Kaizen Media Blog

Our Scarlett Hermit Crabs destroyed this entire bed of star polyps, slowly eating away at it there is nothing left.

Parameters Tank started in July 2009, 38 gallons, Approx. 32 lbs of live rock, 2 x 39W T5HO lights (1 actinic), Temperature 27°C, Specific gravity 1.024, pH 8.2 – 8.4, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, KH 9, Phosphate 0, Calcium 440

Livestock Ocellaris clownfish (2), Clown goby (1), Flame angel (1), Lawnmower blenny (1), Scarlet hermit crab (2), Blue leg hermit crab (5), Astrea snail (1), Turbo snail (2), Serpent starfish (2), Peppermint Shrimp (1)

Updated as of Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Mini Serps March 2010

Kaizen Reef name: Mini Serps
Common name: Serpent Starfish / Brittle Starfish
Scientific name: Ophiura Ophiura

Physical description: This specimen is light brown in colour but they come in many colours. Five serpent like arms (rays) extend from the central disk.

Diet: Meat eating scavenger, frozen mysis shrimp, brimeshrimp, tiger shrimp as well as flake foods.

Important dates:
3/21/10: Added to the tank

Personal notes: We bought this serpent starfish after our sand sifting starfish died. Serpent starfish are known to be very hardy and live a long life in the home aquarium.

Kaizen Reef name: Phoenix
Common name:Flame Angel
Scientific name: Centropyge loricula

Physical description: Brilliantly coloured red with a hint of orange (hence the ‘flame’) with dark bands on the body and bright blue towards the caudal fin.

Distribution: Reefs in the South Pacific, Indonesia, Australia, and have been seen in the Hawaiian Islands.

Diet: Omnivourous. Prefers plant based foods but will also accept finely chopped meaty foods like brine shrimp and mysis shrimp.

Important dates: 1/23/10 added to reef

Personal notes: Lots of information out there says that this fish should be the last fish added to a tank as they tend to become quite territorial. So far Phoenix has been quite shy yet amicable towards her tankmates.

Kaizen Reef name:Muddy
Common name:Lawnmower Blenny
Scientific name:Salarias fasciatus

Physical description:Contrary to most available information regarding lawnmower blennies, Muddy changes his colours frequently within a wide spectrum of tans and browns and is sometimes striped. A large dorsal fin extends the length of his body. His eyes are adorned with light blue spots and delicate antler-like projections called cirri. He spends most of the day eating microalgae off the rocks.

Distribution:Indo-Pacific

Diet:Algae. Prefers microalgae but also eats the green off some macroalgae.

Important dates: 1/23/10 – added to reef

Personal notes: Muddy lives up to the name of his species by mowing algae from the live rocks all day long with his comb teeth. He was named after Muddy Mudskipper from the Ren and Stimpy show because he looks kind of like him despite not being an actual mudskipper.

Kaizen Reef name: Derp
Common name: Lawnmower blenny
Scientific name: Salarias fasciatus

Physical description: Although it is mostly stated that these are drab in colour and physical appearance on close inspection their markings are actually quite amazing. Mostly shades of grey and brown these really look like lizards especially when they are perched and looking around. Their eyes move independently of each other as well. They have remarkable camouflage capabilities.

Diet: algae, flakes, meaty foods

Important dates:
12/11/09: Added to the tank
1/18/10: Derp got sick and died (removed from tank on January 19)

Personal notes: Yet another noob mistake on this one… Turns out you shouldn’t add two blennies together in such a small tank (we have a 38 gallon). The first few days we saw a different side to our Bicolor Blenny as he chased and bullied this new fish repeatedly. It’s been a few weeks now and they seem to have calmed down. We hope we can keep both of them harmoniously. The lawnmower blenny is awesome to watch and fascinating the way he looks and perches like a lizard. Update: although we have read that it is okay to have a bicolor blenny and lawnmower blenny together we recommend you do this with extreme caution. Our lawnmower blenny got sick and the bicolor blenny would not leave him in peace, we had no quarantine tank so we had to remove the bicolor and return to fish store to see if the lawnmower would recover. He died a day later and it could be a combination of malnutrition, bullying and not acclimatizing properly. We had Derp for just 5 weeks and were sad to have our first fish death. We have since purchased a new little lawnmower blenny and hope to have better luck with this one.

Kaizen Reef name: Eleven, Scrappy, Curly, Larry & Moe
Common name: Blue leg hermit crab
Scientific name: Clibanarius tricolor

Physical description: Very small hermit crabs with blue legs.

Diet: Algae and detritus.

Important dates:
12/11/09: Added 10 to the tank

Kaizen Reef name: Lenny
Common name: Bicolor blenny
Scientific name: Ecsenius bicolor

Physical description: Interesting fact about these fish is that they camouflage and change their colours at will. Relaxed colouration is purple front and orange (or yellow) back end down to the tail. Ours sleeps in a hole under the anemone and changes to match her colouration. When he is in algae he will give himself white spots or lines.

Diet: Everything. Tank algae on equipment, glass, rocks. Meaty foods like mysis, brine shrimp and krill.

Important dates:
11/14/09: Added to the tank
1/17/10: Returned to fish store (the lawnmower blenny got sick and the bicolor blenny would not leave him alone, unfortunately we have no quarantine tank at this time so Lenny had to be returned)

Personal notes: Lenny is an amazing fish. He is very peaceful, eats everything, swims around, doesn’t hide in the rocks (his head is always sticking out), perches all over the place, camouflages and has excellent vision.
Update: Very sad to have to return Lenny as he was an excellent, healthy fish. Would recommend this fish to every saltwater reef tank.
Update: Since removing the Bicolor blenny from the tank the Goby no longer has chunks missing from his fins nor do the other fish in the tank. It turns out the bicolor blenny was nipping all our fish and damaging their fins. Add to your tank with caution as they can be quite territorial.