SteveA

I’m not sure the argument about maintaining a very low nutrient environment is not a spurious one. We find coral reefs in very low nutrient environments and therefore assume that they require very low nutrients to survive. We then construct various theories as to why this should be so. What is usually ignored is that, in nature, it is only in very low nutrient environments that coral can out compete seaweed. Coral reefs don’t survive in medium to high nutrient environments because they get smothered by weed there. In our tanks we control the weed either by hand or by, again, maintaining very low nutrients. Excessive nutrients in any environment can lead to pollution but I suspect that as long as weed is kept under control, most corals will remain quite healthy in a medium nutrient environment. Perhaps they might not be as colourful in as in a low very low nutrient environment, but we only want the colour for our benefit, not for theirs. Still, I will carry on using a skimmer as I am too lazy to put in the extra effort to maintian a tank without one. I also don't have any burning desire to prove to myself that it works, or otherwise. Steve

Like the clowns

Strangely, both my hydno’s are pretty peaceful. I suppose it might pay to keep your head down when your nearest neighbours are a warlike Galaxia and an anemone that seems to like to pop out of its hole in a different location each day. Steve

I am now pretty sure it is a male Clarkii. Found it here. http://wish.wodonga.tafe.edu.au/~kwaldon/species.htm A very good site. The picture I put up does exagerate the blue, and I initially thought it was totally an artifact of the lights and the camera. Closer examination shows it to have a blue tinge even under room lighting. Steve

I'd not heard of them before posting the inquiry here and on RC. Only found one other picture as well. Guy on RC said they were hard to keep as didn't want to feed. Mine certainly was no trouble. I will look out for a young one.

It doesn't look like finding a mate for it is going to be too easy then...

Just found a picture here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clownfis.htm They call it a clarki but I I have looked at other pictures of clarkis and decided it was not one. Steve

It is at least 4 years old. This colour scheme was either not as developed, or I just failed to notice it, in its earlier years. Steve

Can anyone ID this fellow? I have looked through a number of publications and many pictures on the RC site and other web sources, but cannot find a complete match. I have found several relatively close but nowhere have I seen that tail, with its basic white colour but yellow top and bottom rays. Other things to note - White edge to otherwise black rear dorsal fin - Orange/Yellow anal fin - Orange Belly - Front half of body tending towards orange. Steve

24 fish I think something else fancied them before the Regal arrived. I also have 0 Aiptasia in the tank, although they grow in the sump, and I suspect the same something else. Chief suspect is boxer shrimp. Steve

Animals are: 4 Line Wrasse 1 Bicolour Goby 1 Blue Tang 1 Blue/Green Chromus 5 Flame Hawk 1 Honey/Grey Damsel (species?) 1 Mandarin 1 Neon Blue Devil / Javanese Damsel 2 Purple Tang 1 Regal Angel 1 Royal Dottyback 1 Spotted Hawk 1 Strawberry Gramma 1 Yellow tail damsel 1 Yellow Tang 1 Yellowbelly Clown 1 Yellowtail Blue Damsel 3 Acropora 13 Caulastrea 4 Echinopora 1 Favites 1 Fungia 2 Galaxea 2 Goniastrea 1 Helliophora 1 Hydnophora 4 Leptastrea 2 Leptoria 1 Lobophyllia 1 Merulina 2 Millophora 1 Montipora 4+ Pavona 1 Plerogyra 1 Polyphyllia 1 Porites 3 Scolymia 1 Seriatopora 1 Stylophora 1 Trachyphyllia 1 Tubastraea (In sump) 1 Turbinaria 4 Actinodiscus 50+ Anemones 5 Blue Coral 1 Boxer Shrimp 1 Cardinal Shrimp 2 Crabs 2+ Fire coral? 1 Mussels 4 Skunk cleaner shrimp 2 Softies 5+ Sponges 3+ Zoanthids 0 Steve

There are 4 Turbinaria in the tank. The two you can see in the photos are front centre and back centre (the one that looks like a giant vegitable) Technically yes, but not as you wold normally describe setting up a new tank. The tank was set up in early May but most of the contents were transfered from another tank, of the same size, that I had set up, for about 10 years, in an office on the other side of town. Steve

Thanks. And a couple more.. Steve

The photo I posted just after setting it up in May was a bit cloudy. This one is a little clearer, even if the photography isn't any better. Taken 23/07/05 Steve

Good advice. Otherwise I sense a disaster coming on.

