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My first 3g Picotope


pj86

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Wow, can't believe it, this weekend marks a month that my pico is up and running. Have added one more thing, which I think I shouldn't have but I'm giving it a try. Will post pics this weekend.

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Err so my green clown goby came down with ich or some white looking dot parasite. I should have been more careful in choosing my live stock. Had to literally move a lot of stuff to remove him and put him in a QT tank a few hours ago. I checked the parameters of my main tank and they were all 0 ppm and salinity is good also. Corals look amazing, only thing that I changed was target feeding a carnation coral and adding .4 ml of phyto-feast and .13 ml of roti-feast that is slowly released over a period of 12-16 hours. No real algae bloom and non of my parameters have changed. I believe this caused some stress on the goby which made his preexisting condition worse. When I bought him I believe I saw a white dot or two near his head and then when I got home it was gone. I was like he should be "fine." This is what I get for my complacency.

So, I did what most people do. Remove the fish and put it in a QT tank to treat it with medications. The medication I'm using is Ich-attack at its recommended dose. I opted the copper treatment because I just believe it would do to much organ damage and shorten the life of the fish. Now I read that I can't put the fish back in the main tank till about 6-8 weeks because of the possibility of the parasite still being there.

 

So a few questions, my QT tank is kinda plain, should I put a fake plastic plant in there so the fish is less stressed or just leave it as is?

Also, if this medication does not work what is the next medication I should try, go with the copper?

What is the possibility that my fish will die?

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I use PVC piping at my store the fish love to hide in it and it does help to keep there stress down and it's really inexpense 8 ft pipe for 2.69 at lowes. It will come in handy alot. Sorry to hear about your fish

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Definitely keep the goby in the quarantine for the 6 weeks. The parasite is in your pico now and you need to let it live its life cycle without being able to infect another host. If you put your fish back in the display without the parasite in the display being dead, your fish will just get sick again. Also like Addinali said, PVC makes a great hiding spot for your fish while he's in the QT.

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Addinali thanks for the idea, just got some this morning. Pyronus, i will definitely keep him in the QT for the 6 weeks if he survives.

 

He is definitely a fighter, most of the white cottony things are gone but it left horrible uplifted scales around his whole body. I added a small air-stone because he seemed to be having difficulty breathing, and after the addition of the air-stone he seemed to relax his breathing a little bit. I hope he makes it, he hasn't eaten in 2 days, but still seems plump, hope it is enough for him to make it through.

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Tank looks great! Sucks about the Ich and Nudibranchs. If you haven't yet,inspect your Zoas really close for their eggs. They're layed in a spiral pattern (I believe :huh: )

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Sadly the fish didn't make it. It took its last breaths a few minutes ago. He had more than just ich, the ich went away and then pimple looking things came. Bummer.

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Sorry to hear about the clown goby :( Better luck in the future.

 

As for getting this thread moved to the pico reef section, PM a mod (I PM'd el fabuloso)

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Thanks Will. Well this weekend was the 1st month anniversary of my tank. And the best way to celebrate was to get a coral. I've been adding some livestock every week depending on what I need.

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So the newest addition was a sun coral!!! Although it requires lots of care, so far it looks amazing and is eating like a super pig. I put it in a separate bowl for about an hour and a half and feed it .25 ml of phyto-feast, .5 ml of rotifeast to get its appetite open, they literally start gulping it down. After that I begin adding the big stuff, mysis shrimp and they devour that stuff in about half an hour. They don't open completely for the feeding but around 9-10pm they begin to open when I move it to the tank (photo does no justice).

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Other additions that I have added the past 2 weeks was a feather duster and a scleronepthya. I first got the Sclero thinking it was a Dendro, either way at the LFS it was in bad shape and wanted to try it. So I began dosing my tank .5 ml of phyto-feast and .15ml of rotifeast over a 24 hour period. To counter the slow feeding of the sclero I decided to add a feather duster so it keeps the levels of food in the water column in check. The sclero is making a good recovery its actually starting to redeveloped some tissue and add its polyps. Thats pretty much it.

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Thanks Mitch. The only upgrades I'm planning on doing maybe is changing the lighting to a par38. Also, depending on how the dosing goes I was planning maybe doing a algae turf scrubber or skimmer to compete for nutrients and decrease the possibility of algae bloom in the tank (have minor algae so far). But for now I want to let this run for 2 weeks before doing any major changes.

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Mr. Microscope
How can I move this thread to the pico aquarium thread

 

 

Hello pj86! Welcome to nanoreef. If you want to get your thread moved to the pico forum, PM one of the mods. I think they can help you. Nice picotope. I like how you're feeding your sun coral in a different container. Good luck!

