Nano Reefs India

Continued : Mangrove Biotope Aquarium at Godrej Ecology center at Vikhroli in Mumbai India.

2011-03-24T22:50:00.001+05:30

The tank with water and initial fish. The fish are Tilapia that were caught by fisher folk in the creek.

The smaller tank visible here was used to acclimate the mud skippers that were introduced into the tank.

The mud skipper in the tanks area that is very shallow. The mud skipper has its eyes out of the water here. These were also collected at the creek by fisher folk.

A mud skipper in the WET area. This area has just enough water to keep the sand wet. The mud skippers were seen here mostly after introduction. They also stuck to the glass sides to keep out of the water initially.

Introduction of the main action figures. The brown fiddler crabs. These were also collected at the creek by fisher folk. Avoiding the crabs huge pincers was a juggling act in itself. My mistake actually as i should have planted all the mangroves before introducing the crabs. People take note these guys are not afraid of anything that comes near their chosen spot. There are 5 Tilapia, 7 Mud skippers & 9 Brown fiddler crabs when this photo was taken. You can see three of the fiddler crabs above the water level on the rocks.

Close up of the Tilapia fish in this tank. You will see a fiddler crab on the rock above the fish to your right.
Please pardon the glare from the flash.

A Fiddler crab trying to hide between the rocks.

Fiddler crabs sitting on the rocks. Three is a crowd. All three of them seemed to like the same spot.

This photo is of the tank once all the inhabitants had settled.

Mangrove Biotope Aquarium at Godrej Ecology center at Vikhroli in Mumbai India.

2011-03-20T20:22:00.001+05:30

Mangrove Biotope Aquarium was made for:

M/s.Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd. Mangrove Section, Pirojsha nagar, Vikhroli, Mumbai 79.

The size of the tank is: Length: 72 inches ( 6 feet).
Width: 30 inches ( 2.5 feet).
Height: 36 inches ( 3 feet).

The glass thickness is: 12 mm.

Glass is: Toughened glass.

The tank was made on 3/4 th inch PVC pipes as the floor was not level. The tank was left to cure on the floor for 7 days. The white pieces are pieces of thermacol put in place to avoid damage to the glass edges when the tank was to be lifted on to the stand in the background.

It took 8 persons to lift this tank on to the stand. The stand itself took all 8 of us to move to the pillar that you see in the photo. The stand is 3 feet tall.

Finally the tank is in place. The tank was left to completely cure on the stand for 14 days. A total of 7 days on the floor and 14 days on the stand was the total curing period given for the tank.

Tank being set up. Total calcite sand used was 300 kgs. Rocks used were 130kgs. This was a very uplifting experience indeed.

Green carpet anemone.

2010-12-24T15:25:00.000+05:30

Green color carpet anemone.Also a host to the indian clownfish varieties. Can be fed a small piece of shrimp or fish once in a while. Should be given bright lighting and a modest water flow in the aquarium. Will usually sit on the bottom of the aquarium by going into the sand. If disturbed it will also retract below the sand. It will also settle on the rocks or the glass of the aquarium. Largest carpet anemone i have handled was 15 inch pluswhen fully settled in a clients aquarium. The stubby green tentacles are extremely sticky and will readily detach onto the hands or net of the handler. The tentacles may sometimes cause allergic swelling of the bare hand areas exposed to the tentacles. I have had first hand experience. The broken tentacles stuck to the net remain potent for a very long time and will need to be removed with thorough washing. Safest to use a latex glove while handling them.

Brown color Carpet Anemone.

2010-12-24T15:20:00.000+05:30

Brown color carpet anemone.Host to the indian clownfish varieties. Can be fed a small piece of shrimp or fish once in a while. Should be given bright lighting and a modest water flow in the aquarium. Will usually sit on the bottom of the aquarium by going into the sand. If disturbed it will retract below the sand. It will also settle on the rocks or the glass of the aquarium. Largest carpet anemone i have handled was 18 inch plus. The stubby tentacles are extremely sticky and will readily detach onto the hands or net of the handler. The tentacles may sometimes cause allergic swelling of the bare hand areas exposed to the tentacles. The broken tentacles stuck to the net remain potent for a very long time and will need to be removed with thorough washing. Safest to use a latex glove while handling them.

