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Chris' Reef Savvy Shallow (1 Viewer)

After ordering some "Pink Nepthea" from an online vendor and getting Kenya Tree o_O, I found a private seller who was willing to part with a little frag. These guys have visible calcified spicules and similar polyps to the non-photosynthetic softcorals like Dendronephthya, but without all the feeding and dirty water.

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That patterning is fantastic, I never even knew a variety like that existed. Do you still have the files or did they give you fits?
 
That patterning is fantastic, I never even knew a variety like that existed. Do you still have the files or did they give you fits?

I lost the smaller Filefish when we went on vacation in November, and the other was pretty skinny. I recently added a second from Diver's Den, so back to a pair. They munch on everything I put in but eventually lose interest.. so far.
 
Ya, seems like all accounts say they loose weight very quickly.

If you need a "slow feeder" I've got a bunch of mastic that can last most of the day. It should be put in a small tube or something to prevent other fish from reaching it... also helps keep it together for a long time.
 
Ya, seems like all accounts say they loose weight very quickly.

If you need a "slow feeder" I've got a bunch of mastic that can last most of the day. It should be put in a small tube or something to prevent other fish from reaching it... also helps keep it together for a long time.

I've got to figure something out. One has a lot of weight on and is eating well, the other just picks slowly and is a bit thinner.

Here they are tonight, they always sleep together but in different spots in the tank- tonight it's the gorgonian. For those that haven't kept these, they like to lock themselves into spots with their dorsal spine and pelvic fin.

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Try a 1/2" ot 3/4" pvc coupler with a plug on each side... other ways to modify this some but one end has to be removable. Thin walls are better than thick since their noses are not 'that long'.

Dangle it or mag mount it with a few holes drilled in it. I drilled too many holes. Keep in mind where the food will sit.

To get them to eat anything out of it the mastic works best to start because you paste it to the outside of the container. Once they eat off the outside put some on the inside and squished into the holes a bit. They will now eat out of the holes all day long but still swim around without needing to squish into the holes and regardless of the food type.

Took about 3-4 days to transition them this way.
 
Beautiful. The second to last is my favorite of the bunch!
 
Beautiful. The second to last is my favorite of the bunch!

Thanks!

How do you like going more soft as opposed to SPS?

It's been pretty great; it's a very forgiving and lazy system. All of my test kits eventually expired and I just tossed them with no replacements. I feel like I could keep a system like this for a very long time and not get burned out. Coral growth isn't really rewarding like SPS, just meh or annoying.

This setup begs to be a look down Acropora tank though.. some day.
 
Added a smaller male ORA Gladiator clownfish to the system a couple of weeks ago. At first he wasn't very interested, but now she has him in the anemone full time, cleaning the rocks and overflow. Getting both of them in the same focal plane will take patience that I don't have today, but this is a fun one.

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Apologies if this has been covered already but what camera and lenses/attachments are you using?

I don't think I've mentioned it in the thread, at least not recently. All shots are with the same Canon 5D Mk IV body, no filters, tubes, or anything like that. I'll switch out lenses based on the subject.

Fish/Coral: Canon 100 f/2.8L Macro
Coral Close-ups: Canon MP-E 65 f/2.8 Macro
Full Tank: Canon 16-35 f/4.0L II
 

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