IM 50 Christmas Special Tank
- Thread starter Kenzo
- Start date
you picked it up and didn't ask for the names or did you forget? pretty sure if you ask the seller he can answer your question.
what's the name on the far left?
can u take a closer picture on the top edge? those circles are irregular patches, looks like bit marks to me.
what's the name on the far left?
can u take a closer picture on the top edge? those circles are irregular patches, looks like bit marks to me.
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or a merlin staff
Kenzo
Supporting Member
He couldn't remember the names, but told me they were named pieces. The one on the left is CCH birthday cake. I've never heard of merlins staff but that also looks like a possibility.
Ooof, bite marks would not be good.
I just read the thread on here about KCl dips, I just used revive for these and didn't get much off. But the sellers tank and coral looks solid.
Ooof, bite marks would not be good.
I just read the thread on here about KCl dips, I just used revive for these and didn't get much off. But the sellers tank and coral looks solid.
Kenzo
Supporting Member
Pretty sad today as I learned my black leopard wrasse is bullying my mandarin dragonet. About a week or so ago I noticed the mandarin would only come out at night when the wrasse went to sleep and couldn't figure it out until now when I saw the wrasse chase the mandarin back into the rockwork. He found a spot that the wrasse can't get to him at.
Not sure what to do, but I should probably make a decision so the mandarin doesn't starve since it's hiding all day. When I've seen him, he doesn't look skinny so that's nice but I don't think I can just leave them long term.
Any advice or input would be appreciated.
Not sure what to do, but I should probably make a decision so the mandarin doesn't starve since it's hiding all day. When I've seen him, he doesn't look skinny so that's nice but I don't think I can just leave them long term.
Any advice or input would be appreciated.
Don.Julio91
Supporting Member
I think you have to decide which fish you like the most and let the other go. Also if you leave the bully remember he will do that to any other fish you introduce to the tank (potentially). Otherwise, this going to sound really weird but it works for tangs, tape a mirror to the side of the fishtank, preferably closest to the that wrasse (where it hides). It might focus on its own reflection rather than the mandarin. Leave the mirror on there for a week and see if when you remove the mirror it still looks for its own reflection and leaves the mandarin more alone. Usually the mirror trick is used when freshly introducing fish. But still worth a try if you have one.
Kenzo
Supporting Member
I rehomed my black leopard wrasse, Peaches, to @JustinBolton this weekend –great guy who's tank I'm sure she'll fit in with. I’m glad to hear she’s already eating and doing well in QT. Justin also hooked me up with a beautiful WD frag, which looks fantastic and I’m excited to watch it grow.
While catching Peaches, I ended up tearing apart my rockwork completely. The good news is I got to rescape and optimize my Acro placement (especially since I’m running just the Kessil without any fill lights). It’s a little more “pile of rockish” than I'd like, but I’ll always choose function over form
I also picked up a Dragon Tamer torch from Ricardo’s Reef Shop at the CFM who had a great selection of stuff.
Finally, and potentially the most exciting part: I discovered that my mandarin dragonet actually eats TDO pellets. He still refuses bottled pods, ROE, and LRS, so it's a bit confusing but a nice surprise.
Pictures -
While catching Peaches, I ended up tearing apart my rockwork completely. The good news is I got to rescape and optimize my Acro placement (especially since I’m running just the Kessil without any fill lights). It’s a little more “pile of rockish” than I'd like, but I’ll always choose function over form
I also picked up a Dragon Tamer torch from Ricardo’s Reef Shop at the CFM who had a great selection of stuff.
Finally, and potentially the most exciting part: I discovered that my mandarin dragonet actually eats TDO pellets. He still refuses bottled pods, ROE, and LRS, so it's a bit confusing but a nice surprise.
Pictures -
Kenzo
Supporting Member
Been a while since the last update. My laziness for testing has caused my acros to take a hit and haven't looked great recently, some worse than others.
I've been testing my alk consistently and it's been rock solid around 8.3 since I've began dosing. We've had to up the dosage of AFR to 20ml per day but I never saw a dip below 8 before I made the correction.
Where I believe the issue lies is with my nutrient levels. I finally tested yesterday and my no3 was 19.1, which isn't too high, however my po4 was 0.25.
I hadn't changed my feeding schedule over the last few months so that wasn't cause for concern. My water change schedule was 10% every 2-4 weeks which is what it's been for years. The only thing that I could think of was that I hadn't been cleaning my skimmer cup and neck.
I plan to test more regularly over the coming months and clean out the skimmer neck 1-2 times a month. Hopefully the sticks can recover as most have seen better days, but still have polyps and some even have good polyp extension.
Also picked up a maxima clam and it's been a learning process. Started it low in the sand, then moved it up on the rocks over a couple weeks. However, it kept throwing itself off and after going through this a few times, I left her on the sand and she seems to be doing well.
