Snow's 60G Secret Predatory Sanctum 🐲🐉 - Shutting Down

[Snow_Phoenix]

I took more pics of the softies today, but under heavy blues. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or something, but I could have sworn my kenya tree looked shorter when I first got it 2 days ago. Either it puffed up a little, or actually *grew a little. 👀

 

 

 

Also, the xenia has definitely settled in a bit more and is now fully open. No pulsing, but still pretty. 😊

 

 

 

And you guys won't believe this - but I kept the tank lights off for 2.5 months in this tank while it went fallow. All bits and pieces of corals on the rocks pretty much shriveled away. Guess which ones decided to come back? 🤐

 

 

Yep. The palys. The ugly brown ones. Most of it is stuck to an old frag plug which can be carefully removed from the rock. But I can't touch the ones that are growing out on the rock directly. 

 

I'm thinking of quickly fragging some of starburst implosions & nuclear greens from my nano & add them next to these in hopes of having better looking palys outcompete these ones. 🤔

[Tamberav]

Such a pretty tree! They like to give it a fancy name here and charge premium..,.. hoping to find one someday but not pay $150. They also say it is rare but then always have 5-10 listed every day. 😑

 

[Tamberav]

You know what. Yesterday I picked up some soft corals and this one was all scrunched up and deflated and labeled pineapple leather. Now that it’s opening up… it may be a blue or green Kenya? 

It has a slight green sheen. Not as green as yours but it’s also slightly blue. May be the lighting. The polyps/structure look similar. 
 

I didn’t pay no 150! Try 25. 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

You know what. Yesterday I picked up some soft corals and this one was all scrunched up and deflated and labeled pineapple leather. Now that it’s opening up… it may be a blue or green Kenya? 

It has a slight green sheen. Not as green as yours but it’s also slightly blue. May be the lighting. The polyps/structure look similar. 
 

I didn’t pay no 150! Try 25. 

 

Yeah, that looks exactly like mine, but just a different color. I think kenya trees here mostly come in either green or bluish like yours - haven't seen them come in red or yellow. (Wonder if those colors even exist 🤔) 

 

I'm surprised the green ones are very expensive there. My frag is small, but quite cheap. Softies and common shrooms  are usually cheap here. 

[Tamberav]

6 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Yeah, that looks exactly like mine, but just a different color. I think kenya trees here mostly come in either green or bluish like yours - haven't seen them come in red or yellow. (Wonder if those colors even exist 🤔) 

 

I'm surprised the green ones are very expensive there. My frag is small, but quite cheap. Softies and common shrooms  are usually cheap here. 

Softies here are kind of hard to come by these days so prices have increased. Although they have on all corals. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just now, Tamberav said:

Softies here are kind of hard to come by these days so prices have increased. Although they have on all corals. 

Softies here are easier to come by frag-sized - those days they used to offer large colonies of them. Prices have indeed increased everywhere, even here. Mostly to cover import costs and taxes, I *think. 

 

Corals are no longer super cheap like before. But I have a tendency to hit the discount rack, so sometimes I do wind up picking up a few unassuming frags for inexpensive prices. 

 

A lot of ppl seem to be dropping out of the hobby though. Mostly due to the hike in prices. Fish are now quite expensive and selection is very limited. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Am currently preparing a peroxide bath for the fish. Bath should be ready by 1.52pm. Next tank already prepared and on standby for the next phase of hybrid-TTM. 

 

Overall, all 3 fish appear okay, but the new mandy is not very active, or eating - not even the pods that I throw in can persuade him. 😕

 

Hoping he'll stay strong for the upcoming days. He will most likely lose a lot of weight before he makes it to my DT, but hopefully he won't be too late to save by then. 😕

[Snow_Phoenix]

Noted everything down - 1st dose of Prazi should be in ~2 days. 1st peroxide bath completed, and we're now in the 2nd round of hybrid-TTM:

 

 

The new bin I prepared needs to be topped off with more SW. The current level is too low; should have made extra but I was quite tired this morning/afternoon and forgot to take into account that some SW will be used for the bath:

 

 

The fish were okay during the bath, but the mandy had elevated breathing and was very restless. The blenny was okay, but he's quite thin. I'm worried for him - will try baiting him with some nori strapped to a rock and hopefully he'll eat that. 

