Big loss - sad day

[Ruth]

I have been having trouble with my furnace lately and have been waiting for the furnace repair guy (who was supposed to show up yesterday and didn't). Anyway the furnace was working off and on but last night I decided that the house was just getting too cold overnight so I plugged in a space heater to keep the chill off. Apparently it was enough of a draw to trip a breaker that also happened to run all of my pumps and skimmer on my 190g FOWLR tank. It must have happened sometime after 9pm when I went to bed and so my tank had no water circulation until I got up this morning at 6am.
I am so upset right now - I lost both my angel fish (conspic and goldflake), Moorish Idol and both helfrichi firefish. My Blonde Naso Tang was gasping for breath but it looks like he will pull through. My maroon clown and my mandarin are fine and my anemones and inverts are all OK.
All I really want to do right now is just tear my tanks down and forget about reef keeping. This is a real loss to me. That conspic. angel and the goldflake were my two favorite fish, not to mention that apparently the conspic was one of only 2 in Canada.

[marie]

Oh No, I am so sorry to hear that :cry: .

[howdy20012002]

I am truly sorry to hear about your loss Ruth
However, I think it would be more tragic to give up something you enjoy so much.
Once again, my deepest sympathy
Neal

[Der_Iron_Chef]

:( Aww man. I'm really really sorry.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Really sorry to hear that Ruth. It's hard to lose your favourite fish. I gave in to the temptation of shutting down my fowlr when that happened last year, but I'm glad I kept my reef tank going. Hang in there.

Anthony

[Jason McK]

So sorry to hear Ruth.

J

[Delphinus]

Oh no. :( That is so hard to take, I feel so bad for you. I'm so sorry Ruth. Please don't give up the hobby, take a breather if you need, but the hobby is better off with you in it than not.

[Tangman]

Very sad....

[mark]

that's awful, I feel for you

[G1GY]

Sorry to hear this Ruth. :(

[Tom R]

Hi Ruth

I am very sorry to hear about your loss.
This has been a very cruel winter for many of us. In our first power outage I lost one of my favorite angels a Cherub. He was one of the main characters in my tanks. I was extremely lucky not to lose even more. At 4:30 AM just before the power came on I was visualizing lossing everything and I felt sick. Even though their are other characters that I didn't lose, there is still something missing when I look into my tank. It is funny on Boxing Day I purchased a Scots Fairy Wrasse and he jumped out of the tank the next day. He was a loss however his is just not missed like the Cherub a character who had been around for 3 or 4 years.

Tom R

[trilinearmipmap]

Sorry this has happened to you.

It could happen to any of us.

If there were some sort of battery-powered alarm that goes off when power is cut, it would help prevent this type of accident.

[Skimmer Juice]

Ruth Iam sorry to hear about this. I know how you feel, I get more upset when a fish dies than when I hear about people dieing. I had the same thing happen with my dogface puffer but I woke up for some reason and caught them just as they were have breathing problems, both fish pulled through. I wish you good luck in the future. R.I.P for your fish

[Chin_Lee]

i agree this has been a bad season for many of us this year. Very sorry to hear about those fishes.

[Doug]

Sorry about your loss Ruth. I guess many of us can relate and know how you feel. Its amazing how fragile the worlds we create for our friends really is.

[niloc16]

hang in there ruth. we all feel for you. dont give up, you are too good at the hobby. i can only imagine how discouraging it must be but keep your chin up.

[OCDP]

Really sorry to hear that, Ruth. Like everyone else says.. hang in there, and don't give up. Take a breather.. Again, my sympathies.. I can't imagine how devastating this must be.

[Ruth]

Thank you for all your kind words everyone.
I know that I should keep going but really I don't feel like it. I have the lights off on this tank right now as I can't even bear to look in it although I am going to have to soon as I have not recovered the body of my Elvis yet (can't even see it so I am going to have to rip the rock out)
I still think I will tear this tank down but will have to find a home for the Naso first cause he is just too big to go in any of my other tanks with the current inhabitants. Also not sure about the anemones.
I'll see how I feel tomorrow and just take it from there I guess.

[andestang]

Very sad to hear Ruth :(, I can relate to your wanting to give up. Just awhile ago I lost just about everything, some fish I've had for several years and all my corals. needless to say the $$$$ that was spent and the guilt from feeling responsible. But after some encouragement from fellow reefers and that little voice in the back of my mind I continued on. So after somemore $$$$ and growing new attachments to some new fish/coral I'm really glad I continued on. So keep your chin up and listen to your fellow reefers ;) Lots of support here. (still waiting to get my corals shipped:D )

[christyf5]

Aww Ruth, I'm so sorry to hear this. Give it awhile, eventually you'll feel like continuing on.

[andsoitgoes]

You've been far too important on this board to give up, a lot of us new reefers are blessed to have your advice and honest words and feedback.

Please don't give up, 100 reefers can't be wrong, you're needed here!

[AndyL]

Sorry about the electrical woes ruth. Pretty crummy when stuff like this happens.

