Salt, Sand, and Snow

The adventures in salt water continue, with the newest acquisitions of a bluestripe cleaning wrasse and a pink spot goby.

The Goby looks like a dinosaur, I swear. That face! And it just about walks on its flippers. I mean... not really "walks," but that is how it looks. And it's got a fin on its belly that looks something like a backwards hand, supporting his weight.

So, his name is Arlo, although personality-wise he doesn't much resemble the skittish hero of Pixar's Dinosaur. He doesn't come out of his cave much, if he can help it.

The Wrasse looks like a swimming, pointy faced ribbon. So far, none of the fish will let her clean them. She's very polite about asking, though. She approaches; they startle, like they think she's about to nip them; she immediately backs off. In between approaches to her tank mates, she's been giving the filter a very thorough cleaning.

Her name is Miah.

On the advice of one of the employees from the pet store, I added limestone sand to the tank, to help regulate the pH levels. Since that isn't the actual substrate, more of a post-set up dusting, it makes the tank look as if blanketed by snow. I really enjoy the effect.

One of the first things I realized when I got the wrasse is that the damsels had taken possession of the tank. That's a risk with damsels. They'll tolerate anyone who was there first, but they don't like newcomers. Since I like the wrasse much more than I like them, that meant the damsels got evicted. One went to quarantine, to keep the ocelleris clownfish company; the other got added to the brackish tank to make nice with Bertie the leopard puffer.

Ocelleris clownfish and leopard puffers are also territorial fish, which is why I don't keep them in the 40 gallon. I tried with the clown, but never even bothered with the puffer.

I'm thinking about calling the ocelleris Jerry Two, after the Jerry who got eaten by Ben, since they're the same type and color. Call him "JT" for short.

There are two clownfish in the 40 gallon, a maroon and a cinnamon. I haven't named them, but they should get names. Maybe Cindy and Moony? Although, as I think about it, Scabbers and Moony would be more fun.