First SW tank - fish died, zoas closed. Need help

[Nart]

Hello All,

 

I am in need of some help as I am a beginner in the SW world. I will provide as much details as possible and hopefully someone is able to help me.

 

I have a newly cycled 15 gallon tank running with 20lbs of CaribSea live sand and 20lbs of live rock. Total working volume of water: 11 gallons.

Equipment: AquaClear 70 (with AQ50 impeller, to lower flow rate down to 150gph'ish), Koralia 425 powerhead, 50W heater, Current Satellte LEDs (white's and blues, with dimmers)

API dropper test kit.

 

Thursday

Water tests before fish on Thursday: pH 8.4, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, KH 8 drops, phosphate 0, salinity 1.023, temp 78.4 F.

Things in my AQ70: sponge, Matrix bio-media, purgien, chemipure blue, phosguard, and floss

 

I purchased a purple firefish, yasha goby, and 2 small zoa frags (with about 20-30 polyps on each frag) on Thursday. My LFS tested my salinity, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and all was good as well. I forgot to ask them to test the rest of my other water parameters, but I did double check my KH and it was at 8 drops.

I floated the bag for about 45mins then proceeded to put about 1/4 cup of water in every 10-15mins for about 1 hour. Put in the purple firefish and yasha goby, and coral dipped/turkey baster blasted the zoas with Coral RX dipping solution.

 

Zoas started to slowly open up within 45mins. Yasha goby went and hid in a crevice and the purple firefish was in a corner. I did notice the purple firefish fin's were damaged, like it was nipped at by other fishes in the store.

 

 

Friday

Water test on Friday AM: pH 8.4, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, KH 8 drops, phosphate 0, salinity 1.023, temp 78.4F

 

Zoas opened up the same when the lights were turned on. I did notice some of the polyps did not open on the red/green zoa.

Target fed in the morning: Mysis shrimp - the purple firefish ate as well as the yasha goby.

 

Left for a weekend trip Friday noon... came back on Sunday afternoon.

 

Sunday Afternoon

Found the purple firefish dead and green/blue zoas that were opened nicely were closed and only a few polyps from the red/green zoa were open. See pic of the zoa.

 

 

I quickly removed the purple firefish and searched for the yasha goby, luckily he is still alive. Began to warm up 2.5G of saltwater for a water change.

 

Water test before water change: pH 8.4, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, KH 7 drops, phosphate 0, salinity 1.023, temp 78.4F

Proceeded to change out 2.5G of water.

 

A concern I had was too much water flow, about 150gph from the AQ70 and 425 GPH from the powerhead (aimed to the surface) so I had ordered a Koralia 240gph powerhead that arrived on Sunday. So I changed out the 425gph powerhead to the 240gph.

Another concern I had was my KH. My LFS had tested my KH 4-5 days prior and they said it was low, in the 6-7 range. So I picked up the Reef Code B during the initial test.

I doubled tested my KH and it was 6 drops to turn green'ish yellow and 7 drops to turn it completely yellow. So I dosed 5ml of Reef Code B.

 

I tried messing with the intensity of the white/blue lights later in the evening and the zoas are still not opening up.

 

Monday Morning

I have my lights on a timer to go on @ 4:30AM I checked it at 6:30AM and my zoas are still the same as Sunday, mostly all the polyps are still closed.

 

Tested my KH and it was now at 8 drops.

 

---

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? I am not sure what caused the purple firefish to die and why my zoas are not opening up.

I have attached a full front view of my tank so you can see the placement of zoas (it is in the middle, bottom floor).

The AQ70 HOB filter is all the way to the left, and the powerhead is on the right pointed to the left/surface of the tank.

I would go to my LFS and ask for advice but they don't open till Wednesday. Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you.
Benjamin

[xiaoxiy]

It's hard to know what caused the Purple Firefish to die. It may just have been a poor specimen, given that you think your Yasha is doing well and you don't have any signs of ammonia/nitrite.

 

Zoas can also be pissy for a variety of reasons, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. You've only had them in your tank for 4 days, so I would give them a bit more time.

 

Just try to keep your parameters, including KH steady and avoid large fluctuations. Currently, none of your parameters seem way out of wack.

 

On a side note, is that coraline encrusted live-rock or is it one of those artificially colored live rocks? If your live rock is actually completely covered with coraline, like your pictures show, I would keep a close eye on KH and calcium. Large amounts of coraline can drop your calcium and HCO3 via consumption.

