On May 5, I posted my #macrobowlcontestfinal to my personal Instagram. I took the red gracilaria hayi out to put in my 5.5 gallon with the dwarf seahorses which just arrived that day. Over the course of three months the Hayi became the dominant macroalgae, even over two species of calurpa! I’m surprised, and more surprised that almost everything mostly lived. The chaeto didn’t take off and the spiked red algae (agar?) kind of melted and so did the regular gracilaria … but the dragon’s tongue is still alive. They mystery red algae growing out of the live rock has grown more, and I can’t tell if the encrusting algae has grown or stayed the same.
I changed the water maybe three or four times, topping off regularly with fresh purified water to maintain the proper salinity. I supplement with Chaeto-gro fertilizer on weekends when I remember. When the first filter broke and the tank re-cycled, it got the bowl all gunky with red cyano again, which resulted in killing a hermit and at least one or two snails… It was hard to keep this going. I’m not totally happy with the new filter, but I bought it with the intention to put in another tank.
The round fishbowl was a hard shape to work with, and I would never use a plastic tank for saltwater again! It scratched up so quick.
This was a really fun learning experience, and it was really awesome getting to chat and see other contestants’ bowls. Ultimately – when I get around to it – I am going to get a square shaped 3-5 gallon to showcase this live rock (and everything else still in it).
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