Lance's 225 gal tank

[Lance]

I wasn't going to do a tank journal because firstly, I take crappy pictures; secondly, I hate all that copy and paste stuff; and lastly, I type very slowly. But, I do like tank journals, so I decided to do a shortened version. Anyway, enough blah, blah, blah and on with the build.

I bought this tank last summer from a friend of Anthony's (Seahorse Fanatic), who for various reasons couldn't use this size tank. To make a long story short, I got a brand new tank, lights, and a cutom-built stand for a good price and the gentleman was a pleasure to do business with.

The tank is a 225g Sea Star with starfire glass and euro-bracing, (72x30x24). I really like the 30" depth, it gives so many more options for aqua-scaping.

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The tank and stand are going into the family room where it will eventually be incoporated into a floor to ceiling wall unit with TV, stereo etc. so it will look like an in-wall tank. When full, it will weigh well over 3000 lbs. so some beefing up of the floor was necessary. The tank runs parallel to the floor joists (2x10's on 16" centers), so I built two 2x4 walls perpindicular to the joists in the workshop below. The back 8" of the tank sit on an outside concrete bearing wall; one end of the tank is over a laminated load-bearing beam; and the other end and center of the tank is over the 2x4 walls. So, between the bearing wall, beam and stud walls there is now plenty of strength to hold this load.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2365.jpg


Moving the stand and tank into place was a real bitch! I had to remove 3 doors for the 34-inch deep stand to fit. We had to go out through the garage door; in through the front door; up 3 steps into the entranceway; turn a corner; down 2 steps into the living room; up 2 steps into the dining room; out the door to the upper sundeck; down 4 steps to the lower sundeck; in through another door into the family room; and finally on to the stand. We had 7 guys and it was all we could do to get it done. man, the beer went down fast afterwards.

So here is the stand in place in the family room. I will be building the wall unit around it after the new year.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2347.jpg

Filling with water for a leak test. No leaks. Whoot!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2342.jpg


The stand is pretty solid: ends and back are double 3/4" plywood, with an MDF laminated and siliconed top. Just to be on the safe side I beefed up the stand with 3" tube steel and 4x4 posts.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2353.jpg


I ordered 125 lbs. of Eco-ROx from Bulk Reef Supply for base rock. Some regular-type rock and shelf rock which I like the look of.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2356.jpg


Here is the rock and shelf-type rock in the tank. Don't ask how long it took to get the rock how I wanted it. But it's in now and I'm quite happy with the look. It is very stable and I didn't even have to drill, tie, or use PVC supports. It's just stacked and fitted.

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It took almost 3 full days to fill with R/O water. Dumped in the salt and turned on the pumps. Cleared up in a few hours. I am using Instant Ocean salt as it is the only salt available locally, and that is what I'm using in the 90 gal reef. I'll take some pics of the filled tank with the lights on so you can get an idea of how it looks.

[Lance]

I've got a fair amount of live rock in a tub in the garage that I got from Marie (thanks Marie). I will be placing it in the tank in the next few days and start the cycling. I think with the rock in the tank and the live rock in the tub I pretty much have enough. I have a reef tank now and wanted a tank for the fish. This tank will be all about the fish so I want to give them lots of hidey holes and plenty of swimming room.

[martym]

Nice tank! Looking forward to seeing it progress

[Trigger Man]

the rock work looks great, now comes the cycling then the fun part is to begin.

[Lance]

the rock work looks great, now comes the cycling then the fun part is to begin.


Thanks. I'm pleased with the size of the shelf rock in the left side of the tank. It is about 2-foot square. There was another large piece like it but no matter how I arranged them, 2 pieces of the same size just didn't look right. So, I got out the hammer and broke one into smaller pieces.

[Delphinus]

Like the aquascaping. :)

[christyf5]

Wow that looks awesome. Can't wait to see it progress! :biggrin:

[Lance]

Here's a few pics with the lights on. Can't fill the tank right up yet as the plumbing is not quite done. Had to order a glass bit to drill the holes in the sump.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2406.jpg

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And a few of the plumbing.

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[Lance]

The tank is bottom drilled with dual overflows. I've plumbed it so that there are two 11/2" drains to the sump. One primary (on a gate valve) and one emergency. Two 1" return lines from the Reeflo Barracuda. With the Barracuda and the 2xMaxi-Jet 1200's PH's with upgrade kit I will have about 5900 GPH of flow (or about 30x turnover), plenty I think for a fish and softies tank.

[Lance]

Here's the skimmer. It's a MR-3 with dual Becketts and powered by an Iwaki MD-70RLT pump. I haven't any experience with these skimmers but have been told they do a pretty good job. I hope they pull decent skimmate as this tank will have a pretty large bio-load with the large fish. Any MR owners out there? I could use a few tips as to proper water level, air adjustment etc.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_0533.jpg

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[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Looks great so far Lance. Are you going bare-bottom? If so, is the rock attached together with epoxy? Otherwise I would worry about a rockslide damaging the glass on the bottom.

The rock work is beautiful & I'm glad that you bought the tank off my friend.

Anthony

[Lance]

Looks great so far Lance. Are you going bare-bottom? If so, is the rock attached together with epoxy? Otherwise I would worry about a rockslide damaging the glass on the bottom.

The rock work is beautiful & I'm glad that you bought the tank off my friend.

Anthony


Hey Anthony. Good to hear from you. Yeah, I'm going bare-bottom. To start with anyway; if I decide I don't like it I can always add sand later. I did worry a little about a rockslide, but once I got the rock stacked it is very stable. (took me hours) It looks more precarious than it is. I think it will be OK.

[fishytime]

Thats the exact tank size I would love to upgrade to.Looks great so far. Whatcha gonna put in there for fish?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Irene & I tried the BB look but after six months, we decided that we really hate BB so we added sand & love it.

Anthony

[Skimmerking]

Here's the skimmer. It's a MR-3 with dual Becketts and powered by an Iwaki MD-70RLT pump. I haven't any experience with these skimmers but have been told they do a pretty good job. I hope they pull decent skimmate as this tank will have a pretty large bio-load with the large fish. Any MR owners out there? I could use a few tips as to proper water level, air adjustment etc.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_0533.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2358.jpg
Lance PM me your phone number i will talk to you direct about how the best way to run a beckett / I have had many of them.

[Lance]

Thats the exact tank size I would love to upgrade to.Looks great so far. Whatcha gonna put in there for fish?


