Reef Diversity Bingo..

A

Ashlar

I was recently talking with Dr. Shimek on his MD forum about critters I see in my sand / tank, and we got talking about diversity.


@Dr. Shimek wrote:
Hi said:
That got me thinking about something I've wondered about before..

@Ashlar wrote:
I have to wonder if that lack of diversity said:
To which he responded..

@Dr. Shimek wrote:
Hi said:
So here's my idea.. Reef Diversity Bingo.

If you can't make a 'bingo' with an hour of observation of your tank and / or refugium, think about adding critters to boost your diversity.

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And no, I didn't actually arrange the items in any particular order, so realistically, if you see 10-12 of these, you're probably okay.

So here's my question- do you ever do anything to intentionally boost your diversity? Add a scoop of live sand from someone you trust's tank? Swap a ball of chaeto with someone just to get some of their critters?
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It's great to get sand or chaeto from someone's tank, but these days, it almost seems like you run the risk of getting more bad things than good. Chaeto almost always seems to have some sort of aptasia and the sand can have any number of harmful critters. It just a pity that we have to be so careful now.
Maybe we should add a part to the coop that is good sand and chaeto swapping. [smilie=wink.gif]
 
I trade a few pieces of rock rubble with a couple of folk's now. Before the Fish Gallery fire several years ago, I would get a bit of the muck from the bottom of their LR vat's both up front and in the back. I also know a few others that throw a couple pieces of not so cured LR in their tank's yearly, to create that "minor disturbance" that some, including myself, feel is necessary.

Cheers,
 
Wonder if any of the folks who used to make the Port Aransas trips used their haul for "old" tanks and can comment?
 
I'll be making the Port Aransas trip in the next few months to collect some stuff, I'll be going with another member from here and have a few others interested. I get super cheap rental cars if anyone wants to carpool. My enterprise discount means I can get a suv or full size car for $22 a day including their full coverage insurance.
 
Don't add the damsels and hermit crabs from port Arkansas is my lesson learned from port Arkansas trip


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@kuyatwo wrote:
Don't add the damsels and hermit crabs from port Arkansas is my lesson learned from port Arkansas trip said:
Well, the hermit crabs are great for FO tanks, or store credit at DNA, hehe. The little pipefish, filefish, and triggers from the sargassum were a hit, too.

I never could get the ulva to grow in my tank, though.
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Mbz and I went to this river/creek and waded through the grass with pur collection nets and picked up a bunch of feeder shrimp prob close to 300. The fish went crazy for them wen we dumped them in the tank.



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I think the Sergeant Majors would look pretty in my Top Pred tank. [smilie=devil.gif]
They can play chase with the eel. Sounds like good if only short lived bio diversity to me.
 
The blennys are molly millers, and the sargrassum triggers are super cool and reef safe from what i remember
 
I ordered from IPSF for my first tank to seed the sand bed and loved it. It was pretty neat to see (well, what I could pick up with my eye) the little bits livings in the sand. I did eventually end up with nothing more then baby brittle stars and spaghetti worms, but I feel like they did a good job of eating left overs.
 
Ron's been recommending recharging the bed every year for ages, its really the only way to maintain a balance since a few species will end up dominating over another. ISPF is a great place to get stuff from, Inland Aquatics (If they are still in business) is another. When doing a new bed, I would order a kit from each to maximize the mix and get some sand from some folks I know. I agree with drew... never know what you'll get from someone. Best if you know someone to ask for a bit of sand from them, no more than half a cup will do. You can probably manually search it for something major, like flatworms or ispods etc. Or just transport it in a condom..... just to be safe. Just don't put the sand in if it breaks tho!

Practice Safe Reefing... transport sand and frags in a condom. That's my money maker idea for t-shirts at MACNA.
 
I threw together a quick page with some pictures / descriptions, since not everyone knows all the species names..

http://rowelab.com/fish/bingo.html
 
Found two transparent/off white Aocel worms on the front pane of the Pred tank tonight. Best of my knowledge I have not added anything beyond live food in the past 3 months.
Glad to seem them still around doing their thing. Couple hundred pods in the fugue as well.
 
I understand the intent with adding diversity, but IME it just isn't practical. I have a thriving sandbed that teams with certain critters. What chance does a few "new guys" have to compete with the metric s*** ton of worm flesh I already have?

And pests, yeah. It's not a question of "if", it's a question of "when".
 
I've only seen the white ones working the glass in all 6 of my tanks.
I have no clue exactly what they are trying to eat. I assume the bits of algae that we scrape off with a flipper every few days/weeks.
The red ones are allegedly "bad". So far I have not run across them. I'm sure at some point I will have to deal with them. I've run across every other flipp'n pest so far it seems.
 
OK. I saw a few of the white ones today in my quarantine tank. I have not seen them before, and thought they were pests. Thanks!

David
 
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