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

[Tamberav]

I once squished a green banded goby when moving some rock around... felt awful 😞 Sorry you lost em 😞

[DevilDuck]

We’ve all been there. I startled my clown goby and it accidentally dove head first into my carpet anemone. I pulled him out but he was in very rough shape and didn’t last the night. He was just getting comfortable in the tank too. 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Day #8 of QT: Fed the fish some garlic-soaked pellets again. Spotted the christmas wrasse & foxface take some. The dartfish was a bit shy and only took a few bites before going back into the PVC pipe. 

 

My leopard wrasse was out for a short while too, but not eating. Didn't spot my Lubbocks wrasse - I think he felt more comfortable staying hidden. 

 

DT is doing okay. No changes. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just watching these guys today evening. 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Throwback to when this tank actually had dragonets, exactly a year ago from today. 😔

 

Poseidon:

 

 

Bella:

 

 

 

 

 

Illaron:

 

 

Bella & Illaron together:

 

 

I remember how they used to spawn actively every 2 to 3 days. How their courtship would begin exactly at 9.20pm everyday, like clockwork. It was beautiful and mesmerizing to watch. 

 

It all feels like a shattered dream now. I miss all of them so much. 😭😭😭

[Snow_Phoenix]

Day #9 of the hybrid TTM. 

 

My dartfish kept flashing today - I'm not sure why. 😔

 

My christmas wrasse & foxface were both eating more pellets today, as compared to yesterday. Spotted my leopard wrasse, but still no sign of my lubbocks. 😕

 

New air pump came in, as well as a small host of meds - formalin, nitrofurazone & potassium permanganate. 

 

 

 

The air pump is bulky and a bit heavy, but silent and powerful. My older air pump made terrible noise, so I'm glad this one is quiet. 

 

As for the meds, they're just precautionary - not to be actively used. The potassium permanganate is mostly for my discus tank, in case I run into any issues with the discus fish in the future (hopefully never). 

 

I added some Prazi to the QT bin already. Tomorrow will be a regular TTM. If my dartfish still has issues after the full TTMs are complete, I'll extend the treatment period by another week, but will skip out on the peroxide bath (might do some FW dips in between though). 

 

I find the flashing odd because throughout the first 8 days, *none of the fish were flashing. It could be some irritation from the undissolved salt granules, or unresolved flukes/ich. I'm personally unsure. 

 

I'm trying *not to prolong the treatment period actually - because it's stressful on the fish, as well as myself. But if it needs to be done, then I'll just hold on and do it for 3 weeks instead of the original 2, which means an additional ~3 sessions of TTM. 😕

 

I'll keep this thread updated. Hopefully my lubbocks is still alive, just shy. 😕

[Snow_Phoenix]

I performed another TTM on schedule today, within the <72 hour window. After dosing Prazi yesterday, there was a huge pile of 💩 in the middle of the bin. 👀

 

I'm not sure which fish did it, but it does concern me a little because most of the poop was white & slightly clumpy. 

 

Since I'm extending the TTM by another 3 sessions, I think I'll dose Prazi again in between one of the sessions. 

 

All five fish, including the MIA lubbocks, appeared okay - although the dartfish isn't as vibrantly colored as before. I managed to do a very quick FW dip of <5 mins between the transfers, but the wrasses were quite stressed out by it - especially Bo, the lubbocks. 

 

Once I introduced the fish back into the new bin with new SW, they were breathing hard for a few seconds, then back to normal. My Christmas wrasse, Bullet, did jump out of the bin in mid-transfer - quickly dropped the net, picked him up & put him back in the bin. He immediately dove into one of the pipes. Hopefully he's okay. 😕

 

I managed to find out a possible cause of how velvet might have entered my system. I consulted Humblefish on this as well, because I wanted to be sure. 

 

Some time in early October, I introduced a clump of macro from the sump of my *secondary LFS DT to my fuge to replenish the microfauna in my own fuge. I've been doing this for ~2 years without issues, but I believe this recent batch of macro was contaminated. 

 

According to Humblefish, there is a possibility that there were velvet tomonts attached to the exoskeleton of the copepods & amphipods that reside in the macro. By attempting to preserve these microfauna to bolster my own pod population to feed my dragonets, I literally ended up killing all of them and everyone else. 😭

 

The guilt and shock was like a huge sucker punch in my gut to me. It took a few days for me to process this, and I was quite upset (as well as embarassed) to declare it openly on the forum. 