I'm not totally sure yet. I know my SF tang, Foxface and Coral Beauty from my 90g are going in. I think probably one more tang (Kole maybe); a Harlequin Tusk Wrasse; a large angel or two; maybe one of the more peaceful triggers (Pinktail, Bluechin); and maybe a Copperband BF.

[Lance]

Asmodeus you have pm

[Skimmerking]

Great talking with ya Lance, i think that we solved your problems with your sump and skimmer. Justremeber huge becketts don't need alot of air to suck the guts out of your fish...... nice skimmer by the way.

wish I had it

[Lance]

Thanks again, Mike.

[Mrfish55]

Glass drill was ordered the other day, should hopefully be here beginning of next week. Looking good so far.

[Delphinus]

Noooo you don't :p We're not going through another "Mike is getting a new skimmer" for at least a WEEK, man.


wish I had it

[Parker]

Looks like it's comming together nicly Lance!

[Lance]

Glass drill was ordered the other day, should hopefully be here beginning of next week. Looking good so far.


Hey Mrfish55. Glad to see ya on here. Welcome to Canreef. Tank is cycling right now.

[fishytime]

I'm not totally sure yet. I know my SF tang, Foxface and Coral Beauty from my 90g are going in. I think probably one more tang (Kole maybe); a Harlequin Tusk Wrasse; a large angel or two; maybe one of the more peaceful triggers (Pinktail, Bluechin); and maybe a Copperband BF.

Sounds like a pretty sweet mix. You will have to be super careful with the order in which they go in. If its at all possible try and add the kole (or any bristle tooth) first as they are less aggressive and will have a chance to settle in before your sailfin goes in. Angels at the same time if possible, then the trigger and tusk last. Would definitely be an impressive tank.

[Lance]

Sounds like a pretty sweet mix. You will have to be super careful with the order in which they go in. If its at all possible try and add the kole (or any bristle tooth) first as they are less aggressive and will have a chance to settle in before your sailfin goes in. Angels at the same time if possible, then the trigger and tusk last. Would definitely be an impressive tank.


Yeah, you pretty much have it figured as I do. Although my SF is pretty mellow he hasn't had another tang in with him so he should go in after the Kole. (Have to make sure I give the Kole lots of nori until the algae builds up in the tank). I'll have to find a CB Butterfly that is eating mysis because he should go in fairly early too, but as it is a new tank there won't be a whole lot for him to pick at for awhile. After the tank has been up for awhile I'll dump in a bottle of Tigger pods. I'm still undecided on a trigger; I really like them but I'm a little leery about getting one. If he doesn't fit in it's hard to find a home for him here in Powell River. I'll have to ship him.

[Lance]

Got the return pump plumbed and ready to go. Reeflo Barracuda.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2359-1.jpg


The controller (Aqua Controller Jr.) and Direct Connect 8. These will monitor and control the lighting, powerheads, temperature, etc.

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Also got the ballasts mounted and labelled.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2354-1.jpg

So I'm pretty much just waiting on the glass drill bit to get here to drill the sump. Be nice to get it done and get the skimmer going. Can't wait to see that baby perform.
The tank has been cycling now for 9 days. Added a few more pieces of live rock with corals on them. Hopefully they do ok. I've been changing some water whenever the ammonia level gets too high. Nitrite showed up 4 days ago and nitrate already showing up yesterday. I'm using tank water from my 90 gal, a fair amount of cured live rock and a large piece of filter floss from the other sump so I think this will be a pretty quick cycle.

[Skimmerking]

looks great Lance don't worry once that Beckett is powered up run it dry for a bit to get it going and then start it wet and man you watch that clena up nicely... you have a great skimmer there my friend.

[Lance]

So, the tank cycling is going pretty good. It has now had water in it for 13 days. Ran some water tests today and ammonia level is down to .25 mg/l; nitrite is at .75 mg/l and nitrate at 40 mg/l. I've been changing 10% of the water every 3 days. Glass bit is still not here yet and I'm getting impatient to get the sump drilled and the skimmer going. Not much to take pics of but will post some when I get the sump and skimmer going.

[Skimmerking]

sounds like it going man , wanna try something to get the cycle going Lance. buy some hagen cycle like 2x 500ml bottles and pour it all in and you will have no cycle lots of biological creatures in there i have always used it since day 1

[Lance]

sounds like it going man , wanna try something to get the cycle going Lance. buy some hagen cycle like 2x 500ml bottles and pour it all in and you will have no cycle lots of biological creatures in there i have always used it since day 1


I have some Mike, but I was following the directions of 10 ml per 10 gals. So I just dump the whole bottle in at once and then get another bottle. OK, I'll give it a try.

[fdiddy]

That stuff is actually a pretty good product in my experience.. i put it in my sump and refugium when i started to get that stuff on as much LR and filter media as possible, had "almost" zero cycle... i still waited the 40 day nitrogen cycle out though.. .never know..

[Lance]

That stuff is actually a pretty good product in my experience.. i put it in my sump and refugium when i started to get that stuff on as much LR and filter media as possible, had "almost" zero cycle... i still waited the 40 day nitrogen cycle out though.. .never know..


Yeah, I've used it before and am using it now; but never so much at once.

[Lance]

UPDATE TIME: The tank has cycled! Mike you were right the Hagen Cycle added at 10x the recommended dosage really sped things up. Thanks man!
Added a few more pieces of live rock and a few corals. A real nice big Pipe Organ (8"x8"), Candy Cane, Kenya Trees, Mushrooms and Toadstool, (compliments of Marie: thanks Marie). And also took some Mushrooms, Toadstool and Kenya Tree from my 90 reef. And of course I have the expected, new tank hair algae, growing everywhere. (ugh)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2439.jpg

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The other day we got the sump drilled, thanks to my good friend Mrfish55 and his glass-drilling bits. He did an awesome job.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2437.jpg

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Oh, and I bought a fish! A nice little bannerfish from our local LFS, that I didn't really want, but the wife fell in love with him so we got him. QT'ed him for 14 days and popped him in the tank. He's about 21/2" long and all by himself in 225 gallons of water. Having the time of his life! (I kinda like him now.)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2453.jpg

The other day I installed the bulkheads, got the sump in place and finished off the plumbing.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2444.jpg

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(What a crazy day today was): OK, time to fire up that big Reeflo Barracuda. Plugged it in, turned on the switch, and water ****es out all over the place! WTF! This ain't right! The water is coming from the housing of the pump itself. It had come from the factory with the nuts not tightened. Easy fix, though. I tightened the nuts and turned it on again: no leaks!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2359-1.jpg

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[Lance]

Then I farted around for the better part of an hour adjusting the gate valves from the drains and the Barracuda, until I had the tank and sump water levels where I wanted them. That was when I found a leak. One of the unions was leaking, so I took it back to the plumbing supplier and got another one. This one was fine. I found another small drip on a PVC connection, but a small dab of Oatey FIX-it Stick cured that.

