13.5 gallon macro softie nano
- Thread starter Common Blevil
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OP
OP
Common Blevil
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Blenny was still a bit aggressive, and i wanted to have a more laminar flow, so i did a rescape. Blenny is shocked, gobies are enjoying the peace, shrimp goby will hide for a month or something...(Nevermind, he is looking at me right now like "WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!")
Hope that all four elemental nations (lysmata(water), amblyeleotris (earth), ecsenius(fire) and gobiodon(air)) will all live together in harmony, and nothing will change because ecsenius nation will not attack again
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OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
Goby was very sad for a day and wasn't able to find a shrimp for that time, but yesterday evening and today morning he is already with the shrimp. Fortunately shrimp is too much of a homebody and didn't change rocks, so now my goby has a whole corner of the tank all to himself and is also viewable from my bed!
The tank is... Recovering? Some bad algae is present, some corals are not opened, but overall it's ok. The one thing that is really nice to see fully extended xenia, that takes like half a tank. It hasn't been like this since early autumn.
I also started to turn off the strong powerhead at night so everything can rest. I wanted to do that a long time ago, because that was what I've seen in the shallows in the wild(night - calm, morning (+- before 9-10 am) is calm but starts to ramp up (while you still can see clearly what's going on in the water) and after that there are waves, detritus, cringe, etc. And in the evening all is calm again. Wasn't doing that because i was afraid my fish wont get enough aeration, but they lived somehow with only a hang on the back and surface skimmer for quite a while.
Also gobies were fighting but now have their own territories.
Maybe there will not be many updates after for some time because I'm a bit done with a tank and want to leave it alone. I think It will thank me for that.
The tank is... Recovering? Some bad algae is present, some corals are not opened, but overall it's ok. The one thing that is really nice to see fully extended xenia, that takes like half a tank. It hasn't been like this since early autumn.
I also started to turn off the strong powerhead at night so everything can rest. I wanted to do that a long time ago, because that was what I've seen in the shallows in the wild(night - calm, morning (+- before 9-10 am) is calm but starts to ramp up (while you still can see clearly what's going on in the water) and after that there are waves, detritus, cringe, etc. And in the evening all is calm again. Wasn't doing that because i was afraid my fish wont get enough aeration, but they lived somehow with only a hang on the back and surface skimmer for quite a while.
Also gobies were fighting but now have their own territories.
Maybe there will not be many updates after for some time because I'm a bit done with a tank and want to leave it alone. I think It will thank me for that.
OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
I'm seriously considering naming him toothless.
Also for whatever reason i can no longer attach videos here, so my youtube channel will be full of 20 second long "blenny poopin vids" or something
Also for whatever reason i can no longer attach videos here, so my youtube channel will be full of 20 second long "blenny poopin vids" or something
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OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
Increased the lighting, flow and nutrient levels. I feed heavy, dose a lot and it seems the tank is getting better and everything starts to grow more. So defeating dinos in macro/softie tanks is ultimately increasing the nutrients. I now have a bit of dinos on sand and some on rocks, but that's all.
Tank before doing a lot and high light
Tank after a few days of dosing a lot and high light. Note almost absent dinos on the rock, no caral or algae has them. I don't care much about sand, but i see growth on almost dead caulerpa.
Now the only thing disturbing and killing my colour is Toothless, he hated anthelia near his hiding hole so bad i needed to remove it, but he started going after rest of the colony. But i planted a few frags of calcareous halimeda algae, what he is gonna do with it?) Break his teeth? Blenny is cool by the way, cruises the tank, feeds on algae, sits in burrows and on rocks.
Green clown goby is fun to watch too, he is like a mix between a mandarin and a hawkfish.
Also i add something about flow. I made it "natural". Low flow form 6 pm to 11 am, high flow at day. Just like i saw in the wild.
Tank before doing a lot and high light
Tank after a few days of dosing a lot and high light. Note almost absent dinos on the rock, no caral or algae has them. I don't care much about sand, but i see growth on almost dead caulerpa.
Now the only thing disturbing and killing my colour is Toothless, he hated anthelia near his hiding hole so bad i needed to remove it, but he started going after rest of the colony. But i planted a few frags of calcareous halimeda algae, what he is gonna do with it?) Break his teeth? Blenny is cool by the way, cruises the tank, feeds on algae, sits in burrows and on rocks.
Green clown goby is fun to watch too, he is like a mix between a mandarin and a hawkfish.
Also i add something about flow. I made it "natural". Low flow form 6 pm to 11 am, high flow at day. Just like i saw in the wild.
Northern Flicker
Valuable Member
Tank is looking real nice. I like the style you’ve chosen.
My bicolour Blenny is a deep too. It’s so funny after they eat, then they try to fit back into their barnacle and they don’t fit as well lol.
I’m running a very low tech tank now too and it’s always refreshing seeing another one out in the wild!
My bicolour Blenny is a deep too. It’s so funny after they eat, then they try to fit back into their barnacle and they don’t fit as well lol.
I’m running a very low tech tank now too and it’s always refreshing seeing another one out in the wild!
OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
Tank update. Did a small rescape (not drastic, only some rocks were spaced out to create more hiding places.
