Snow's 10G Critters of Chaos (TOTM)

[Snow_Phoenix]

I didn't spot Bullet for nearly 2 days and after lights out today, I finally walk into my bedroom and find him almost-dead on my orange leptastrea. I'm unsure what exactly happened, but my guess is that his immunity system finally caved in to the various diseases in the tank. 😢

 

I'll try to fish out my tiny mollies during the upcoming WC and figure out what to do with them. In the meantime, I'll let the tank go fallow for 76 days before trying to re-add any new fish to it. And I'll run any future additions through a course of hybrid-TTM first, like I once did before. 

Really suck whenever this happens. I absolutely hate losing animals this way. 😞 

[Lebowski_]

Rest in Peace little guy.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I disposed Bullet's body - he has passed already. I'm unsure what to do with the tiny molly fry. Ich cannot survive in FW, but certain strains of velvet have a slim chance of doing so. I was thinking of either putting them through hybrid-TTM initially, but I don't think I'm strong/healthy enough atm to keep up with the rigorous demands of hybrid-TTM. Second option was to do what they're destined for: food for bigger predators. For obvious reasons, I cannot re-add them back to my 60G (which is mercifully absent of ich & velvet atm), so I *thought of feeding them to my predatory fish in my FW Predator tank downstairs.

 

But that slim-chance of velvet surviving in FW is a risk I cannot ignore. My FW tanks are not perfect, but to the best of my knowledge, do not have any serious diseases - especially velvet - in them. 

 

I might end up euthanizing the lil' guys, which also sucks, but I can't really see another option out of this mess. I truly regret adding them to this nano now - at least they were happy and thriving in the fuge of my 60G. 😞

 

Mistake after mistake on my end as a reefer - ouch! One would think that after 10+ of experience in this hobby, I'd get better at it somehow, but I still do make mistakes. Big ones, at that. 😞

 

I'm more concerned for the animals. Whatever I choose to do next, I just want to make sure they don't feel any pain. I'll try to rummage through my cupboard and see where I kept the clove oil. I think it's in the downstairs cabinet on the side porch, but I'm unsure. It's too dark right now to go looking, so I'll do it tomorrow. 

[A.m.P]

That's extremely rough, in terms of the molly fry.

My take would be:

80-90 minute acroflavine/ruby reef rally pro dip (gentle)

Directly into a clean container for a 15-20 minute peroxide dip (less gentle)

Get them over into freshwater and observe (Dip first, then probably drip acclimate into holding tank, potentially not gentle)

That's the highest chance they'll survive disease-free without doing a proper QT treatment that I know of, since they're molly fry they can probably be kept in a tupperware for observation and you won't need to obsess over doing everything perfect with the TTM.

Ich has the highest chance of surviving this, Velvet has a lowish chance depending on the severity of infection/infestation, Brook has next to no chance.
This is also about as easy on the fish as any QT treatment past plain observation can be.
At least from what I've read...

FWIW, this is my routine (transfer to fresh replaced w/ freshwater dip) for new fish, and it absolutely has a chance to fail, but I cannot QT in my space so it's the best option I'm aware of (I then follow up with prazi+metro soaked food, the metro can actually help against brook surprisingly).

[Snow_Phoenix]

3 hours ago, A.m.P said:

That's extremely rough, in terms of the molly fry.

My take would be:

80-90 minute acroflavine/ruby reef rally pro dip (gentle)

Directly into a clean container for a 15-20 minute peroxide dip (less gentle)

Get them over into freshwater and observe (Dip first, then probably drip acclimate into holding tank, potentially not gentle)

That's the highest chance they'll survive disease-free without doing a proper QT treatment that I know of, since they're molly fry they can probably be kept in a tupperware for observation and you won't need to obsess over doing everything perfect with the TTM.

Ich has the highest chance of surviving this, Velvet has a lowish chance depending on the severity of infection/infestation, Brook has next to no chance.
This is also about as easy on the fish as any QT treatment past plain observation can be.
At least from what I've read...

FWIW, this is my routine (transfer to fresh replaced w/ freshwater dip) for new fish, and it absolutely has a chance to fail, but I cannot QT in my space so it's the best option I'm aware of (I then follow up with prazi+metro soaked food, the metro can actually help against brook surprisingly).

Thanks for the advice - I'll try this. 🌺

[Snow_Phoenix]

The molly issue has been taken care of since yesterday evening. The tank is now going fallow. 