I've been testing my alk consistently and it's been rock solid around 8.3 since I've began dosing. We've had to up the dosage of AFR to 20ml per day but I never saw a dip below 8 before I made the correction.
Where I believe the issue lies is with my nutrient levels. I finally tested yesterday and my no3 was 19.1, which isn't too high, however my po4 was 0.25.
I hadn't changed my feeding schedule over the last few months so that wasn't cause for concern. My water change schedule was 10% every 2-4 weeks which is what it's been for years. The only thing that I could think of was that I hadn't been cleaning my skimmer cup and neck.
I plan to test more regularly over the coming months and clean out the skimmer neck 1-2 times a month. Hopefully the sticks can recover as most have seen better days, but still have polyps and some even have good polyp extension.
Also picked up a maxima clam and it's been a learning process. Started it low in the sand, then moved it up on the rocks over a couple weeks. However, it kept throwing itself off and after going through this a few times, I left her on the sand and she seems to be doing well.
Kenzo
Supporting Member
I'll try and give it a flat rock, but there's not really any open real estate on the rock work for it aside where I had it, but it kept moving.
It was on the top where the sticks are around 350 par, the sand gets about 160.
tribbitt
Supporting Member
Clams like high light, acro amounts of light just FYI. Otherwise they can "suddenly" die a few weeks or months down the road when they run out of energy stores
Kenzo
Supporting Member
I'm aware about the light needs, but the clam would throw itself off the rocks whenever I would have it higher up. Any advice on how to get it to "stick" to a more ideal spot?
I would ask are you sure it's the clam moving it'sself and not a fish. In my main tank my evil golden nugget maroons have a habit of knocking things over or moving stuff where they want it.
No idea how they do it clam is 4+ times bigger than they are.
Mine is attached to a clam cradle so if I wanted to I could glue it down. So far this week the clowns have left it alone. Last week I had to put it back every other day.
Kenzo
Supporting Member
Yeah, I've seen it "hop". It pushes off with its foot. My fish aren't interested in the clam. Clam cradle may be the way to go. I'm also not 100% sure it's a maxima but that's what I bought it as.
It's a maxima for sure. I agree with what @tribbitt said, you want to give it 250+
Kenzo
Supporting Member
Appreciate the help. I'll try and ask nicely if it'll sit still.
Kenzo
Supporting Member
I've been trying to be more consistent and have been battling ulva and hair algae for what feels like much longer than the month or so I've been at it. Manual removal has helped with the ulva, but now I think I need to target the hair algae as that's become more prevalent.
Current tank shot, it really hurts to see that I've lost all my acros. Financially it doesn't feel good, but I definitely felt more of an impact confidence wise. I thought I was coasting and had things down but that wasn't the case.
I haven't been able to pinpoint what exactly caused the die off, but my guess is nutrients. It wasn't all at once and many pieces browned out before bleaching. I prolonged my water changes of 5 gallons to every 3-4 weeks rather than the 2 week intervals I had performed them. Simultaneously, I let my skimmer go 6-8 weeks between cleanings. This led to my nitrates (8/30 - 11/9, 0 to 19.1) and phosphates rising(8/17 - 11/9, 0.08 to 0.25). I believe my acros began to decrease their consumption of alk and caused this to rise as well
(10/18/25 - 11/28/25 - 1/24/26, 8.3 to 9.1 to 9.8).
I wasn't happy with my low nutrient numbers and I foolishly chased numbers thinking I knew better than the collective wisdom of the reefing community.
I'm looking to get rid of most of the algae, get back into a schedule, and keep things stable before I try sticks again.
On a positive note, I didn't see any other significant die off from other coral during this time.
Current tank shot, it really hurts to see that I've lost all my acros. Financially it doesn't feel good, but I definitely felt more of an impact confidence wise. I thought I was coasting and had things down but that wasn't the case.
I haven't been able to pinpoint what exactly caused the die off, but my guess is nutrients. It wasn't all at once and many pieces browned out before bleaching. I prolonged my water changes of 5 gallons to every 3-4 weeks rather than the 2 week intervals I had performed them. Simultaneously, I let my skimmer go 6-8 weeks between cleanings. This led to my nitrates (8/30 - 11/9, 0 to 19.1) and phosphates rising(8/17 - 11/9, 0.08 to 0.25). I believe my acros began to decrease their consumption of alk and caused this to rise as well
(10/18/25 - 11/28/25 - 1/24/26, 8.3 to 9.1 to 9.8).
I wasn't happy with my low nutrient numbers and I foolishly chased numbers thinking I knew better than the collective wisdom of the reefing community.
I'm looking to get rid of most of the algae, get back into a schedule, and keep things stable before I try sticks again.
On a positive note, I didn't see any other significant die off from other coral during this time.