melev

If you are nocturnal like me, you'll grab a flashlight to see what the corals are doing in darkness. I've used a few different flashlights over the years, but by far my favorite is the all blue one that Frag Junky / Orphek released at MACNA last year. It's so incredibly bright blue that corals pop with color.

Left to right: Maglight, Reefs Magazine LED, Red Critter Torch, and Orphek's LED chip.

The red LED can be used to spot worms and such because the light is invisible to them. If you are looking for an elusive worm or pest, this is the color to use. Albert Thiel sells this light fixture from his site. http://nanoreefs.info/critter-torch

I ran up on the 60g a few nights ago and clicked on that light, and I swear a Peppermint Shrimp molted in fear. It darked out of sight when hit by the blue beam, and a molt was left in its wake. Could be coincidence, but I like to think I made it happen.

As I move from coral to coral seeing what they look like, I'll encounter fish sleeping in their preferred spots. I try not to disturb them, and just meander to other areas. Hermit crabs are working, snails chowing down on film algae, tiny collonistas are about with chitons nearby. It's pretty neat stuff to spot tiny pods scurrying about.

The edge of the Maxima clam had a fleshy part extended outside the shell into the sandbed, and when the light landed on the side of the sandbed pressed up against the glass, what I initially thought was a snail's foot was the foot of that clam. I thought I'd get a picture the next day, but the foot wasn't visible any longer. Missed opportunity.

I did take a few pictures, but kept it simple. The flow was left on, no lights were used, and no tripod. Just some freehand effort, using the SB-800 flash that was stepped down significantly to avoid washing out the subject.

Here's what the War Coral looks like at night. Each polyp opens up like a small hand and moves in the current, hoping to snare some drifting food.

This Acan was fully open, and I enjoyed the view for 20 seconds. Later when I returned to that spot with the camera, most of the polyps were closed. Guess the light triggered the coral's protective-mode and it closed up many of the polyps. I'll try again some other night, and maybe shoot video instead.

Some of the chalices extend sweeper tentacles, but this one just glowed vividly.

The yellow scroll coral adds some nice design to the tank with its glowing yellow leading edges and polka dotted body, but at night it transforms into a bunch of yellow stars. In tomorrow's blog, I'll focus on this one coral specifically.

If you want to see what's going on in your tank late at night, make sure those moonlights are off and the tank has been dark for a couple of hours, then go on a flashlight expedition. Odds are you'll have a great time and want to do so more often.

EDIT: Melev's Reef now carries the Azurelite! Get one today: http://melevsreef.biz/catalog/orphek-azurelite