Early yesterday evening Djembe kinda came out from under the branch rock behind the sponge rock. Then he retreated, came out and retreated again so I fed him, figuring he was about to come out looking for food.  I also moved Mel because he was just getting walked on too much since the tube slid down to the substrate.  With the old dead end of the tube under the branch rock, he was constantly being moved by Cortez prowling around under there. There’s something weird going on between Cortez and Djembe. Ever since Djembe moved under the branch rock, Cortez has been spending a lot of time prowling around there. He’s not messing with Djembe, but I have to think he smells the food I’m giving Djembe or maybe particles drift down to the substrate.

Mel didn’t come out at all yesterday, so I moved Mel to between the sponge rock and barnacle yesterday evening. He remained upright and even opened up in the evening. He remained upright until sometime this morning when it slipped down and he withdrew. After a few hours he did come back out, but he’s touching a piece of Halimeda and the edge of the barnacle. I want to move him back upright and brace him up, but I haven’t figured a good way to do that.

Yesterday evening—because all three featherdusters were open—I dripped some Microvert into the tank, turned the pump off and on a couple of times to distribute it around, then left it off….and forgot to turn it back on. As near as I can figure the tank went without circulation or filtration for nearly 12 hours. Stupid!  I don’t think it hurt anything, but I’m p.o.’ed at myself. 

I had some problems feeding Djembe yesterday. I’d given him 2 food pellets, morning and evening the day before and I guess he wasn’t hungry in the morning. He wouldn’t come out. So I gave the pellet to Cali. In the afternoon I tried twice more. No luck. Gave one pellet to Calypso and then on the third attempt I gave up and laid the pellet on the branch rock. I’d had amphipods crawling over my hands as I grew old and gray waiting for Djembe to come out to eat. One big, full-grown amphipod was there when I put the pellet down and he latched onto it eagerly. It was amazing and kinda of funny watching him handle a piece of food that was almost bigger than he was (having swollen from being in the water).

While I’m watching, a couple of teeny tiny amphipods turn up to have a go at the food, too. Well, the Big amphipod kicks them away with his tail and in one case flicked one away with some front appendage. The tail kicks really sent them flying. But they were really, really tiny. So, he’s eating and kicking every time someone show up and tries to get a bite of the food, even if they’re gnawing on the opposite end, he won’t share. Then this other Big amphipod shows up, nearly as big as the first one and they have a really violent tussle. Wrestling, rolling, kicking and flicking. The newcomer briefly gets control of the food pellet before being beaten back by the original owner who then decides to drag the pellet into a clumped mass of algae. This is a more protected position, but OTOH, he has a lot less maneuvering room for fighting and some tiny amphipods scramble around getting bits before he can finally maneuver it into a tiny hole in the rock beneath the algae clump. This took a while, but after that I didn’t see either him or the pellet again.

Cortez turned up under the branch rock beneath where all the action was. He seems to have a very keen sense of smell. At least as good as the other two, maybe better. (Or maybe he’s just more aggressive and agile.) Not wanting him to get into the fray (the amphipod wouldn’t have fared too well and I was rooting for him by this point), I added a dose of Purple Up (which was due anyway) in the hope that would confuse his senses. Either it worked or he wasn’t on the trail of the food pellet afterall, ’cause he turned away.

After that last attempt to feed Djembe I went ahead and made the egg crate lid for the tank. I’d gotten the egg crate over the weekend, but hadn’t done anything with it yet. It’s a snug fit around the inside lip of the tank, but the lip is the same depth as the egg crate height, so nothing shows above the edge of the tank. The tank is now more or less covered. (It had a glass top in winter, and a half-open glass top during the warmer months. I’ll probably switch back to glass in the cooler months.)

Of course, the problem with this is that I have to remove the light and egg crate to handfeed Djembe. This was something I hadn’t thought of. I’d had eggcrate on the 10 gallon tank, and only removed it for water changes—but I didn’t have anything I had fed daily, either. I’m thinking of dividing it into two sections, front and back so I can remove either piece without discombobulating the whole thing for feeding Djembe.