Blue spot butterfly fish.

2010-12-24T15:10:00.000+05:30

Blue spot butterfly. Requires plenty of space to swim with lots of live rocks. Takes time to set in an aquarium. Feeds on live & frozen artemia in the aquarium. Shows the blue color patch clearly only after it is properly set in the aquarium. Does well with members of its own species. Buy only fish that are accepting dry feed at the pet shop.

Red Knobbed Starfish.

2010-12-24T15:00:00.000+05:30

Red Knobbed starfish. Invertebrate. Should be introduced into stable aquariums only. Tanks should be at least 6months old. This is a Detrivore, Algaevore & opportunistic feeder. Will go after most shellfish, clams etc in an aquarium. The aquarium should not have any accumulated nitrates as this will be detrimental to the long term health of the animal.

marine stocked fish being fed

2009-07-23T21:37:00.001+05:30

Percula clown in Tube worm.

2008-06-27T13:08:00.007+05:30

The video shows a False Percula clown playing in a Tube worm. The clown has accepted the Tube worm as if it were a host anemone. Even the Tube worm doesn't seem to mind. As you can see the Tube worm is not closing up in spite of the clowns boisterous behaviour.

2008-06-27T13:08:00.006+05:30

Yellow tangs & Wimples during the exhibition. As you can see the only filteration that was used in the exhibition tank was a basic undergravel filter run on aerators.

Yellow tail Blue Damsels. Indian Variety.

2008-06-25T17:45:00.008+05:30

The video shows Indian variety of Yellow tail Blue Damsels in a Quarantine Tank at my friends place. The Indian yellow tail blue damsel can be differentiated from the Indonesian or Bali ones because of their torpedo shape. The Indonesian or Bali ones are more fuller in body.

Lionfish feeding.

2008-06-25T17:45:00.007+05:30

The Lionfish is feeding on 1/2" Target Perch fish. The tank is a pillar tank 18 inch in length, 18 inch in depth & 36 inch in height. Video was taken with my W700 i Sony Ericsson cell phone. Excuse the audio.

Halimeda Algae.

2008-05-18T20:01:00.006+05:30

The photograph is of the calcareous algae Halimeda. The algae is growing on a live rock completely covered with coralline algae. The algae should be placed in an area of very good water flow & bright lighting. Constant addition of calcium, magnesium, strontium & trace elements is a must to keep this algae at its best.

Maintaining the calcium levels in the aquarium at 400 mg to 450 mg per litre (ppt) is very much a requirement for the natural growth of this algae. A very good water flow reduces the accumulation of detrius on the algae. If the algae is not attached to a rock then it is advisable to attach it to a piece of rock using any of the instant bonding adhesives such as Super glue, Acrabond, Fevikwick etc.

Reef Aquarium setup.

2008-04-30T08:09:00.005+05:30

The video was shot last year. I am listing the varieties in the tank as well as i remember.

Xenia, Purple base Anemone, Turtle weed Algae, Cinnamon Clown, Flame Angel, Percula Clown, Grape Caulerpa, Bubble tip Anemone, Toadstool Leather, Finger Leather, Blue Mushrooms, Red Mushrooms, Star Polyps, Red Zooanthids, Yellow Polyp, Blue Damsels. If i remember anything i will correct myself here.

Small Red Knobbed Starfish on tank front glass.

