hobogatito reef

[hobogato]

bigkglen generously gave me some tanks for my mysid project. while we were there, he also gave zach a fish bowl for a betta. by the time we got home, zach was really eyeballing the 29 gallon eclipse that kevin gave us. we decided to set it up as his(and alex's) tank. dont worry, christy claimed the fishbowl for a betta too :D

so far, here is what it looks like. it is a stock eclipse hood, but i will likely do some mod on the lights, either T5 or LED, haven't decided yet. christy has already claimed rights to add acans and micromussa, but the fish will be chosen by zack and alex (with guidance :) )

not much to look at yet, but should be pretty neat once it is going well

with flash
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06212.jpg

without
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06214.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Coooool, that sand looks pretty established, I'm guessing it was still set up?

Congrats Zach (and Alex)

[Pennies2Cents]

That's too cute! :) Love the name... Congrats Zack & Alex... :)

[txg8gxp]

Looks great, now they get to have a tank just like dad. Very cool.

[hobogato]

actually, that sand is sand that came from my fuge on the 240 - it has been dry since may of last year.

[aquasport24]

Ace,do you sleep at all?:bigsmile:

[ismvel]

Can't believe it isn't full of goodies yet..

What a slacker!!!!!!

;)

[hobogato]

ha! this is what i heard from zach while looking at his tank tonight before taking the boys up for bath/shower



dadda, i want you to kill these appataisia (i know sp, but that is how he says it), cause they are not good. i dont like em

[Europhyllia]

Can't believe it isn't full of goodies yet..

What a slacker!!!!!!

;)

I was just thinking Ace has got to start a new tank. He's not going to be able to cram in any more into the lagoon... and there it is!:wink_smile:

[corruption]

I was just thinking Ace has got to start a new tank. He's not going to be able to cram in any more into the lagoon... and there it is!:wink_smile:

Oh, you know he'll find a way to cram more in the lagoon... maybe not much more.. :D

-Justin

[Bill S]

Not to start an argument. But, it's a pet peeve of mine:

"betta (bĕt'ə) or fighting fish, small, freshwater fish of the genus Betta, found in Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. Best known is the Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. "

It's pronounced BET-ta, not BAY-ta. And it's Betta, not Beta.

[txg8gxp]

Hey ace, If the boys would like some zoa frags when the tank is ready let me know. I have a few different kinds I could part with.

[hobogato]

sorry bill, i will fix it :)

thanks steven, but it will be quite a while before any coral goes in.

[hobogato]

got the lights switched out today. just decided to go with a two bulb t5 retro kit.

much better i think (zach likes it too :) )
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06229.jpg

[txg8gxp]

Looks alot better, has zach desided on what to stock it with?

[hobogato]

no, he keeps asking when we can add fish and i keep telling him not for a while. he is being very patient about it tho.

[txmaverickmh]

you should do him something like a watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair, some cool symbiotic relationship...I love teaching my 5yo about the way wild things work together, I just think all the symbiotic relationships in the ocean are too cool! Just an idea!

MH

[hobogato]

thanks mike, i have mentioned that to him and he sounded interested

[Big_Pun]

i cant wait to have kids so i can have an excuse for another tank lol, thats very cool Ace that your son is intrested in reef keeping

[allan]

i cant wait to have kids so i can have an excuse for another tank lol, thats very cool Ace that your son is intrested in reef keeping


Uh... two things Chris,

One. Kids are almost as expensive, if not more, than the tanks we run. If it weren't for the military I doubt that I could afford to have a kid. :)

Two. Your intent to have kids rapidly better have absolutely NOTHING to do with Milly!

:D

[RayAllen]

Looks great Ace. One of my 1st salttanks was a 18gh with a eclipse hood.

[saabtech]

Zach has got to be the luckiest beginner saltwater aquarist in all of Texas.

[Big_Pun]

Uh... two things Chris,

One. Kids are almost as expensive, if not more, than the tanks we run. If it weren't for the military I doubt that I could afford to have a kid. :)

Two. Your intent to have kids rapidly better have absolutely NOTHING to do with Milly!

