking out my powerhead to clean it. The flow was too strong for the polyps, and on the lowest setting, the vase wasn't getting enough current.

So I hatched a pretty good idea, if I say so myself...

Took out the powerhead and used some Holdfast bonding putty to create an outflow attachment, directing the flow to the rim of the vase and away from the GSP. The tank is getting proper current, the GSP looks better than ever, and the pink zoos are spreading out nicely.

The white putty is ugly, but in time coralline will cover it.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

Non-fish related entry

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/25/iraq.soldier.story.ap/index.html

I will never vote Republican again. In the past, I've had my slips, voting for some local state representatives and other NC officials, even that asshole "Chainsaw" Charlie himself. But never again. I don't care how much I like the individual candidate... I don't care if my wife ran as a Republican, or my greyhound, or Jesus Christ himself.

I'd vote for the most flaming red commie before I even consider casting a ballot for the most mild-mannered GOP candidate.

If you even give 3/4s of a shit about privacy and individual freedoms, you'll follow my lead. Or do you actually like paying $2.60 for gas?

Flame Scallop

Here are some pictures of my flame scallop.

And the maxima, positioned properly upright, above it. When I uprighted the clam, it had already attached part of itself to the rock, so I had to use a seashell to wedge it as I didn't want to break off its byssal foot. Clams that are harvested in the wild are often doomed because they've been yanked from their rock.

Care for Tridacnid clams such as these includes intense lighting... strong power compacts for nanos, being sure to place the clams high in the tank and always on rock. Smaller specimens need some form of filter food like DT's phytoplankton routinely. Also, they need good calcium levels for their shells.

Flame scallops, however, are not photosynthetic and do not contain zoxanthanelle, the symbiotic algaes living within corals and clams that give the inverts their color. Flame scallops need the smallest form of filter food, like phytoplankton, and it is believed they do best in unskimmed tanks as they can absorb the protein nutrient.

The scallops actually move by closing their bivalves real fast to scuttle along the sand. Mine has wedged itself into place, as you can see. They also will attach to rock so it is crucial not to move them.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

Crocea clam

That's the new addition to the ten gallon, a crocea clam. I also have a flame scallop I bought a couple weeks ago, but the picture didn't turn out. I'll get one later.

- Josh
http://joshday.com

New vase pics

As promised, here are some pics of the vase. I apologize for the tardiness in putting them up.


I have three patches of corals: a beautiful hillock of green star polyps, a canyon of ugly and worthless green star polyps I probably couldn't even give away, and a seashell of brown zoanthids: three polyps with a fourth just starting to bud.




See how ugly that small group of GSP is when compared to the one in full bloom?

The lush bright green gsp came from my main nano. I fragged it by placing a seashell next to the mother mat, and over the course of a few months it completely covered it. Removing it was much more simple than I had made it out to be--I just used a small pair of scissors and went into the tank during the night with a flashlight. Cut away easily, and by the next morning the polyps were out and looking as good as ever.

The brown button polyps were fragged the same way.

Oh, I do not recommend Holdfast bonding putty. Garbage. I tried four times to get the shells to stick to their new substrate, and each time it didn't work. It was a mess and a waste of time--I just wedged the shells onto the rocks as best as I could. In time, the encrusting mat will jump to the main rocks.

- Josh
Please visit my website Joshday.com

Pico vase and work desk

Wow, October already, and it's been A WHILE since I blogged.

Let's see... the glofish are doing ok in their vase, I had a helluva nitrate problem in my 55 gallon but I'm bring it back under 20 with frequent water changes, my nano tank is still having some problems but not as bad as before (GSP is back with a force and growing like wild, zoas still rough), and my pico vase is doing fine. In fact, I fragged three zoos from the main nano and put them in the other day. Didn't technically frag, but I had placed seashells nest to the mother colony rock, and three had grown onto it. Just moved it into the vase.

I'm honestly astounded the vase hasn't accumulated algae... really at all. This just shows how important frequent water changes and very strong current are to reef systems. And with the growth of the piece of shit green star polyps I got from the marine club raffle, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this vase is a success. It's been set up, what, 2 months? Yeah, I know that doesn't really tell you anything, but I still think it's a nice kneecap shot to Fenner and the other elitist assholes over at wetweb.

Speaking of shots, here are some of my work desk...



I'll post a centerfold shot of my pico vase tomorrow when the three zoanthids open up... if I remember, that is.

Mandarin is still doing A-okay, great even. My brother and wife, when they were examining the tank, both remarked he's looking better than ever. And definitely growing.

- Josh Day
of Josh Day.com