Anthrax & Gangs! 50G SCA

[thecoralbeauty]

They're willing to give me the damsel and some more peppermint shrimp next week when a new shipment comes in in exchange for the butterfly that I brought back. So that's good.

[thecoralbeauty]

So the smaller anthias didn't make it either. I had wondered, he was acting strange yesterday and this morning. The one remaining anthias is fine so far. Always out, eating, looks great and getting more color.

 

So I'm taking a week to let things even out. Water change.

 

Next week I'll have more peppermint shrimp in exchange for the copperband that I returned today and a replacement damsel from the LFS.

 

Then, on Friday live aquaria will reship the two anthias that didn't make it. I think I'll ask for medium this time instead of small and pay the difference. I wonder if having such tiny babies makes it really hard on their immune system. Maybe a larger specimen will fare better through shipping? Just a thought. The largest anthias is the one that survived though.... Hm.

While I was on live aquaria looking for their phone number, I noticed the orchid dotty back. I'm missing their color a lot- used to have a royal gramma in college. I'll spend this week researching him and may add him to the anthias re-ship order. If anyone has any thoughts on dotty backs, I'd love to hear them!

[jedimasterben]

Larger and smaller fish tend not to adapt as readily. Most anthias are just not hardy. :/

[Elizabeth94]

Im pretty sure most dotty backs are shrimp murderers. But the orchid dotty back is said to be the most laid back. I have never had one, so I can't comment based on personal experience. I know the neon dotty backs are supposed to be nasty little buggers.

[thecoralbeauty]

There's lots on orchid ditty backs and six line wrasses not getting along. What about lubbocks and carpenters?

[plainrt]

I'd take it easy on fish. Your tank has very heavy bioload IMO. Do your tangs race nascar style all day?

[thecoralbeauty]

I'd take it easy on fish. Your tank has very heavy bioload IMO. Do your tangs race nascar style all day?

No, they take it pretty easy. Where are you saying the heavy bio load is from? The tangs?

[plainrt]

No, they take it pretty easy. Where are you saying the heavy bio load is from? The tangs?

Your fish choices for 24 inch cube are less than ideal. The tangs will not be happy for long. Hopefully used qt as it's very common for ich to show up later as they are stressed In small tank. Copperband is another I'd hope people wouldn't stick in 24 inch cube. The anthias need lots of swim space and hiding spots away from other fish. Your wrasses add good amount of bioload also. Your fish list is not far off of what I had In my 150 cube lol. I believe it's always best to add fish or two and wait some time and monitor nutrients as they can sneak up and beat you down when add to fast. I'm sure you know all this already but IMO seems little careless with all your fish deaths to keep adding away.

[thecoralbeauty]

The copperband went back immediately, he was indeed not ideal for the tank. I'm waiting to add/replace for several reasons, and the deaths were most likely from stress of shipping or in the damsel's case- a bad shipment that was also evident at the LFS and in no way caused by my tank specifically. The wrasses had little effect on bio load in my 20L, I've had them happily for the better part of a year now. The tang argument I will leave to the tang police. Thanks!

Now the real mystery was the pearly jaw death last week, however, it seems to be that pearly jaws just don't do well in mixed reefs in my experience for whatever reason. He had been on his own in a separate tank since May. Replacing him is something I won't think about until much later, if at all. I hate seeing them (or any fish) struggle and die.

[plainrt]

Your tank doesn't have much more foot print than something like 29 gal biocube. I had a 24 inch cube and felt horrible for my wrasses so can't imagine tangs etc. Some people just are too narrow minded to get it.

[thecoralbeauty]

Your tank doesn't have much more foot print than something like 29 gal biocube. I had a 24 inch cube and felt horrible for my wrasses so can't imagine tangs etc. Some people just are too narrow minded to get it.

plainrt, i appreciate your input and perspective, otherwise i wouldn't be asking you to elaborate on what you meant in terms of bioload in the first place the whole point of these forums is to learn from each other and share experiences, and i truly do value yours. what you've said is definitely helping me make educated decisions on my filtration and stocking, whether that is replacement or any potential other fish. really, i do appreciate it. it's also helped to reinforce my previous knowledge of gradually introducing livestock. everyone has their own experience, and combined with what we know of marine husbandry, we're all on this forum trying to do the best that we can. there are certainly *best* scenarios for stocking and *worst* scenarios. most aquarists fall somewhere between the best and worst spectrum, everyone striving to avoid the worst! generally, balancing nutrients gradually, and providing stability, are the golden rules of all setups and stocking lists and a huge indicator of potential success. Take a look at Kat's fish stock list, for example, in a smaller tank than mine (i believe!)- she's done a fabulous job balancing a huge amount of fish and still keeping her nutrients in check. That being said, I appreciate your concern for this aspect of my tank and it has been and I'm sure will be really helpful in keeping things afloat, pardon the pun.