I did finally manage to feed Djembe right before I went to bed last night. He seemed interested, but did a bit of back and forth before taking the food pellet. I’d read peppermint shrimp should be fed once a day and I guess I’m going to stick to that (with maybe an occasional extra treat). The main thing is that I do not want him to get hungry enough to consider preying on the featherdusters, especially since he’s now living so close to Mel.

Mel hasn’t been open as much as Belle and Elle. He did straighten himself into an upright position after his tube slipped down to the substrate, but that position is still shifting because his tube is laying right between sponge rock and cave rock. Cortez in particular has been acting like the tube—which goes under the branch rock on the back end—is some sort of hermit crab super highway. So the tube has been moved by hermit crab activity, Cali and Calypso climbing over him onto sponge rock, Cortez (who I suspect is searching for Djembe’s food source) prowling around under the branch rock and forward to the sponge rock, etc. If Mel doesn’t get more quality time out and feeding—or adapt to being clambered on as Belle and Elle have—I may have to move him again.

Target feeding the featherdusters now that I’ve got three of them has become a bit more hit and miss. I can’t seem to find all three out at the same time because Mel’s been disturbed so frequently and Belle’s still touchy about changes in current, movement and light. Elle is the only one who is consistently being target fed well. Belle still retreats half the time or she’s withdrawn when Mel is out, or Mel retreats when I try to feed him, etc. Finally, I decided I’d just turn off the pumps and squirt a cloud of food above their tubes and leave the pump off until everyone had come out and had a chance to catch whatever was suspended in the water. That way I know everyone has gotten something. Besides, it’s not as if this tank is exactly plankton-free on its own, though I am again running the skimmer full time because I’m feeding the tank more, and I need things to get balanced. It’s mostly a precaution against any initial overfeeding on my part with dropped food pellets and extra microvert feedings trying to get all the featherdusters. Once everyone gets into their feeding routine, I’ll probably cut back on the skimming.

I wish you couldn’t seen the amphipods fighting over the food! But they are so tiny, they were not near the glass, and my camera just isn’t good at getting small distant things. If you’ve got lots of amphipods in your tank give one a food pellet and then sit back and watch him defend it against all comers. They’re pretty strong and tenacious for such tiny creatures.

Shortly after I posted the previous post Djembe for unknown reasons moved to the base of the Tower and then when I was ripping up algae on the Fiji rock retreated around to the other side. By the time I’d finished, he’d picked up and relocated to a new easy-access home. He’s been living under the branch rock ever since. It’s as safe as the corner side of the Tower was—and a lot easier to feed him, with no hermits congregating at feeding time. I’m feeding him 1-2 times a day and have only dropped one food pellet. He’s gotten all the rest of them, so the hermit crabs are back to being scattered all over the tank instead of congregating near the shrimp’s chosen home.

I just put a food pellet between my fingers in front of the center opening of the branch rock and he dances then comes out and pulls the food out of my fingers. You can’t see the food pellet in the pic below, but I just feel lucky I was able to get the split second pic with one hand while the other hand was feeding him!

Feeding Djembe

Feeding has become a lot more interesting since my two new additions to the tank. The good news is that Mel seems to be settling in well and the featherdusters are feeding more. The band news is that I think the hermit crabs may be smarter than the peppermint shrimp.

First the featherduster report: I was able to target feed Mel and Elle, a couple of days ago, Belle is still a bit touchy. Yesterday I fed Belle a little bit before she withdrew. Mel’s tube slipped down from the last position I noted here and was turned toward sponge rock so that he touched it a bit when he came out. eg he was facing the side of the rock. He hasn’t been out all that much, but I’ve noticed that he has shifted and stablized his tube in much the same way Belle did. It’s now pointing more upward than sideways and he’s out a bit more often. The back end of the tube is under the branch rock and the front is between sponge rock and cave rock toward the back.