 

But I decided I might as well share my experience. Because I took my tank for granted, and the very creatures I was fighting so hard to protect ended up paying for it. 😔

 

I still have 5 fish left, so I'm still holding on for their sake. I'm not doing too well (actually lost too much weight too fast - 1.5kg in 2 days is definitely not healthy) - constantly anxious & stressed. 

 

But my foot is slowly & finally recovering. So there is a tiny silver lining to this mess. 👍

 

My takeaway from all of this - be very careful when you're introducing critters from someone else's sump or fuge to your own. It's best to source out cultivated macro from reputable vendors (even online ones), then seed the macro with your own pods, or pods which have been once again cultivated responsibly. Doing this is more expensive and time-consuming, but at least you can *lessen the chances of introducing diseases in the tank. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Also, I'm not blaming the store for this mess. I made a conscious choice to pick up the macro from them, and willingly introduced it to my fuge. 

 

However, now that I know that this particular store has velvet in their system, I'll be a bit wary with future purchases (if any) from them. 

 

I'll favor my primary LFS when it comes to stocking corals & fish for my tanks, but regardless of whichever store I purchase livestock from, I'll definitely QT the fish from here on out. 👍

[banasophia]

21 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Also, I'm not blaming the store for this mess. I made a conscious choice to pick up the macro from them, and willingly introduced it to my fuge. 

 

However, now that I know that this particular store has velvet in their system, I'll be a bit wary with future purchases (if any) from them. 

 

I'll favor my primary LFS when it comes to stocking corals & fish for my tanks, but regardless of whichever store I purchase livestock from, I'll definitely QT the fish from here on out. 👍

Hey Snow, I’m sorry… and I’m right there with you too… I was checking in to see how your fish are faring because I’m pretty sure I’ll lose Finnick tonight. It’s so hard losing our beloved fish. 😢

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, banasophia said:

Hey Snow, I’m sorry… and I’m right there with you too… I was checking in to see how your fish are faring because I’m pretty sure I’ll lose Finnick tonight. It’s so hard losing our beloved fish. 😢

I'm truly sorry about Finnick, Bana. The greatest issue with dragonets (besides feeding) is their sensitivity, I think. Time after time, I noticed that if a dragonet fell 'sick' for some reason, they very rarely make it. I'm unsure why. 😞

 

They're such amazing fish though. I'm constantly drawn back to them for some reason. My mum calls all dragonets 'scooties'. She called my Poseidon (the spotted mandy), the 'Green Scooty', and my ruby dragonet, the 'Red Scooty'. I had no heart to correct her, so I left it. Plus, 'scooties' does sound cute, I guess. I miss all of my fish, badly. 😢

 

I'm hoping Finnick will make it somehow. I know how much time & effort you spent on him, and he's such a lovely fish in your biocube too. 

[debbeach13]

I am glad to hear that your foot is starting to feel better. Your doing every thing you can for your fish. Actually I feel you always have. This hobby can be tough so many unseen factors quickly lead to losing our precious pets.

[Snow_Phoenix]

40 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I am glad to hear that your foot is starting to feel better. Your doing every thing you can for your fish. Actually I feel you always have. This hobby can be tough so many unseen factors quickly lead to losing our precious pets.

It is actually one of the toughest hobbies I've endeavored in. The shifting variables can shape uncertain circumstances, and even if you're armed with all the proper knowledge & experience, you can get thrown off quite easily - especially when the critters die on you. 😔

 

I do take the deaths hard at times, but only because I feel responsible for them, since I made a conscious decision to buy them & put them in my tank. 

 

I feel like I've been too hard on myself lately too. And that causes unecessary stress at times. The TTMs were actually pushing me to the brink of a burnout. It might seem simple to anyone else, I guess, but I overthink a lot, and I have to work within my limitations (quickly, since there is a schedule and timeline to follow), so that does complicate things and tires me out for some reason. 😕

 

Still, I recognize it is necessary. I'm planning on picking up another bin or 2 with rollers from the store. I've been having a very hard time cleaning up the larger bins because some of them don't have rollers, and I have to drag/push them in/out of the room when they're full of SW. It strains my back, and definitely doesn't go easy on the foot. 

