Welcoming New-moe and Kin

We’ve made two additions to our reef tank.  One of them, sadly, is a replacement Lawn Mower Blenny.  The old one, Moe, did not survive the somewhat erratic care of those watching our tank while we were away out west for WorldCon and my graduation.  So in a cold turn of the phrase, we have dubbed the

Underwater Torch

This is the latest addition to our reef tank.  Though, of course, the picture doesn’t do it justice.  It’s an absolutely stunning teal green torch coral, which we’ve decided to call the Tumtum tree. 😉 In the bottom left-hand corner you can also see a purple mushroom we transplanted a few weeks back.  The mushroom’s been interesting because it

The Ongoing Saga of the Saltwater Tank

Back in December (2007) when we got our tank I didn’t blog about it ’cause the tank was more for my husband.  Besides, it was just before Christmas and I was overwhelmed with school, etc.

Then I fell in love with the tank, and discovered it was for me, too.  My favorite date is to the fish store, and I’d rather study or write with the sound of the circulating water in my ear than anywhere else.  Saltwater fish are actually interesting, and unique, unlike most freshwater fish I’ve seen.  But it seemed a bit late to start blogging about it.

A few months passed, and our first (and only) fish disappeared.  A mysterious clicking sound resounded from our rocks.  Our hermit crabs started showing punctures in their shells, and little puffs of sand would appear out of the rocks, accompanied by more clicking.

We had a Mantis Shrimp.

Mantis_Shrimp_.jpg

Only instead of being bright and colorful and wanted, our Mantis Shrimp was drab and grey and unwanted.  It was a murderous fish-eating hitchhiker that would prove truly obdurate to get out of our tank.