soggycookies

Coldwater boxfish are cool but really hard to come by. And prolly really pricey as well haha Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Looks like somewhere in between 7.8 and 8 bro. I’d say 7.9. I get a weird color between 8 and 8.2 when I test my pH in the evening using this test kit Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Still looking. Upp Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Generally cephalopods have short lifespans of 1-2 year’s. In captivity if you get one that’s pretty large already it’s lifespan is even more limited so it’s not very surprising. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Also to add I’ve noticed wrasses will dive headfirst into the substrate in a new tank. Perhaps their hardiness also depends on the availability of substrate real estate more than anything else, especially in the beginning. Without adequate hiding places in the sand they become less likely to feed and are much more easily stressed as they potentially injure themselves while trying to bury themselves into crevices and often sharp substitutes in the aquarium that aren’t the right sort of sandbed for these fish. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

A skimmer’s main purpose to is to help with nutrient export. If your bioload isn’t high cause of your Low stocking, a Skimmer isn’t even necessary. Especially when you hardly have anything in there and keep up with maintenance Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Haven’t used Arctica Nor Teco chillers before, but would like to know how the noise is myself from others who have used them or are using them. Hailea is good based on my experience with it but can be extremely noisy. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

For the price, certainly hahaha Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Butterflyfish are facultative feeders so yeah to some degree it is indeed luck haha. They have a pecking order of what food they like most to least and it varies more from individual to individual Butterflyfish more so than other fish species, at least from what I’ve observed. Many are general omnivores. i.e. they are picky, but will eat anything they like, and a lot of it, once they realize they like it Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Here’s my list of considerations, from most to least area of concern for both pros and cons: PROS: - a more natural aquascape - large surface area for beneficial bacteria to populate and filter your tank - substrate for fish that require it(sand-sifting gobies and wrasses in particular) - deep sandbeds(4inches+)can provide Low oxygen zone for certain strains of bacteria that help with the denitrification process converting nitrates into nitrites CONS - finer/smaller grain particles can be easily blown around and cloud the water, hampering light penetration and land all over coral, especially in high flow, shallower setups - larger size grain aren’t blown around as easily but makes it harder for many sand-swelling species to effectively graze/ dig into and they may injure themselves and get bacterial infections - larger grain sand cannot exactly be sifted and cleaned by sand-sifting gobies and therefore require constant replenishing by a very effective snail and Hermit cleanup crew or manual vacuuming - potential nutrient sink if maintenance is not kept up - deeper sandbeds can release harmful stored chemicals from detritus and waste buildup into your tank if accidentally stirred I know the cons seem to outweight the pros but IMO it’s all about what you’re trying to achieve. Many people who are into SPS go without sand because it’s the most hassle free; you get less nitrates from less waste nutrients potentially getting stuck in the sand, less likely that water gets cloudy which might affect light dispersion, etc. But others prefer a natural look and IMO that is the main draw of a sandbed. To replicate the most natural looking ecosystem in the comfort of our home. Depends what you’re going for, really e.g. if you wanna keep livestock like wrasses, sandstars and sand-sifting gobies , you’re gonna need a smaller grain size or they’re not gonna thrive. There’s a trade off for everything too, like if you’re using a deep sand bed you’re probably not gonna have to get as much media but you’ll also need to bear with seeing the unsightly dirty bottom-most layer of the sandbed being all kinds of mucky and avoid stirring the sand. With the right cleanup crew and livestock though, you virtually never have to clean the sandbed. Also like@danialakmal97 said, there’s always the possibility of scratching your tank’s glass while cleaning the walls of your tank with a magnet cleaner or scraper if the particles get wedged in between the cleaning groves, especially with finer grain sand Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Fine sand is alright, but in your small tank flow will really make it a pain to deal with when it keeps getting stirred up by the flow. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

As long as there is decent flow and depending what you want to keep, since your tank is small, it’s probably a good idea not to overdo the flow haha Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Up Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Which is why I feed mine pellets via a food timer everyday hahaha. Occasionally cut pieces of prawn/mysis cubes if I have any in storage and fresh ulva from my refugium works for me. But I can understand your concern hahaha. Even my blue Tang at one point loved the new taste of meat so much he ignored the sea lettuce and went straight for the prawn cuts Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Yup. Watching them hunt live prey is the most interesting thing about keeping cuttlefishes to me. Among the 2 common species along our northern shores, I’ve observed that glittering cuttlefish(sepiella inermis) bury their whole body in the sand when they hide, and rely less on changing their colours and bodily textures to camouflage with their immediate surroundings, which curvespine cuttlefish(sepia recurvirostra) do. I like the latter better. They hide in plain sight and really camouflage so well without needing to dig in the sand even. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Ah. NLS should be alright bro, they have spirulina and contain proteins from marine sources. But imo they should still get the occasional feeding of fresh seafood and seaweed haha. Too much pellets alone might cause constipation in some species Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

If you are feeding them other foods in addition to the pellets like shrimp and nori sheets it shouldn’t be an issue Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Yeah, note to OP: don’t try keeping them with fishes unless you don’t mind them being lunch or stressing your cuttlefish m/octopus out until it dies of stress haha. Most species hide in the sand, but some completely bury themselves only exposing their eyes. Others just pretend to be rocks, coral, or seaweed Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Have you tried new life spectrum? Very general but they seem to do the trick, even my wrasses readily gobble them up. What are your stocks? Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Still looking. Upsss

Ideal for the dinnertable maybe Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

From what I’ve read and seen on other forums and articles on keeping cuttlefish in captivity, dwarf cuttlefish(sepia bandensis) are among the few that are ok for nano tanks. But like you said they are rarely shipped here, and they can’t exactly be found in local waters. The species I’ve had most success with among 2 ones you can find locally is sepia recurvirostra, aka the curvespine cuttlefish. Not as mobile as the glittering cuttlefish(sepiella inermis), which tends to bump into the walls of your tank when propelling itself backward and injuring its back. This was my curvespine cuttlefish before he became calamari rings. They grow to a max of about 17cm. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Agreed. Sometimes our quarantine procedures get so perfectionistic and overly clinical we forget about the fragility of these animals and sometimes the fish dies where it would have survived had we not been so particular about treating it 100% haha. Just my 2c Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Just a guess, but it could be that it has nothing to do with an electrical current/static/shock, but the chemicals produced by whatever might be in the tank at that point in various concentrations that produce toxins that react with your skin. Happens to me occasionally too. Usually when I have cuts or bruises on my finger or even just a hangnail Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Any particular species you have in mind? I agree, I hardly ever see them being sold in our LFS. I have kept cuttlefish several times before but all of mine were wild caught. IME they are harder to keep than seahorses because they almost always require live food, and have monstrous appetites and an equally monstrous bioload. Never tried keeping Octopus before, though I’ve caught them before too. But that was ages ago, before I got into the saltwater tank hobby Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app