danano

Did some minor rescaping and added this beauty... Acropora Abrolhensis. I expect the colour to deepen in the next couple of weeks... should look something like AT's.

AGM, nice chatting with you at PR today! Great to see your thriving sps in the pics. Nice colour, growth and polyp extension. Simply outstanding! Dan

Wow! Would be great if you manage to breed them!! No doubt the clowns will eat the firefish fry. I suggest removing the clowns... perhaps a reason to get another tank. If my orchid dottybacks ever pair up (i.e. mate) , I will remove all the other fish in the tank. No kidding!

I think I saw some pink skunks at CF on Saturday. You might want to call them first to be sure.

Derasa still available. No sure about squomosa though.

Sure looks a lot like one! Yes, it is an Abrolhosensis!!

[i'm speechless]

Looks good... where did you have your tank and stand/cabinet/hood made? Your KH levels are fine. I keep mine around 8 or 9 with daily dosing of Reef Builder. I too have difficulty raising it beyond those levels, especially with the hard corals I keep and coralline encrusted LR and glass. You could try scraping the coralline off the glass although I doubt it would make a big difference.

JS... nicky is spot on... do tell us a more about your tank setup, fish care and water parameters. How large is your tank and how many fish do you currently keep? Also, care to share where you got your fish from?

Probably not but monitor them closely.

It's highly unlikely that the tiny creatures that come with your LR would pose a threat to your fish. In fact, some fish feed on those same "vermin" you mentioned. If anything, it's more likely the cyanide (used to catch the fish) that's killing the fish. Ideally, net caught fish are the way to go. Even if you have to pay a slight premium, it's well worth it.

5ft tank at the entrance... that doesn't sound like PR to me... hmmm... could it be R****n? If so... you may just have found your answer. Besides, adding 4 or 5 fishes at a go would significantly increase your bio-load thus compromising your water quality. How much and how often do you feed your fish? Soaking LR in fresh water for 20 mins Unlikely that you'll be able to get rid of crabs or worms that way... nevertheless, may I ask your intention for removing the crabs and worms? It's not a good idea to soak your LR in fresh water... probably does more harm than good by killing off the beneficial organisms on the LR.

Wow! Almost an inch a month!!

Your porites (x'mas tree rock) and clam need more light. You will also need to maintain Calcium and Alkilinity levels. Is that a whitish-brown hairy nudibranch on your porites? If so, get rid of it or it will slowly devour your porites.

Will do... the one I got from you, right?... it's in my other tank. Will start another thread for it. Give it a couple of weeks. I am curious as to how it'll colour up! I'm hopeful or are you referring to the lime green monti cap?

Here's a pic of the humilis taken yesterday. With the polyps fully extended, it's now a lighter shade of purple.

Excellent write-up. I agree fully on the benefits of what I would refer to as not only good but "turbulent" water flow. Thanks for sharing AT! A must read for all SPS keepers.

Yes, it has! It's been almost 10 days and it's as purple. Maybe a slightly lighter shade coz' the transluscent purplish-blue polyps are extending even further. So far so good! Another good sign is that it's started to encrust around the base!! The other Fiji acro I got is also doing well, despite a minor case of STN on the first day. All as equal, I believe 'turbulent water flow' may the key... time will tell.

That's a nasty nudi! I had the same thing happen to one of my green caps several weeks ago. Fortunately, they are pretty easy to get rid off. Just need to make sure you spot and kill everyone of them. They also feed on porites. I removed my monti cap... took a small screwdriver and crushed those nasty buggers and rinsed it in a cup of water from the tank. Those in your pic look like juvenile nudis... I once caught a 1.5inch "mama" feeding on my porites. White hairy like thing. Before that, I was wondering why one of my porites started to develop dead-white patches. You may want to monitor you montis and porites closely over the next few days, especially after the lights go out. A wrasse may take care of such a problem. Have you got one?

That's probably the bare minimum for your tank's size/depth. And even then, only a small portion of your tank would be suitable. You may want to seriously consider 2x250w MH plus the T5s. The idea is to create a total and as ideal an environment for them in your reef tank.

Monti Cap $20.10

Deepblue... I was just about to get the cap... you beat me to it Took too long to decide. Oh well... would you like to split it 50/50? PM me if you do.

Nice. That looks like a green humilis. It needs strong light and good "indirect" flow (around the branches and base). You may want to place it higher up and on a flat surface. Looks like it's at an angle in the pic with some branches shaded. Is the purple acro above it from LCK? Looks strangely familiar.

If you decide to go with T5s, I recommend going with 3 rather than just 2. For a tank your size, 2 would be the bare minimum. For ideal light coverage, you may even want to consider 4. I've got 5x T5s over my 2'x1.5'x1.5'. Also, while 3 T5s with the same wattage as an MH may generate the same amount of heat in total, the MH tends to radiate a lot more heat. Short of getting a chiller, use a fan to move the air around the lights, T5 or MH. Personally, I occasionally use a fan to supplement the chiller... so it doesn't have to work as hard.

Sweet specimen. Do keep us posted on how it develops!