Ok, im getting a little tired of validating my choices with you guys.
1) Salt fish are new to me. Yes the tank experience and the fish are disposable. The second it becomes inconvenient I will be a realistic person and sell the aquarium and supplies to someone else who is interested in the hobby. I don't live my life around these fish. They fit into my life. I have fish because I can't have a dog or a Lamborghini. This seemed like a nice trade off.
2) I follow tips and advice from local experts and enthusiasts, same as anyone else. Just because I don't take all the advice in this forum doesn't mean im not listening. I haven't suffered any dead fish or incidents beyond the expected. I monitor the tank constantly. I live in an apartment where I pay for water. an RODI system that wastes a ton of water is not a great option for me. and a "free" system was offered to me from someone who lives like 3-4 hours away. Its one thing to offer and another to give it away.
3) I haven't ordered a CUC because they don't have the set I want in stock.
4) My tank might crash, and I would be sad. But that doesn't mean I should not progress in my hobby. Everyone learns at a different pace, and people learn from mistakes. Sorry if I move faster than you guys want.
I spoke with the LFS for at least an hour about adding the longhorn. I asked many questions, even specifically to the eel. It is far too large for the eel to attack and in fact the longhorn, just like the puffer, will nip the eel's tail if he leaves it in the open. I made it absolutely clear that I was aware the boxfish had the ability to kill my entire tank but at this point I was looking for a bigger challenge. Adding the fish was not something I did on a whim without thinking about it. I watched the mandarin eat in store before purchasing it, just like I do with all my fish. I asked what they feed the fish and I bought supplies right from the store, just like I do with all my fish. It does indeed eat both frozen and pellets, just like all my other fish. Lets be real here, these are fish born in captivity, raised with the purpose for me to buy. These fish don't have a life unless consumer's like me continue to buy them.
This forum is full of doom and gloom and neigh-sayers. If I am doing so many things wrong, why does my coralline algae continue to grow? my shrimp and crabs molt? the big fish don't eat the little fish? everyone wakes up with the same number of fins? bad algae doesn't appear? I do regular water changes, I condition my water, I check my levels, I use high quality food, I research fish before I bring them home. Please, do tell what I am doing wrong? I'm not saying I know everything, or anything for that matter. And I'm not saying that I don't make mistakes. But just because I didn't do things your way makes it the wrong way. So because you wouldn't have added a boxfish means me adding it was a stupid choice? Ya, ok. I guess we should all just go setup the same tanks with the same supplies and the same fish. Perfect. Send me the list. A mistake would be like not researching the fish, not watching it eat, picking a sick one, not acclimating it correctly, not feeding it correctly and then killing my tank. On that I would take advice. But I its not advice to say it was a stupid choice because the fish has a toxin...I even ASKED for advice on alternative water choices. no says a thing. So thanks, thanks for nothing.
