The Bubble tip anemone

Tubeworms also known as sebellide worms.

Tubeworms come in a myriad range of colors. Depending on the location from which it is collected the colors range from pure white, cream, purple, maroon, red, blue, mixed colors etc. The  Tubeworms can make their own homes .
         The homes these fantastic looking creatures construct depends on what species they are. There are Tubeworms that make homes in leather like tubes which they make from minerals from the water and their own body slime. There are other varieties of Tubeworms that make calcium carbonate based tubes. Tubeworms that have leathery tubes are available on a much larger scale than the other variety. 

         They can be fed anyinvertebrate food as they are filter feeders. They can sometimes shed their filter feathers and regenerate a completely new set of a different colour too. A dicey part with these amazing creatures is that you should see them open up daily. If they don't seem to be opening up then immediately check to see if they have died in the tube or if the tube is empty. A dead Tubeworm not removed immediately from the tank will cause ammonia spikes as well as hydrogen sulfide gas formation leading to fish deaths. The normally available Tubeworms have a feather span of approximately 3 inches plus. There are miniature Tubeworms that have just a half centimetre span. Caring for them is easy but they require sound water parameters to thrive. They are known to spawn in aquariums, survival of the eggs and young depends upon the filtration systems in the aquarium. If possible feed them with cultured rotifers.

Grape caulerpa

Grape caulerpa. Know by this name because of the similarity in appearance. A species of marine algae that's used in refugiums for nutrient export. Growth is exponential in fish only tanks incorporating refugiums due to the higher amounts of ammonia produced by fish wastes.
A peculiarity with this algae species is the sudden dieoff that occurs in the absence of natural sea water levels of iron in the aquarium. The physical appearance is dependent on water flow patterns in the refugium. A higher water flow rate yields a very dense form whereas a lower flow rate yields a very fast and open form of the algae. Another issue with caulerpa algae lies in the removal of the excess algae. While removing excess caulerpa from the refugium the algae should be squeezed in between the runners and then removed. Doing this ensures that the rest of the algae left in the refugium will not leak internal fluids into the aquarium.
       Overall though a very good nutrient export algae for the Marine Aquarium. An excellent algae in which copepods thrive.

Red carpet anemone

This is a red carpet anemone under normal daylight. Yes its outside water and in my hand. Under actinic lights or under blue led lights it looks maroon in color rather than red. If i was to give it a name it would have been Brown carpet anemone. Though the colour is different the carpet anemones all still stick to your hand very badly if you are not careful. Handle them with extreme caution. They can cause allergic reactions ranging from swelling of muscles that came into contact, to fever that lasts days. Not to mention that the stung area will have a scar that will last years. Best method to handle a carpet anemone is to use a long rubber glove. Don't have one? Doesn't matter use a plastic bag like a hand glove.
Moving a carpet anemone can be very tough. Among anemone varieties they have the most tenacious hold. Will definitely tear than come off easily from rocks. Use a power heads strong flow from a distance directly on the anemone and it will leave the rock in 5 to 15 minutes. They require very good lighting. So if you're squeamish on light wattage and its associated bills then leave these beautiful creatures at the shopkeepers. They love cool water and excellent water parameters. This means water temperatures in the 25c range. They play host to a lot of a clown fish varieties. Carpet anemones can be fed pieces of raw shrimps as additional food even though they have photosynthetic zooxanthelle that provides their food requirements. Use due caution as an anemone that's being fed will grow in size faster than one which is not.
Signs of stress can be understood by the anemones physical appearance. Even while buying one keep in mind that a healthy carpet anemone will have a very tightly closed mouth. The base of the carpet anemones should not be torn. The carpet anemones tentacles should be sticking to anything that touches it. There are no HEALTHY WHITE CARPET ANEMONES. White carpet anemones are anemones that have expelled their zooxanthelle under stress. These white anemones will have to be fed regularly if they are to survive at all. When you invest in these beautiful creatures invest in some good equipments too.

After a long Hiatus

Took a long break from blogging. Hoping to be able to write more often.
It been 11 months since the start of the new outlet for Aquarium Paradise India. Will be adding more info on the journey in further posts.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Percula clown in Tube worm.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.