This Months BARS contest contribution...

"Full Tank Shot"  

                                                               My $.02

The BREVARD AREA REEF SOCIETY held a Meeting..

last weekend. I ,of course, attended said meeting. I won this coral in the raffle.
I hate the raffle,I must say.." I alone" hate the raffle.

Why,,,,we did not need this sideshow to attract members in the past,,,why do we need it now?

Why?...because winning is everything...

Anywhoo...

Here's my acanthastrea,,

very cool...

Why I like fish,,.,,or at least one of the reasons,,,

I went out to give the fish room one of my late night visits to feed....

I do this often,,,

I Was going through the motions..yes .."lots of food for you"...."a smidgen  for you",...and "just enough,,,, so you don't kill each other for you"....

and then..

 I noticed little yellow blobs on the back glass glass of a tank,where none had been before..

OK, Here is the "back story"...

I purchased three "Buffalo head" cichlids ( as I have always referred to them)..over a year ago....I put the three in a 10 gallon tank by themselves . Unfortunately one of the fish met an early demise..
it happens..

The two that were left seemed to fight constantly. They chased each other, yet no severe harm seemed to come to either of them ,at any time.

I left the two  in the tank and fed them copious amounts of high protein flake food.

Several months ago I threw in a layer of giant duckweed that shaded the tank from the 15 watt bulb over it.

many water changes, and many months later......


Tonight I found these,,,

After I obtained a better view by displacing a box filter blocking my  line of sight,,the larger of the "pair" hurriedly  removed any encroaching snail from the egg mass..busily protecting the spawn..


While not a new or extraordinary feat in the hobby I pursue,,,it is still a neat experience for me...

The fate of the fry?:
IF the eggs are fertile.
IF the parents don't eat them
IF the water parameters are correct
IF the foods I initially  introduce are sufficient ...

I may obtain a few survivors..

and they are commonly called "lion heads" or Block heads"...

                                           FISH BASE: Lionhead Cichlid

Plucked the Philippine Red leg hermit crab..

From his reef inspired domicile this evening. He had acquired a branch of Kenya tree coral on his back, and was carrying it around like a prize.  I tried to capture both him and his prize, a prize won by inactivity I suppose, without success. In the process I  broke a piece of pavona coral ,and knocked the Kenya tree off his shell..

Good times...

I then discovered, to my dismay, that the Philippine Red Leg hermit crab is a very patient creature....not gracing me with his presence often or with great vigor.

He, she, it...is a pain in the ass.

click to enlarge...