Anybody have a Salt Water Fish Tank?

[Selassie I]

That’s so bad ass! Haha How much was that anemone? trying to work my way up to some of that cool shit you showed me! I’ve killed 3 fish but getting the hang of it so far. When I get back home I’ll post my tank, not as cool as yours but got those training wheels on! lol

That's not a cheap one. Black Widow sea anemones are not easy to even find. One of our local shops has a big warehouse coral farm and they have been "breeding" black widows for many years. Anemones don't really breed I don't think... they just kinda divide themselves from 1 animal into 2. Weird... but they make their own clones basically.

The one they let me pick out of their farm would probably cost around $600+ or even a lot more. Between my sons and I, the owners of that place really hook us up with some discounts. This anemone is about the size of a large orange when it opens up so it's considered large for this particular bubble tip species. I was able to get this one for 250. Which is really good. There are some species that are even a lot more expensive. The place that sold it to me is called Top Shelf Aquatics in Winter Park, FL. People actually fly into Orlando from all over to buy their stuff. I'm sure you can find shit all over social media about them.

Your tank looks very nice. One of my twins would be able to reel off all of the names of those corals. I'm way more of a fish guy... but I love looking at the nice corals.

There are scientifically proven health benefits humans can get from looking into a tank for a few minutes. I can stare at mine for way too long without getting board. It looks like you have been hooked with the trade already by seeing your tank. It's most like an addiction at times and it's hard to explain. I got my first tank over 51 years ago and my complete addiction to the hobby has only gotten stronger. Back then I caught shit in the tide pools in Hawaii that costs insane money today for free.

Ps... all fish keepers have total failures along the way sooner or later. I'm not trying to be negative when I say that. ALL FISH KEEPERS go through it even when they are experts. So when it happens, just know that it was your turn. So don't get too discouraged when your turn comes around. It takes longer and longer to come around as the years go by... but it's part of it for ALL OF US.

 

[Corbin]

That's not a cheap one. Black Widow sea anemones are not easy to even find. One of our local shops has a big warehouse coral farm and they have been "breeding" black widows for many years. Anemones don't really breed I don't think... they just kinda divide themselves from 1 animal into 2. Weird... but they make their own clones basically.

The one they let me pick out of their farm would probably cost around $600+ or even a lot more. Between my sons and I, the owners of that place really hook us up with some discounts. This anemone is about the size of a large orange when it opens up so it's considered large for this particular bubble tip species. I was able to get this one for 250. Which is really good. There are some species that are even a lot more expensive. The place that sold it to me is called Top Shelf Aquatics in Winter Park, FL. People actually fly into Orlando from all over to buy their stuff. I'm sure you can find shit all over social media about them.

Your tank looks very nice. One of my twins would be able to reel off all of the names of those corals. I'm way more of a fish guy... but I love looking at the nice corals.

There are scientifically proven health benefits humans can get from looking into a tank for a few minutes. I can stare at mine for way too long without getting board. It looks like you have been hooked with the trade already by seeing your tank. It's most like an addiction at times and it's hard to explain. I got my first tank over 51 years ago and my complete addiction to the hobby has only gotten stronger. Back then I caught shit in the tide pools in Hawaii that costs insane money today for free.

Ps... all fish keepers have total failures along the way sooner or later. I'm not trying to be negative when I say that. ALL FISH KEEPERS go through it even when they are experts. So when it happens, just know that it was your turn. So don't get too discouraged when your turn comes around. It takes longer and longer to come around as the years go by... but it's part of it for ALL OF US.

Haha thanks for that Selassie! Man I was all beating myself up since I usually catch on most things pretty quickly but was so mad they died. Man, that will eventually be my next steps is working on some cool anemones. I'm still so new that some of those anemones I can't even tell the difference between! lol I'll have more time in the next two years to invest into knowledge, but I feel a bit giddy like a kid messing with all this now! lol

Yes! I find myself staring in that damn tank, easily can waste 30 mins staring inside there in wonder without even trying now. It's been my dream to get back to the oceanside and start diving, fishing and f'n off like I read you do! I can't imagine being down there and being amazed and overwhelmed by your surroundings! Bringing back Lobsters etc. for dinner. smh... the life.

Don't know if I can will myself to put myself in Hurricane Alley and just stay here in Boredom Alley... lol

 

[Selassie I]

Picked up the holy grail of anemones today... a Colorado anemone. It's the neon orange/yellow one. It's not open yet because I just put it in my tank about an hour ago. Super badass.

In this pic you can also see my rainbow anemone.

And...

My pistol shrimp which doesn't show himself a lot, but you can hear it making a pistol like pop throughout my house. Especially in the am hours. Tiny little fucker makes an unbelievably loud sound.

