Fieldwork Report (what SPS make it in my mixed reef)

asg · January 5, 2015

Just saw this post... Paisey...

My Flagfin didn't touch my euphyllia, but my gonio never opened up again...

It also pecks at SPS but have stopped since...

Angel Keeper

_-" so what your plan for your gonio...

mine flagfin kisses my sun coral, zoa, millies daily... such a fatherly figure... :erm:

Angel Keeper · January 5, 2015

Oh... I just put my gonio in my sump display...

Angel Keeper

asg · January 16, 2015

16/01/15 - Second Last Update

As usual, FTS for this update

How time flies, this update is the second last update of this fieldwork liao. Have already keep most of the SPS for 1 month plus. I would say that although the result is not spectacular, I am somewhat happy with how my SPS are after a month. So far out of the 15+ SPS that I got, 1 RTN and two browned. The rest are still maintaining their colours and the PE.

BN, Digi and millies types of SPS are particularly doing well.

Oki, enough of talking, it is time for 有图有真相。The next and final SPS update would be beginning of Feb, reporting on how my SPS are after my two weeks business trip. Hopefully no more RTN or browning case.

Brown-ed since week 1

Doing reasonable well

Overall view:

Indv view

Q-ing to-be-glue SPS

lastly, two new type of SPS :yeah:

Clamopora

Hammeropora

solasido · January 16, 2015

Haha

Like your "Clamopora" and "Hammeropora"

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asg · January 19, 2015

Haha

Like your "Clamopora" and "Hammeropora"

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haha, I also like my clamopora a lots. But it just grows too slow ah

asg · January 19, 2015

19/01/15 - Don't die on me

Brought two really nice blue aussie SPS (one i believe is a blue prostrata and the other is a acropora(?)) before my trip.

somehow I feel connected (read: dont want them to die) with these two blue fellows. It is hard to get coral that has blue which is comparable to my little clamopora, Not navy blue, not sky blue, but sort of like water colour blue.

I promise myself that I wont be stocking up any more SPS after the trip liao, as most nice SPS only comes in a fist size colony (way too big for my 2fy tank) and there are not that many choices of SPS frags in LFS.

Spending big bucks on a colony and frag them are not exactly my cup of teas. Just too troublesome and taking up too much of my precious tank space. Not to mentioned that there is always this perception of profiteering.

Anyway, to a SPS newbie like me who has a small tank, I am just puzzled that how come no LFS do the "customer service" of breaking a colony (assume selling at $90) into four frags (sell $30 * 4) , sell them, make additional profits at the same time... and save my fingers from super glue...

Oki, lastly a book mark to tag the colour of the SPS and we shall see how they turn out after two week when I get back... keeping my fingers crossed.

asg · February 1, 2015

Short update before final report. 31 jan 2015: come back to a tank full of macro algae + hair algae.

Think until my head upsize for the cause also cannot find...

Finally, it is my mrs feeding a cube of frozen mysis unthraw unwash daily instead of my prepared 1/5 cube washed frozen mysis daily.

I thought the amount is identical and the fishes look HAPPY when i feed them... she said...

Ok... i loss liao...

P/s: will update the winning (read: suvival) SPS in few days time...

asg · February 2, 2015

02/02/15 - Final Report with recommendations

Sightly over two months since my first SPS. Have learnt quite a fair bit about SPS keeping, most important of all is now I am more confident in term of knowing which SPS will have a higher chance of making it in my tank.

To me, the most fascinating attraction of SPS is the shape and form of it, most LPS/ softies often lack the hard structure of SPS (read: colourful stick). A collection of SPS forming the outline in the tank is a nice sight, especially so with fishes swimming gracefully in and out of it.

On the other hand, 99% of SPS can't match the brightest and striking colour of GEM LPS/ softies. Even the most colourful (read: expensive) SPS which I saw during the last two months of shipments arent exactly a close match to those GEM LPS. I might be biased here, but for $80 - $120 spend on a mini SPS colony, I can get more colour varieties and brightest out of the same $.

Anyway, like they always say, beauty is in the eyes of reefers. Ok, so back to the conclusion of my fieldwork report, I will highlight the list of SPS and my observation on them. Not really expert views, but I do hope they can help any SPS newbies in deciding on which SPS to get.

1) Super confident Can Make It - digitata (highly recommended to SPS newbie)

Have three digi in my tank. One forest fire, one German blue and one normal green digi. PE is always there, growth is slow but visible. Even after two weeks of unintended stress test (read previous post), they are still opening up as if nothing has happened.

(if the first thing I saw after the two weeks trip was a dead forest fire, most likely I would totally give up on SPS keeping liao)

2) Super confident Can Make It - BN (highly recommended to SPS newbie)

Have two BN in my tank. One normal BN and one radioactive green BN. Both are doing fine two. Growth of the normal BN is visible in two months.

When I first got the radioactive BN, half of the frag was beached and covered with alage. It has seem recovered and the PE is nice.

3) Somewhat confident Can Make It - Milli (Odd is with you)

Two weeks ago I am very confident that my red and green milli can survive the two weeks. Thanks to the stress test, now I am not so sure anymore (red is still red, but green is becoming half brown). But I believe that with a little bit of extra care, trying out Milli should has a very good success rate (>90%)

Red Milli

4) Somewhat confident Can Make It - Stylo (cat paw), monti, unknown Acro (you have the upperhand)

Let's just say that for these groups of SPS, colour remains there, PE is still there but somehow the colours did not brighten up as much as the digi that I have. Maybe I will just need to continue with TLC for months and pray for the best.