When you're ready, let us know - I'd be happy to put together a care package.

[fortheloveofcrabs]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

-Pauli

[Snappy]

Wow Ruth that stinks! I know how tough this hobby can be sometimes but worthwhile things in life are seldom easy. Things that bring you joy and feelings of reward can on the other hand bring frustration and dispair. It's opposition in our lives that help us grow, it just doesn't usually seem fair, especially at the time. Please take to heart what your fellow reefers are telling you because you bowing out of the hobby now is what would really suck. Hang in there, there are a ton of rewarding days ahead for you in the hobby. Please stick with it.

[dirtyreefer]

Ruth, I am truly sorry to hear about your loss. That conspic was a beauty, I saw it at JL's before you bought it. I know it's a sickening feeling when your "pets" die, I know that feeling as I have dealt with ich a few times in the past.

I hope you stick with the hobby though, if there's anything you need let me know.

[Delphinus]

I know, believe me I know, how you feel right now. To have some cherished friends whisked away in the blink of an eye leaving you in complete shock, can really test your will.

Having also lived through several tragic accidents that severely tested me, I can at least offer the perspective that you can rebuild and in time find joy in the hobby once again.

[EmilyB]

Hugs Ruth. I totally understand.

[Beverly]

On two separate occasions over the years, I've had tank crashes and my largest and favourite fish died :cry: The feeling of loss over simple fish is overwhelming. Only other reefers know how that feels.

Give yourself a few days to get over the shock of this terrible loss. I'm hoping you will find the desire to work with your tank again soon. After all, it's hard to get salt out of one's blood once it's there.

My deepest sympathies, Ruth :sad:

[rusty]

Hey Ruth sorry for the loss, I kind of know what you are going through. Yesterday the breaker for my tank blew on my tank as well. I lost a few frags that I had in my tank but the loss that hurt was my vollyball sized birdsnest that I had grown from a large frag. It brings you down and makes you wonder why we do it but Gregg was right, its only cause we love doing it so much that the losses hurt. Take care, Russ :mrgreen:

[Chaotic Cricket]

Sorry about your fish, I hope you find it in yourself to stay in the hobby. I've lost a tank or two over the years and the only thing that stopped me from returning to it right away was money. I found the passion never really leaves you...sometimes even despite your best efforts to do so.

Good luck either way.

[Psyire]

Sorry to hear! I dread losing any of my big fish and wouldn't wish it on anybody. Hopefully you are able to continue in the hobby, most can understand if you don't. Dealing with loss is tough... my sympathies..

[TNTCanada]

I feel your pain.... I lost everything last April... hugs from everyone.

Cheers
Tyler

[muck]

So sorry to hear of your loss Ruth! You had some magnificent fish. I was so hoping to one day see those beauties in person. :sad:
If there is anything we can do...

Ryan

[adidas]

aw man sorry

[1bigstud]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

[Willito]

That is the most frustrating thing that can happen and the only thing that seems to make sense, usually makes you more angry. It's going to be very hard to get over, but you will, and soon it will make you a better reefer....even though you are way down there right now. Hang in there Ruth! :squarewi:

[ref leppard]

Your 100 gal reef looks great,so don't stop now. If my 3 angels went I'll just replace them. Keep on Reefing !

[muck]

If my 3 angels went I'll just replace them. Keep on Reefing !
Not as simple as that due to the cost / rarity of the fish Ruth lost. :sad:

How is the rest of the tank recovering Ruth?

[Ruth]

Seems to be OK. I recovered the bodies of all with the exception of the Goldflake and he was the smallest. I am skimming really wet right now and I have a BK 500 on this tank so it is doing the job. All inverts and the 3 remaining fish look OK although the anemones are a bit shriveled. I am not getting any ammonia or nitrite reading and my nitrates have always been fairly high in this tank (just due to the fish that were in it).

Yeah the cost of replacing those fish is over $3500 so it won't be happening any time soon even if I could find them.

[muck]

Which fish made it?

[Ruth]

My huge Blonde Naso Tang, my mandarin and my Gold Stripe Maroon. Lost were my Goldflake Angel, Conspic. Angel, Moorish Idol and 2 Helfrichi firefish.:cry:

[Atomikk]

I too lost dear fish in the last 2 months. I know exactly how you feel. Take a breather, have some support, and you will pull through. Like you, I almost quit the hobby. Its through your reefing community that you find hope for staying in the hobby. I know I did.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Ruth,

Come on down to the Lower Mainland when you have time & get recharged. You're welcome to stay in our spare bedroom & I'll arrange a local tank tour & LFS tour for you. I'm sure there's lots of local members who would love to have you come & visit & check out their tank. I can even clear out my sump or set up a temporary tank if you need to hold anything that catches your eye & want to bring up North.

Anthony

[Matt]

I feel for your losses, Ruth. It seems like there's always a smackdown happening to someone in this hobby. It certainly isn't an easy way to have fun.

I hope you find the joy of it again very soon and begin the rebuilding process.