[Sunstar]

I am not sure how to do it, but look for stray current. How long has it been cycled too?

[Clown79]

It can take time for corals to acclimate to a new environment.

 

The fluctuations in alk could be the cause or the salinity. 1.023 is a little low. With corals we aim for 1.025 or 1.026.

 

Is there anything on the zoas?

 

With the api alk kit, the instructions state the final reading is when the water turns lime, not yellow.

 

In a 15g the koralia 425 and 150 is fine for flow. The korlia isn't a very strong powerhead.

 

I would advise not using sponge in your filter.

[Nart]

It's hard to know what caused the Purple Firefish to die. It may just have been a poor specimen, given that you think your Yasha is doing well and you don't have any signs of ammonia/nitrite.

 

Zoas can also be pissy for a variety of reasons, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. You've only had them in your tank for 4 days, so I would give them a bit more time.

 

Just try to keep your parameters, including KH steady and avoid large fluctuations. Currently, none of your parameters seem way out of wack.

 

On a side note, is that coraline encrusted live-rock or is it one of those artificially colored live rocks? If your live rock is actually completely covered with coraline, like your pictures show, I would keep a close eye on KH and calcium. Large amounts of coraline can drop your calcium and HCO3 via consumption.

It is hard to monitor the Yasha goby because he is literally inside a tiny hole in my Fiji live rock. The only way I can check on him is with a airline tube and blowing a little bubble to lure him thinking its food and he will poke his head out.

 

It is artificial colored live rocks. The only actual live rock I have in there is a 1.9lbs Fiji live rock that has just a tad of coralline on it. I have ordered a calcium test kit and will keep an eye on KH and calcium.

So you do not think my KH is a little on the low side? When I got back and found the dead purple firefish I tested my KH and it was 6 drops to turn it green'ish yellow and 7 drops to turn it completely yellow.

 

I am not sure how to do it, but look for stray current. How long has it been cycled too?

What is stray current? I stir up some sand and I can see the dust flow through out the tank without any dead spots. The tank cycled in 10 days and has been running for a total of 18 days.

 

It can take time for corals to acclimate to a new environment.

 

The fluctuations in alk could be the cause or the salinity. 1.023 is a little low. With corals we aim for 1.025 or 1.026.

 

Is there anything on the zoas?

 

With the api alk kit, the instructions state the final reading is when the water turns lime, not yellow.

 

In a 15g the koralia 425 and 150 is fine for flow. The korlia isn't a very strong powerhead.

 

I would advise not using sponge in your filter.

Understood the salinity level is on the lower end. I did speak with my LFS who is highly regarded in my area, and he said since I plan to only keep easy corals like zoas and what not.. I should keep my salinity a little lower so my fishes breathe a little easier. I am also thinking keeping the salinity around 1.023 will help ensure I do not hit too high of a salinity level during evaporation since it is a smaller tank and fluctuations tend to be more extreme in smaller tanks. You will have to advise me on that.

 

Nothing on the zoas that I can tell. My LFS do a lengthy dip and what not and will not sell anything they deem bad. I can try to take a macro picture later so ya'll can help me inspect it.

 

Oh! I did not know that about the API and instructions turning lime. Sh*t, so my KH was actually 6 when I tested last night and 7 this morning with the adjusted instructions. I will continue to monitor the KH and report back.

 

You do not think it is too much flow? My total working water volume is 11G, I did a quick math based on the equipment GPH and I have a total of 575 GPH rate. With my Koralia 240 and my modded AQ70 i'm at around 390gph. Apologies, if I am coming off as arguing with you. I am not, just trying to figure out all the little nitty gritty details as I tend to be very precise.

 

Advice taken. I will remove the sponge filter.

[RIP Sebastian]

It is hard to monitor the Yasha goby because he is literally inside a tiny hole in my Fiji live rock. The only way I can check on him is with a airline tube and blowing a little bubble to lure him thinking its food and he will poke his head out.

 

It is artificial colored live rocks. The only actual live rock I have in there is a 1.9lbs Fiji live rock that has just a tad of coralline on it. I have ordered a calcium test kit and will keep an eye on KH and calcium.

