victoly Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 An urchin marrying an urchin? Abomination. A slippery slope my friend. What's next, acropora/montipora hybrids? FILTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 If that's who the acros and montis want to be with... who am I to get in the way. The polyp wants what the polyp wants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Nice fish! Rca had a small baby one the other day and I decided to throw the dice and get one, they are for sure a very pretty and active fish! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Sorry Ty, but the urchin was pooping. Urchin eggs are about 90 microns diameter. The poop is calcium and nitrogen rich so your corals would like it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Sorry Ty, but the urchin was pooping. Urchin eggs are about 90 microns diameter. The poop is calcium and nitrogen rich so your corals would like it though. Tim, I have 5 urchins that poop everyday so I got a pretty good idea of what that looks like and this was distinctly different. I appreciate the input though.I'm pretty sure it was eggs. They were so small that the chromis didn't even realize they were there to eat like they do with the mandarin eggs when those are released. It was so fine that only in the right light could I see the hundreds of tiny projectiles coming out of the urchin. The males releasing gametes are just as interesting. It's not too disimilar from a tube of toothpaste being squeezed the way it comes out of the urchin. Once it squeezes out, the current disperses it quickly and it appears as though the urchin is smoking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 gross/hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Having one or two urchins myself what I've seen corresponds to what I've read on institutional websites. I was quite surprised researching a question by a client to learn male urchins excrete sperm from pores spread around their body not from their anus. Only females eject the eggs from their "anus" and produce millions. As all urchin species have distinct male and female this is the easiest way to sex them. If indeed what you describe are eggs it's very unique and you should document it. There's a picture of a male urchin excreting sperm at the top of pg 10 on this link for those so interested. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~himbed/forms/HIMB-Sea-Urchin-Fertilization-Lab.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Yeah, the males I've witnessed in my tank practically ooze it out of the surrounding areas near the anus so the description matches up well. The female releasing the eggs was totally unexpected. It was a very coordinated movement of tentacles and expulsion of a ton of microscopic eggs. If 90 microns is the average size of urchin eggs, then it is an appropriate description of what I saw... basing this on a grain of salt being about 100 microns. I'll have a fully charged phone awaiting the next session Tim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Here's the male urchin video I made a couple months back to hold everyone over until I can catch the female again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 . . . I'll have a fully charged phone awaiting the next session Tim. I look forward to it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 Here's another male urchin I caught a couple days ago doing his thing... and yes, those are fire and ice zoas on its back. There is a brief cameo from my new flame angel as well in the video. I apologize for all the particulate matter in the water... I had just fed the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 That music is pretty intense and fits the video content quite , *nicely*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I let the videos inspire my musical selections. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I call him... Cyphastrea face! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 This one male urchin has been at it the past two days. This usually goes on for about 30-45 mins. In the video is what I caught last night and what I just caught about an hour ago. From reading some research on the process, I am keeping my eye out for the female as they tend to release the eggs 30-45 mins after the male releases his gametes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Run, don't walk from...Cyphastrea Face! Haha that is a great looking coral. Mine is coming back after I gave it a sunburn. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 The holiday has been so busy that I haven't been able to enjoy my new additions. Female Leopard Wrasse Cleaner wrasse Both of them together Both came from an established tank and happily eat mysis, nori, and flakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Wow that female leopard wrasse is beautiful. Got to love the flame angel too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 As a leopard wrasse club member my ears started tingling. Very nice terminal phase leopard. Cleaner wrasse looks killer too. I'll be keeping my eye on how that progresses for you. Look forward to that leopard finding it's burrow spot and cleaning it regularly. Lol may have to relocate some zoas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 The leopard wrasse has fascinated me for awhile now ever since I saw the two swimming around in the Aquadome show tank. It just about flipped when I found out I could get one already acclimated to tank life. She picked a perfect spot in the back corner of my tank where there are no corals to burrow every night. I just see her swim into the back corner and then a giant cloud of dust rises and that's my signal that it's time for bed. I would have never bought a cleaner wrasse as they are better served in the ocean where they belong since they are such pivotal members of the reef community. They are a key part of keeping natural fish populations pest free from external parasites and their removal could be detrimental to the community health. They also have dismal survival rates in captivity as well. I figured since it's been alive for the better part of a year in the tank, I'd give it a shot. It's happily cruising the tank and eating almost anything I throw in the tank. I catch it constantly cleaning and picking at its tankmate and doing the job it was built for. Odd thing, but it loves nori! I threw a sheet in there and as usual, the tangs destroyed it and as the little pieces flake off, the other fish usually pick those off instead of getting into the tang feeding frenzy. This little guy dives right in the scrum with 6 large tangs and doesn't bat a fish eyelash... if those even exists. I guess cleaner wrasses were raised with a little crazy in them if they are often seen in nature cleaning some fish that would easily make a snack out of them. Oh, I missed a spot right by your back teeth. Let me get that for you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Agree 100% on cleaner wrasses but people do successfully keep them in captivity so it can be done. You're more qualified than most to give it a go! I think you'll see after having a tank acclimated leopard wrasse, it's hard to see why they're difficult. Once they know what fish food is, they're like chow hounds. Mine is always first to the pellets and even nips at my fingers when I'm dropping them in. Also the only fish that doesn't hide and retreat into the rocks when a stranger approaches the tank. Edited December 29, 2014 by Bpb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 Well, the hard work on the cleaner wrasse has already been done by the previous owner so I'll take no credit for that. Haha. The leopard wrasse behavior fascinates me. I'd love to hear any personal observations you've had of your leopard wrasse. She is starting to sync up with my light schedule and I heard you could set your clock to it as they have a well developed internal clock. She cruises the rocks all day looking for unfortunate pods and worms that don't hide quick enough. When I feed, she'll eat everything! Her leopard pattern is hypnotizing and is a great accent to all the mono-colored fish in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Great looking wrasses. I love my Leopards and they behave the same ways you have noted above. They're wonderful fish that eat everything and don't hide. They just keep cruising around the tank looking for stuff until food hits the water, then it's game on! P.S. Stop copying me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 I'm gonna slap some LEDs over the tank and stuff a ton of macro in the sump next. It'll be awesome! [emoji6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 You're gonna need something to export those nutriants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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