October 13, 2023
I picked up a Cali Tort at Hide Tide Aquatics. They had a really nice Walt Disney acro that I nearly got. Although it looked nice in the blue lights, it wasn’t quite as striking in the white light. My partner prefers the white light so I have a long stretch in the middle of the day with white lights. Also, I wanted something extra hardy. The Cali Tort looked good in both lights and - like most classics - my assumption is that it’s pretty tough. Now that it’s in my tank, it may not be the final choice for this spot. It’s not bright like everything else and it’s a little harder to see against the black background of the skimmer and ATO sensor. Bright is a theme of this tank, and I wonder if
@Darkxerox was right to suggest a yellow anacropora. I’m still pretty committed to trying an acro in this tank and I already have an anacropora (which I love and highly recommend btw), but I could see myself ultimately getting a goldenrod. Even if I don’t keep the cali long term, imo, it’s definitely an upgrade from the pink Cadillac. The blue color is the touch of class I was looking for.
For a couple weeks, I started my water changes by using a turkey baster. I was surprised how much detritus it kicked up and it was, in some ways, satisfying to pursue a “clean” tank. In hindsight, I think this was a mistake. I’m curious to hear from other people, but I felt like I got a nutrient spike and algae bloom. I think using the turkey baster may have upset some bacteria or other critters. I was doing more frequent and larger water changes and the algae just kept coming – getting worse even. I think I let “clean” overpower “stability” in my thinking. I’m going to prioritize stability for a little bit. Having stopped the baster for about a week, it already seems to be making a difference but it’s hard to say. There’s a lot of lag with these things sometimes.
The watermelon chalice has two new eyes. The digitata is growing into a star occupant. The skin has grown in some spots that had died back (before my time) and reclaimed it from some algae. It’s getting thicker and growing in multiple places, not just the two main tips.
A piece of a torch tentacle came off. It’s happened a couple other times. I think there’s some sort of bivalve shell or something on its stem where the tentacles get trapped and cut off. Anyways, a little piece of the torch was floating around the tank – which you notice because it’s neon green – but then I later saw the piece sitting on the ricordia. At first, it seemed as if the ricordia was trying to eat it, but I then realized it was being stung. It was there overnight and although the ricordia is probably just fine, it was definitely not happy about it. I worry that these torches are way too tough for a crammed tank. I would love to get recommendations on what can withstand them. Zoas maybe?