So you do not think my KH is a little on the low side? When I got back and found the dead purple firefish I tested my KH and it was 6 drops to turn it green'ish yellow and 7 drops to turn it completely yellow.

 

What is stray current? I stir up some sand and I can see the dust flow through out the tank without any dead spots. The tank cycled in 10 days and has been running for a total of 18 days.

 

Understood the salinity level is on the lower end. I did speak with my LFS who is highly regarded in my area, and he said since I plan to only keep easy corals like zoas and what not.. I should keep my salinity a little lower so my fishes breathe a little easier. I am also thinking keeping the salinity around 1.023 will help ensure I do not hit too high of a salinity level during evaporation since it is a smaller tank and fluctuations tend to be more extreme in smaller tanks. You will have to advise me on that.

 

Nothing on the zoas that I can tell. My LFS do a lengthy dip and what not and will not sell anything they deem bad. I can try to take a macro picture later so ya'll can help me inspect it.

 

Oh! I did not know that about the API and instructions turning lime. Sh*t, so my KH was actually 6 when I tested last night and 7 this morning with the adjusted instructions. I will continue to monitor the KH and report back.

 

You do not think it is too much flow? My total working water volume is 11G, I did a quick math based on the equipment GPH and I have a total of 575 GPH rate. With my Koralia 240 and my modded AQ70 i'm at around 390gph. Apologies, if I am coming off as arguing with you. I am not, just trying to figure out all the little nitty gritty details as I tend to be very precise.

 

Advice taken. I will remove the sponge filter.

 

Stray current as in electrical current.

 

Generally, after you get a fish to live in your tank for two weeks, you're in the clear. Fish die for a variety of reasons. I had a Royal Gramma who died after two days and my params were fine. I agree with others that zoas are finicky. I lost almost all of an eighty dollar colony for seemingly no reason. Do yourself a favor, though, get a Red Sea or Salifert test kit. API is crap. I am glad that you've done your research, though. That is the foundation of this hobby. Keep doing it!

 

 

Nick

[Nart]

 

Stray current as in electrical current.

 

Generally, after you get a fish to live in your tank for two weeks, you're in the clear. Fish die for a variety of reasons. I had a Royal Gramma who died after two days and my params were fine. I agree with others that zoas are finicky. I lost almost all of an eighty dollar colony for seemingly no reason. Do yourself a favor, though, get a Red Sea or Salifert test kit. API is crap. I am glad that you've done your research, though. That is the foundation of this hobby. Keep doing it!

 

 

Nick

 

Nick,

 

VERRYYY interesting. Thank you for the stray current explanation. I looked it up and the first thing I found that people were talking about was the stealth PRO heaters by Aqueon. The same ones I have in my current tank. I also think Aqueon has recalled and discontinued that line of heaters. I also found the Purple Firefish dead near the heater. Hmmmmmmmmmm....... I had previously used this heater in my freshwater tank and they seemed fine. Perhaps it is starting to malfunction? I am going to switch that heater out to my Fluval heater and monitor it. I really hope the yasha goby isn't fried by now.

 

Is Red Sea and Salifert that much better? I have heard of it, but when I look them up on Amazon they have a pretty low rating which strayed me away from it. Perhaps I will invest in a better test kit. Appreciate the info!

[RIP Sebastian]

 

Nick,

 

VERRYYY interesting. Thank you for the stray current explanation. I looked it up and the first thing I found that people were talking about was the stealth PRO heaters by Aqueon. The same ones I have in my current tank. I also think Aqueon has recalled and discontinued that line of heaters. I also found the Purple Firefish dead near the heater. Hmmmmmmmmmm....... I had previously used this heater in my freshwater tank and they seemed fine. Perhaps it is starting to malfunction? I am going to switch that heater out to my Fluval heater and monitor it. I really hope the yasha goby isn't fried by now.

 

Is Red Sea and Salifert that much better? I have heard of it, but when I look them up on Amazon they have a pretty low rating which strayed me away from it. Perhaps I will invest in a better test kit. Appreciate the info!

 

Any time! I recommend a Neotherm heater. They had some issues at first, but they were fixed and are incredibly reliable now. Or a Finnex. Red Sea and Saliferts are considered the standard in the hobby. I love my Red Sea.

[Clown79]

No need to worry, i don't think you're arguing. You're explaining the situation which is great.