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thanks Mr. Microscope and evanski. So yesterday I went to my LFS and saw that they had sexy shrimps! I couldn't resist and bought 3. These little guys have some great personalities and attitudes also. My peppermint shrimp was all afraid of them, he didn't want to get close same with the hermits. They are hosting my GSP and sun coral which don't seem to mind that much.

The dosing is going well, there is some algae growth on the live rock but nothing obnoxious. Actually I kinda like it. Also parameters looking good. Feather duster is acting as my skimmer...lol.

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Feather duster is acting as my skimmer...lol.

not the best analogy...But hey your tank looks very nice! if your sand in front gets moved too much put something in your HOB like chemical filtration to slow the flow. if youre not a fan then maybe just filter floss.

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not the best analogy...

 

Very true Newman, I shouldn't be putting incorrect info on the web. The feather duster is there to eat the phytoplankton and some larger particles I'm putting in the tank, to minimize food from becoming unusable dissolved nutrients. What is truly replacing my skimmer is the frequent water changes I'm doing currently (about 1.5-2L every day, which is about 10% in my system.)

Currently this system is working out really well. I have hundreds if not thousands of amphipods and copepods. Most likely also consuming the nutrients I'm putting in the system. In turn they become food for my tank.

Flow is pretty strong but I really like it this way. The sand is staying in place, except on the lower right hand corner which literally turns without blowing it up in the tank. I think this is a benefit, keeps some sand shifting at all times. My fuge is filled with chaeto, some floss, and lots of carbon, I believe it will lose some flow in the long run.

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is it a relatively new addition? it sounds like it is since its already loaded with stuff and its still so strong on flow. it will slow, I just didnt know if you already had stuff in it.

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I have had it for 5 weeks now, the chaeto has triple in size but still has only filled a little more than half of the fuge. Soon it will grow more.

So one of my scarlet hermits decided that it wanted to take revenge on the blue hermits bullying and pretty much killed it. I saw them fighting 2 days ago. I thought I had found the blues molt but then today after 2 days of waiting for the shell to begin moving I picked it up and looked inside, it was empty. I liked blue although he was kinda aggressive and hated how I arranged things so he would move everything. Gonna definitely miss him, he always made sure I was paying attention to the tank by misbehaving.

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lol...its nice that you have one, some ppl refuse to have any. Ive grown use to them. Whats funny my friends notice my hermits more then my corals, the hermits put on quite a show. Then my friends ask where are the fish.

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Hahaha! My dad asks where the fish are all the time. But by the great teachings of the Newman, I have learned that I must beat my head against a wall for a couple of months so I don't think about not having one :'(

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So I believe I have an addiction to saltwater aquariums...lol. I've acquired a few more pieces here and there. Since my last FTS I believe I have added 2 types of polyps (not sure what type), a very small pulsing xenia, small frag that has 2 types of GSP, a medium sized purple mushroom and a small feather duster. I've increased my cleaning crew now it is up to 6 snails, 2 hermits, 1 nassarius. I also have a peppermint that I added about 2 weeks ago and has taken residency in the small cave. The 3 sexy are always on the kenya or the polyps which don't seem to mind to much. Well here are the photos

 

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Left side of tank, my first coral GSP has shown ridiculous amount of growth. I will always keep it in this island so it doesn't spread. Might need to frag a few pieces soon.

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middle, I'm not a crazy fan of zoa's but they do add that little something to the middle. Will probably make it a complete zoa garden.

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right. Sarco is recovering, looks much better than the way I obtained it 2 weeks ago (just was a huge clumped up ball that had cyano and dead tissue). I wish I could dose higher quantities of food, but at the moment my system just can't handle it. If it doesn't make a 100% recovery I might sell it once it stabilizes and completely renews its polyps and tissue.

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back

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sexy shrimp

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sun coral, by far this thing could never be kept in a pico by feeding directly in the tank. I take it out every 2 days and feed it in a separate bowl. It is ridiculous the amount of food it eats and how the polyps swell 4-5x their size.

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these things are so cool, love the movement they give to the tank. The larger one seems a tad bit more happier than the smaller one. I have to dose the tank every day with a very specific amount of phyto-feast and roti-feast that is slowly released in a 24hr period.

 

And of course the FTS

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looks nice! not overwhelming with color either, I like it :)

but imo you have too much snails. that one astrea might be all you need. they grow bigger, maybe twice the size of your current astrea snail. what other species of snail do you have in there? i am trying to see what you need and what could be moved to reduce waste. i think the astrea covers the algae types nicely.

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