Aptasia
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Invertebrates
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about invertebrates.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30574
Printed Date: December 12 2024 at 9:46am
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Topic: Aptasia
Posted By: Chevmaro
Subject: Aptasia
Date Posted: January 05 2009 at 8:36pm
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Son of a gun i have aptasia. I know this is a common pest but my tank is too new for this. only been up a couple months. I got a bubble coral and some mushrooms from The Aquarium. The first one i noticed was right on the back of the bubble coral and then i found some small ones on the mushroom rock. I then seen some on my UT dry rock that had nothing else. So i think they are pretty widespread now. I have counted 5 and i think one is in my sand but its hard to tell.
I know they are impossible to get rid of. Or are they? I was thinking of trying to keep them under control is fine with me. Butterfly fish and pepper shrimp a good idea? I dont think i could inject them as they are in a hard to reach places. Is it worth tearing my tank down? I dont think so.
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Replies:
Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: January 05 2009 at 9:10pm
| A bunch of peppermint shrimp asap, might work. |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 05 2009 at 9:32pm
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Peppermint shrimp will take care of the little ones if they are hungry. Almost anything hot or caustic will kill the big ones if you inject them with it. Somethings people have had luck with are Joe's Juice, Aiptasia X, Kalkwasser paste, Boiling water, or a small torch (flame).
Mike -------------  |
Posted By: bbeck4x4
Date Posted: January 05 2009 at 9:48pm
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add lemon juice to that list as well.
------------- Family Portraits /Google trusted Photographer for Google Maps for Businesses |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 05 2009 at 11:12pm
It's good that you are checking your tank so well that you have discovered the Aiptasia.  Okay let's dispel some myths you must have heard: 1. They are easy to get rid of at this point in your tank's life. 2. If you can see them, you can inject them. 3. Tearing down the tank is not even in my vocabulary. I have never had to do it. There are ways to control all pests without much trouble when control starts in the early stages as you are in. The best and if you are lucky, the only thing you will need to do, as long as you don't have any Triggers or Hawkfish, is arrange to buy a few hungry Peppermint Shrimp. To ensure they are hungry, check to see what and how much the LFS has been feeding them. If they were just received and have not been fed much, so much the better. There are some techniques for making them hungrier before you set them loose in your tank. We can go over that later. The number of shrimp depends on the size of the tank. I recently got a beautiful rock covered with protopalythoa and feather duster worms from a friend and WMAS member. To my chagrin, there were a few Aiptasia. Within a month three hungry Peppermint Shrimp were added to my 75 and I totally forgot about the Aiptasia because they are nowhere to be seen. It's been 2 months since they were introduced and the two remaining shrimp are so cute. I just took some pics but it's too late. I'll post them later. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Chevmaro wrote:Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 12:22am
| 90 gallon tank. yes i can see them but im wondering how many i cant see. I could try injecting them but two of them are way at the bottom which means i have to nearly dip my head in the water while trying to be handy with a siringe. ill give it a shot. Another member mentioned Berghia Nudibranchs. How do you feel about those? I was hoping for an excuse to buy a butterfly fish. Some of them are great looking. I dont have many corals right now so i dont think it would harm the tank too much. |
Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 12:23am
| oh yea and how fast do they grow? These ones seemed to popup out of nowhere. I closely inspect my tank every day. do a head count of fish. look for new growth and what not. Theres no way i would have missed them and they werent there yesterday. |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 1:18am
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Berghia Nudibranchs are only for massivly infested tanks. They will starve in your tank on short notice. Once the aptasia are gone, so are they. ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 11:45am
| Is it bad if they die? If I have to sacrifice a few bugs to save my tank I will. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 12:51pm
Yes, Aiptasia can seemingly come out of nowhere. Even just a small piece of their flesh can grow quickly into a good sized anemone. They are not a big deal for me. I just ensure that I have Peppermint Shrimp. I have had tanks where a few Aiptasia never got out of control, but I have seen tanks where the owner did nothing and eventually had a huge problem on his hands. You seem to be avoiding the suggestion that the best first line of defense is Peppermint Shrimp. Do you have any Peppermint Shrimp currently in the tank? What kind of fish? Have you tried Peppermint Shrimp and lost them? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 1:02pm
| I agree with peppermint shrimp i had an outbreak and i throw 3 in there and they took care of it! Forgot they were even in my tank at any point. I even kept them with a coral banded shrimp. As long as the tank is big enough and they have hiding places the coral banded didnt bother them. the Aquirium seems to keep them in stock, they are 8 bucks, kinda pricey, but well worth it! |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 1:54pm