 

I agree, fish sometimes die for know known reason. It may have not been healthy, it may have been in a stressful situation in the store tank and moving it caused more stress etc. Etc.

 

As for salinity. Stores often keep theirs low for economy purposes but I think that salinity closer to natural sea water levels is better. For all corals and fish.

 

Topping up your water every day will prevent big salinity changes.

 

This should be done regardless if sg is 1.023 or 1.025 because it will rise if the water isn't topped up.

 

If you go from 1.023 to 1.025 from not topping up, its as detrimental as going from 1.025 to 1.027

 

Oxygenation is important for fish to breath, if you have water movement with surface water movement, thats enough for the fish.

 

In my tank for example, i had a koralia 425, a sicce 530, and my filter which is 100gph. That's a 15g mixed reef.

 

I now have a jebao sw-2 and my filter.

 

In my 10g i have 165 gph pump and the jebao sw-2.

 

You want 20 times the water volume minimum.

 

Without the right amount of flow, detritus will settle on corals, stuff won't collect and flow into the filter, etc etc.

 

The best way to know if it too much flow or too little is by the corals response.

[Nart]

@rip Sebastian I do have the Colbalt Neo-therm heater as well. However, I am not a big fan of the huge dial. So it sits away in the cabinet haha.

 

@Clown79 Good point on the SG level. If my tank has a closed lid, does this matter in the oxygen as well? I am thinking with the HOB filter and the gap it has, there should be plenty of oxygen moving into the tank? I will continue to monitor and adjust my flow-rate as needed.

 

So a question... if my API KH reading is determined when the color turns to lime... then the water test prior to my fish going in the KH was actually 7 and on Sunday afternoon after finding my firefish dead my KH was actually 6. My LFS, did test my KH a few days prior to my fish going in and said that my KH was in the low range and said I can raise it with some baking soda. I decided to just buy Reef Code B from them instead.

I read the instructions on the back and was very confused. I dosed 5ml on Sunday and tested KH this morning and it was now 7, which went up by 1 KH. I dosed 5ml again and will re-test later tonight.

 

Does anyone have any advice or tips on this Reef Code B dosing? Will I have to keep dosing this stuff daily to maintain a proper KH?? Or will my KH eventually level out? Also, do I dose the new water before the water change as well? Ah, so confused. I tried looking this up and I give up.

[LandenReefer]

One thing to watch is how long you acclimated your fish. You only need to let them temp acclimate for about 10-15 min then start putting in tank water in the bag. There is a good write up in the beginner section. Also, don't put any of the water from the LFS into your tank, you never know what they may have in there. As an example my LFS puts copper in their fish only tanks to kill off any disease that may have come with them. Copper will kill inverts so you don't want that or anything else the LFS may have in their tanks.

 

The fish may have just been stressed before you got it and it could not survive all the changes. I ask my LFS what salinity they are running their tanks so I know how much of a difference between their tanks and mine when I acclimate.

[burtbollinger]

your tank looks nice.

 

your KH was low by a bit but sometimes things just go south and fish die. could have been for many reasons. nothing bad stands out.

 

As for zoas closing, man...zoas are way more tricky than people claim. you could be doing everything right and still have issues with a random colony. No more zoas for me.

 

side issue, what salt are you using? for years I used one that mixed close to 7. I'm finding it much more enjoyable using one that mixes to @ 11...keeping my water's KH closer to 9. Then, maybe you don't need to mess with that Reef Code B stuff...

One thing to watch is how long you acclimated your fish. You only need to let them temp acclimate for about 10-15 min then start putting in tank water in the bag. There is a good write up in the beginner section.

 

LandenReefer, our LFS swears all fish bought from his store need a 90 min. drip acclimation...good advice tho, and rest of your advice is solid.

[Lypto]

If you don't have any sps or lps corals you can often get away with just doing water changes. I would suggest just doing regular water changes on your tank and slowing down a bit, I've had zoas and play's melt and get annoyed by the smallest thing. I had a fire fish with an internal parasite that went undetected for 3 weeks...

also, Welcome to the hobby!

[Nart]

One thing to watch is how long you acclimated your fish. You only need to let them temp acclimate for about 10-15 min then start putting in tank water in the bag. There is a good write up in the beginner section. Also, don't put any of the water from the LFS into your tank, you never know what they may have in there. As an example my LFS puts copper in their fish only tanks to kill off any disease that may have come with them. Copper will kill inverts so you don't want that or anything else the LFS may have in their tanks.