 

All that being said, i'm not seeing any reason for you to be rude about it.

[plainrt]

Kats tank is same gallons as yours. It's also year older. It's also foot longer which offers better swimming space than 24 inch cube. Kat has also been doing this a lot longer. Oh and Kat isn't the only one on her to take advice from. Rude??? Your smart ass comments aren't rude? I'm sorry I see your actions careless as I said before. Keep throwing more fish in the tank of death and making excuses......

[HarryPotter]

She didn't say Kat was the only one she listened to... She just mentioned MetroKat as an example of a heavier stocked tank. To show that her bioload is not in excess; no algae, no high nutrients.

 

The tang police is the tang police. She has a small tang in a 50g cube. So did wretched. So does Lawn. So do a dozen members here. Whether you agree with it or not... thats the million-thread argument, ain't it? Do you think everyone with a tang in tank that does not meet your (personal) expectations is "narrow minded"?

 

The two anthias died, the first hours after arriving (it looked sick in the bag) and the other small one a day or two after. All four damsels at her LFS had spots and died. I don't think it reflects on her ability of intentions... Nor makes it "the tank of death".

 

Notice I said I "think". Just my thoughts from reading this page and the previous. Did you see the last page?

[plainrt]

Just my thoughts lol.........Again kats tank is year old....... Not less than month Harry.Big difference.Who puts 2 tangs and on top of it a copperband in a 24 inch tank. The Atlantic tang is larger species. Some tangs do better in smaller tanks but this isn't one of them. Thanks Harry for your insight. Most people when have fish dying do responsible thing and stop adding them...... Not sit here and think about what to add next.

[Elizabeth94]

mwhitelock,

 

(My opinion)

 

You know your tank better than anyone here, if you feel that your current fish are all healthy and showing no signs of stress, and your parameters have been good, then add another fish. However, after even one death in any tank I have had, I have always let the system run for a while and kept a close eye on parameters and other livestock before I added anything. I would recommend that, but this is YOUR tank. if you want to add another fish because you truly believe your system/other livestock can handle it, then add a fish after quarantining it.

 

However, I do agree with plainrt in terms of the dimensions of this tank. With it being a cube and only being 24" long in either direction it technically doesn't have much horizontal swimming room. But all you have to do is keep that in mind when you pick out fish. I do not know your entire stocking list at this moment, but this is all just opinions. What I would do with this tank in terms of stocking is different from what you would do, is different from what harry would do, and is different from what plainrt would do.

 

I will say though, this did escalate quickly, eh? Good luck with everything, and try not to make any decisions without thinking about it. I am sure you have plenty of experience to know any of this. I am sure you will find that perfect balance for your tank, it takes some time and sometimes things go wrong. Don't let other peoples opinions stop you from what you want to do. If we all listened to each other, everyone would have the same tank.

 

phew, that was a lot

[thecoralbeauty]

Thanks! Regardless, There seems to have been some confusion between my questions about different fish while I'm waiting for things to balance and settle (and not adding anything)- the point of asking questions is to make informed decisions when I eventually do add again. Not "sit here and think about what to add next" but to use the time that I'm taking to ensure that the next thing that I do add eventually will be more successful. Though I have my ideas about the fish deaths, I still am taking some time between replacing them (which was also apparently unclear) and had attempted to discuss in the meantime. The whole reason I enjoy this hobby was the opportunity to learn new things. That is also why I had until this point enjoyed this forum- so many perspectives and so much experience. Unfortunately this did escalate quickly.

[HarryPotter]

"I had until this point enjoyed the forum"?

 

Cmon I'm sure you still are/can enjoy this forum! From the plumbing fiasco to the transition I think it's been overwhelmingly positive and helpful

[Elizabeth94]

Some confusion, for sure. But like I said, you are the only one who can really judge your tank and you are the one staring at it, so add more fish if you want to add more fish. Who cares what other people think. I figured you were going to take time between, but for anyone new reading this thread at least it can be made clear to do so.