 

The cardinal looks good. His colors have stabilized, and I think he looks very beautiful. 😊

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

The fish were better once they were moved back into the new bin. I managed to get a better look at the mandy - his dorsal view is okay, but I *think his belly is a bit pinched: 😕

 

 

 

 

The blenny definitely needs some fattening:

 

 

I think the cardinal is the healthiest, and barring no accidents or injuries, he should make it through QT + Observation without issues. 👍

[Tamberav]

Fingers crossed the skinny guys will start eating something. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Several different angles of the new kenya tree and xenia - and yep, I'm now quite convinced the little green tree is growing a smidge, day by day: 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking of moving a few more beginner-level softies into this tank. I looked at my nano, and this corner alone looks like it needs a mild trim:

 

 

I don't think I'll be adding the metallic green nuclear death palys (the ones with striations on them) because those have a tendency to be overly invasive. But the orange cloves and starburst green implosion palys should be good additions, I think. 🤔

 

And maybe a small clump of metallic GSP too. The main reason why I'm adding tiny tester frags first, as opposed to adding a large colony of anything is because I'm worried of my foxface. 

 

She has not been exposed to any proper corals ever since I first got her. Her species is prone to nip certain corals (especially zoas), if they are underfed/feeling hungry. 

 

They might not have a bad rep. like angels in a reeftank, but I don't want to take the unnecessary risk of bringing home an expensive colony, only to have it eaten because *someone had the munchies. 

 

Best to err on the side of caution for this one. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Also, it's been a while, but here's Foxy! 🥰

 

She is chonky now and has made a full recovery from the diseases that once plagued this system. 

 

 

 

 

 

She's a great fish. No regrets getting her. She's alone in there for now, but if everything goes well with the QT, she'll have some buddies soon! 😊👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Have some bad news. The mandy didn't make it in QT. 😔

 

 

 

 

From what I can tell from his body, he was underweight, although not to the point of emaciation (yet). Fins were starting to fray and gills were slightly open. Body is discolored, indicating possible partial loss of slime coat. 

 

Bin's ammonia & nitrite levels are pulling in at 0ppm each. Nitrate is around ~2 ppm, so not dead due to an ammonia spike. 🤔

 

Truth be told, when I checked up on all 3 fish today morning, I did notice the mandy was staying stationary in one corner and breathing in a steady rhythm. He wasn't moving or alert. I gave it a 50/50 chance of survival then, but I was hoping it'd pull through to the next TTM round. 

 

I found it lying on one side this evening. 😕

 

My cardinal and blenny are okay, but both skipped out on food today. Hoping they'd stay strong to pull through the next ~1.5 weeks, at least. 

 

I'm quite bummed. Was really looking forward to keeping & training another dragonet again. 😔

 

I'll do my best to help the other 2 fish. 

 

I don't believe yesterday's peroxide dip is responsible for today's death, but this was most likely a case of prolonged starvation. Given the size difference between the head and the body of the fish, it seems like the most possible cause - although I'm not ruling out disease either. 🤔

 

Wild-caught fish are certainly tricky to QT & condition. 😕

[debbeach13]

I am so sorry. I know how much you love Mandy's. Glad to hear the other are hanging in there.

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

I am so sorry. I know how much you love Mandy's. Glad to hear the other are hanging in there.

I know. 😞

 

I absolutely love dragonets, but these wild-caught ones are extremely sensitive. Very few make it alive to the store, and fewer still actually make it to a private aquarium - never mind the super-lucky tiny fraction that can actually live in a tank beyond a year, at least. 😕

 

I'm quite worried over the blenny. He's very thin. He loves hiding in the plastic plants that I put into the tank though. I think I'll remove 1 PVC pipe and use that extra space to add 1 more plastic plant during the next TTM. 

[Tamberav]

 Seems like the Mandy had something else too? The fins are gone. Like a bad bacterial infection? Not sure. When fish get emaciated they can’t really fight off infections. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

45 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 Seems like the Mandy had something else too? The fins are gone. Like a bad bacterial infection? Not sure. When fish get emaciated they can’t really fight off infections. 

I'm not sure what it had, but I did suspect some internal issues too. I'll still proceed with TTM-ing the other two though. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I think the sadness from the mandy's death in QT yesterday is finally, well & truly, kicking in today. 😞

 

I checked on the other two. Blenny is still in the fake plants, staying well-hidden. Cardinal was taking shelter in one of the PVC pipes.

 

I successfully dosed 0.5ml of Prazi in the bin today. If the fish have any worms, they should poop it out eventually. Next TTM is tomorrow. 

 

A lot of salt is being used for QTs alone, and I'm thinking of using a cheaper brand of salt for QTs (like IO), whilst keeping my storage of Fritz for my reeftanks - especially since Fritz is much more expensive and somewhat difficult to acquire. At this rate, I'll end up picking another box of Fritz by late April. 😕 

 

Need to start saving up money for salt now itself, I guess. 🤦‍♀️

[Critteraholic]

So sorry to hear you lost your mandy.  I totally understand the sadness. Good luck with the other two!