Speaking of sponge rock, the sponge has all died now. The small remaining undamaged bit has faded out and away, though there is still something growing on the edge of the tile that I can’t identify. Definitely not sponge.

Dejmbe, the new peppermint shrimp, I’m happy to report has shown no interest in eating the featherdusters. He had to have passed them that first night when he traversed from the cave to the Tower where he has resided ever since. And yes, one insomniac night this week I did get up in the wee hours and check things out in the tank. Djembe was still in his spot behind the Tower.

I’ve been feeding him one fish food pellet a day, by hand, as best I can because he’s in a spot that’s almost totally inaccessible. He’s on the side of the Tower that faces and is up nearly up against the right back corner of the tank. I can only get a finger in a few areas near him. Putting the fish food pellet between my finger and fingernail sometimes works or pinching it between two fingers. Then I have to try to get his attention. Which is difficult because he’s in a sort of slight depression in the backside of the Tower, so he can’t always see my fingers which can’t really get back there. Feeding him takes time, patience and lots of fish pellets.

Which brings me to the hermit crabs, Calypso, Cali and Cortez. They of course smell the fish food and have totally stopped foraging around on the rocks in favor or circling the Tower like sharks or at the very least hanging around on the Fiji rock or Tonga rock which is closest to the Tower. Cali was on top of the Tower this morning, looking for some pellets I’d put on the ledge for Djembe—which he never found because he doesn’t come out from behind the damn rock!

I “waste” a lot of food trying to feed Djembe. It’s not really wasted because the hermits eat it, but it’s more nutrient into the tank and more than they usually get more often than usual. Right now the only thing they are scavenging is Djembe’s food. Which led to a problem yesterday when Cortez got the bright idea to “scavenge” the food while Djembe was eating it! There was no fighting, but Djembe definitely lost part of his meal. If this becomes a habit I won’t be able to feed him. I can’t just pick up the crabs and move them elsewhere in the tank for the same reason I can’t get the pellets efficiently to Djembe. There’s just not enough room for my hand and fingers back there. I’m going to have to find a way to distract the crabs while I feed Djembe.

Of course, none of this would be a problem if Djembe knew what he was supposed to be doing. He’s a cleaner shrimp, for goodness sake! He does his little cleaner dance, but I ask you…who exactly is going to see it besides me and the hermit crabs? I don’t have fish, but if I did it’s not like that tight back corner is someplace they will just swim past and see the cleaner. It’s a great defensive position if you don’t want to get eaten and I applaud his caution, but if he doesn’t find a more accessible “spot” he’s not going to get much to eat. Before the hermit crabs discovered the pellets that had dropped to the substrate he showed no inclination to follow the drifting pellets he just missed down to the substrate. If it’s not on the backside of his rock, he’s not interested. I don’t want to let him go hungry until he’s hungry enough to come out and forage, because then maybe I would have a problem with him picking on the featherdusters. I love that he’s in a spot where I can see him and take lots of pictures. But feeding him is driving me crazy. I’ve tried to lure him to an area at the side of the rock where I can feed him better, but he’s just not keen on that and will scuttle away, even if he really wants the food. I’m hoping this is a phase he’s going through because he’s new and in an unfamiliar place. I’m hoping I can train him to come to an accessible area to get food from me.

In the meantime, here’s a bit of video of Cortez stealing Djembe’s meal.

Oh, and yesterday I did about a 1.5 gallon water change. I need to rip up some algae on the Fiji rock today or tomorrow ’cause I didn’t yesterday.

Yesterday I did an impulsive and possibly damnfool thing. I had a store credit and I burned it on the things I wanted most, despite the possibility that these two might be incompatible. I got another featherduster, different coloration, but the arrangement of feathers is more like Belle’s. In the hope that this may be a male, I’ve named him Mel. I’ve had a difficult time positioning him. He was initially in Belle’s face, literally. I’ve moved him a couple of times, but haven’t found a really stable spot for him, but at least I’ve gotten him away from Belle a bit. He’s rather fearless and sometimes comes out when I’m repositioning him.

