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After finishing up at IMAC, we discussed stopping by a store. Mike (mcliffy2)  brought up Reef Depot. He had been there before, but for the rest of us it was a first. Too be honest, I wasn’t planning on much…. these photos should be able to show why I was a bit surprised. I picked up a beautiful fish myself…

I was impressed. Mike and Mark, the owners, knew what they were talking about and have a nice collection of Acropora. I found prices to be more than fare. To give you an idea the other Mike (mcliffy2) took home a Powder Blue Tang for $50 and this nice Garf-Bonsai-esque Acro frag for $15 .

Brandon (ataylo13) picked up this stunning red Goniopora (the larger colony). A difficult to keep coral, but red color morphs tend to do better in captive aquaria. Brandon is a diligent hobbyist and I am sure will do everything he can to ensure success with this specimen. 

Pat (NewSchool04) only picked up some turbo snails, but afterwards we stopped at his home to see his tank. Pat previously had a beautiful fully stocked 75g SPS reef tank, but lost most of the livestock in a crash. He has since upgraded to a 180g and is already on his way to surpassing his old tank.

Pat has a real talent for keeping Acroporas and takes a simple, but effective approach: e.g. the tank’s calcium and alkalinity demands are met by a simple 24/7 kalkwasser drip.

My point-and-shoot isn’t able to do this reef justice. We will do our best to get better photos of this system in near future. 

When first walking into Reef Depot, I saw this little fish swimming around and instantly called “It’s Mine!”.  Mark @ RD had said it was in a previous owners tank but was pulled because it was eating red Zoanthids. Our Declivis Butterfly already does plenty of damage to our few Zoa’s… At ~2.25″ this little guy wont be able to do much else in comparison.  

At the store he at first took no interest in the mysis offered, I then asked him to be fed some Brine Shrimp and sure enough that did the trick. I watched him eat a few and then asked for him to be bagged.  

 Here he is temp acclimating to his new home.

Since being introduced he has settled in nicely and eats very well, leaving all corals alone except for the occasional nip at our Montipora capricornis. Pomacanthus imperator has always been one of our favorites, we’re very happy to find such a beautiful small specimen.