The Rat Bastard is gone.

He has been tossed into the Pit of Despair. After terrorizing the corals I finally outsmarted, out witted, and out played this stupid little guy. It is a shame it took me 3 months. It is quite humiliating  being bested by a pea brained shrimp. But persistence won over. All it took was a peanut butter jar and some bait. In case you were wondering,  I did not use peanut butter for bait. I used a piece of shrimp. The trick was to place the jar upright. Once the shrimp climbed in he could not figure how to get out. Shrimp tend to swim backward using their tail. So he was stuck in the jar. It was an easy catch after months of frustration. Good riddance.

You will notice in this picture a new fish "Dori". It is a Hippo Tang. Well Dori did not do well with the move from the local fish store. I found out the Tangs are very susceptible to catching ICH. Ich is a parasite that will eventually kill its host. I took a month, but Dori went missing last week and has not been seen since. When I noticed the Ich, I tried to catch the Tang to put it a quarantine tank for medical treatment. These little fish are smart and quick. I could not catch her, so she paid the price. RIP!

Brain coral.

I am aclimating to the new tank. Coral take a while to get accustomed to the tank lighting.

This is an early picture of this new coral, before the shrimp started eating at it. The shrimp did quite a bit of damage. Luckily I got rid of the shrimp before he ate it all.

This Red Flower Pot Coral has made a dramatic improvement after the shrimp removal.

A faithful follower (Thanks August) suggested a whole tank view. No flash used. The LED lighting is in the evening mode where it is simulating the sun going down and the transition from white light to the royal blue and dark blue spectrum. The colors are true but it does not show off the color of the corals. When scuba diving the same effect also occurs at depth. I often use a flash light to light up the corals to see the colors.

I tried to capture some of the growth and color of the coral on the left. It is a beautiful lavender color. Most of the growth is on the back side of the coral where the light is better.

Check out the Duncan Coral. It has grown two additional heads. I moved it from the refugium in to the display tank. After the move it has not fully extended as in this picture. The coral seem to be temperamental and don't like change.

Next blog. Behind the scenes and behind the wall. What makes this thing tick.