Everything was running nicely, so I took the time to add sand and live rock to the sump.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2478.jpg

There was a bit of a problem with micro bubbles, even though the sump has 4baffles; so I took a large piece of filter floss and folded it nicely in between 2 of the baffles. No more bubbles. Great! So, then I took a coffee break, and while drinking my coffee I hear the pump labouring. I rush back to find that a big piece of filter floss had gotten pulled loose and got sucked into the pump. #%&@!!!! Turned the pump off, disconnected the unions, and took the pump apart. Bloody pump is so powerful it sucked a large piece of floss right off the sheet from about 8" away and at the top of a baffle. Removed the floss, put the pump back together and clamped the floos to the baffle this time: looks kind of silly but does the trick.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2478.jpg

So, now it's time to hook-up the skimmer. Can't wait to see how this big guy performs. It's an MR-3 with dual Becketts powered by an Iwaki MD-70RLT. I have the skimmer on top of a Large PVC tower so that it is sitting above the water level.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2475-1.jpg

[Lance]

Man, I love this skimmer! Bubble Heaven! And I don't even know what I'm doing with it yet.:biggrin: I'm adjusting the gate valve from the pump to the skimmer and the gate valve from the skimmer to the sump and the needle valves and everything I do the bubbles just come faster and harder. So, finally I just open the gate valve from the pump wide open and adjust the needle valves and I get some real nice froth. These pics were taken immediately after turning on the pump, with the gate valve from the pump almost closed. I'll get some pics up tomorrow with the valve wide open.

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[Mrfish55]

Looking good Lance, hows the noise on the return pump? I'm going to have to stop by and check things out.

[marie]

Looking good Lance, hows the noise on the return pump? I'm going to have to stop by and check things out.

Me too :mrgreen:

[Lance]

Looking good Lance, hows the noise on the return pump? I'm going to have to stop by and check things out.

For a large pump, it's not too bad. The Iwaki running the skimmer is actually noisier. They're both in a closet so they don't bother anyone.

[Lance]

Me too :mrgreen:


Absolutley. On a side note, was everybody happy with our frag order.

[Mrfish55]

I am happy with what I got, nice coloring and great polyp extension, hopefully they grow quick as I have some catching up to do (dropped by Maries and saw her tank-STUNNING!) How did you make out with your new additions?

[Skimmerking]

if you want some pointers on the skimmer pm me i will call you tonight. and no worries about the hagen stuff its really powerful , its great that you have that skimmer going trust me to take out the nutrients. its funny no one believes in this stuff.

[Lance]

I am happy with what I got, nice coloring and great polyp extension, hopefully they grow quick as I have some catching up to do (dropped by Maries and saw her tank-STUNNING!) How did you make out with your new additions?

Mine are nice also, very happy with them. This is the second order I've got from Greg, and they just keep getting better. Yes, Marie's tank is VERY nice!
I taught her well.:lol:

[Lance]

if you want so pointers on the skimmer pm me i will call you tonight. and no worries about the hagen stuff its really powerful , its great that you have that skimmer going trust me to take out hte nutrients

You have pm.

[marie]

My frags are all doing great but then I'd expect nothing less from the coral master :razz:

[Lance]

My frags are all doing great but then I'd expect nothing less from the coral master :razz:

Yup, he delivers every time.

[Mrfish55]

Hows the new skimmer working, get it dialed in yet? No more leaks I hope!

[Lance]

Hows the new skimmer working, get it dialed in yet? No more leaks I hope!

All is well. I LOVE this skimmer. Of course I've only owned 3 different types.:redface: But I like this one the best! Lots of froth and pretty easy to dial in. Have repaired the leak. How's the elbow?

[Skimmerking]

leaks what the heck, you better send that skimmer to me Lance i will show you how to use it....

[Lance]

leaks what the heck, you better send that skimmer to me Lance i will show you how to use it....

Ha!

[Mrfish55]

All is well. I LOVE this skimmer. Of course I've only owned 3 different types.:redface: But I like this one the best! Lots of froth and pretty easy to dial in. Have repaired the leak. How's the elbow?

Elbow no good, tried doing some tank work today, didn't work out so good. Hopefully hear next week about seeing specialist, need to get it fixed got lots to do, I really want to get that 90gal corner set up.

[Lance]

Elbow no good, tried doing some tank work today, didn't work out so good. Hopefully hear next week about seeing specialist, need to get it fixed got lots to do, I really want to get that 90gal corner set up.

If you need a hand just let me know.

[Lance]

Update:
The new tank continues to grow hair algae at an alarming rate :frown: I swear it grows an inch per day! Never seen anything like it. My Lawnmower Blenny is getting fat! (He thinks he died and went to H.A. Heaven). I moved the Fox Face over from the 90 gal and he too is eating the stuff. But between the two of them they're not making a dent in it. I've been changing 25% of the water every 3-4 days; running Rowaphos in a reactor; nitrate sponge and carbon in a canister filter; lights out for most of the day; and removing and scrubbing the smaller rock every day. If it doesn't start to let up soon I'm going to remove the corals and do an extended black-out. NO3 & PO4 are undetectable on Salifert test kits. MrFish55 brought his Medusa ChemTester colorimeter over and PO4=0 and NO3=.17 (Pretty good readings). Any suggestions? Anything I've missed?
On a positive note, the new skimmer is great. Skims well, runs quiet, and is easy to use. Here's a pic after 48 hrs of running the skimmer. About 1/3 liter of skimmate.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2484.jpg

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[untamed]

Find a way to grow something else (chaeto, maybe?). In my case, that meant finding a way to install a refugium where I didn't plan one. You have to aggressively weed the HA, while allowing the chaeto to grow. Little by little, you'll switch the nutrient uptake to the refugium and away from the HA.

May also help to darken the tank for a day off and on, while you light the refugium 24/7. Your coral won't mind a day of darkness every now and again.

For weeding, I recommend a continuous siphon. You place a filter bag in your sump, then start a siphon with flex tubing that pulls water out of the tank into the sump through that filter bag (keep your return pump running). While holding the pipe in your hand weed the algae and let it get immediately sucked away into the filter bag. You can do this as long as you can stand it.

