Cali Kid Corals

Elos 120 (liter)

Some updates. Including the Stomatella Snail from hell..............it's over 5 inches when it's moving. I think it's been ransacking my coral.
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Erick said:
That doesn't look like a stomatella to me. It looks like a scutus. Does it have a shell?
No exaggerating, it's a big as a sea hare..........a big one! I'll freeze it if anyone wants to do some forensic investigation.

Yes, thanks goodness it does have a shell covered in it's mantle. I would have never got it off the reef if it was all soft. It tried desperately to cling to an under hang but once I got the tweezers onto the shell it was all over. I've been loosing acros like crazy and thought it must be something else. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I have a feeling this guy is a coral eater. Those that know are welcome to chime in. It was big enough to pound flat, coat with flour and egg and quick fry it. Kind of like eating your enemy's heart........ :davie:

PS That last chalice is one that Bill the CookieJar passed to me for rest and recuperation. It's growing nicely and has a cool lavender/purple color. Whatever has been ransacking my acros hasn't touched my LPS. Chalices are all growing like weeds.
 
I have a small piece of the micro for ya John :)

Looks like you have some gunk on your sand - How about a conch to keep it clean? Ever get those Berghia?
 
Thanks, Con. Hey Erick, great and quick research about the porker snail. I have a confession: I didn't "do him in"............he's currently residing in a separate container and seems quite content. I DON'T think I should place him/her back in the tank mostly 'cause it's so-darn-big. Yeah, my algae is pretty nuts right now but settling down "some" Should I reconsider replacing it in the tank or is there ANY chance it might have been grazing on more than my algae? Would anyone like to take custody of him/her? Stay of execution granted for now.........
Oh, yeah, I still have two small conchs but they don't really keep up nor do the nassarious snails. Still a work in progress.................
 
Nassarius snails don't algae. They eat food that may have been missed by fish and clean up dead things. They might eat detritus but I'm not sure. They also move sand a bit which is a plus buts that about it. I think the conch is similar to the nassarius snails except they might eat some algae, but I don't think it's their main meal (just going by internet so take that info for what it's worth). I would offer up the suctus if you don't want it. I'm sure someone in the club would be happy to have it.
 
john- nice pics & lots of LPS love. glad you're getting good recovery, I'm going to call you the Coral Dr. I do have a few more 'patients' for you- do you want me to bring them to BayMac and see if they do better in your tank. I'll make sure they're 'snail free'. :D
 
CookieJar said:
john- nice pics & lots of LPS love. glad you're getting good recovery, I'm going to call you the Coral Dr. I do have a few more 'patients' for you- do you want me to bring them to BayMac and see if they do better in your tank. I'll make sure they're 'snail free'. :D
Please do! :)
The only one that's still giving me fits is the lonely prism favia, still smaller than a dime but showing several new mouths over the last few months. You can see I overfeed the tank (judging by the algae), partly 'cause I've got a heavy fish population. I better get better about housekeeping.

Who would like Mr. Snail? I'll bring it to BayMac for the lucky recipient. :party: Oh yeah, you have to promise not to eat him/her. ;)
 
Update: Most everything has gotten used to LED only lighting. I'm having better luck keeping SPS like mills's and acros now. Some acros that looked like they were done have begun to come back. As has the worst algae issue along with an incredible aptasia infestation. I've added some Berghia nudi's but it's too soon to tell when they will start catching up with the aptasia. I'm not giving up because my LPS is flourishing! Sing the "I hate aptasia" song with me as you view my quickie iPhone videos. Sorry about the focus on the shroom image. It was still worth uploading until I can do better. Click on the image to be directed to the related video.




 
iCon said:
I see sand.. You must have gotten rid of something ;)
I've been moving keepers up to the rock and passing the rest around. I've got a ball of beautiful pipe organ coral the size of a grapefruit. I've not seen very much around. Anyone need a BIG 'ol chunk?
Note: All freebies come with aptasia juveniles at no extra charge. 8-(
 
John, I was getting a big outbreak of them too, but I had an easy solution to cut their population way back (still there, but now controllable). I cut feeding back to about 40% and only fed "large" fish feeds and minimal coral feeds. I'm sure my coral weren't happy that I wasn't feeding them Oyster Feast and Roti Feast, but they manage. They'll get their crack later on, but after things are better stablized. (EVERYTHING loves that stuff...even the bad critters :p)
 
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