 

I took some pics, but I think I darkened my lights too much. 😕

 

Zoas & palys:

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Various SPS:

 

 

 

 

 

Merlettis:

 

 

Interstellar shroom hidden among the other shrooms:

 

 

My store actually had some misbar percula hybrids come in yesterday, and my heart broke when I saw the videos online because some of them looked exactly like Pickle - same markings and all - despite being orange in color. 😞

 

I think once the fallow period is over in July, I'll try to pick up a new aquacultured clown (subject to availability) and new purple firefish, then put them both through 2+ weeks of hybrid-TTM to restock the tank. 

 

Too many wild fish come in with diseases nowadays, and I was careless. And it cost me my entire fish stock. Sucks. 😞

[Lebowski_]

On 4/11/2023 at 6:50 AM, Snow_Phoenix said:

I think once the fallow period is over in July, I'll try to pick up a new aquacultured clown (subject to availability) and new purple firefish, then put them both through 2+ weeks of hybrid-TTM to restock the tank.

 

This is the way!

 

Tank looks great. We're all just here for a little while, you likely gave your fish a much better life than otherwise (coming from someone who worked at an LFS and serviced tanks 😞 )

[sam_the_reefer]

Your corals are looking great despite the fish issues.

[Snow_Phoenix]

2 hours ago, xellos88 said:

Your corals are looking great despite the fish issues.

It's actually looking terrible atm. The whole tank is full of brownish algae and corals are dull & discolored - I had to neglect it because I was having terrible dental issues for the past week (a lot of pain, swelling, infection etc.) and had to go for an emergency major dental surgery yesterday afternoon. I'm still quite traumatized by the whole thing because it was excruciating, but I'm also quite relieved, albeit very sore and lethargic. Will be focusing on recovering first, then get back to turning this tank around again. 👍

[debbeach13]

Jeez Snow you cannot seem to catch a break. I hope you feel better. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

55 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Jeez Snow you cannot seem to catch a break. I hope you feel better. 

It'll take a long while to recover. And life has indeed been hard lately. Luckily my family is still there for me.

[debbeach13]

Yes thankfully your folks are there for you.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I had to lower the ISO, but here's the current status of this tank:

 

 

 

 

 

3.5+ weeks since the last WC since I was ill back-to-back. 😔 😭

 

Tank's hideous. A lot of cleaning up needs to be done, but I'm still aching. My jaw is still very sore and I only get to remove the stitches next week. On top of all that, my body (?) is continuously fatigued. I'm still on antibiotics post-surgery, but most of the swelling has subsided. 👍

 

Can't eat properly for 2+ weeks, and I have to keep resting. Simple things like spot-cleaning my guinea pigs' cage and feeding them alone wipes me out, so I'm nowhere near ready to do heavy pet work like cleaning up & WCing a tank. 😕

 

I'll try to do it in parts though. From what I can see, most of the corals are alive - only dull and discolored. My green candy cane is splitting into new heads though - it seems to enjoy being in swamp water. 🤦‍♀️

[debbeach13]

So glad to your post. I have been thinking about you. I didn't want to bother you because I knew you weren't feeling well.

I bet it will clean up nicely when you are feeling better. Looks bad but that algae on the glass looks like it will scrape off. I know it is hard for you to look at the tank in this condition. We have actually seen a lot worse come back to their former glory. 

It is much more important to let yourself heal. I hope you feel a little better each day. 

[Lebowski_]

Dental work is traumatic for the body. I remember after my root canal a few years ago I was exhausted and out of the flow of

life for a good week or two. Hope you feel better soon. The tank will bounce back 🍻 

[Snow_Phoenix]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

So glad to your post. I have been thinking about you. I didn't want to bother you because I knew you weren't feeling well.

I bet it will clean up nicely when you are feeling better. Looks bad but that algae on the glass looks like it will scrape off. I know it is hard for you to look at the tank in this condition. We have actually seen a lot worse come back to their former glory. 

It is much more important to let yourself heal. I hope you feel a little better each day. 

My condition is improving a bit by bit as the days go on. I had my first taste of solids around 2.5 days ago but it was a struggle. I still need soft food/liquids - might take a while for the muscles to reknit and heal on their own. 

 

Anaesthetics weren't working properly due to complications from infection and swelling around my wisdom tooth. I was fully conscious (and screaming at some parts) when they tore the muscle down to the jawbone to remove the infected tooth and clear out the pus cavity. The dentist actually showed me my jawbone and torn muscle post-surgery through a mirror. 

 

Deb, this was *one of the most traumatic surgeries I've been through in my life. I can't even explain how terrified I was, or how I thought I was going to die - not exaggerating. We don't give patients laughing gas over here during dental. We use LA injections that are deep enough to penetrate 1"+ of muscle, near bone. 