[Mrfish55]

NO3 was 7.2 if I remember correctly, bring a sample over tomorrow and we can check it again.

[Lance]

Find a way to grow something else (chaeto, maybe?). In my case, that meant finding a way to install a refugium where I didn't plan one. You have to aggressively weed the HA, while allowing the chaeto to grow. Little by little, you'll switch the nutrient uptake to the refugium and away from the HA.

May also help to darken the tank for a day off and on, while you light the refugium 24/7. Your coral won't mind a day of darkness every now and again.

For weeding, I recommend a continuous siphon. You place a filter bag in your sump, then start a siphon with flex tubing that pulls water out of the tank into the sump through that filter bag (keep your return pump running). While holding the pipe in your hand weed the algae and let it get immediately sucked away into the filter bag. You can do this as long as you can stand it.


I had started some macroalgae in the sump, but it hasn't really had time to grow out yet. I can't siphon into the sump because it is in another room, but I used a 5 gal bucket and a 5/8 hose for a siphon and a Mag 950 returning it to the tank. Worked pretty good; must have collected a bushel of the damn weed. I have been alternating lights on and lights off every other day and I AM making progress. The HA has now stopped growing and the stuff I remove does not come back. Whooot! I am winning the battle, slowly but surely.

[Skimmerking]

Ya see that is what happens when you use lots of Cycle. sorry i for got to tell you that...:cry: But running the skimmer wet all the time will take it out like stated early when i was talking to you.

[Lance]

Ya see that is what happens when you use lots of Cycle. sorry i for got to tell you that...:cry: But running the skimmer wet all the time will take it out like stated early when i was talking to you.

It's coming around. Every day there is less and less of it. At least the Lawnmower Blenny and Foxface like it.:lol:

[Lance]

So the Hair Algae battle goes on, but I'm slooooooowly winning. Today looks better than yesterday, which was better than the day before. At the rate it's disappearing I'm hoping it will all be gone soon. NO3 & PO4 levels are both low and I continue with water changes every 3 days, to keep them that way until the algae dies off. Here's a full tank shot showing the HA. (ugly isn't it)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2493.jpg

And one from the left side and one from the right.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2494.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2495.jpg

Here's a shot of the sump with the macroalgae starting to grow out. Lights are running 24/7

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2526.jpg

My 2 HA munchers: Foxface and Lawnmower Blenny. The Blenny is getting so fat he kind of rolls in the current. :lol:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2531.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2544.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2496.jpg

And one of the only other fish in the tank so far. (Bannerfish)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2537.jpg

[Mrfish55]

Looking better than the other day, not so long and stringy, definately better than my sea horse tank!

[Lance]

Looking better than the other day, not so long and stringy, definately better than my sea horse tank!


Ha!

[Mrfish55]

Update? are things starting to settle in for ya. lets see some new pics.

[Lance]

Update? are things starting to settle in for ya. lets see some new pics.

The tank is looking much better. Hair algae is nearly gone. I got a few more fish. (Falco Hawkfish and 12 Chromis). I have been trying to catch my Coral Beauty for the better part of a week now. (Little bugger is too smart for the bottle trap I used on the Foxface). I think I'll try to find some thin clear plastic like Chaloupa did for her Powder Blue (see TOTM thread). If not I'll have to resort to a baited hook. Aside from that everything else if going pretty well. I may change the 10K MH to something else. They're Coralife and I don't really like them. I have Ushio 10K in the 90 gal and like them, so I may try them, maybe in a 14k though. I will post up some pics shortly.

[Skimmerking]

Lance i love my 12-15 k range less chance to get the yellow look. the reef flux is a good one

[Lance]

Lance i love my 12-15 k range less chance to get the yellow look. the reef flux is a good one

Ok Mike, thanks.

[Lance]

Ok, a few pics from tonight.

FTS

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2618.jpg

Right side

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2621.jpg

Left side

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2622.jpg

Center

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2623-1.jpg

My new little Falco Hawkfish

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2620.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2619.jpg

As you can see, the HA is almost gone. I tried to get a shot of the LM Blenny but he wouldn't co-operate. His belly is so fat he looks like a little Buddha with gills. Time now to get a CUC for the tank. I also like to keep a few hermits in the sump as they do a great job with the detritus. As soon as I can catch the Coral Beauty from the 90 gal I can start to look for some of the larger fishes I've been wanting. IE. a tang or two, Harlequin Tusk, a large Angel, and then move the SF tang over from the 90. In the next little while I will be placing some livestock orders so if any Powell Riverites want to piggyback on my order, let me know.

[Mrfish55]

Looking good, did you get that school of chromis from Bob? I was thinking of some blue chromis for mine. How are your frags from snappy doing?

[JDigital]

Love the aquascaping you've done.

Those platforms should provide some great bases for BIG colonies.

[marie]

... In the next little while I will be placing some livestock orders so if any Powell Riverites want to piggyback on my order, let me know.

Just let me know when and where :mrgreen:

*Edit* Oh and did you want a large hairy green mushroom? I have one thats just about detached, if you don't want it then it gets flushed (unless someone else speaks up of course)

[Lance]

Just let me know when and where :mrgreen:

*Edit* Oh and did you want a large hairy green mushroom? I have one thats just about detached, if you don't want it then it gets flushed (unless someone else speaks up of course)

Sure. Let me know when you want me to come and get it.

[Lance]

Looking good, did you get that school of chromis from Bob? I was thinking of some blue chromis for mine. How are your frags from snappy doing?

Yes, from Bob. All 12 of them. Snappy's frags are doing fine. Some are growing faster than others, but all in all pretty good. They've coloured up nicely.

[marie]

Sure. Let me know when you want me to come and get it.

I don't work tomorrow and monday, if the blazer is in the driveway it means I'm home...staring at my fish tanks :lol:

[Lance]

i don't work tomorrow and monday, if the blazer is in the driveway it means i'm home...staring at my fish tanks :lol:

ok.

[Lance]

So I decided to cover it up.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2660.jpg

I put down a very thin layer of Carib Sea crushed coral (just enough to cover most of the bottom). I left the back part of the tank BB.
I couldn't use sand as there is too much flow. Anyway she's happy now. I liked the BB: very easy to keep clean. This looks better though. If I decide to go back to BB there's not much to remove.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2666.jpg


And my new acquisitions:

Lamarck's Angel ( she's about 3.5" long and a very pretty silvery blue colour)

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2659.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2665.jpg



I also got a bunch of assorted snails, a few peppermint shrimp and a frogspawn coral. The shrimp are relegated to the sump as the Hawkfish might eat them; and the Harlequin Tusk (on order) definitely will. Also have a Chocolate Tang coming soon. When the Chocolate tang gets here and after QT, I will put it and the SF tang (from the 90 gal) in at the same time to avoid any conflict.