 

Now for a random question...

 

How is your tube anemone doing? I love these guys but my tank is waaaaayy too small for one if I wanted other corals. How far long would you say the tentacles extend?

 

These guys have the most strong feeding response I have ever seen.

"I had until this point enjoyed the forum"?

Cmon I'm sure you still are/can enjoy this forum! From the plumbing fiasco to the transition I think it's been overwhelmingly positive and helpful

 

Agree, this forum is awesome.

 

It's the internet. You will always have to take the bad with the good. Harry, how in the heck have you gotten 10k posts that fast?!?! hehe

[HarryPotter]

Some confusion, for sure. But like I said, you are the only one who can really judge your tank and you are the one staring at it, so add more fish if you want to add more fish. Who cares what other people think. I figured you were going to take time between, but for anyone new reading this thread at least it can be made clear to do so.

 

Now for a random question...

 

How is your tube anemone doing? I love these guys but my tank is waaaaayy too small for one if I wanted other corals. How far long would you say the tentacles extend?

 

These guys have the most strong feeding response I have ever seen.

 

 

Agree, this forum is awesome.

 

It's the internet. You will always have to take the bad with the good. Harry, how in the heck have you gotten 10k posts that fast?!?! hehe

Hmm. 8 months.... 30 days a month. So 240 days. 10,000 posts/250 days= 40 posts per day..... Yikes!

 

Edit:

 

To be fair... I'm unbelievably bored at school and having nothing better to do than surf NR

[Elizabeth94]

Hmm. 8 months.... 30 days a month. So 240 days. 10,000 posts/250 days= 40 posts per day..... Yikes!

 

Edit:

 

To be fair... I'm unbelievably bored at school and having nothing better to do than surf NR

 

Haha, that is a lot... more than 1k posts a month. Just means you love this forum! Thats fair. Ill admit it too, when I am sitting in between classes this is always the first webpage I open.

[thecoralbeauty]

Some confusion, for sure. But like I said, you are the only one who can really judge your tank and you are the one staring at it, so add more fish if you want to add more fish. Who cares what other people think. I figured you were going to take time between, but for anyone new reading this thread at least it can be made clear to do so.

 

Now for a random question...

 

How is your tube anemone doing? I love these guys but my tank is waaaaayy too small for one if I wanted other corals. How far long would you say the tentacles extend?

 

These guys have the most strong feeding response I have ever seen.

 

Agree, this forum is awesome.

 

It's the internet. You will always have to take the bad with the good. Harry, how in the heck have you gotten 10k posts that fast?!?! hehe

he's doing great! easy keeper, eats pretty much anything he can catch that i've seen, doesn't move, doesn't sting things. i know they've gotten a bad rap for being strong stingers in the past (several years ago when i first got into the hobby i saw them and wanted one but was told they eat fish and can have deadly stings on other corals) but I've read a few articles lately that say they aren't any more potent than other anemones. one study even reported that aiptasia are more potent. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/6/inverts

[Sk8n Reefer]

Went over to AA yesterday- he's got some really nice and high end pieces in there. Wish my 50g. was ready for some new SPS- how's that skimmer doing? I haven't hooked mine up yet. Are you get dark skimate? Or is it fairly wet?

[thecoralbeauty]

Went over to AA yesterday- he's got some really nice and high end pieces in there. Wish my 50g. was ready for some new SPS- how's that skimmer doing? I haven't hooked mine up yet. Are you get dark skimate? Or is it fairly wet?

ah i was there briefly in the morning. yea he has some really huge stuff too! i love looking even though i don't really want anything else for myself. was looking for a torch, and he's got several awesome ones, but they're huge! oh well. no rush on that.

 

skimmer tends to be on the wet side.... but i think I'm finally getting it dialed in. each time i empty and re-adjust it gets better.

 

params this morning before a 10 gal change and filter floss/chemipure elite change:

Ca-420

Alk- 9.3 (3.3)

Mg- 1350

Nitrate- 0

Nitrite- 0

Ammonia- 0

SG- 1.026

 

Messed with the radion a bit. went to a 13k spectrum for a while to see if affects my SPS colors... and bumped the intensity 5%.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Cool, what depth do you have the skimmer at?

[thecoralbeauty]

Cool, what depth do you have the skimmer at?

water level is about 6.5/7 inches

i forgot we had the same tank!