melev

I've been working to nurse the reef back to full health and each day I see a little more progress. I'd imagine by Day 365, all will be on track once more. That setback two months ago (if you don't count the leak in 2012) really put the brakes on how the corals were faring.

So here are some of the latest pictures taken this week. The mandarin has been out quite a bit.

Look at the size of Spock's body compared to this male Psychedelic mandarin.

Speaking of Spock... See her Vulcan eyebrows?

The big chalice is doing better than others.

A collonista snail on a hike. This is actually a large one compared to most.

This is a female Lyretail anthias, A. squamipinnis.

The orange plate continues to do well.

This picture demonstrates the necessity of sponge covers on all pumps near anemones. I take it off for cleaning every three days while the pump is temporarily shut off.

A Lobophyllia displaying some lovely colors.

These Hammer polyps are mostly pink, but some green is showing in the 'stems'.

A close up of one branch of the huge Staghorn acropora colony. It was eating a tiny something it trapped.

New acropora growing out on the rockwork.

The Staghorn is doing well, considering all the declined corals I observed.

The eel pair often share a tiny spot together, but when it comes to feeding they are very independent and happy to receive krill.

The kitchen view is always nice.

The montipora to the right lost color. It was green with a purple rim. Now the main part is more brown, and the rim is green. The change of colors is both interesting and unnerving at the same time. The larger Turbinaria is holding strong. The white-tailed Yellow Eye Kole gets along with everyone.

A view of the Anemone Cube. Notice the RBTA on the right stretching straight up from the bottom rock like a candle.

That chalice in the lower right corner (above) is displaying all kinds of colors now (below).

This Cyphastrea is normally green. The bright blue veining is very appealing to me, but it is fading away.

These two acroporas were quite pale for a bit, but seem to be healing nicely.

This capricornis lost all the lime-green coloration, but every day a little more returns.

Cactus pavona has survived all kinds of problems since 2012. It's mostly tan with some yellow polyps and some hints of green.

This cluster is pretty from above, despite the aiptasia.

Two types of acans display some nice coloration, but I do nudge them apart every so often to avoid any wars.

A top down view in the anemone cube is always a treat, and I don't do it often enough.

This acropora has turned purple overall, and I really like it. It was brown forever, and I hated it. Go figure.

The female clown is back to laying clutches of eggs again. She and her mate stay in the anemones at all times, but do poke their heads out to observe the eels.

A scarlet hermit crab opted to take on an Astrea shell as a new home. That's quite a load, but it seems to prefer it to what it had before.

Equipment-wise, the only gear running in the sump currently is the protein skimmer, a calcium reactor badly in need of new media that hasn't shown up yet, and some carbon in a Nextreef reactor. 50g water changes are performed every 5 days.

Upcoming duties are to clean up the top area of the aquarium, get a cover on the overflow zone finally, build a bracket to affix a pump I'm beta testing, and pull out the birdsnest colony that has mostly died to salvage what survived. I hope to get those things done this weekend.