Marine Tank -- Soft Corals (Mushroom Corals)

Have successfully transferred all livestock from my previous 2-feet tank to a new (or rather second-hand) 3-feet tank. No full tank shot yet as I have yet to finalise the rock placements and coral placements. Lighting is also yet to be upgraded so all corals face the middle where the light is cast by my 2 feet T5 lights.

Current spotlight is on my mushroom corals that have been successfully transferred and opened up well...

The mushroom corner

...a favourite painted mushroom

..common yumas

...fluorescent green mushrooms

..blue spotted red mushrooms-- the fastest grower and reproducers

Mushroom Corals
Mushroom Corals are also referred to as Mushroom Anemones, Disc Anemones, False Corals, or corallimorphs. They are solitary anemones that are classified in the order Corallimorpharia. These corals share some of the same features of both true anemones and hard corals. These corals are found throughout the world, mainly on rocky reefs.
Mushroom Corals are hardy and make ideal corals for the beginner reef aquarist. Mushroom Corals that have long tentacles are aggressive toward other types of corals, so provide these corals with adequate space. Different genera and species of Mushroom Corals have different light and water flow requirements.

Using a highly-developed mucus capture and transport system, these corals derive nutrients by collecting and ingesting particulate matter suspended in the water around them, and from their zooxanthellae.

Marine Tank --Equipment and Additives (Brightwell Aquatics Activated Carbon)

Used in my red sea prizm media basket to further purify the water exiting the skimmer...about 50gms weekly can keep my marine tank looking pristine... (a 500gm package can last me about 8-10weeks this way....

http://www.marinedepot.com/Brightwell_Aquatics_Carbon%C3%AEt_P_Premium_Aquarium_Pelletized_Carbon_(Fresh_or_Salt)_500g_1.1_lbs._Carbon_Chemical_Filter_Media-Brightwell_Aquatics-BW01194-FIFMCHCM-vi.html

Marine Tank-- Soft Corals ( Green Ring Zoanthid )

Latest acquisition for-- Green Ring zoanthid ... from a very nice fellow hobbyist from Singapore Reef Club forum...

Took less than 2 days to open up to full glory...

Sweet green yeah ??

Marine Tank-- Invertebrates (Fromia Starfish)

New purchase : Red starfish (Fromia Milleporella)

Supposedly the best starfish, in my opinion, for a small reef tank-- harmless and beneficial (grazes on diatoms and algae). Doesn't seem to appear so frequently so took the chance to grab one ( and got one free !! attached to the side of a fox coral bought on the same day that the seller didn't realise !! ). So it was $6 for 2 nice starfish...

Common Name: Red Star
Species Name: Fromia milleporella
Range: Indo-Pacific Ocean
Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoons and outer reefs on all kinds of substrates
General Husbandry: 3 - 4 inches (7.5 - 10 cm) across and generally consume detritus. This species is red with black tips when young and becomes solid, bright red as an adult. Occasional feedings of shrimp pellets or fish/shrimp flesh is recommended.

Marine Tank--LPS Corals ( Fox Coral)

Latest addition to my marine tank-- a fox coral, (Nemenzophyllia turbida)

Supposedly one of the best and easiest coral for beginners. Bought this in a less than ideal state... It's beautiful colour prompted me to give it a chance to try and nuture it back to glory...

Hope to frag out the babies on the right hand side to culture and grow out on a separate rock after they've acclimated to the tank conditions and doing well...

Bought it with its tissue slightly receded..

5 days later...

QUICK STATS
Fox Coral-- Nemenzophyllia turbida
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Lighting: Low to Moderate
Waterflow: Low
Placement: Bottom
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
Color Form: Green, Tan, White
Supplements: Calcium, Strontium, Trace Elements
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Family: Caryophylliidae
Polyp Size: LPS - Large Polyp Stony

Marine Tank-- Soft Corals ( Blue Ring Zoanthids )

Blue Ring Zoanthids.... added July 2009

Ex-freshwater fish-- ABA ABA (gymnarchus niloticus)

Just a "tribute" to one of the fishes I have once kept and lost/sold/given away.....

ABA-ABA ; gymnarchus niloticus(click to view info)

An amazing electric fish that is related to electric catfishes ( a 6-yr old electric cat is still in my living room) and electric eels but only produces enough for navigation purposes. It's puppy dog-like frontal face and graceful fins really masks its killer instinct and monster size of a potential 5-feet length when full grown in the wild! Which other fish kills armoured catfishes (plecos) half its length and twice its girth ?? killed two 4-inches plecos when it was just barely 8 inches...since then it has been in solitary confinement.

Grew to 50cm in my 60cm tank...It was my only case of mistreatment of a fish as it just grew too fast and I was just about to seriously upgrade it to a bigger tank as I was about to shift homes... A 3-times weekly water change was necessary to maintain it and a delay of one such water change let to me returning home to its corpse floating in the tank...hated myself for it ! It was also a bad decision to get it in the first place, breaking responsible fishkeeping rule No.1 -- NEVER BUY / ATTEMPT TO KEEP A FISH LARGER THAN U CAN HOUSE WHEN ITS FULLY GROWN. And my aba-aba hadn't even reached 50% of its potential captive size !

Note that predator fishes seldom exceed 80% of their potential sizes in the wild..given the size of the water body that they are found in the wild, added to the other factors of a varied diet of potential prey and how we usually don't overfeed them for fear of the filter system collapsing under their huge appetites and thus huge waste outputs.

One fine day should I have the means ($$) for a huge tank, this fish would definitely make it to the top 3 on my list of must-keep fishes once again...