 

The fish may have just been stressed before you got it and it could not survive all the changes. I ask my LFS what salinity they are running their tanks so I know how much of a difference between their tanks and mine when I acclimate.

I have been soaking up a lot of acclimation guides. Un-freaking-fortunately, I had to go out with the wife to go buy some stuff, so I had to let it float for longer than expected. I was pretty pissed. And no, I do not dump any of the water in my tank, the LFS did not advise it either. I should have asked and checked for the SG level while the fish was in the bag so I could match it. Again, I was rushing the process...

 

your tank looks nice.

 

your KH was low by a bit but sometimes things just go south and fish die. could have been for many reasons. nothing bad stands out.

 

As for zoas closing, man...zoas are way more tricky than people claim. you could be doing everything right and still have issues with a random colony. No more zoas for me.

 

side issue, what salt are you using? for years I used one that mixed close to 7. I'm finding it much more enjoyable using one that mixes to @ 11...keeping my water's KH closer to 9. Then, maybe you don't need to mess with that Reef Code B stuff...

 

LandenReefer, our LFS swears all fish bought from his store need a 90 min. drip acclimation...good advice tho, and rest of your advice is solid.

Thank you!

I think I am going to chalk up the death of the Purple Firefish as my my fault due to my terrible acclimation process.

 

I am not mixing my own saltwater. I am buying it pre-mixed from my LFS. They use reef crystals.

 

I really thought I was doing an okay job. I need to step up my game.

 

Also - someone mentioned that the LED lights that I am using may not even be strong enough for low-light zoa use.

These are my lights https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7OTID2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this is the article about the similar lights I have: http://current-usa.c...-bright-enough/

I am really trying to keep this low budget and re-use the equipment I already have from my freshwater tanks. Any advice on lights would be greatly appreciated as well.

[burtbollinger]

reef crystals should be mixing up with nice Kh. Interesting. Are they not mixing it to 1.025-1.026?

 

If they are only mixing to 1.023, I personally wouldn't use that mix. My next investment wouldn't be more livestock, it would be an RO/DI unit, buckets, a heater, a powerhead and a bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro.

 

anyway, you can step up your game but don't beat yourself up too much....but during acclimation, you did add some of your own water to the bag, right?

 

also, that light does not seem suitable for what you're trying to do. I could be wrong though...still researching it. your second link is bad.

 

Clown79 has a nice list of lights she can send you. This would be one area, where yes...you could probably improve...if nothing else for color. the spectrum of that light must be nasty.

[Nart]

reef crystals should be mixing up with nice Kh. Interesting. Are they not mixing it to 1.025-1.026?

 

If they are only mixing to 1.023, I personally wouldn't use that mix. My next investment wouldn't be more livestock, it would be an RO/DI unit, buckets, a heater, a powerhead and a bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro.

 

anyway, you can step up your game but don't beat yourself up too much.

 

also, that light does not seem suitable for what you're trying to do. I could be wrong though...still researching it. your second link is bad.

 

Clown79 has a nice list of lights she can send you. This would be one area, where yes...you need could probably improve.

 

Let me double check my LFS's saltwater mix when I get home. I remember testing it and it was 1.025.

What I do remember, is after my tank cycle I was changing out about 30% of water for 2-3 days and that's when my KH tested @ 8. But it seems to slowly drop after a few days? I will keep an eye out on my KH and report back.

 

@Clown79 if you can please send me the list of lights. That would be great!

 

Again. Thank you all for the help.

Greatly appreciated.

[RIP Sebastian]

 

Let me double check my LFS's saltwater mix when I get home. I remember testing it and it was 1.025.

What I do remember, is after my tank cycle I was changing out about 30% of water for 2-3 days and that's when my KH tested @ 8. But it seems to slowly drop after a few days? I will keep an eye out on my KH and report back.

 

@Clown79 if you can please send me the list of lights. That would be great!

 

Again. Thank you all for the help.

Greatly appreciated.

 

Lights:

 

Nanobox Mini Tide

AI Prime HD

Kessil A80

[burtbollinger]

She has a list of 4 or 5 that I recall...Off the top of my head, I think she recommends:

AI Prime HD
Nanobox

Kesil a80

Aquamaxx Nemo Light.

