Clear Full Tank Shot

Alex finally came over and took some shots of the tank. It turned out much nicer than it would have on my crappy point and shoot. Unfortunately, something was wrong with my tank when these pics were taken. I'm not sure what it is but my Fiji leather was sullen all day and my clams were closed up. Some of my acros wouldn't extend their polyps either... Clearly something was wrong and you can see it in the pics.

I decided to do a water change and hope for the best. As of tonight the clams have opened again and the Fiji has filled up. I'm not sure what was wrong. The only thing I did was dose some phyto in the morning. Perhaps the phyto was bad? I dunno... just to be safe I'm throwing it out.

Hopefully, I can get Alex to take some more pics when the corals and clams don't look like they're dying!

Fuzzy FTS

Rawn was kind enough to take pics on the tour of tanks. Here's a full tank shot. Unfortunately it came out kinda fuzzy :). Hopefully, Alex can take some more pics of the tank soon. I'm pretty much done adding corals/fish to the tank. Its kinda wierd to think that I'm almost "done" with the tank. Its always been a work in progress... Well I hope I can enjoy simply watching things grow as much as I enjoyed adding new things to my collection!

My saga with the Radiant Wrasse.

One of my absolute favorite fish of all time is the simple lil Radiant Wrasse, Halichores iradius. I find its color contrast to be stunning, and it is simply a joy to watch.

This is my third and likely final try at the Radiant Wrasse... I feel horrible that two other of these beautiful fish came half way around the world only to die abruptly in my tank. The first one was sick when I got it and died during the night. It wouldn't eat, it wouldn't burrow, it wouldn't even swim... The next one developed an infection and died within a week of getting sick. I tried desperately to catch it so I could treat it, but to no avail.

My wife suggested that I give up trying to have one of these beautiful fish in my tank. I agreed... This was six months ago or so. For Valentine's day she surprised me by ordering another Radiant Wrasse. This time from the diver's den on Live Aquaria. Sure it is much more expensive than any other site and even some LFS, but the fish in the den are top notch and certified healthy to some degree. I hope this one makes it as it is a stunning specimen.

New Fairy Wrasse

This is a Condei Wrasse also known as the Black-fin Flame Wrasse. They are a newly imported species and as you can see they are absolutely stunning.

Wow, I forgot about my blog!

Well its been almost half a year since I last updated this thing. Many things have changed, the reef has grown in size and stature, and I am slowly transitioning to more of an SPS tank. It will never be completely SPS as I will always have my RBTA and LPS and a few other colorful softies.

More updates to follow shortly with pics!

Candy Hogfish

The Candy Hogfish also known as the Two Spot Hogfish is one of the few reef safe members of its family. Hogfish are actually wrasses, but because they differ in appearance to some degree they are commonly called hogfish. I think it has to do with their gluttonous appetite, although mine has proven to be a lil picky.

I first saw the Candy Hogfish at Fist Store and More down in buckhead in their cylindrical display tank. It just stood out to me, I loved how it was constantly on the move and its bright yellow coloration with twin spots and red stripes really made the fish pop. This tank was filled with beautiful fairy wrasses and many other gorgeous fish, but this one in particular really caught my eye...

It's no secret that I love fish from the wrasse family. Something about how they move so effortlessly with their torpedo shaped bodies in conjunction with the most brilliant of colorations in the fish world... they simply mesmerize me. Most people have trouble with wrasses as jumpers. To be honest I have lost two wrasses from jumping. With the current trend of open top tanks, wrasses often meet their demise far too soon. On a side note, it saddens me when a fish passes away, to think that this lil guy traveled half way around the world to die in one's living room and to be flushed away is just a shame. Dont' they deserve better than that? That being said, I used to bury my fish... that is until I saw the ants digging up the corpses. Now it seems more respectful to flush them with a few kind words. Sometimes we light candles...

Anyways, I now have a tight fitting canopy that I find to be wrasse-proof. It's consequently eel-proof too!

My Moray Eel

I've always wanted a moray eel, but the vast majority of them get to be greater than 2 feet long. Some are real sea monsters and could seriously damage a person let alone other fish. So I researched long and hard and found the only member of the Gymnothorax family that was reef safe. The scientific name is Gymnothorax melatremus, and is more commonly known as the Golden Dwarf Moray. It grows up to 10 inches long and is native to much of the Pacific Ocean.

It is commonly confused with the Gymnothorax miliaris, which is located in the Caribean and grows to 2 feet long. Many people have been able to keep the miliaris species in reef tanks, but many more have had it eat their other inhabitants. The melatremus on the other hand is much smaller in stature and has yet to eat or even strike at any of my fish or inverts.