Original (bad) positioning of Mel, who opened right into Belle

I also got (cringe, hangs head in shame) a peppermint shrimp. I couldn’t help it. They are so cute, the way they dance. Djembe’s name is the name of an African drum. Appropriate cause he’s got good rhythm. I know that I may have just gotten a complete food chain by getting Djembe and Mel but if there’s a problem I’ll move Djembe to a 2.5 gal tank. I’d like to have a small tribe of peppermint shrimp. Djembe’s here on a provisional basis: the provision being that he doesn’t eat Mel, Belle and Elle. If he does OK I may consider getting him a friend or two.

After 6.5 hours of acclimation I released both Mel and Djembe into the tank, easing Djembe into the cave of Cave Rock. I thought he’d like it there. I also put some food pellets in the cave, but he just hung on the ceiling near the entrance dancing all evening.

Djembe, just released into the cave, hanging from the ceiling

The lunar lights were on by the time they were released into the tank. Cali and Cortez homed in on the food pellets simultaneously, so I don’t think Djembe got any. He didn’t seem to mind them being there. Cali was still there when I got up this morning. I couldn’t find Djembe. I finally pulled her out of the cave and gently searched with my fingers. No Djembe. I had already looked as best I could under the branch rock and behind the Tonga rock. No Djembe. I was starting to worry that Cali and Cortez had eaten him (!!) despite the fact that I’d never read of such a thing, when I finally found him on the side of The Tower. The Tower is becoming a popular place. Everyone except Calypso has been on it and Cali is frequently seen these days at the top. (I don’t take more pics because I don’t want her to associate the flash with the Tower.)

Djembe on the Tower, first full day in the tank

I finally got Mel repositioned where he wouldn’t be in Belle’s face. I don’t know how stable the position is. We’ll just have to wait and see if the tube shifts. You can’t really see his face and I’m not sure he’s turned properly for the current, so this position, too, maybe temporary.

Mel

Finally, here’s a look at all three featherdusters as they are currently positioned.

Featherdusters, left to right: Mel, Belle, Elle

Finally! I got a pic of Cortez in his new shell. Looking pretty sharp, huh?

Cortez, new shell

First a couple of quick notes about “the gang”. Cortez has changed shells. I haven’t been able to get a pic because he loves nooks and crannys! The shell is one of the newer ones, of the same type as before. He looks less like Drew now. Also, Belle and Elle are doing fine. I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps they might be a different species because Belle’s new crown has come in double while Elle’s is still single or one and a half. I’d assumed the difference was because Belle was older and had developed more, but now I’m wondering about that assumption.

Now, to the new hitchhiker. I don’t know whether this came in a hole in the newer live rock, or hatched out in this tank. It has been cryptic until yesterday afternoon and at first I didn’t even realize I was looking at an animal! I thought some odd patch of algae had popped up on the branch rock. Then it moved! It blends in very well with the rock so I’m going to really have to look to find it again, but you can bet I’ll be looking! It’s sort of snail-like. Mores fairly rapidly (like a snail on a mission). The “shell” or upper portion didn’t look hard like other snails. It’s about an inch long, maybe less maybe more depending on whether the “foot” is stretched out or not. It has two feelers. I shot as many pics as I could before it went behind the rock. I apologize for the quality of the pics: the rock is at the back of the tank and I had some trouble focusing. They are not as sharp as I’d have liked, but good enough for an ID if any can recognize it.

(Click for bigger pics.) There’s always elation and trepidation when I discover something new in the tank. Elation because of seeing something new and amazing, trepidation because I usually don’t know what it is right away and there’s always the nagging concern that it could be something bad. I assume that it eats algae, plankton, or detritus because I don’t have any corals: just hermit crabs, featherdusters, amphipods and fireworms and there’s been no noticable decline in the population of any of them.