Must have been late in the day. I was actually thinking about zoos being wiped out by Regals, rather than pods, but I think the fish has been sampling the pods as well. My mandarin has never managed to wipe them out but I think he is having to search a bit harder for them now. Steve

A word of advice for future reference. If you want to keep pods, don't put a Regal Angel in the same tank.

Can I place my order now?

There will probably come a time when the Blue Tang will wish it had been nicer to the Regal when it was smaller. The angel has developed a keen interest in any food it sees the other fish eating, the only one that it so far doesn’t really like being the flake food (which I only got for it anyway), so I suspect that in a year or so the regal may be getting up to the size the tang is now.

After the origins of this thread and the initial reception my Regal got from the various tank incumbents, it has turned out to be my Blue Tang that has been the most persistent chaser of the Regal Angel. This didn’t start till after about a week and coincided with the Regal starting to venture out more. It only takes place outside of feeding time, as the tang is more interested in chasing food than in chasing the Regal (and the Regal knows this). The chasing only takes place out in front of the tank, as the tang does not seem interested in pursuing the Regal into the reef. Over the last week the chasing has lessened and the Regal has got bolder. It is a persistent and slightly cheeky fish and has gradually got the measure of the tang. The tang has two advantages, size and speed, but it also suffers from poor manoeuvrability and bad brakes such that the angel is starting to learn that when it chases you, instead of beating a hasty retreat back into the reef you can do a triple summersault with a double reverse backward twist which leaves you 15cm away and leaves the tang nose first into the substrate. At first I was a bit concerned, but no damage has been done to either party and it can be quite entertaining to watch, as clearly the Regal has no intention of letting the Blue Tang stop it exploring the tank. Oops, Ive been spotted, gotta go,...... back soon... Yes, I know my photography isn't much good. Steve

It certainly looks bluer than I would like for my tank although, in the past, I have had it quite a bit more blue than it is now. From the photo anyway, I would suspect that a lot of colour of the animals is being somewhat disguised by the overall blue wash effect. Steve

Can't make up my mind whether it is a 10 year old trying to sell it, or someone trying to sell it ot a 10 year old. Steve

Ditto

You point me to two Aquamedic 5000 tall double pump jobbies for $2000 and I will buy them. Unfortunately, I think you would be lucky to get a single new one for that price. I haven't tried out a whole lot of different skimmers as I have had no need to. Yes, experience is important, and based on my experience over many years with these machines, I would not hesitate to use one again should the need arise. I have found that as long as you clean out the air inlet tubes regularly (something Jansen's were unaware of when I pointed it out to one of them a couple of years ago) an amply sufficient quantity of bubbles at the correct size is produced. The only way to be sure tho, is to stick different, but theoretically equivalent, skimmers on the same tank and let them fight it out.

Yesterdays 'conversation’ prompted to have a closer look at my skimmer last night. True to my general memory of its operation, I observed a dense milky swirl of bubbles, none of which appeared to have a diameter greater than 0.5mm and most of which were estimated to be in the 0.25-0.30mm diameter range, that extended from a level just below my knees up to a level a bit above my chin. So, I therefore conclude that either, the Aquamedic 5000 skimmer(s) that one must presume Reef has observed in action and from which he has formed his opinions with respect to bubble size and quantity, was/were faulty, or that my skimmer, plus the identical one I maintain on another tank, are, for some unexplained reason, exceptions. I am aware that the current versions use Aquamedics own Oceanrunner pumps whereas the two I use both have Eheim pumps. It should be noted that I also look after a tank with a small ‘in-tank’ Aquamedic turboflotor skimmer and this one is a load of crap and does fully conform to reefs descriptions. It is perhaps not surprising that I do not find it on their web site.