 

With the new bins, I can roll them around the house more easily - from the room all the way to the kitchen, where I mix the SW every time I TTM. Will need to set aside some money for the new bins too. 🤔

[debbeach13]

Oh geez your working so hard.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Day 11 of Hybrid TTM. 

 

Tried feeding the fish some garlic-soaked pellets, but none of them are eating. 😕

 

I spotted my Leopard wrasse, foxface, and what appeared to be the tail-end of my dartfish. No sign of my lubbocks or christmas wrasse - so hopefully they're just resting in the pipes. 

 

The last bit of Aquaforest salt appears to be finishing off already. I'll have to chip into my Fritz for future TTMs once it's gone. Fritz is quite pricey however, and I was planning on saving it for WCs for my nanoreef. 

 

I *might pick up cheaper salt like regular IO to be used for QTs in the future. Not much, just maybe 4kg to 5kg or so. 🤔

[Snow_Phoenix]

A limpet near the sponge:

 

 

Spotted 5 asterinas on the rocks. Some of the bristleworms appear sluggish, but it could be due to a lack of food. Their population has reduced significantly since the removal of the fish though. 

 

I still haven't 'planted' my mangroves properly. Best to get to it as soon as possible. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Day #12 of the Hybrid TTM. 

 

None of the fish are eating in QT. 😕

 

No sign of my christmas wrasse, although I spotted all the other fish, and they're still alive. 

 

Managed to pick up 2 bins for QT, but they don't have rollers - they're a bit on the small side, but I can lift them up and clean them more easily. The ones with rollers available are extremely large and I didn't have enough on me to get them. 😕

 

Patrick the starfish in DT isn't doing too well:

 

 

Sigh. Hopefully everyone else will make it. I'm...tired. 

[Tamberav]

You sure you want to extend the TTM? The fish might benefit from a break and a nicer place to spend their time. I would think traditional hybrid TTM should be enough. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

You sure you want to extend the TTM? The fish might benefit from a break and a nicer place to spend their time. I would think traditional hybrid TTM should be enough. 

I actually agree. Throughout the day, I've been considering it, and decided not to extend it. I'm worried for the animals since they do seem to be stressed out by change in environment every 3 days. I, myself, am reaching the point of a burnout, actually. 

 

If I'm not mistaken I only have one last TTM to do on 13/11, which is tomorrow. 

 

Then I can move them into a nice bin with a lot more cover like the fake plastic plants, more PVC pipes, some ceramic hideouts etc. 

 

I'm thinking of also stripping down my paludarium and permanently converting it into a rest-and-recovery tank for any future fish that have undergone TTM. The 10G is an AIO and has much more space, and I think it'll be much easier to clean too, since it already has its own corner in the room. I won't have to move it around to clean it every week - I can just use the gravel vac. to suck up any leftover poop/food in the DT and change the floss weekly. It can also stay empty for as long as possible - basically just function as an existing tank without anything in it, unless I have fish on standby. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Finally attempted to 'plant' my mangroves today evening. 

 

 

I ran out of sand, so the smaller blue bottle has a thin layer of sand & some crushed coral stones. 

 

 

I'm experimenting a little. Out of the 4 transparent bottles, 2 contain a slightly different type of sand from the other 2. They're both live sand - only the granules vary in size. The 5th bottle (blue one) has a thinner layer of sand + crushed coral stones. 5 propagules are in bottles, but the leftover 2 are in my refugium, wedged between my LR and macro. Also, some of the propagules are in the fuge, some in the filtration area, and one near the motor pump -basically different mangroves are positioned differently from the light source. 

 

I wish to see if these differences affects the growth of the roots and leaves (if any). 

 

When I was doing my planting, I noticed 2 of the propagules were already beginning to develop roots, even though they were not placed in any solid medium. 

 

The one propagule that came with dried up leaves (possibly caused due to our hot & humid weather during shipment) actually has developed more roots and a darker red stem (?) in the center of the leaves: 👀

 

 

 

It is growing, so I'm quite surprised, but also happy. 😊

 

I *might upgrade my fuge lights to a PAR 30 bulb in the future. I already have the gooseneck holder & clamp - just waiting to see if my mangroves *can grow under my current lights. 👀 

[seabass]

I realize that people are less concerned about ammonia buildup with the TTM (as the water is completely replaced every few days).  However, instinctively, I'm concerned about the lack of a biofilter, especially after stopping the transfers.