Evening pic Daytime silhouette  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 4:42pm
| Im not avoiding the suggestion of Peppermint shrimp. I am just trying to figure out the most successfull solution. Everyone has there own opinions. I'll pickup a few shrimp. Im going out of town this weekend and all next week. My tank will be neglected other then my wife feeding the fish. I dont want things to get out of whack while im gone. I'll get some added asap. Thanks for everyones help. |
Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 4:43pm
| One last thing. How many shrimp for a 90? Do I need to throw one in the fuge? |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 5:25pm
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It always good to add one more than needed to allow for normal mortality. We (my wife loves it when I include her in my writing) put 3 in our 75 which is the same footprint as a 90. Lost one but two is plenty to do the job. If there are Aiptasia in the fuge you can either let it feed the peppermints with baby aiptasia or put one there to be moved later if it is eating all the pods. Be sure to acclimate slightly slower than for fish. Shrimp tend to be a little more sensitive. If you want to be sure they are hungry, place them into the tank for a day or two in a small container with a bridal veil lid. We often use the quart size salad containers for keeping things in the tank that I don't want immediately exposed to the tanks inhabitants. An elastic holds the bridal veil in place of the lid and a small rock inside keeps the container from floating away. FYI, this method works well for introducing new fish that may find themselves entering a territorial dispute. It seems to soften the blow and if the actions of the territorial fish toward the fish in the container indicate excessive aggression toward the new guy, he can be easily removed without ever witnessing a fight. This placing of the new fish in a "cage" within the tank also allows training of the resident fishes before releasing the new one. If you haven't heard of the fish training method just ask. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: mermaidcamille
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 6:34pm
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I had a bad outbreak in two of my tanks. I was most worried about my 130 g. Here is what I tried and what did and didn't work and how much I spent. $%#@ anemones!:
Nudibrachs-bought 10, they average $10 each. Never saw them after the second day and the aptasia didn't go anywhere.
Aptasia X- $14 bought two bottles. Killed a lot of them, but some came back and won't die! I figured if I kept this up I would be buying aptasia x forever and should probably invest in there stock.
Aptasia Control-$8 same as aptasia x except the other corals didn't like it very much.
5 peppermint shrimp: got online for 20. Didn't do anything.
Lemon Juice: Free out of my fridge. Just pissed the aptasia off.
So what finally worked?
I bought 12 peppermint shrimp! Problem nearly gone by next day.
If you talk to Chris at Fish-4-U he was willing to help me get a better price on them if I bought a bunch. This is what I would suggest, since I tried everything else.
Good luck!
Camille
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Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: January 06 2009 at 11:45pm
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Camille, I'm thinking that the chances are, of those 20 you got from Kris, 5 would have done the job. It was the luck of the draw in getting some that liked Aiptasia and were hungry for it. I never give up on Peppermint Shrimp. That's why I suggest making them hungry before letting them loose. Better chance they will eat anything, especially Aiptasia.
------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 08 2009 at 8:53pm
| I picked up 3 Pepper shrimps and some Blue Vet RX Aptasia Control. Not firmiliar with this stuff but the gal at Fish4U said she has had it work for her. I tried it with the injection method and I can no longer see the larger one i injected. Not sure if i scared it into the rock but i felt like i got a good poke. It has been an hour ill keep an eye on the tank for the next little bit. |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 08 2009 at 10:12pm
Camille did have some awesome Glass Anemones (Aiptasia)
 Mike ------------- |
Posted By: EagleEyez5
Date Posted: January 08 2009 at 11:22pm
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Hey mike, can you post that picture under my thread, or do you mind if I do?
I hope some people still have some aptasia for me...... ------------- http://www.highendcorals.com/"> 
WMAS PAID SPONSOR |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 8:07am
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No problem. I'll post it there when I get home tonight. Mike ------------- |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 6:39pm
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The problem with the butterfly fish is they are very hard to keep alive. They recommend no less than a 6 month set up. Also hard to feed. I have a few of these and i just thought they were cute baby anemones. As long as things stay as they are i will keep them cause i think they are cute. I dod notice on some rock i now have baby blue looking anemone. Does anyone know about these? Seems since i have use the filter feeder tytpe foods and reef type foods my rock is doing really well and fast. Thanks ------------- rose |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 7:22pm
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Welcome palmbeauties!