:D

Lol dont worry i have not chatted with Milly in a while:bigsmile:, and believe me iam in no rush to have kids till i atleast have finished school and working in my carreer field. also i still have to many plans to finish first before kids, i want a 9sec 1/4 mile mustang which is going to be $$$$, and some other wacky things on my todo list. sorry ace didnt mean to hijack but ALLEN scares me a lil

[txg8gxp]

I second the goby/pistol shrimp combo. I love mine, just no more frags on the sand bed...Its funny looking over at the tank and seeing sand getting kicked up, then watching the pistol shrimp follow the goby around the tank making there own personal highway system.

[ErikH]

Very cool!

[lt1z28]

Sweet!

[hobogato]

i have created a monster!

zach has already asked a couple more times when i would be getting rid of the appataisia(remember, that is how he says it :)) - qualifying with "i dont like them" each time. also, this evening, after doing the nightly toy pickup, he cleaned all three viewable sides of his tank with the magfloat on his own accord. there isn't even anything on the glass yet! :lauging:

[Europhyllia]

Aww. That's gonna be such a great bonding time for you guys -doing the fish thing together :)

[HoppyBunny]

How cute! He is already getting his tank maintenance routine established. Get rid of that appataisia for him already!

[hobogato]

after having zach test his water for ammonia and nitrite earlier this week, i am proud to introduce to you zog-wog (zog is the gold watchman gobi and wog is the tiger pistol shrimp)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06383.jpg

here is the tank master in deep observation :)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06391.jpg

[Europhyllia]

awesome! what a great choice :)

[hobogato]

their numbers had been steadily increasing for a few days, and then yesterday, the population really bloomed.

got a pic this morning, but about 2/3 of them had already retreated for the sand. funny how they are crowding around the little spot of algae left on the glass

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06423.jpg

zach and alex have also chosen to add a pair of firefish to the tank - they hid all the time at first, but are staying out more and more already. they are still working on names for them.

[hobogato]

soon after the last pic, the fish were all out scarfing up the pods :D

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06424.jpg

you can also see how the pods have almost finished cleaning the glass when you compare this pic to the last one :)

[saabtech]

i love firefish. they are great.

[hobogato]

thanks kevin

got a video of zog-wog today :D

vLzA7euf47A

[ErikH]

very very cool. Love the pic of him looking at the tank. :) Not much longer till our bebe is here!

[fjr_wertheimber]

Hey Ace, did you buy Zog and Wog as a matched set, or separately and they matched themselves up?

[hobogato]

they were not a pair when i bought them, but they paired up the first night together in the tank.

[saabtech]

that is such a cool relationship. i love that aspect of the marine aquaria.
thanks for sharing the vid. that was cool.

[Mr Cob]

Love that vid Ace. That's great.

[Europhyllia]

cute little busy shrimp. :)

[hobogato]

well, the intention all along was to make this an acan and micromussa tank along with zach's fishes and shrimp. however, it was supposed to be a slow process. unfortunately, the aiptasia eater(s) in the big tank like acans, micros, blastos, and scolys, so i had to move them in here. they have been in the tank less than 24 hours, but they already look better.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06633.jpg

oh yeah, cleaned up the algae a bit too :)

[txav8r]

Looks Awesome Ace! Wouldn't expect anything different from you.

[txg8gxp]

Nice... I love the acan's.

[Europhyllia]

get out of here! It's beautiful :)

[aquasport24]

Looks like a mini candy store. Good thing you're already have this tank set up.

[hobogato]

yeah, i really didnt want to get rid of those corals

[tebstan]

Ah.. scoly. I gotta get me one of them. Just beautiful. Did you get those locally?

[hobogato]

tiny one in front was from a group buy online, but he orang/green one was from AM in CC and the red/purple/blue one was from Reefs2u here in town.

[HoppyBunny]

I LOVE the rainbow acan echinata, the colors are gorgeous! Everything looks great, I bet Zach loves all the new stuff in his tank!

[nubz]

what kind and how much was that shrmp??? i love pistols but i only get the ones i catch while snorkeling, they pair with gobies too, but i want a yellow watchmen/pistol shrimp pair.

[Mr Cob]

Looks awesome Ace AND Zach! I LOVE all the CANDY!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06633.jpg

[hobogato]

it is a tiger pistol, i think it was around $15.


what kind and how much was that shrmp??? i love pistols but i only get the ones i catch while snorkeling, they pair with gobies too, but i want a yellow watchmen/pistol shrimp pair.

