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This tank, shown above, was started as a quarantine tank, never was used as such, so aragonite,
live sand, and lots of LR (live rock) was added and it was used initially as a
temporary home for our pair of Clarkii Clowns in February '99. The filter is a bio-wheel on
the back, LR, sandbed, and two rio powerheads at opposite ends of the tank. There
are two feather dusters, a leather coral that was cultured from one of Troy's
larger leathers in his tank, some mushrooms, zooanthids, and
a few cultured Xenias and star polyps from the 120-gallon. Lighting used to be
two flourescent strips, one white, one actinic, before the corals were added.
In November we put PCs over the tank, attached to the underside of the kitchen
cabinets. We put one piece of egg crate on the top with a three-sided oak frame
Steve made to keep the light directed on the tank and not in our eyes. This frame
goes around the sides and front of the tank, up to the bottom of the cabinets.
Since the tank extends beyond the vertical drop of the cabinets, the frame sits
on the egg crate cover and leaves about 2-1/2" of egg crate in the front exposed
for feeding and water top-offs. The Clown fish lived in this tank for many more
months than we planned. Temporary turned into ten months! They seemed quite happy
to beg food when Shirley was in the kitchen, and they were quite at home in the
rock caves and sand holes they made. Also living in this tank was another couple
in exile: our Watchman Goby and his Pistol (Tiger) Shrimp.
The Pistol Shrimp and Watchman Goby were introduced to Troy's reef tank in September '98. They were quite happy there and the Pistol Shrimp kept busy all the time. He kept so busy he caused more rock slides than Troy cared to fix! If we'd set it up correctly in the first place, we wouldn't have had this problem. We managed to catch them and put them in the 10-gallon, where they still live.
The Clarkii Clowns were in Troy's tank, then the 120-gallon, then had to be moved out of the 120 because they were intent on making a nest out of the hairy mushrooms and managed to severely damage some of them. Prior to that, they messed up other creatures' habitats trying to lay claims to a nesting site. We resisted getting them another anemone after they killed their first one. And now, knowing what we've learned about keeping anemones, we don't advocate having one. We did frequent water changes on the 10-gallon tank since there were three fish, two of decent size, living there. In November, we decided we were not going to try to find a home for the Clarkiis, so we moved them back to Troy's tank. The adjustment for his lone Bi-color Dottyback was much smoother than we anticipated. And the Clarkiis settled in right away. By the way, they became pregnant in the 120, but haven't become pregnant since, probably due to space and conditions. They never stop courting, however.
The kitchen mini-reef is now home to a few corals, one Watchman Goby and his Pistol Shrimp, a gorgonian, pair of Peppermint Shrimp, two feather dusters, hermits, and snails.
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