jquek

<br /><br />Thanks. Still trying very hard.

<br /><br />Think the green one is a sunset millepora. Can't remember what's the reddish looking one - it's beena while back.

Amazing as usual!

Where's the collection place?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22468206<br /><br />London Zoo is appealing to fish keepers to try to find a mate for a critically endangered, tropical species.<br /><br />The Mangarahara cichlid is extinct in the wild but the three in captivity are all male.<br /><br />Described as "gorgeously ugly", the Zoo is hoping to start a conservation programme if a fit female can be found for the captive males.<br /><br />And with two of the males now 12 years old, the quest is said to be extremely urgent.<br /><br />These cichlids were named after the Mangarahara river in Madagascar where they were first found.<br /><br />The construction of dams on the river caused the streams they lived in to dry up and the fish is now believed to be extinct in its natural habitat.<br /><br />Bachelor boys<br /><br />There are two males in captivity at London Zoo and another in Berlin. There had been a female in captivity at the German zoo but attempts to breed ended in disaster when the male killed her.<br /><br />"It's a fairly common thing with cichlids," London Zoo's aquarium curator Brian Zimmerman told BBC News.<br /><br /><br />The hope is that the much sought after female cichlid will be found in a private collection somewhere around the world<br />"They are unusual fish compared to many in that they practise pair bonding and parental care of the eggs and the fry, so there's a lot of tussling that goes on between them."<br /><br />Having carried out a search with other aquariums around the world and failed to find a mate for their bachelor boys, the team at the Zoological Society of London are now hoping that someone may have a female in a private collection.<br /><br />According to Mr Zimmerman, if you have one you're likely to know it.<br /><br />"They are not a particularly beautiful fish - they are gorgeously ugly, they are unusual. They are more a connoisseur's type of fish. They need quite a bit of space; the males are bigger than your hand, and they need a decent tank," he added.<br /><br />Given the age profile of the London males and the failure to find a mate in the world's zoos, Mr Zimmerman is not very confident for the future of the species.<br /><br />"I'm not very hopeful. This freshwater fish crisis is huge worldwide, and as water becomes diverted for human use it becomes scarcer and fish generally lose out," he said.<br /><br />"I think there's probably a very slim to no chance of this fish surviving."<br /><br />London Zoo is asking anyone with information about female cichlids to email the team at fishappeal@zsl.org

You should if you can. If your plug looks similar to the one below: You can buy an adaptor that has the earth contact. Should be readily available in DIY stores.

Looking really good!

<br /><br />Agree. The chiller would be my first suspect, especially if it comes with a 2 pin plug (without earth).

<br /><br />Using genesis, fuel, acid and plus.

<br /><br />I did just that. Manage to get NO3 to 0 (or close to that) according to DD test kit.

Good information here and very informative article. Thanks Jun Kai! My clams sure look like they got the pinched mantle disease, though I am not sure why (they have been in the tank for a while and very settled). Anyway, I tried freshwater dip on them yesterday. Unfortunately, my maxima didn't respond well to it and has gone up the lorry. My crocea on the other hand seems to respond more positively by opening up more, though not fully yet. Hope it will get better.

Oh, water change may be worse? Anyway, its a small <10% water change as part of my weekly maintenence routine. I noticed that the maxima had slighly better mantle extension after I added carbon. Similarly, I see my crocea having some mantle extension (lights are still off) this morning before I left for work.

<br /><br />Gosh! It might just be pinched mantle disease. Wonder how the PMD causing protozoan got into the system suddenly. Did a water change and added activated carbon yesterday. Will check this evening for any signs of improvement. If no signs of improvement, might try freshwater dip.

<br /><br />Didn't notice any so far, but will continue to keep a lookout. Thanks!

Such beautiful corals!

Hi people,<br /><br />Something strange is happening to both my maxima and crocea today. Both of them are not opening up. Both have been in the tank for a long time and this has never happened. Nothing has changed in the tank except adding some SPS frags yesterday.<br /><br />Here's how the maxima is looking now:<br /><br /><br />Here you can see a FTS taken yesterday with both clams still opening up nicely:<br /><br /><br />Main parameters have not fluctuated as far as I know. <br /><br />Ca 420-430 ppm<br />Alk 6.7 dkh<br />Ph 8.12<br />Mg 1400 ppm<br />PO4 0 ppm<br />NO3 0 ppm<br /><br />Above parameters were taken yesterday and today except NO3 is taken maybe a few days ago.<br /><br />Anyone has any idea what's happening? And any suggestions what I should do?

It may be a bad batch of reagent. I had that a couple of times. The lfs you bought from should be kind to change the reagent for you if you just bought it recently.

<br /><br />Only recent frags seem to be doing ok so far. Hopefully this trend persists.

<br /><br />Thanks bro!

Super healthy frags and an amazing tank! Up for you!

A couple of pics: FTS and a leather coral i really like: Hoping for the new SPS frags to stabilize and grow .

Thanks but really can't compare with the many great tanks here.

Ok bro. Time to drop by.

From my experience, NO3 and PO4 went up gradually since I started reef resh, and unplugged bio pellet and rowa. I realized I may have underdosed on the safe side initially, so that may be a reason. A relatively high bio load and perhaps less than optimal skimming may also lead to this. I now run rowa concurrently with an overdose of genesis and fuel (while following the recommended dosage for acid and plus) and manage to keep NO3 and PO4 at around 0.25ppm and 0.03ppm respectively (and going down it seems). In a nutshell, I think the recommended dosing instructions can serve as a good guideline, but one can adjust accordingly depending on your tank - every tank is different, so having the same dosage for each tank may not be realistic. I may increase the dosage of plus if I feel that the SPSes are starting to pale.

Very nice colony! Any more left at pinnacle?