Adrastos
not getting a free ride
Well Chairman Bobby... the President and VP agree.... haha :)
HII new here and to salty fish
- Thread starter Massey
- Start date
CrypticAnimal
Member of Dfwmas
Just curious, What are the draw backs in using crushed coral?
bobby
I like to do bad things.
The only draw back I've heard of are looks, in time I guess it doesnt look that good, and it traps food, and fish waste. After a while of trapping garbage it can effect your water quality.
Adrastos
not getting a free ride
I like the looks of mine... especially when covered in bright coraline algae. It's also fun watching some the floor dwellers pick through it.
All substrate traps food and waste.. :)
All substrate traps food and waste.. :)
The tank's last fish added was the Cory Cat and the Pleco. These fish were in my 30 gallon tank at first and were then added to the 15 gallon tank slowly starting with the Mollys (the updside down cat snuck himself in by hanging out in the pirate ship that I moved from one tank to the other), about a week later I put the swordfish in then last week before I started the marine tank I moved the Pleco and Cory cat. The fish that have Ich are still alive and doing well so I too dont think it was Ich that killed the others (they showed no sign of Ich). I stopped by my other fish store today and asked them if they would recomend the salt and Melafix and she said that it would not be her first choice. She told me that the salt would throw my PH up and that I could counter it with a buffer (which I have been doing slowly). She recommended Quick Cure from AP Pro. follow directions and after the Ich is gone do water changed once a week till the water is clear again (this will turn the water a blue/green color).
Sorry guys I know this is a salt water aquarium forum but I dont have any issues or questions about my SW tank right now it is doing great.
Massey
Sorry guys I know this is a salt water aquarium forum but I dont have any issues or questions about my SW tank right now it is doing great.
Massey
Adrastos
not getting a free ride
Sounds to me like the stores are just trying to sell you what they have.
Give this next treatment some more time - if after that you still have problems I would do a massive water change (50% to 70%). Clean / replace your filter media and hope for the best. I've used that blue/green stuff before and it does okay... I was never very impressed with it.
While this is not the best news - most of the fish you have there aren't really "high quality" fish - costing the store you bought them from only a few pennies if that much and have that type of quality. That might be the main cause of the fish dying.
Give this next treatment some more time - if after that you still have problems I would do a massive water change (50% to 70%). Clean / replace your filter media and hope for the best. I've used that blue/green stuff before and it does okay... I was never very impressed with it.
While this is not the best news - most of the fish you have there aren't really "high quality" fish - costing the store you bought them from only a few pennies if that much and have that type of quality. That might be the main cause of the fish dying.
Thanks Ad. Yea I know that mollies and swordtails are cheap fish but I like them. What would you recomend to rid my FW fishies of Ich?
I dont know why, but when I used undergravel filters in my old tank (back in the 80's -90's) I never had Ich, my biggest worry back then was the amonia levels
I have had Plecos that have lived for 5+ years (and gotten too big for my little tank). I would like to get into the more exotic FW fish but for now I am taking the plunge into the SW fish, so I will stick with the less expensive FW ones.
I used to breed Guppies and sell them to my local pet store and I only got $.05 for the pretty ones and $.25 per 10 plain ones. They sold the pretty ones for $1.99 and the feeders for $1 for 10. I konw what the store makes for a profit on the fish :P And this was back in 1995.
Massey
I dont know why, but when I used undergravel filters in my old tank (back in the 80's -90's) I never had Ich, my biggest worry back then was the amonia levels
I have had Plecos that have lived for 5+ years (and gotten too big for my little tank). I would like to get into the more exotic FW fish but for now I am taking the plunge into the SW fish, so I will stick with the less expensive FW ones.
I used to breed Guppies and sell them to my local pet store and I only got $.05 for the pretty ones and $.25 per 10 plain ones. They sold the pretty ones for $1.99 and the feeders for $1 for 10. I konw what the store makes for a profit on the fish :P And this was back in 1995.
Massey
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reeffreak
Reef pro
From what I've read through the years is that crush coral loses its buffering capacity in time while aragonite doesn't.
How much these holds true I don't know since I've only use aragonite myself.
How much these holds true I don't know since I've only use aragonite myself.
Adrastos
not getting a free ride
Massey,
Ich is a parasite - the undergravel filtration doesn't make that much of a difference. One of the main triggers to an ich outbreak seems to be stress. In all things (including us) stress weakens the immune system - this allows the parasite to take hold.
