Sunday, May 20, 2007

Caught the Stocking Bug Again


Well, even though my tank is rapidly running out of space... I visited a newish local "coral farm" and caught the tank-stocking bug again. My intention was only to go and look and just check out the facility and so on... instead, I came home with a shiny new colony of Yellow Sinularia sp. I must say that not only is the coral farm nice, but so is my new addition. After only one day, it seems "healthier" than most other things I've added to the tank. No two weeks of shriveling and sliming like most of the other Alcyonaceans I've ever added... instead, this thing perked right up and showed it's polyps. Not sure how I manage to capture such a stunning photo of the new Sinularia, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Now, onto the further adventures of the stocking bug. After getting the Sinularia, I decided I wanted to have another go at keeping some shrimp. I haven't posted much about my trials and tribulations with shrimp, but let's just say... it's been difficult. Over the last 8 months I've added & "lost" two Peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdenmanni) and a sexy anemone shrimp (Thor amboinensis). I say "lost" because I've never seen their dead carapaces or any remains, however none of these 3 shrimps have been seen in over 2 months. Prior to their disappearance, they were at least a daily sight, and anytime I stuck my fingers in the tank, the Peppermints would make themselves conspicuous by trying to clean me. I happened to also find another T. amboinensis while out and about, and I thought I'd give it another go at keeping shrimp. I'm hoping this shrimp doesn't disappear as well, but if it does I'll know who to blame. Upon adding the little guy today, my largest Anemonefish (Amphiprion sanderacinos) took great interest in the new potential food item and nearly gobbled him up before he even had a chance to explore the new tank. I'm going to have to keep a watchful eye, but it may be that my Anemonefish is the prime suspect in the case of the disappearing shrimp. Let's hope this Sexy sticks around a lot longer, here is a photo for good luck...

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