2008-04-29T10:51:00.002+05:30

This is the smallest Red Knobbed Starfish to date that i have seen & handled. This was also during the Exhibition last year. In spite of requesting for the same size again i have only been dissappointed repeatedly. You see the normal available size of this or any other Indian starfish varieties ranges from 3.5 inches to 9 inches. Having at least one of these critters in your tank makes it a combination of beauty with a purpose. The starfish is a detrivore as well as a good indicator of the water parameters in the tank. Though the organism is a detrivore & an oppurtunistic feeder you will still have to feed it at least once in a fortnight. They can be fed small pieces of soaked krill. Soak the krill or dry prawn only in fresh water & place it next to any of the arms of the starfish. The starfish will not tolerate ammonia NH3, No2, pH or even NO3 level fluctuations in the aquarium. If you have a starfish & it is constantly at the top, as if it was trying to get out of the tank, then check your water parameters & take remedial measures. They also do not like sudden salinity changes. They also exhibit the same behaviour if there are low levels of oxygen in the tank. A starfish is a bottom dwelling organism & should be seen at the bottom on the coral sand, on the rockwork, on the glass sides & not at the water level trying to get out of the tank. When they die in a tank it becomes obvious only when it's body starts disintegrating & ammonia bubbles form & the sand below the dead star becomes black. The best thing to do is to always make sure that the starfish is moving around in your tank.

Regal Tang.

2008-04-29T10:51:00.000+05:30

The Regal Tang is in much demand. It is a herbivore by disposition. Commonly available Nori strips should be given along with the normal basic pellets & flake feeds. Nori is made out of marine algae & as such is an adequate food in itself for the Tang varieties of fishes. If you are unable to get Nori then you can also feed fresh Coriander or scalded Spinach. Do not keep a pair of these fishes in a small aquarium as they are antagonistic towards each other in small aquariums. Very active fish once settled in the aquarium. This fish can be kept in pairs only if the aquarium is spacious enough. A hardy fish once settled in an aquarium. The photo was taken with my Sony Ericsson W700i cell phone camera. When i have a better photo i shall upload the same.

The Spotted Grouper or Polka Dot Grouper.

2008-04-27T17:04:00.001+05:30

The Spotted Grouper or Polka Dot Grouper looks extremely beautifull when juvenile.

The fish is a voracious feeder. Requires small live fishes initially before it starts accepting prepared feed.
The fish changes its colour to a drab brown colour as it matures. It grows quite fast once it adapts to aquarium conditions. It can fit most small fishes in its mouth. So avoid keeping it with Damsel's & such small fishes.

The two photos are of the same fish in the same tank.

Pair of wimple fish in the Exehibition tank.

2008-04-27T17:04:00.000+05:30

This pair of Wimple fish were exhibited in an aquarium that was run only on an undergravel filteration system. Basic undergravel filteration using ready made undergravel plates. Plates used here were of Flowell Company. Flowell is a local company manufacturing Power filters, Undergravel Filter Plates & the only Indian Company ( the only Indian company that i know of ) that manufactures External Cannister Filters in India. They have cannister filters for upto 1500 Ltrs water capacity. The coral sand used in this tank was 3 mm to 4 mm grain size.

Purple base Long Tentacle Anemone.

2008-04-21T17:05:00.000+05:30

This is a photograph of a Purple Base Long Tentacle Anemone taken by me during the Fish exhibition held in Mumbai last year at Prabodhankar Thackeray Sports Complex, Vile Parle East (2007).

The usual pricing for the anemone is Rs.1200/- each. During the exhibition this anemone remained on the side glass of its aquarium inspite of being taken off from its location twice. It came back to the same location each time it was removed and placed in a different location. These types of anemones will roam the entire Aquarium till they find the right combination of water flow and lighting. If you change the water flow these animals will start to roam the aquarium again in search of the right combination of flow and lighting again.

Indian take on Marine Aquariums.

2008-04-14T18:57:00.000+05:30

This is the place i shall be posting about marine tanks in India. The posts will be only related to marine aquariums, accessories, readily available marine fish & organisms. The photos that will be posted here will take on an open source format. Which means the photos can be used by anyone anywhere unless mentioned otherwise. There will be posts that may not go down well with other aquarium professionals, commonly available aquarium litrature & BELIEFS.
This blog is a place where i shall be posting my marine aquarium settings with complete details.
I am doing this to let other people in india know more about marine aquariums.