Hermits dont seem to be great at parenting. At least not this one…

However it provided a surely tasty very fresh fast food session for a happy Two Spotted Gobie…

How lucky I was to witness this Hermit releasing its offspring in front of my eyes when I was just trying make a picture of the Pipefish. The shots are not great but you can nearly see the eyes of the young ones.

When it pulled back the shell it pulsed its last set of legs (they are tiny, not used for walking and nearly always inside the shell) which probably initiates the Larvae to come out of their shells. Honestly I dont think a single one survived as that lucky Two Spotted Gobie nipped them right off while was hovering above the Hermit. Maximum survival time was about 1s 😦 Just felt a bit sorry for the Hermit. However it could have chosen a better spot, maybe with at least a little bit of shelter and release them all at once so at least a few could have made it through. Ah well, thats nature. Managed to get some of the action on video. It was really cool. Always nice to see that animals in the aquarium breed. And to witness it first hand. I have never seen where the Hermits exactly hold their eggs and how they release them.

As mentioned I need to introduce some other newcomers.

Another animal that definitely would have to go into the Weirdo section, not only for the unusual shape but also for its really weird look. Its a Great(er) Pipefish Syngnathus Acus.

Its just for a trial. I was worried it cant cope with the flow but so far it seems very comfortable in the big bush of Rainbow Wrack. Saw it a few times nip at the weed so i hope its finding enough food. Otherwise it will be returned. Seems to be good Buddies with the smaller of the new two Corkwing Wrasses (25mm and 35mm)

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Another new addition is  a Butterfish. Didnt get a good shot yet. Its accepting my new food (more later) so thats a good start.

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An unexpected reappearance happened. All of a sudden a few weeks ago, since the daylight is getting longer, about 5 of the beautiful “Hybrid” Seaslug Elysia viridis came out of nowhere. I had them until late summer when they all suddenly dissapeared. This is strange to me but maybe someone knows how and why or has experienced the same? It seems as if they hibernated somewhere away of beeing seen as they came out before I started adding new stuff. They are also fairly big compared to last summer. They are just stunning, not even just how they look but the fact that they incorporate Chloroplasts from seaweeds and then use them in their “wings” to feed on the sugar produced. You can see something that nearly looks like veins from a Leaf. Just amazing and the green glitter!

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Here with the wings folded in…

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Some other new additions are a couple of Anemones.

A nice new find the Sagartia elegans. Have seen them lots of times but never in locations where they could be removed easily (they like crevices and fissures). Since a year I wanted one of those and now I got 4 🙂 Beautiful bright colours.

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Also got some more for Anemones the 120L as it doesnt have much Seaweed . This one is a really bright coloured Gem Anemone, goes to show where the name came from…

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A new Dhalia Anemone…

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and some Beadlet Anemones in different colours all huddling together…

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The Strawberry Anemone in the Maintank did some nice peering with its abrasive warts maybe to check for competitors. Looks cool…