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 7:33pm
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hi mike ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 7:38pm
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hey mike would u know what the blue looking anemones are that are on my live rock. they looked to me to be baby anemone, now i am worried they are the pestr things u all spoke about. hopr not cause i thought it was coll and really do not wany to rid them. if i get some of those pepermint shrinp, will they also eat yhr other stuff on the rocks that i do want6 like the algae grass so on? thanks ------------- rose |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 7:43pm
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Can you post a picture? ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 7:46pm
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i am not home now but i can try and when i do i will contact you. there tine blue tenticles coming out of this thing in the rock. rose ------------- rose |
Posted By: Chevmaro
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 9:07pm
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Well the injections and pepermint shrimp did the trick. I didnt wait to find out which worked i just did both. A day later i have no sign of aptasia. Still early but i think its looking good.
Thanks for everyones suggestions.
Mike you take some great photos.
Lets see what Palm has in store for us next.
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Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:14pm
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I just took some pictures but now my battery died so i am charging it. I am worried about my starry blenny. He was great yesterday and the ph was 8.2 and then i had to add some water , salt, you know the story . I then retested the ph and it still stayed the same so i figured the little water i added did not hurt it. Well today it went way down to 7.8 and now he is acting like i may loose him. Not sure if it is pH shock getting him slowly. I AM SAD. ------------- rose |
Posted By: bbeck4x4
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:26pm
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what size is your tank?
------------- Family Portraits /Google trusted Photographer for Google Maps for Businesses |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:27pm
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It is small but i only have two fish in it. A flame hawk and him then all my live rock. It is only 14 gal. ------------- rose |
Posted By: bbeck4x4
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:28pm
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how much of a water change and how did you determine the ph change?
------------- Family Portraits /Google trusted Photographer for Google Maps for Businesses |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:30pm
| i only removed about a bowl full and i determined the ph change with a kit I had bought at the pet store. It is a good kit. Has a lot of test. |
Posted By: bbeck4x4
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:45pm
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I recommend creating a new topic for this so that this can continue in
it's own thread, and so that more people can see it and respond. don't stress the ph test kits reading at this point, in your new post include the information that you have added here. Brian ------------- Family Portraits /Google trusted Photographer for Google Maps for Businesses |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 10:47pm
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well mike wanted pics so i am staying here to contact him and upload them later but thank you. It does say the starry blenny need a high ph so i may be right on thinking it is ph shock. Not sure though. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 09 2009 at 11:15pm
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mike i have the pictures tried to upload them and said i was denied that access so how do i show you.
------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 10 2009 at 1:32am
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Mike maybe my last note. I really am sad and tired of my salt water fish dying for really no reason. My tank test are all perfect, everything is fine. The rocks do well but I loose fish. I have no ammonia, no nitrite or nitrate nothing. Ph good and they just die. Why would that be. I do all i read about, and i have no luck with the fish and they cost a lot of money. I think i will stay with only the live rock no fish. I have one left the flame hawk and seems to be doing well but out of the blue my Starry Blenny decide to die. Eats, moves one day, the next down and the look of death. Does this happen to you. I mean I HAVE NO idea what i am doing wrong. Years ago when i had a tank this happen but now these days they say oh that was 14 years ago it is easy now. Not for me, not yet. I even bought the so called oceanic bio cube that is suppose to be ideal for salt fish. Well it's not and all it did was leak all over the place. They are not good and poorly designed. ------------- rose |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 10 2009 at 11:28am
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Hang in there Rose. I'm sure we can get this figured out. We will just take it one step at a time. First you should start your own thread about your tank with the normal information so we know what you have and what the actual readings are.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 10 2009 at 11:32am
Rose, is this what your anemones look like?