 

[Selassie I]

Updated anemones pic.

These anemones are animals, they're not like corals or plants. They move around wherever they want to. They have a foot thingy that gives them the ability to walk and climb... it also allows them to lock themselves into place when they find a spot they want to hang out in.

Last night I came home to find that these two decided to post up right next to each other.

 

[Selassie I]

So this is one of the coolest things that I've ever had happen in one of my tanks.

I've recently added 3 different anemones in my tank. Most people know about anemones because they've seen one of the world's most popular fish, the clown fish, live in anemones. These animals have devolped a symbiotic relationship over millions of years. The fish receives protection from predators because the anemones are armed with poison and the anemone receives more food and protection from the fish.

Clown fish must have an anemone to survive in the wild... but they don't need one for survival if they are living in captivity. So captive clowns many times do not pair up with an anemone ever, even if there are both living in the tank together. Lots of reasons for them not pairing too... they have particular tastes depending on the species of clown fish, but even having that part correct doesn't make them pair. Lots of other reasons too. Now the is a process to force the pairing to happen, but I wouldn't even try that nightmare.

One of my sons stopped by my house earlier today and just happened to witness my Maroon (lightning) Clown Fish in the process of naturally hosting my Black Widow anemone. He got pics too. First step in the process is for the fish to get it's mucous film covering his body to become immune to the anemone's unique poison. That's what's happening in these pics when you see the fish forcing himself down into the anemone and just soaking in the poison... the anemone is also pairing with the fish during this. They will be inseparable now. Pure luck that the fish is naturally picking this anemone to host.

This is the Black Widow anemone.

Pairing process in action. The fish is actually upside down in these because the anemone is hanging under a ledge of a big rock.

 

[Selassie I]

Copped 2 more anemones yesterday. These shots were taken only about an hour after I put em in my tank, so they weren't opened up near all they way yet. It takes them about a week or more to feel comfortable enough to fully open. These 2 are pretty big ones. For perspective... that Queen Angel fish is bigger than a dinner plate.

 

[Selassie I]

Picked up a Guinea Fowl puffer. It's the female Golden puffer. Males are called Goldens and they are yellow. I used to have a male and he was my favorite fish I've ever kept in a tank.

The females don't get enough credit for their cool looks though. I've got a bunch of yellow fish and fish with yellow... it's not common though to find a black fish with white polka dots all over it. She has the exact same personality as my old male.

These puffers are like having a dog that lives in a fish tank. They watch you more than you watch them. They greet you with excitement when you get close to the tank and they will follow you back and forth if you walk by.

 

[PARAM]

The 1st decision needs to be if you want live coral or fish...

Most of the fish you'll want to have are NOT reef safe because they will eat your corals. You can get some fish that are reef safe, but they're not the ones most would consider cool.

I had a 125 gallon tank for a dozen years or so. I started slowly to condition the tank. Adding green chromis, blue devils, firefish and as the tank became stable started adding larger fish like Yellow Tang, Flame Angel, etc. Eventually, I had a Emperor Angel which I raised from the white-lined juvie to the gorgeous adult Emperor. I had a dozen fish that I considered "show fish". That Emperor, a beautiful Naso Tang, a Yellow Tang, Powder Blue Tang, Hippo Tang/Pallet Tang (another I raised from juvie), that Flame Angel, a gorgeous tomato Clownfish, an adult Lionfish (which I was told I could never keep because they only ate live food....I basically starved him and he eventually accepted frozen food, which is the only thing I fed any of my fish), a Koran (which like the Emperor was completely different as an adult), a Sargent Major, a blonde Naso Tang and one or two who've slipped my mind.

I was lucky to have met a quality dealer who treated all incoming fish with copper to rid them of any diseases. He used to have labels on the tanks of when they arrived and how they were doing. I could pay for one and leave them there for a couple of weeks to make sure they were hearty, then bring them home. Once I had the community established....over a number of years....I had about a dozen who remained healthy and were a nice community for a long time. The downfall was my dealer got sick, sold the place and I couldn't find a quality dealer. Then one day, I saw a Queen Angel fully grown at another establishment and I bought it. Unbeknownst to me, that wasn't a quality dealer and the entire tank except for the Naso and Hippo Tang, died. I sold those two, dismantled and sold the tank and equipment. But I do miss them. There's nothing more relaxing than sipping a scotch or beer or wine on a couch with the lights out watching those fish swim around.


Simple rules. Change the water weekly. Add fish slowly. Clean the bottom weekly (I had marine sand and not gravel). Maintain your equipment.....the wet/dry, protein skimmer, etc. It's a lot of work but a labor of love!!!

I never got into the coral as you need special lighting as well as the proper fish.

 

[XXXIVwin]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dgnNiW3OTO8