 

The problem starts when the muscle is already infected and inflammed. Healthy tissue responds very well to LA injections so the pain is almost nil once the numbness sets in. I had to be injected on-and-off throughout 1 hour of agony. 

 

The nurses were nice though. One was wiping away my tears with a tissue while another held my hand when I tried to pick up those tiny paper cups to rinse my mouth (my wrist was trembling too much). The dentist was actually quite calm and reassuring too. 

 

He had to grind and break off part of the tooth first because it wouldn't come out, then had no choice but to tear open the muscles to the jawbone to get to it. I didn't have a choice with this surgery and I went in completely unprepared. 

 

I thought I was going to just get an incision & drainage done for an infected tooth, but I didn't realize the infection had spread to my left inner ear, left lymph nodes under the chin and had infected the lower left jawbone and was already trying to get into the bloodstream. If I didn't go through with it, I'd lose the whole line of molars on my lower left jaw. 😞

 

I shouldn't have went to the dentist alone. Could have used my mum for emotional support, but I had no time to contact her to come up to the office because they were rushing to get the infection cleared out to prevent my blood from going septic. 

 

I'm still deeply traumatized, actually. Bone white is very white. My jawbone with the empty tooth socket and cheekbone were very white. 😞

 

I'm bringing my mum along with me during the next appt. We're just removing stitches, but I'm still worried. I only have one wisdom tooth left. I hope I never have to go through this again. 

 

All pet stuff has to definitely take a backseat. Thank you for your concern though. I hope you've been keeping well. 🌺

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just now, Lebowski_ said:

Dental work is traumatic for the body. I remember after my root canal a few years ago I was exhausted and out of the flow of

life for a good week or two. Hope you feel better soon. The tank will bounce back 🍻 

Thank you! Root canal is quite painful too. My mum went for one long ago, but the surgery was botched. She has part of that failed tooth still with her, but it is too brittle, so she leaves it as it is. Dental work at the hands of a capable/incapable dentist makes a huge difference, IMO. It's also very costly. 😕

[Snow_Phoenix]

It's been roughly ~1 month since the last WC. I'm cleaning up the tank in 2 parts today. 

 

Part 1: Algae removal, glass scraping, full filter & wavemaker cleanout, and oil film removal has been done. 

 

Part 2: 80% WC, rock basting, sand-stirring, media replacement & equipment after-clean will commence shortly. 

 

I admit I am feeling a bit demotivated today, but I'll push myself to get this finished. I'm also a bit tired, so I'll grab a snack before I start Part 2. 

 

I've already mixed up ~8G of new SW in a pail, so we're good to go. 👍

 

I also wiped down Geralt the hermit's shell with a tissue earlier because he was toting around a small mass of GHA. I had to temporarily pull him out of the water to clean him, and he was not amused. 😅

 

He's now safe and sound back in the tank. 

 

Will update my progress later. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Finished up with the WC few hours ago. It went alright. Tank's very cranky atm. Coral colors are off (as expected), but the system has proven itself to be rather resilient in the past, so it should bounce back in time. 👍

 

Spotted Shrimpy the YCBS. He molted recently, and now has both claws again. 👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

The Zoa Garden took quite a beating from the lack of WCs. I've lost some morphs - including my lovely Gold Mauls. 😭

 

All those empty patches on the rocks used to be filled to the brim with various polyps, and the lone Blue Agave polyp is completely bleached:

 

 

 

Many corals still haven't opened up fully. 😕

 

 

 

 

Even my shrooms are smaller. The duncan isn't as big as it should be either. It's going to be a while before everything makes a comeback. 😕

 

 

[debbeach13]

You see it up close and personal. You know every nook and cranny. From here things look pretty good. Glad you got to clean things up and I agree this tank has proven over time it should bounce back. Please don't push yourself too much.

[Snow_Phoenix]

19 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

You see it up close and personal. You know every nook and cranny. From here things look pretty good. Glad you got to clean things up and I agree this tank has proven over time it should bounce back. Please don't push yourself too much.

It'll take time. And I'll try not to (push). Thanks for caring, Deb. 🌺

[Snow_Phoenix]

I was tinkering around with the W/B settings in my phone today. Must have tweaked it too much because most pics came off with a strong reddish hue to them. 😅

 

Anyhow, here are some of the shrooms today morning:

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I also took pics of other pieces as well. 💦

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tank is less cranky today than it was yesterday, but I still have several closed/retracted polyps here and there.