[Mrfish55]

That angel looks even better than it did in the store, you must have got there just after me, the sand sure brightens the tank up, looking good.

[Lance]

That angel looks even better than it did in the store, you must have got there just after me, the sand sure brightens the tank up, looking good.

Yeah, nice little angel (and supposedly reef safe). She was eating within an hour after going in the tank.

[JDigital]

Tank is looking great! How many Bannerfish you got in there? just the 1?

[Lance]

Tank is looking great! How many Bannerfish you got in there? just the 1?

Thanks. Yup, just the one.

[OCDP]

Very nice. I love the rock work.

[lastlight]

I second that. The rock layout is very well thought out. Grown in that is going to be beautiful. I save the odd FTS to a folder for future inspiration when I'm reading to buy my rock. Yours has been added...

[Lance]

I second that. The rock layout is very well thought out. Grown in that is going to be beautiful. I save the odd FTS to a folder for future inspiration when I'm reading to buy my rock. Yours has been added...


Thanks, so much.
I filed a few of the tank myself when I first set it up so I can see some before and afters.

[JDigital]

Thanks. Yup, just the one.

Could you do a school/shoal of those in a 225? That would be sweeeet :mrgreen:

[Lance]

Could you do a school/shoal of those in a 225? That would be sweeeet :mrgreen:

You know, I thought about that. A half dozen of them would look pretty damn nice! But there are so many other really cool fish out there and I need the space to fit them all ::lol:

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

You know, I thought about that. A half dozen of them would look pretty damn nice! But there are so many other really cool fish out there and I need the space to fit them all ::lol:

Meh...Bannerfish get big and ugly. I would stick to one personally.


Your tank is looking great! I love the rockwork. Very nice for coral placement.

[Lance]

Got a nice Chocolate Mimic Tang from Ocean Aquatics today (thanks Wendell and Jim). He's about 6" and still has some of his juvenile colouring. Very pretty fish. Wife wants to call him "Cocoa" the Chocolate Tang.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2854.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2853.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2846.jpg

He's in QT for awhile, which is a bit of a dilemma. The QT is only 20 gallons and I have an Aussie Tuskfish coming Thursday from J&L. I don't think it's too wise to put two 5+ inch fish in such a small tank. (The QT is a permanent set-up with sand, live rock, skimmer, etc.) I might have to bite the bullet on this one and put the Tuskfish directly into the display. They are hardier and less apt to catch something than are Tangs. Any suggestions?



Another pic of my little algae-eating LM Blenny. Look how fat his belly is from all the H.A. he's been eating.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2866.jpg

[fishytime]

Very nice tang! I dont believe I ever saw a lawnmower blenny that wasnt obese:lol: As far as the qt....if the tang looks good when you get the tusk I would put the tang in the display as the 20 qt tank is more of a stress itself to a tang.

[Mrfish55]

Nice pic of the lawnmower, he looks a little upset at the lack of lawn to mow though.

[Rbacchiega]

FWIW, your Blenny's name is now Gus Tubberton

[Lance]

FWIW, your Blenny's name is now Gus Tubberton


That's better than what I call him: "Fat Ass Fish".

[Lance]

Very nice tang! I dont believe I ever saw a lawnmower blenny that wasnt obese:lol: As far as the qt....if the tang looks good when you get the tusk I would put the tang in the display as the 20 qt tank is more of a stress itself to a tang.

You're right, a 20 gal tank is no place for a tang, but the idea of putting a Tang into a tank full of fish without being quarantined first scares the crap out of me. Tangs and Butterflies are at the top of the ich-magnet list.
Going into a new tank, with strange fish is stressful too; whether as much as being in a 20 gal tank, I don't know. Any other thoughts on this?

[andestang]

Tank is looking good. Glad your winning with the HA. How are your peppermints doing with your Falco ?

[JDigital]

You're right, a 20 gal tank is no place for a tang, but the idea of putting a Tang into a tank full of fish without being quarantined first scares the crap out of me. Tangs and Butterflies are at the top of the ich-magnet list.
Going into a new tank, with strange fish is stressful too; whether as much as being in a 20 gal tank, I don't know. Any other thoughts on this?


I dunno, I added a copperband butterfly to my 75G, and he settled it pretty quick. I don't believe in QTing, everytime you have to catch the fish, I believe that adds more stress (plus ANOTHER move) than just adding them to the display in the first place.

I think with 225G of space, a tang could settle in fairly well.

[Lance]

Tank is looking good. Glad your winning with the HA. How are your peppermints doing with your Falco ?

Thanks. Peppermints aren't in the display; they're in the fuge. 'Cuz if the Falco didn't get them the newly arriving Tuskfish surely would.

[BlueAbyss]

Lookin good :biggrin: That tang is beautiful.

[Lance]

I spent too much money on this guy, but he's worth every cent. My new Aussie Harlequin Tuskfish.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2986.jpg


He's about 6" long and already cruising the tank and eating. The other fish were a little freaked for awhile, but have since calmed down. He's not bothering anything so far; has left the snails alone. No shrimp in this tank, keep them in the sump.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2999.jpg


Unbelievably colourful. He is definitely the showpiece fish in this tank. Look at those teeth.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2992.jpg

[Mrfish55]

Cool, I may just have to set up my 180 so I can keep pace with you! The wife really wants an Emperor Angel so that should be an easy sell:lol: Any more additions planned or is this going to be it for livestock?

[Lance]

Cool, I may just have to set up my 180 so I can keep pace with you! The wife really wants an Emperor Angel so that should be an easy sell:lol: Any more additions planned or is this going to be it for livestock?

After I move the Coral Beauty and SF Tang from the 90g over and the Chocolate Tang from QT, that's it for awhile.

[Lance]

Dammit! :censored: I knew I was looking for trouble and I found it. My new Harlequin Tuskfish has Ich and he's in the main tank.

I had been looking for an Aussie Tuskfish and a Chocolate Tang, and had put the word out to several suppliers. As luck would have it, two different suppliers came up with the two fish within days of each other. I didn't want to quarantine two large fish in a 20 gal QT at the same time, (figured that was asking for trouble) so I decided to put the Tang in the QT and the Tusker in the display. I was uncomfortable with this as I always quarantine new fish but Tuskfish are supposedly quite hardy, and I thought it was the better choice of the two, as Tangs are such Ich magnets. He looked great, nice colour, fat and healthy with no signs of disease. So now I have a $200 fish with Ich in my tank! In hindsight, I should have turned down one of the fish but I felt guilty refusing one after they brought them in specially for me.

