Sinularia "bubble"

8/29/04
The old refugium is finally out of the living room! It seems to have a good population of copepods and amphipods already, plus I have seen a reduction in the red slime algae problem. Whether that was due to the new mud substrate, or some other factor, I can’t say for sure, but it is encouraging.

On the way back from Portland, we stopped at a new marine fish store that opened just a few weeks ago. As luck would have it, they had Pseudochromis springerii, a beautiful fish that I have been wanting for some time, and thought I would need to order via the internet, which is expensive (because of shipping) and risky. Better still, this was captive bred. Of course I had to buy it, we wouldn’t want that store to go out of business, would we? My new fish is still in quarantine and pretty shy, so pictures have to wait. But she is about 2.5”, midnight blue, with three aqua-blue stripes on her head.

Speaking of shy, the bicolor blenny that I bought a few weeks ago, who was initially very shy (in the picture, right side), is now very satisfied with his room with a view at the top of the mountain. From here, he surveys his realm (the backside of the anemone’s rock) and ventures forth to snatch tidbits of algae. When he is tired of his room, he rests on top of the powerheads. Yesterday I even saw him on the far side of the tank, but normally he stays closer to home. He has got to be the cutest fish in there.

The sinularia (the same one that closed up and stopped feeding for 2-3 weeks during the summer) has now developed a “cancer” —a balloon-like growth that looks like it needs to be popped! Very curious. I have posted a picture on a marine-fish forum on the internet to see in anyone has any advice.

This weekend I set up the new tank. It will be awhile before it is ready for fish. The new refugium for the back of it is due to arrive next week. Since I’m planning to put a jawfish in there, and they dig, we made some rock supports out of PVC pipe. These should keep the rock from collapsing no matter where the fish makes its tunnel.