The Lightning Project

The ongoing saga of the PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish breeding project.

Browsing Posts published in April, 2010

So still playing catchup on the Lightning Maroon Story…there’s already so much “behind the scenes” and “prequel” type content…I doubt I’ll ever get it all out there.  I did manage the first installment fairly quickly.  It’s time to hit the second installment of the “recap”, the acclimation of the Maroons to their new home. We […]

Last night I set up a batch of saltwater for an anticipated water change today.  For those who don’t know, I basically run a 5 gallon “Homer Bucket” from Home Depot with a 25 watt Visitherm Stealth heater and a MaxiJet pump to mix the water.  I fill it to a line I’ve marked, and […]

Another water change this evening.  Tank is still running cloudy, but I’m being good about getting out all the uneaten food, even shaking out some live rock in the wastewater.  Every little bit of waste removal helps. The Female PNG Maroon was out swimming more this evening, and the Lightning Maroon was still sitting in […]

The short story – yesterday the fish got fed a few times.  I’ve realized that most food blows by the female, so I’m now in the position of having to turn off the filtration so she eats.  This has the positive side that if I leave the water pump off for a bit, I could […]

This is simply a very happy day for me.  The female ATE food for the first time moments ago.  She’s not vigorous about it by any stretch.  I put in some Formula One Pellets (from Ocean Nutrition) which the male loves and as usual, she didn’t look at ’em.  I then put in my general […]

It’s been a busy weekend and one that has left me with only questions and no real good explanations! Friday – following my last update in the afternoon, I went back down and was shocked with what I saw.  So much so, that only video can truly convey what surprised me. For the record, I […]

I took a quick break from work to go look and feed the fish downstairs.  To my true surprise, the female PNG Maroon Clownfish is up and swimming.  Definitely looks stressed out, but I think not being wedged under the live rock is an improvement. I offered live brine shrimp (from Mark Martin @ Blue […]

…that the female Maroon is still alive this morning.  I genuinely thought she was a goner.  I could say that there is growing consensus that at this point separating the female PNG Maroon from the Lightning Maroon is a good idea.  However, this notion flies in the face of “keep things stable, avoid stress” etc.  […]

In a nuthshell, the FW dip + Formalin did not really seem to go over well.  The Maroon Female is under the live rock, wedged in, breathing unhappily and rapidly.  Frankly though, I’ve seen MUCH WORSE LOOKING fish (see my posts about the Saddleback…of course, it did die within hours later). What I’ve seen develop […]

So, in a situation like this, I think it is INACTION that generally “seals the deal” as it were.  Leave a fish that’s lost its desire to swim lying on the bottom wedged under the live rock and that fish will be somewhere, dead, by morning.  That’s my general prognosis.  Which is why inaction is […]