Open Brain Surgery

I continued executing my (reckless) livestocking plan today by picking up a Randall's Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli) and a nice Trachyphyllia Lobed/Open Brain coral specimen that is about 4 inches across.

The goby wasn't shy for the first few minutes- after being acclimated, he drifted down into the middle of the tank (with both curious clownfish in pursuit) and sat there for some time, taking in his surroundings. After a while he retreated to the back of the tank and found a little crack in which he can hide. I realize now he'll be much happier if I can get him a pistol shrimp- in the wild (and in aquariums) these and other gobies share burrows with pistol shrimp. The shrimp are almost blind but are terrific at creating a burrow; the goby keeps a lookout and the shrimp does the digging, all the while keeping one antennae on the goby. When the goby darts into the burrow, so does the shrimp. Definitely a fascinating relationship and something that I'd like to see in action right in my living room... just have to ask around and find one. The shrimp and goby will usually "find each other" in an aquarium almost right away, although some people have had a hard time.

The brain coral is a red and turquoise color morph. It's right in the middle of the tank, under the moon lights, so it will hopefully show off its fluorescent colors at night. They usually prefer more lighting than I have, but given the position in the tank (right underneath the lights), it should be sufficient. There is a low to moderate flow around the coral, and if necessary I'll adjust the heads to direct flow elsewhere.

Another thing to note- the Koralia-1 comes with a baffle that can be added to the output. This reduces the flow slightly, but also serves to disperse it. I attached the baffle a couple of nights ago and I'm pleased with the results... the clownfish aren't having as much "fun", though.

My LFS had some stuff lying around which turned into freebies for me- a set of 5-in-1 API test strips, a good net, Kent Essential Elements, Kent Zooplex, Red Sea Strontium supplement, and PurpleUp. It was very nice of them to send those my way... they should tide me over for some time, and the test strips will last until I finally get an all-inclusive test kit.