I wanted to create more hiding places, replant some algae and change blenny's territory so he will not be as familiar with it. The reason?
This sweetie
I only got him a few hours ago, but my old goby wasn't angry about the hew addition. I can even say he was very happy. He courted the new goby, and new goby courted back, which happened after 10 seconds of adding the newcomer. I was watching them after that for a few minutes, old goby was making big hints for the small goby do go into his cave, shrimp wanted to see him too. But because small goby was a bit scared he cramped nearby but didn't move. Old goby was protecting him from bicolor, that, i think, didn't mind the rescape and was investigating with territorial displays. This Toothless b@$t@rd is still angry he couldn't kick small goby's butt, has white cheeks when approaching goby cave, which is clear display of aggression. Thankfully, the old goby is the biggest one in the tank, so blenny couldn't do anything.
Then i wasn't around for 10-20 minutes. Now I can't find the new goby in or around the tank, and when i last saw him the old goby was constantly checking on him(or may i say her because it might be a female). He is also constantly "on watch" , which he was not doing as vigorously before, he was quite a coward. After adding new goby he was checking the rockwork, protecting her and behaving very boldly, which is new for a fish that is scared of food falling "not in the ordinary" way... I will update with either bad or good news.
Video of their greeting. You can see presumed "territorial behaviour", but there is no attempt to harm, only to show off, so i think it is courting/greeting. Also the smaller goby responded with the same posture and did not flee, and bigger goby changed his colouration to lighter and less detailed(which fish like blennies and gobies often do when courting).
I wanted to create more hiding places, replant some algae and change blenny's territory so he will not be as familiar with it. The reason?
This sweetie
I only got him a few hours ago, but my old goby wasn't angry about the hew addition. I can even say he was very happy. He courted the new goby, and new goby courted back, which happened after 10 seconds of adding the newcomer. I was watching them after that for a few minutes, old goby was making big hints for the small goby do go into his cave, shrimp wanted to see him too. But because small goby was a bit scared he cramped nearby but didn't move. Old goby was protecting him from bicolor, that, i think, didn't mind the rescape and was investigating with territorial displays. This Toothless b@$t@rd is still angry he couldn't kick small goby's butt, has white cheeks when approaching goby cave, which is clear display of aggression. Thankfully, the old goby is the biggest one in the tank, so blenny couldn't do anything.
Then i wasn't around for 10-20 minutes. Now I can't find the new goby in or around the tank, and when i last saw him the old goby was constantly checking on him(or may i say her because it might be a female). He is also constantly "on watch" , which he was not doing as vigorously before, he was quite a coward. After adding new goby he was checking the rockwork, protecting her and behaving very boldly, which is new for a fish that is scared of food falling "not in the ordinary" way... I will update with either bad or good news.
Video of their greeting. You can see presumed "territorial behaviour", but there is no attempt to harm, only to show off, so i think it is courting/greeting. Also the smaller goby responded with the same posture and did not flee, and bigger goby changed his colouration to lighter and less detailed(which fish like blennies and gobies often do when courting).
OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
It worked!!!
And Gobik Bobik(old goby's name) is a real protector! He swam near the back wall to just sit and watch there, but the bicolor Toothless didn't like something near the cave entrance, turned white and swam in the direction od the cave! But Gobik spread his fins, attacked Toothless, causing the blenny to sit motionless and furious on the rock, until gobik swam away to the cave. So old goby is true warrior and home keeper, and Toothless is just an evil b@$t@rd as i said before. I think he is jealous, but unfortunately for him ecsenius blennies don't change sex and are not sexually dimorphic.
And Gobik Bobik(old goby's name) is a real protector! He swam near the back wall to just sit and watch there, but the bicolor Toothless didn't like something near the cave entrance, turned white and swam in the direction od the cave! But Gobik spread his fins, attacked Toothless, causing the blenny to sit motionless and furious on the rock, until gobik swam away to the cave. So old goby is true warrior and home keeper, and Toothless is just an evil b@$t@rd as i said before. I think he is jealous, but unfortunately for him ecsenius blennies don't change sex and are not sexually dimorphic.
OP
OP
Common Blevil
Active Member
Acclimating 4 mollies now.
I did it before, with sailfin and black mollies, but it was black sea biotope with salinity of 19 ppt. Black mollies started dying after a week, sailfins lived until i moved and needed to let the other tank inhabitants go back to the wild and returned mollies to the fish shop.
Now the salinity is higher and i have a sailfin x sphenops hybrid, so i don't know how it will go. But i will put them there not after 2 hours , but after approximately 20 hours so i think they will have some chances. Their salinity is already like half/third the way and they don't seem to be stressed.
I did it before, with sailfin and black mollies, but it was black sea biotope with salinity of 19 ppt. Black mollies started dying after a week, sailfins lived until i moved and needed to let the other tank inhabitants go back to the wild and returned mollies to the fish shop.
Now the salinity is higher and i have a sailfin x sphenops hybrid, so i don't know how it will go. But i will put them there not after 2 hours , but after approximately 20 hours so i think they will have some chances. Their salinity is already like half/third the way and they don't seem to be stressed.
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