[hobogato]

well, some of the acan lords werent recovering like i wanted, so i found a new home for them. i also added an icecap moonlight bar to the tank, and here are some pics as it is tonight

fts
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06653.jpg

some closer shots of the corals
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06657.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06656.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06655.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06654.jpg

[The Butcher]

Ace, those are fantastic psychedelic photos. Just play some Jimi Hendrix in the background and your set.:bigsmile:

[hobogato]

i think the tank is running a little warm for the acans and scolys to thrive, so they all found new homes. we replaced them with easier soft corals. the lone micromussa and the 3 blastomussa seem to be doing well, so we kept them in the tank. we also added three more fire fish

fts
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06846.jpg

left side
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06850.jpg

right side
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06854.jpg

zog/wog cave front entrance
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC06847.jpg

[hobogato]

here are some of the inverts in the tank

one of the the three peps
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC068591024x768.jpg

monster (name chosen by alex)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC068571024x768.jpg

here is monster after i scared him out of his hiding place
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC068581024x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC068601024x768.jpg

[Europhyllia]

I don't see it. what am I looking for?

[hobogato]

:D it is a 2"+ diameter decorator crab - highlighted pic to make him stand out below
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC068581024x7682.jpg

[Europhyllia]

Ha! That's fantastic. Very cool!!!
Are they reef safe?

[hobogato]

if you dont mind them rearranging things a little - including stealing things to decorate themselves.

[Europhyllia]

little collector urchins in crab clothing... got ya.
Very cool indeed!

[Big_Pun]

Looks good ace, glad the Xenia went to a good home

[Kenya]

wow that icecap moonlight bar rocks. Amazing photos.

[hobogato]

thanks, we have been really happy with it

snapped a few pics yesterday and thought i would share

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069271280x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069281280x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069291280x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069321280x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069361280x768.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC069371280x768.jpg

[cbianco]

This nano is great! I wouldn't expect anything less.

Question:

How is the decorator crab working out?
Can you get some additional pics of the decorator crab the next time you have your camera out?

Thanks,

Christopher :)

[hobogato]

sure, he only comes out at night. i think he has collected some gsp since the last pics :D

[cbianco]

sure, he only comes out at night. i think he has collected some gsp since the last pics :D

Does the decorator crab "discard" the coral he wears, after a time?

Christopher

[hobogato]

not sure, he only had sponges for a long time

[hobogato]

caught monster out and about last night - lights were out so i had to use the flash

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07021.jpg

after the flash wen off, he went back into hiding in plain view...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07025.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07026.jpg

[cbianco]

Sweet!

Even being an enthusiast, it's hard to find him in the later pictures.

Christopher :)

[Europhyllia]

very cool!

[sharkboy]

tank update?

[hobogato]

here ya go art,

tank is really just on feeding and maintenance now. zach cleans the glass and helps me do 1 gallon water changes twice a week as well as feed the fish. it has a little cyano right now and lots of Velonia sp., so i think we will need to find an emerald crab or two. the pistol shrimp is now as long as the gobi, and they have tunnels all over the tank.

here are a few pics

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07146.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07147.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07144.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07145.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07143.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07142.jpg

[wolff809]

How's this tank doing Ace

[hobogato]

chuggin' along randy, still have the some red planaria. i did get a mandarin and a sixline wrasse, so hopefully they will take care of them.

[Reefer4ever]

You know we want pictures!!! :D

[hobogato]

ok, looks pretty much the same as the last ones - maybe a little less algae tho

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07421.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07424.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07425.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07426.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/hobogatito/DSC07428.jpg

[Europhyllia]

Your pictures are always so beautiful. You even make hair algae look glamorous!

[cbianco]

chuggin' along randy, still have the some red planaria. i did get a mandarin and a sixline wrasse, so hopefully they will take care of them.

How are the mandarin and the sixline working out? Are they eating the bad guys?

Christopher :)

[hobogato]

i havent actually seen either of them eat a flat worm, but the ones that were on the orange ric are gone, so i think at least one of them is functional :)