There's far too many fish to remove and quarantine. I've just done a 25% water change and siphoned most of the substrate out. I'll run a diatom frequently and up the dosage of garlic and Selcon. He only has a few spots on him and none of the other fish show signs yet. Hopefully I get through this without any casualties and just live with Ich in the tank. What do you guys with large tanks and lots of fish do when Ich appears? I could hook-up a UV sterlizer I guess. If worst comes to worst and the Ich becomes a real problem I'll have to buy a larger QT and remove all the fish. Suggestions? Anything else I can do?

[Skimmerking]

I would just run the garlic like crazy and not suck out the sand Lance. Its there to late you will have to deal with it now man.. lay the garlic to the food like crazy. your skimmer wont like it but hey oh well

[Lance]

I would just run the garlic like crazy and not suck out the sand Lance. Its there to late you will have to deal with it now man.. lay the garlic to the food like crazy. your skimmer wont like it but hey oh well

Most of the substrate is already gone. There was very little anyway. I figured with no sand the little buggers may be easier to siphon out with the diatom filter.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Dammit! :censored: I knew I was looking for trouble and I found it. My new Harlequin Tuskfish has Ich and he's in the main tank.

I had been looking for an Aussie Tuskfish and a Chocolate Tang, and had put the word out to several suppliers. As luck would have it, two different suppliers came up with the two fish within days of each other. I didn't want to quarantine two large fish in a 20 gal QT at the same time, (figured that was asking for trouble) so I decided to put the Tang in the QT and the Tusker in the display. I was uncomfortable with this as I always quarantine new fish but Tuskfish are supposedly quite hardy, and I thought it was the better choice of the two, as Tangs are such Ich magnets. He looked great, nice colour, fat and healthy with no signs of disease. So now I have a $200 fish with Ich in my tank! In hindsight, I should have turned down one of the fish but I felt guilty refusing one after they brought them in specially for me.

There's far too many fish to remove and quarantine. I've just done a 25% water change and siphoned most of the substrate out. I'll run a diatom frequently and up the dosage of garlic and Selcon. He only has a few spots on him and none of the other fish show signs yet. Hopefully I get through this without any casualties and just live with Ich in the tank. What do you guys with large tanks and lots of fish do when Ich appears? I could hook-up a UV sterlizer I guess. If worst comes to worst and the Ich becomes a real problem I'll have to buy a larger QT and remove all the fish. Suggestions? Anything else I can do?



Live with it. Healthy fish will not die of ich. I know so many people now with large tanks, many large fish and most have ich in the tank. I have had ich in my tanks for years now and never lost a fish excpet in QT.

My Tusk still has some ich but long as he is eating, not rubbing and acting normal, he is fine.

You will notice break outs will become less and less severe as time goes on. Eventually they just kind of show up for a day or two here and there.

I think your on the right track though. I would try to get the tank stocked relatively soon and then do not add more fish. Just let them deal with the ich thats there. If you keep adding fish, you will generally see flare ups each time the new guy goes in.

Good luck!

[Lance]

[QUOTE=GreenSpottedPuffer;388880]Live with it. Healthy fish will not die of ich. I know so many people now with large tanks, many large fish and most have ich in the tank. I have had ich in my tanks for years now and never lost a fish excpet in QT.

My Tusk still has some ich but long as he is eating, not rubbing and acting normal, he is fine.

You will notice break outs will become less and less severe as time goes on. Eventually they just kind of show up for a day or two here and there.

I think your on the right track though. I would try to get the tank stocked relatively soon and then do not add more fish. Just let them deal with the ich thats there. If you keep adding fish, you will generally see flare ups each time the new guy goes in.


I know this and I agree. But when i saw the Ich on my new $200 fish I kinda panicked. IMO new tanks and Ich go hand in hand. When I set up the 90g over a year ago I had small outbreaks of Ich for the first few months. Never lost a fish. I haven't seen any signs of it for at least 6 months now. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing: feeding twice a day and using garlic and Selcon like I always do. The Tusk is eating well and aside from the few spots on him looks to be in great health. I've been feeding him clam meat, mussels and mysis. He's a little smaller than yours I think; about 5.5" Anyway, thanks for the advice.

[Mrfish55]

Need a hand with anything let me know, I do have a 30 gal quarantine up and running right now if you manage to catch him. Might also have some reef safe ich meds around somewhere.

[Lance]

Need a hand with anything let me know, I do have a 30 gal quarantine up and running right now if you manage to catch him. Might also have some reef safe ich meds around somewhere.

I think catching him would just stress him. He's doing fine and the Ich is in the system anyway. I'll just hold tight and see how it goes. Thanks

[Lance]

So, Sydney the Aussie Tuskfish is looking much better. He's shaken off the Ich and doing well. I've been feeding him mysis, clams, shrimp, and scallops soaked in garlic and Selcon. Dave lent me a honkin' big 25 watt UV sterilizer. All fish look clean.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3074.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3065.jpg




Ever see 12 Chromis disappear in a flash. When the Tusker went in the tank the chromis were gone in a blink of an eye. I couldn't see one anywhere. They figured they were dinner for sure! No worries though, he totally ignores them and everyone else. At feeding time though, one of those stupid little Chromis is going to get its head bitten off if they don't learn to leave his clam meat alone.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3077.jpg

[Lance]

A couple of new corals I got from Oceanic.



A Yellow Tipped Torch Coral. Good size frag and good price too.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3064.jpg


And a Bloody Mary Micromussa. It's much brighter than it looks in this pic. The Coralife MH that came with this fixture are terrible: They've definitely got to go. I think I'll replace them with Phoenix 14K.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3075.jpg



And a FTS for good measure. The Hair Algae is nearly gone now and Corraline is already starting to grow.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3060.jpg

[Mrfish55]

My bloody mary looks better than yours, maybe I should bring you yours and take mine:biggrin: Nice to see the tusk recovering, tank looks good.

[Rbacchiega]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw his name is Sydney!

Tanks is looking great though Lance. Can't wait to see it a year from now when everything is filling in

[Lance]

My bloody mary looks better than yours, maybe I should bring you yours and take mine:biggrin: Nice to see the tusk recovering, tank looks good.