The parasite is mainly introduced to the tank in regular purchases.. fishes and plants.
I'd recommend removing as much stress from your tank as possible. Is it near a hallway or a place of action? Do you have a cat that likes to sit and watch the fish (and try to punch the fish when you are not looking.. mine does that!)? Removing stressfull situations while doing water changes should help. That medicine should work as long as the stress is down (and the blue water is actually pretty cool for awhile).
After you have stopped this outbreak, do not add any fish to this tank for atleast a month. I'd also recommend being more careful with the fish you buy. It's always a good idea to either have a quarentine tank (which few of us do!) or to let the new arrivals at the pet store stay in their system for awhile. Never purchase anything the first time you see them. If its a really neat or rare find - give the store a deposit and ask them to hold the fish for a week - this should help bring a better quality of fish in and reduce the risk of parasites.
Ich is a parasite - the undergravel filtration doesn't make that much of a difference. One of the main triggers to an ich outbreak seems to be stress. In all things (including us) stress weakens the immune system - this allows the parasite to take hold.
The parasite is mainly introduced to the tank in regular purchases.. fishes and plants.
I'd recommend removing as much stress from your tank as possible. Is it near a hallway or a place of action? Do you have a cat that likes to sit and watch the fish (and try to punch the fish when you are not looking.. mine does that!)? Removing stressfull situations while doing water changes should help. That medicine should work as long as the stress is down (and the blue water is actually pretty cool for awhile).
After you have stopped this outbreak, do not add any fish to this tank for atleast a month. I'd also recommend being more careful with the fish you buy. It's always a good idea to either have a quarentine tank (which few of us do!) or to let the new arrivals at the pet store stay in their system for awhile. Never purchase anything the first time you see them. If its a really neat or rare find - give the store a deposit and ask them to hold the fish for a week - this should help bring a better quality of fish in and reduce the risk of parasites.
OK tested the water today and every thing looks good still. Water is clear and the fish are happy, colorful, and playing in the currents as normal. I have noticed tho a few (and growing in number) brown spots on my castle, baserock and sand. Is this my live rock "growing" or is this a form of Algae? Also should I do something about it or leave it be?
Massey
Massey
yote
In Memoriam
Its probably diatoms,which is a phase that all new tanks go through.
They feed off silicates .
They feed off silicates .
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Yep, you're starting to get algae. Normal for a new tank. Just try and manage it by not overfeeding and doing regular water changes.
Adrastos
not getting a free ride
Yep - various snails and hermits. I wouldn't recommend adding too many right now as this part of the natural cycling process of your tank.
Check out Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Home Page I am a big fan of their reef janitors!
-
Scott
Check out Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation Home Page I am a big fan of their reef janitors!
-
Scott
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I'd skip the hermit crabs and go with a mix of snail types. Crabs will outgrow their shells and kill the snails to take their shells. Even though I provide my crabs with empty shells they still kill snails. For snails I'd suggest a mix of astraea, turbo, nassarius and trochus. Eventually you could add a brittle star or serpent star and a lawnmower blenny (which also take care of algae and detritus), but not until your tank is done cycling and your nitrates have been low for a while.
Adrastos
not getting a free ride
The lawnmower blenny was one of our favorite fish. That fish was fun!
Is the lawnmower blenny the one that will take the rocks and sand into its mouth and spit it out its gills? I was at the fish store the other day watching a little guy doing that it was halarious(sp sorry). I could not find any one around to tell me what it was the place was busy. Yea no new fish or anything till all my stuff regulates. Right now my amonia is 4.0 but everything else is 0 and my PH is right at 7.8. My books and LFS say this is normal and I should see the amonia drop and about the same time the nitrites raise and then the nitrites will drop and nitrates will climb and eventually they will all lower to 0 and everything is happy.
Do I have my research right this time? Please say yes but if not please tell me what I should expect.
Massey
Do I have my research right this time? Please say yes but if not please tell me what I should expect.
Massey
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Nope that's a goby you saw. A lawnmower blenny looks similar, but will clean the algae off of rocks and glass and leave what looks like kiss marks all over the glass.
You're almost right about the cycle. Nitrates will rarely lower to 0 on their own. Nitrates will accumulate in your system and the only way to remove nitrates (short of adding chemicals or different filter media) is to do regular water changes.
You're almost right about the cycle. Nitrates will rarely lower to 0 on their own. Nitrates will accumulate in your system and the only way to remove nitrates (short of adding chemicals or different filter media) is to do regular water changes.
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