FuEl's 5 gallon pico reef

[jackywongto]

Small? You don't know what is small until you see goby larvae. No lah if they eat enough they do grow quite big, around maybe 1 inch.

Mine is about 1 inch. but yeah, If I have a pico, I will throw a few inside as well.

Very interesting fish if you can see them crawling round the tank.

[digibee]

Think the price increased quite a lot... Used to be $16 per kg years ago when I asked...

Bro, how is the spread of the lights? Hope to see the results of the sps after sometime...

Yeah, I bought a couple of their rocks 3 months ago for $16 / kg.

They said the rocks are from fiji, that's why the price is higher than others.

[FuEl]

Did a siphoning of 1.5 L of water today. Lucky I tested the pH of newly mixed seawater before pouring into the tank. pH of the pico tank was 8.34, pH of newly mixed seawater was 8.94. Now I am aerating the water for pH to reach equilibrium before pouring into the tank. Next time I would prepare a bigger bucket of water and store it prior to water change.

[Harlequinmania]

Seem that you are not using a wave maker ? How did you manage to create the water movement in the tank for your SPS ?

[FuEl]

Seem that you are not using a wave maker ? How did you manage to create the water movement in the tank for your SPS ?

Hang-on filters.

[FuEl]

My N/P-Reducing Biopellets arrived today. Bought some tap water filters as my filter bag for my hang-on filter to house these pellets.

[FuEl]

A nightshot.. Acropora echinata polyp extension..

[mitlancer]

My N/P-Reducing Biopellets arrived today. Bought some tap water filters as my filter bag for my hang-on filter to house these pellets.

Hi Bro, based on my experience, the tap water filter bags break easily after 5-7 days of usage, so u might want to change it frequently or use 2 layers to last around 2 weeks. So thought might be good to let you know first.

Cheers

[FuEl]

Hi Bro, based on my experience, the tap water filter bags break easily after 5-7 days of usage, so u might want to change it frequently or use 2 layers to last around 2 weeks. So thought might be good to let you know first.

Cheers

Thanks for the reminder. I will take note of this.

[peacemaker]

I thought you used your cat as a filter bag till I scrolled down and saw the small white ones...

[FuEl]

Added 15 pcs of mini dart gobies, Aioliops megastigma. They were in rather good condition, with rather full bellies. Best thing is that they eat enriched baby brine shrimp!

[FuEl]

I will be getting a LED nightlight just for these dart fish. They get very startled when the lights go out, shooting for the water surface. After a few minutes they calm down. Interesting observation is that they turn pale and sleep on the tank bottom, behaving much like neon tetras when they sleep. Definitely not for those with crabs in the tank, as these fish are easy targets when they sleep.

[FuEl]

Some shots of these beautiful fish. They are being fed enriched newly hatched Artemia 3-4 times a day to maintain body condition. You can literally see the brine shrimp in their guts.

[peacemaker]

Wow! Nice! Are they the schooling type?

[onizukaa]

Some shots of these beautiful fish. They are being fed enriched newly hatched Artemia 3-4 times a day to maintain body condition. You can literally see the brine shrimp in their guts.

wow nice! might get some for my nano if i see it

[FuEl]

Wow! Nice! Are they the schooling type?

Yes they are schooling fish. As they are tiny open water fish, I suspect they need to be fed more frequently than anthias to keep up with their calories burnt.

[Digiman]

Beautiful dart gobies, they look magnificent swimming out in open water. My dream to keep a big group too, but sadly they die too easily. Envy your nano, my dream to keep a nano too, but dun think it can come true.

Haha anyway your cat v cute, looks v lazy, i like cats.

[jackywongto]

reminds me of neon tetras.

They are about an inch long?

Nvr take notice of this fish before.

[FuEl]

Beautiful dart gobies, they look magnificent swimming out in open water. My dream to keep a big group too, but sadly they die too easily. Envy your nano, my dream to keep a nano too, but dun think it can come true.

Haha anyway your cat v cute, looks v lazy, i like cats.

They can be kept. But you must make sure of a few things.

1) No predators, not even small crabs.

2) Filter intakes. Screen these if the suction is too strong. So far they have not ventured into my hang-on filters. My filters only draw 300L/hr so maybe that's why.

3) No bigger fish which will compete with them for food or stress them out.

4) Feed frequently with appropriately sized foods. Always start with live baby brine shrimp. These must be enriched with HUFA supplements, NHBBS will not do in the long run.

5) A small night light preferably as sudden darkness seems to spook these timid fish.

[FuEl]

reminds me of neon tetras.

They are about an inch long?

Nvr take notice of this fish before.

Hmm..the biggest of them seems to be just below 2cm.

[FuEl]

Just did a trial feeding with frozen cyclopeeze. The fish did not show interest. Either cyclopeeze is too big or they did not recognise it as a food item. I will continue feeding them cyclopeeze the next few days with brine shrimp to see if they will start to take it.

[Terryz_]

This is the first time i see such healthy specimen... Most come with sunken stomach...

[FuEl]

Some updates. Lost much of the previous SPS due to the recent heat wave and some salt burn issues. Learned much from my mistakes and have improved my husbandry. The cool weather recently has helped a lot too as I am not running a chiller. I have incorporated an air-stone skimmer. Daily water change of 2 liters via bottom siphoning is still a daily routine. Calcium and alkalinity is maintained by C-balance. I am left with 1 mini dart goby, the rest simply jumped out and were never found. The lone survivor seems to be the only one that does not jump.

Full tank shot

[FuEl]

Top down shot, left side of tank. The green birdnest is the longest surviving SPS, it has been in there since the beginning of the tank.

[FuEl]

A small 1cm frag which turned from brown to blue. The sps above it is a recent aquisition. It is from the same mother colony and if all goes well, it should turn blue as well.