 

For quarantine tanks, I've heard of people soaking a sponge filter in water with BIO-Spira prior to use.  Then dose more BIO-Spira daily.  Monitoring with an Ammonia Alert Badge makes sense here too.

 

TBH, I'm not sure of the correct protocol here.  However, I would keep a close eye on ammonia, as it can be as dangerous to your fish as some of these diseases.  Higher ammonia levels can also cause fish to stop eating, so I think about that whenever you post that the fish aren't eating.

 

If you aren't using any meds, and simply quarantining the fish, I would recommend daily use of Prime to detoxify the ammonia.  Use this in conjunction with an Ammonia Alert Badge (which isn't affected by use of Prime, unlike many other reagent type tests).

[Snow_Phoenix]

11 minutes ago, seabass said:

I realize that people are less concerned about ammonia buildup with the TTM (as the water is completely replaced every few days).  However, instinctively, I'm concerned about the lack of a biofilter, especially after stopping the transfers.

 

For quarantine tanks, I've heard of people soaking a sponge filter in water with BIO-Spira prior to use.  Then dose more BIO-Spira daily.  Monitoring with an Ammonia Alert Badge makes sense here too.

 

TBH, I'm not sure of the correct protocol here.  However, I would keep a close eye on ammonia, as it can be as dangerous to your fish as some of these diseases.  Higher ammonia levels can also cause fish to stop eating, so I think about that whenever you post that the fish aren't eating.

 

If you aren't using any meds, and simply quarantining the fish, I would recommend daily use of Prime to detoxify the ammonia.  Use this in conjunction with an Ammonia Alert Badge (which isn't affected by use of Prime, unlike many other reagent type tests).

Thankfully, I do have Prime on hand, although I currently don't have the alert badge or bioptim vials yet (bioptim/biodigest is equivalent to biospira here). 

 

I did add the vials to my online shopping cart though. I overstretched a lot this month in purchasing salt, meds and getting other additional things for the fish & QTs. 😔

 

Hoping I can get the vials by the end of this month, but I'll have to make do with Prime until then. Will also need to pick up a new bottle of Prime since the old one is finishing. 

 

Will definitely monitor the fish though. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just stirred the sandbed in the DT a few minutes ago. Water is a bit cloudy, but at least there is no crud accumulating over the sand like last time. 

 

I'll need to replace the disposable floss in the sump with new floss since it's caked with dirt. The filter sock will need some cleaning too. The water is quite warm due to the heater. 

 

I noticed a lot of tiny ball-shaped sponges have began to pop up in tiny rock pockets throughout the DT. The ugly brown palys are also slowly shrinking away, presumably due to the lack of light. Tiny leftover yuma is still sursprisingly alive, although it does appear to have some color loss. 

 

Just waiting for the mystery nem to walk closer to the waterline so that I can quickly remove it. 🤔

 

Pod population in the fuge is very low. Microbrittles are almost absent too. 😔

 

The only good thing is that the tiny limpets still managed to stick around. Otherwise, microfauna diversity is back to an all-time low. 

 

It's like being tossed back to square one all over again. 😔

[seabass]

Try to feed the display tiny amounts of food to help sustain these small critters along with your cleanup crew (but don't overfeed).  IDK, maybe some phyto, maybe some mysis juice or even finely chopped mysis shrimp.  Possibly very small amounts of Spirulina powder or even trace amounts of Reef-Roids.

[Snow_Phoenix]

27 minutes ago, seabass said:

Try to feed the display tiny amounts of food to help sustain these small critters along with your cleanup crew (but don't overfeed).  IDK, maybe some phyto, maybe some mysis juice or even finely chopped mysis shrimp.  Possibly very small amounts of Spirulina powder or even trace amounts of Reef-Roids.

I've been dropping minute quantities of pellets every 2 to 3 days, but I guess a bit of phyto won't hurt. Thanks for the suggestion, Seabass. 

[Tamberav]

Since you don't have biospira. I would be prepared to do water changes on the QT tank every few days. You do have a lot of fish still that will be in there. Hopefully this won't be as hard as completely changing tanks and disinfecting everything.