Nah, you keep that one. You did all the work. Besides, if it's that much better I'll just come and get a frag in a couple of months. :fencing:

[marie]

We used to have a mamoth jack mule named sydney, he was a terrorist in disguise with a wicked sense of humour. I hope for your sake it wasn't the name :razz:

[Lance]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw his name is Sydney!

Tanks is looking great though Lance. Can't wait to see it a year from now when everything is filling in



The wife feels the need to name every single fish.

She hasn't got round to the 12 Chromis yet though. (Alan, Bill, Carl, Dean, Edward, Freddie,..............:der:

[Lance]

We used to have a mamoth jack mule named sydney, he was a terrorist in disguise with a wicked sense of humour. I hope for your sake it wasn't the name :razz:

Me too. A jack is a stallion mule, right?

[marie]

Me too. A jack is a stallion mule, right?

Or donkey

[Lance]

We used to have a mamoth jack mule named sydney, he was a terrorist in disguise with a wicked sense of humour. I hope for your sake it wasn't the name :razz:


So he pretty much made an ass of himself!

[marie]

So he pretty much made an ass of himself!

Most of the time he made an ass of every one around him just ask Brian (the vet) :lol:

[Lance]

Most of the time he made an ass of every one around him just ask Brian (the vet) :lol:

I know Brian. He looks after all our pets. Even "Beevis" the "Pet from Hell" 5 foot iguana we used to have. I hated that thing!

[Rbacchiega]

*gasp* How can anyone hate an Iguana. My two (both Reds) are sweethearts. They're in bed now, but when I'm home during the day they get free range. except for in the sulcata room

Okay, Hijack over

[Delphinus]

Sorry for the additional hijack but I was all "what is a sulcata" and so I googled it and .. well, I just had to share the image that came up in result #3:

http://www.google.ca/images?q=tbn:n3T4PCsG82e-KM::www.monkeyfrog.com/tortoises/sulcata_breeding.JPG
Well! I guess that answers my question. I'll stop hijacking now..

[Lance]

*gasp* How can anyone hate an Iguana. My two (both Reds) are sweethearts. They're in bed now, but when I'm home during the day they get free range. except for in the sulcata room

Okay, Hijack over

That thing was horrible! It was a good pet until it laid a huge clutch of eggs, (do lizards lay clutches?), then it turned into the Satan Reptile. It would attack anybody and anything. I had built it a 6' high by 4'x4' glass and plywood home with a large dead tree limb to climb on. When anyone came near it's home it would launch itself at them and smack into the glass. We couldn't let it out anymore because it would chase and bite anything in its path. Not to mention the whipping with its tail. Not a nice girl.
PS: What is a sulcata room?

[Rbacchiega]

hahaha great pic Tony. Mine won't be doing that yet, they're not old enough but the noises Tortoises make when they do it is hilarious.

I have two Sulcata tortoises. A Male (Fonzworth Bently) and a female (Petunia). Fonzworth is about 18" right now and Petunia is close behind him (around 14"). But they are a fairly active tortoise, so they need lots of room. Not to mention that males can get up to 3 feet and weigh over 200 lbs. So, I pretty much made a room into a giant cage for them. Heat bulbs are hung (similar to the way we hang our reef lights, but the tort lights are spotlamps) lots of dirt/sand mixture big ledges/rocks they can burrow under etc.

[Lance]

[QUOTE=Rbacchiega;391302]hahaha great pic Tony. Mine won't be doing that yet, they're not old enough but the noises Tortoises make when they do it is hilarious.


Years ago while at the Honolulu Zoo, we heard this strange noise. We tracked it down to this bare pen with nothing but large boulders in it. Then I noticed all the boulders were in pairs. Suddenly, a long neck stuck up from one of the boulders and emitted this strange noise. After walking around to the other side of the pen we could see all these large tortoises doing their thing. Weirdest noise I've ever heard coming from an animal.

[Rbacchiega]

I like when the gasp, like it's such hard work...

[Lance]

:cry: Sydney the Tuskfish has taken a turn for the worst. This morning he is covered in Ich and has one cloudy eye. After work I will remove him and treat with hypo salinity and Cupramine. I really hope he makes it. (crosses fingers) He has quickly become my favourite fish.

[Mrfish55]

Need a hand with anything, give me a call.

[marie]

:cry: Sydney the Tuskfish has taken a turn for the worst. This morning he is covered in Ich and has one cloudy eye. After work I will remove him and treat with hypo salinity and Cupramine. I really hope he makes it. (crosses fingers) He has quickly become my favourite fish.

How is Sydney tonight? Did you get him into a hospital tank?

[Lance]

How is Sydney tonight? Did you get him into a hospital tank?

Not yet; still trying to catch him. He's not responding to food and just hiding way down in the rocks, which makes it really hard to catch him. Still working on it though, thanks.

[Lance]

:woot: All is well in my little world again!
The Tuskfish is recovering nicely. He was in such bad shape and I couldn't catch him for treatment. He lodged himself way down in the rocks and I couldn't get at him. I was ready to drain the tank to get him, but yesterday he was looking a little better and even ate a little, so I thought I'd give it one more day. Today his eyes are clear again and he ate a whole clam! He's even out and about now. And as a bonus, my L.M. Blenny decided to try frozen food and found it to his liking. I was a little worried that he may be running out of food as the Hair Algae is nearly gone now. So, all-in-all it was a pretty good day! :whoo:

[fishytime]

Good to hear you TF is on the mend:thumb:

[Lance]

So, apparently my big, tough, predator is a wussy! The Foxface has him totally bullied and will not let him out of his cave, where he hides all day long. Won't even come out to eat. I have to feed him with a feeding stick. (PITA)
They are about the same size, Foxface only a little larger. Funny how this just came about now. The Tusk has been in the tank for 20 days now. I wish he'd realize he could beat the snot out of the Foxface if he tried. I'm hoping when the SF Tang and Chocolate Tang go in the tank it alleviates the problem.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

So, apparently my big, tough, predator is a wussy! The Foxface has him totally bullied and will not let him out of his cave, where he hides all day long. Won't even come out to eat. I have to feed him with a feeding stick. (PITA)
They are about the same size, Foxface only a little larger. Funny how this just came about now. The Tusk has been in the tank for 20 days now. I wish he'd realize he could beat the snot out of the Foxface if he tried. I'm hoping when the SF Tang and Chocolate Tang go in the tank it alleviates the problem.

My tusk is the same. He gets bullied by my Hippo Tang all the time. It kind of drives me nuts because the tusk could beat the crap out of the hippo if he realyl wanted--guess he just doesn't realize it.