 Mike ------------- |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 10 2009 at 2:26pm
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Yes mike the blue ones. I also have the brown ones only two brown. I uploaded my pictures to my file manager then when i try to write to you and attach the picture it says i already uploaded it so it does not let me. makes no sense to me. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 2:51am
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Mike, I went to buy a pepermint shrimp and my flame hawk fish ate him. They new I had a flame hawk fish to. They do not refund on salt water fish either. I am not even sure if this will hurt my flame now cause i still see part of the shrimp in his mouth. I cannot believe this. They charged me 11 bucks for it and he got eaten in about 2 hours of putting him in the tank. See why I am getting sick of the fish part. ------------- rose |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 11:02am
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I'm sorry to hear about the shrimp. They have gotten expensive. The last time I bought them they were $5-$6.00. Unfortunately Hawkfish eat shrimp. The Flamehawk should be fine.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 4:06pm
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Well the guy at the store bragged about how he has been doing this for 20 years . Then he should had known to tell me that i cannot get the shrimp cause of the hawkfish he new i had and sold me. I was talking about the hawkfish when he was getting the shrimp to. Yes he charged me 10.99 for one. I will call him tuesday. I tried today he is out. Also I do not know the cause but my hawk fish keeps getting ick. A lot of white spots so i have the live rock, corals so on so i do not want to put meds in the tank so i did the fresh water dip. It cleared them up but they all came back. I am not sure how i would of gotten ick in my new tank or if stress just brought it on. Anyway so since they came back really bad i did the dip again for a long time. I think almost to long cause when i put him back in the salt tank i thought i killed him. He dropped on his back. But he is back now acting pretty normal with no ick at all. So this is a lot of trouble ... I see why many do not do salt water but i love the look so much more. If my hawk dies i think i will stick to live rock only. also when you asked me about the blue anemone in my tank and showed me a pic, i said yes that is what they are, but you did not say what they are of if bad. The guy at the store said he felt those were ok. Rose ------------- rose |
Posted By: Cameron
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 4:10pm
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First off, I would make a New thread that has to deal with your situation. Second, soak your food in garlic oil for a while before you feed your hawk. That will help him kick the Ick. Another thing, All fish are different. Some will eat shrimp, Some wont. Not the guys fault at all. ------------- [COLOR="Red"](801)664-4240 |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 4:13pm
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yes but when you go on line as i did last night when he ate it it says it is one of there foods. So i would assume most would eat them. The point is if he new so much he should of then at least warn me that there is a chance. Thank you for your help. ------------- rose |
Posted By: Cameron
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 5:07pm
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I can see where your frustration is coming from, and I really am saying this in a nice way, But I think you should Know what your own fish like. Whenever I go to the fish store and see something I like, i go home and research it. I know what all of my fish eat, but I would not expect the guys at the LFS to know EVERYTHING that every type of fish may eat. I say that in a very nice way, and that is how i feel and How I do things. I would try the Garlic. Every time I feed, i feed with Garlic oil. I had a powder brown that never evenn had any ick at all. I love garlic, and so will your fish. I hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions. ------------- [COLOR="Red"](801)664-4240 |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 5:15pm
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Sorry Rose. I believe it is a coralimorpharian. Possibly a warm water relative of the Strawberry Anemone. I've had them for a long time and they seem benign.
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: tazman1982
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 5:36pm
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If the shrimp is large enough they are fine. but yes there should have been a warning that they eat shrimp. My skunk shrimp is the same size of the hawkfish so he has chased it but left it alone since then. ------------- 75 Reef 55 Reef |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 10:29pm
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No that shrimp was big and this hawkfish ate it anyway. I keep saying i have no idea how he opened his mouth enought to get it in. He was about 1 in long. It took him an entire day just to not see the shrimps tenticles anymore sticking out of his mouth. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 10:30pm
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Ok thanks Mike they are on live rock. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 10:31pm
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Hi with all do respect i hear what you are also saying, however this guy is the store owner selling the fish so if someone should had known when a customer comes in what to advice and not and he does not he is wrong. It is my 11 bucks he wont care about now. He is the one that bragged to me about his 20 years of knowledge. That is why i feel he shoud had known this when he his the one that also sold me the hawkfish. Thanks ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 11:19pm
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Mike can you tell me why i was able to upload pictures to my file manager but cannot put them here to show everyone. Is there an email i can send you some pictures of my tank? ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 11 2009 at 11:37pm
 
huh i think it let me upload two. One shows my hawk fish and all my live rock and a few corals. The other one shows my flow of water swirling on the top. I have three air pumps in there. Two at the top put in after picture taken and one at the bottom that shoots up. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 12 2009 at 1:02am
   
Mike i manage to upload the pictures. Here is the brown one i think you refer to as the pest . I also have the blue ones to show you and my hawk fish. How did he fit a big shrimp in that mouth. Unreal. ------------- rose |
Posted By: palmbeauties
Date Posted: January 14 2009 at 10:26pm
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Hey Mike, I wrote a few days ago and uploaded the pics but never heard back. ------------- rose |