 

I'd get a AI Prime or a Nanobox.

[acrab78]

First saltwater tank and cycled and put a bunch of stuff in at 18 days? Slow it down maybe? We all want to rush to get the goodies but just like a good woman you'll have to take your time...

[ninjamyst]

Any particular reason why you are running so much chemical media?

 

"Things in my AQ70: sponge, Matrix bio-media, purgien, chemipure blue, phosguard, and floss"

 

Chemipure Blue does the same thing as Purigen and Phosguard. You may be striping the tank of things you can't test for. That can explain why the zoas are not doing well. This is a brand new tank. You shouldn't need that much chemical media. Also, ditch the sponge. It will turn into nitrate factory later on.

 

As for fish acclimation, I usually do the following:

 

1. Float bag for 5 mins. Do 10 mins if you know the bag temperature is very different than your tank temperature.
2. Open bag and transfer fish and SOME of the water into a container / bucket.
3. Put some water from tank into the container / bucket
4. Wait 3-5 mins and repeat step 3 a few times
5. Net the fish out of the container / bucket and put into the tank.

This process shouldn't take long. Definitely not 2 hours long. That only create more stress for the fish.

[Nart]

Just tested my water parameter and everything is the same as last night. My yasha goby is alive and well. Took me about 45mins to find him.. Was able to target feed him mysis shrimp and saw him eat all of it.

 

Thank you for the light recommendations! I will look em up. I am running the tank with the lid open and lights at the highest setting and the opened polyps seem to be enjoying it more by opening all the way.

 

@acrab78 is that considered a lot of stuff? Man and here I thought I was stocking kind of slow. I like your analogy ?

 

@ninjamyst I found that later ChemiPure blue does exactly what Purigen and PhosGuard does. I didn't think it would affect the tank to that extent. My reasoning was simply to keep all numbers across the board as low as possible since I am not running a sump. What would you recommend I remove? Noted the acclimation process!

[acrab78]

For only being set up for 18 days it could be alot, especially if you didn't do much during the initial cycle such as introducing food/waste... You did add the fish on a Thursday and then fed them the next day. If it ran 18 days with nothing prior to that, that would shock the system pretty good honestly...

 

Maybe try a damsel or two for a while as they are tough and give the tank a few more weeks to mature a little...

 

Everyone here gives great advice and wants everyone to succeed, so keep at it and when in doubt give us a shout!

[Nart]

For only being set up for 18 days it could be alot, especially if you didn't do much during the initial cycle such as introducing food/waste... You did add the fish on a Thursday and then fed them the next day. If it ran 18 days with nothing prior to that, that would shock the system pretty good honestly...

 

Maybe try a damsel or two for a while as they are tough and give the tank a few more weeks to mature a little...

 

Everyone here gives great advice and wants everyone to succeed, so keep at it and when in doubt give us a shout!

The only thing I did do was dose ammonium chloride to get it at 4ppm as a source of waste. After the tank cycled I dosed a bit more to 2ppm. That was about it as far as "feeding" went. I will look into a damsel or two later this week. I really do appreciate all the feedback and advice from everyone here. It's all the nano tanks from this forum that got me to switch over from the freshwater world ?

[ninjamyst]

firefish is pretty fragile so just lesson learned. dont get a damsel unless you actually want a damsel and plan to keep it for long. clowns are hardy, royal grammas are hardy.

 

as for your chemical media, i would remove phosguard for sure. depending on the size of your chemipure blue, i would remove purigen too but you can keep it if you want.

[Nart]

firefish is pretty fragile so just lesson learned. dont get a damsel unless you actually want a damsel and plan to keep it for long. clowns are hardy, royal grammas are hardy.

 

as for your chemical media, i would remove phosguard for sure. depending on the size of your chemipure blue, i would remove purigen too but you can keep it if you want.

Lesson learned for sure. I thought I did my research on the firefish part and failed on that end. I do plan on getting two clowns somewhere down the line, a skunk cleaner shrimp, CUC crew, and maybe another firefish or royal grammar.

 

Question... I know it will take some time for my yasha goby to slowly come out more. But if he's eating and pooping in that tunnel of his wont that slowly create detritus build up? Is a pistol shrimp definitely needed to help with the house cleaning and also help the yasha come out of his shell more? I was afraid of getting a pistol shrimp because I didn't want it to make trophies out of my CUC's.