[Snow_Phoenix]

I checked on the bin this evening and I finally spotted the blenny poking its head out from the fake plants. He was breathing rather hard, so I dropped two air curtains (elongated air stones) into the bin to increase oxygenation. 

 

The cardinal was okay. Not eating, but breathing and swimming normally. The blenny is still paper-thin though. He's in worse shape compared to the mandy I lost yesterday. 😕

 

Luckily my DT is faring better. I'm now very convinced that my kenya tree is hitting a growth spurt every night - look how extended the branches are today! 👀

 

 

 

 

The xenia is much slower in terms of growth. Still no pulsing. 

 

 

 

I'll be honest - I don't think the blenny will make it. Unless a miracle happens and he starts gulping down food, he'll waste away (he already is). 😔

[debbeach13]

I completely see the logic of using IO for all the QT and treatment tanks.

The pictures of the Kenya Tree are stunning. My Xenia only pulses in low flow like really low. I hope the blenny eats something soon.

 I know you spend a great deal of time calculating and planning out all aspects of the treatment used for the fish. I have never done such rigorous QT and treatment of fish so please do not be offended with this question, I honestly do not know. 

When a fish has such a hard time with the treatment is it possible to give them a break? As in do not treat for a short amount of time a few days, maybe a week and see is the fish actually does better. As far as breathing and eating? I imagine that a pause would practically mean after the break it would be like starting over and time wise stretching the whole process even longer and tough on you and resources. But maybe it would be better, less stress on the fish? Just thinking out loud and curious. I really do respect the amount of time you spend caring for all your livestock. I hope that my question in no way sounds like anything more than a question.   

[Snow_Phoenix]

I was thinking of lengthening the rest and recovery phase too - I'm not offended. 🤔

 

But I think the rigidity of the schedule is the only way to properly ensure that the fish are free of the ich parasite (?) I'll have to read up more on Humblefish's forum, but I remember that each TTM *must be done before the next 72 hour deadline. It's definitely stressful on the fish, I agree. Very stressful on me too. I haven't slept properly in the last few days, because I keep thinking about the welfare of all of my animals, how I'm running out of food/neccessities for some of them, how I need to budget better, how I need to find cheaper sellers online etc etc. 😕

 

It's been difficult. Really am trying my best, but I admit I'm struggling. A lot, sometimes. 😔

 

With regards to the fish in general, I truly wish I could do more, but sometimes I can't. Most of the fish that arrive here have been in bad shape - more so than usual since the pandemic started, shipment became more restricted and prices hiked up. It's very, very rare to spot a super healthy wild-caught fish at any store. 

 

Especially the latest batch - a *lot of them were super-skinny. 😔

 

Even if I give them a better QT with a longer break to de-stress, tbh, most of them *might not make it. I even had trouble with a pair of clowns recently - 1 died in <2 days, the other survived and is in my nano, but is still underweight. And those two were aquacultured. 😕

 

I'm curious though - was there a noticeable difference in fish health & sizes at your stores during the pandemic? Everything here is now smaller, and sometimes more sick. Selections are now limited too. 

 

[debbeach13]

Honestly, I have not visited any store in months. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I maybe have been in a LFS less than 6 times. I have purchased almost all supplies online. Not just because of covid. I also had taken down 2 tanks which left me with one well stocked tank. I did see that the fish were definitely smaller in any store I did visit. Even the captive breed clown fish were just babies. That is about to change soon. With the heater cooking the tank months ago and seriously depleting corals and fish I now need to restock. Also setting up a brand-new second tank which will be one-month wet tomorrow I need livestock in there. I will post what and where I get fish and corals from in those threads. I already know that the prices and availability will make it a slow process. 

 You always show great patience and care to all of the critters you have. I have so much respect for your methods and your love for them shows through in all you do. 

[A.m.P]

I use instant ocean for everything, plenty of folks do. Don't see any harm at all, just match the salinity and temp, the fish shouldn't even notice.

Sorry about the mandy and the rough luck with fish, hopefully not a sign that supply chain weaknesses are causing people to fall back on shady collectors.

[Pjanssen]

2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I'm curious though - was there a noticeable difference in fish health & sizes at your stores during the pandemic? Everything here is now smaller, and sometimes more sick. Selections are now limited too. 

Definitely. I lost 3 fish, added at different times, and honestly assumed it was my fault. But now I have a coral beauty that has been thriving for a couple of months now so I wonder if the other fish were actually healthy to begin with. Prices are higher to, as everything else in the world.