2014-06-18: Tank moving 8

Second of the two tanks I have combined. This is just a standard 20G high all glass aquarium. The top has been removed to make is rimless. The previous owner also enhanced the calking, drilled the back, and inserted an overflow. It also comes with the stand, the net top (to prevent jumpers) and a bent rod for light hanging.

2014-06-17: Tank moving 7

This is one of the two tanks I have combined. It's a Marineland 27Gallon with the stand. I think I kept it at a very good shape. Despite of two years of usage, there are no scratches and all the parts still look very good~! It's a great tank to begin with. I have not decided whether I will sell this tank yet. I might hang on to it in case an occasion for a species tank arises- such as seahorse, mantis shrimp, etc.

2014-06-16: Tank moving 6- The semi-aggresive ones

So here comes the big dilemma- some of the semi-aggresive fish I have had in the previous system
The valentini puffer is really adorable but I know it will post a threat to my beloved shrimps (and all other inverts) as well as the smaller gobies.

I made the mistake of putting a hawkfish with a couple fire fish before. This is not the same hawkfish but I am not about to make that mistake again.

The six line wrasse can be aggressive, but this guy is actually kinda shy, so I am not so worried about it.

2014-06-15: Tank moving 5- Clowns

Here is the part I took a gamble- mixing clownfish is always a hit or miss. Sometimes they will bond and pair off. Sometimes they will fight tip one (or both) drops. But with a larger tanks and a lot more hiding space, I thought it's worth the gamble
Here is a clown I raised for about two years, it was less than 2" when I got it. And I think it must have came from a poorly managed farm it was so malnourished it took a long long time to grow to current size. He also never adopted to hosting anemones

The once below was acquired as a juvi too from a frag swap actually just this winter. The fish quickly grew into good size and hosted anemone right away. This is my prized snow-onyx designer clown. I will leave a bit suspense for now and let you know how did the two turn out when I mix them.

20140614-Tank moving 4

Now comes the two dominant fish of the two tanks I am combining- the dwarf angels. They are, if you will, the little angry bitches of the sea- very territorial and aggressively guards their territory.
I found this Bellis Angel at a local shop at a really good price. I struggled for a long time because even for a "good price" I can still get probably a handful of, let's say, six line wrasses for the price of this one. But the beauty of this female Bellis angel is just unrivaled by most of my fish.

Another fish that I contemplated for a long time before I committed- the African flame back angel. This angel is known to have an attitude. But the fish was in the store for a while. I keep seeing it week- after -week- after- week. And finally I decided I cannot pass on a very healthy, eager to eat, and at a good price.

20140613-Tank moving 3

Here is the peaceful group. All fish featured in this post are the best community fish one can find. They are also all very hardy*
The blue-eye cardinals are not rare, but they are also not very common in stores as they are one of the pricier cardinals. on the other hand, the bangaii cardinal is almost reaching goldfish status in saltwater (the percula clown already has). They are hardy, peaceful, and very easy to breed. People can often rear young's in their tanks since they are mouth brooders.

The fire fish are elegant, and fun to look at. They are also very peaceful and hardy- so peaceful that you must not keep them with any aggressive fish, especially with an open top tank, because they can "fly" out of the tank with ease.

The ranfordii Goby is inexpensive, cute, low maintenance and hardy. I put an asteric on the word hardy previously because they do have a specific requirement- You must have sugar grained size sandy bottom as their main diet is filter feeding the sand. Crushed coral and larger grain aragonite sand won't do because they cannot take it through their gill.

20140612-Tank moving 2

As many aquarist know, tanking moving/cleaning can be one of the few opportunities to view a creature normally not visible- like this tiger pistol shrimp.
I do see this shrimp about once every other week. Most of the time instead of seeing it, I "hear" it.
Pistol shrimps can produce a very loud sound much like my mantis shrimp from the past. My wife loves it as it reminds her of the mantis shrimp, which she adored.
This pistol shrimp actually bonded with my fire fish goby and was a master engineer. He had dug an entire subway system in the tank.

My cleaner shrimp began bearing eggs a month after I got them in the tank and I have never seen them without eggs since then. It's almost impossible to raise young shrimp since they have a rather long planktonic stage. But it sure is a nice feast for all the other critters in the tank when they release the eggs.

Lastly, this nice and big coral banded shrimp has amazing blue marking that is not commonly seen on others. It's the king of the tank and takes no non-sense.