I have noticed a few scales have kind of lifted up in one side of my tusks body. I am not sure if its from a fight or rubbing against something but it worries me...looks kind of bad. He doesn't seem to care though.

[Lance]

My tusk is the same. He gets bullied by my Hippo Tang all the time. It kind of drives me nuts because the tusk could beat the crap out of the hippo if he realyl wanted--guess he just doesn't realize it.

I have noticed a few scales have kind of lifted up in one side of my tusks body. I am not sure if its from a fight or rubbing against something but it worries me...looks kind of bad. He doesn't seem to care though.

Hopefully it's just a scrape and not serious.
Have you ever noticed that the cheap fish or fish without personality never develop a problem. I only ever seem to have a problem with my favourites. Stupid little cheap Chromis just keep on pluggin' away, healthy as hell.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Hopefully it's just a scrape and not serious.
Have you ever noticed that the cheap fish or fish without personality never develop a problem. I only ever seem to have a problem with my favourites. Stupid little cheap Chromis just keep on pluggin' away, healthy as hell.

Yeah I hope so. It worries me because their scales are quite large and the two scales I am talking about look like they were kind of peeled back or up off the tusk a bit. Looks kind of serious to me but hopefully its not.

Im glad yours is doing better!

[Lance]

My nice mellow Foxface is a Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde. He lived in my 90 gal for over a year and was a model citizen (except for the occasional nip at the corals and feather dusters). Now he's in the 225 gal and turned into a real SOB. He won't let the Tuskfish and Chocolate Tang out of their cave. When I feed the Tusker with a feeding stick he attacks him and steals his food. At feeding time he spends more time chasing other fish than he does eating.
Anybody else have a similar problem with this fish? If I banish him to the QT for awhile will he settle down? Suggestions?

[Mrfish55]

Too bad I don't still have Bob, he sure plumbed up my foxface.

[Lance]

Too bad I don't still have Bob, he sure plumbed up my foxface.

LOL Yeah, he sure did. I gotta say: That's the sorriest looking Foxface I've ever seen. :wink:

[marie]

You need an angel like my regal, I have seen her grab my foxface by the spines and shake him :mrgreen:

[JDigital]

You need an angel like my regal, I have seen her grab my foxface by the spines and shake him :mrgreen:

hahahahahahahahaaha.... ohh the mental image of that is hilarious!

[Lance]

You need an angel like my regal, I have seen her grab my foxface by the spines and shake him :mrgreen:

That's Hilarious!
I'm just about to the point of grabbing him by his long nose and giving him a shake myself.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

My nice mellow Foxface is a Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde. He lived in my 90 gal for over a year and was a model citizen (except for the occasional nip at the corals and feather dusters). Now he's in the 225 gal and turned into a real SOB. He won't let the Tuskfish and Chocolate Tang out of their cave. When I feed the Tusker with a feeding stick he attacks him and steals his food. At feeding time he spends more time chasing other fish than he does eating.
Anybody else have a similar problem with this fish? If I banish him to the QT for awhile will he settle down? Suggestions?

You know, I am finding that Tusks are quite easy to push around despite the appearance. Mine gets chased by a few of my tangs (especially the Hippo) but never chases back. He did kill a damsel and does seem to chase the little guys around but not anyone around the same size as him.

When it comes to feeding though, different story. He then becomes king of the tank. Takes food from any other fish he feels like, even the Hippo tang. He is a greediest fish I have ever owned...and I have owned a lot of greedy puffers!

[Lance]

You know, I am finding that Tusks are quite easy to push around despite the appearance. Mine gets chased by a few of my tangs (especially the Hippo) but never chases back. He did kill a damsel and does seem to chase the little guys around but not anyone around the same size as him.

When it comes to feeding though, different story. He then becomes king of the tank. Takes food from any other fish he feels like, even the Hippo tang. He is a greediest fish I have ever owned...and I have owned a lot of greedy puffers!


I'm finding the same thing: quite timid. Some of the websites say they are semi-aggressive and a few say quite peaceful. Mine is peaceful to the point of being pushed off his food even. The first few days I had him he was in control of the tank and the food. Huh? How's yours doing today by the way?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I'm finding the same thing: quite timid. Some of the websites say they are semi-aggressive and a few say quite peaceful. Mine is peaceful to the point of being pushed off his food even. The first few days I had him he was in control of the tank and the food. Huh? How's yours doing today by the way?

He acts fine and seems happy enough but still has the raised scales. He also seems to have lost some color the past little while although I think it may have to do with the bluer light. But I would also say that the change in diet (from whatever he was eating in Australia to now) is also part of the reason. I do soak all food in lots of vitamins and usually get fish to actually color up but with this guy, he came in so ridiculously bright, that I have a feeling it will be hard to keep him there. I notice much of the red on the tip of his tail has faded. May also be connected to whatever is wrong with his side (scales).

All in all, I guess he is ok but I am still very worried about him. He really has become my favorite fish.

[Lance]

All in all, I guess he is ok but I am still very worried about him. He really has become my favorite fish.

I hear what you're saying! In a short time mine has also become my favourite, and until he gets his nerve back and comes out of hiding more often I won't rest easily. I caught the troublesome Foxface and removed him from the tank, so hopefully everybody settles down.

[Lance]

So, the Foxface has been removed and banished to QT for awhile. And everybody is happy. The Tuskfish and Chocolate Tang are now swimming freely about the tank and everyone is eating normally. I find it strange that the Foxface was such a good fish when he was in the 90 gal and such a little bastard in the 225 gal. Weird!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3211.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3286.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2999.jpg

[Mrfish55]

How is the ich issue? fish are looking good.

[Lance]

How is the ich issue? fish are looking good.

The two new tangs to the tank have it pretty good right now, but that's to be expected.

[fishytime]

I have noticed thru my own observations and in talking to others who come in to the shop, that one fish or one move, can completely change the whole complexion of a tank. We had an emperor angel in our display tank at the shop for several months. He never munched on anything other than zoas. A regular customer of ours and member here, had been asking Kevin about the fish for quite some time. About 3 wks ago and after some doing, we managed to catch the fish out of the display and home it went. The angel then proceeded to eat several corals (we of course took the fish back).Somewhere between our display and buddies tank the angel decided to snap. I also have an angel story...I recently removed a bi-color angel (because he also snapped and started eating corals) and after that my flame angel turned into an a$$. When the flame had the bi-color to chase around he left every thing else alone. Now he has taken to asserting himself every chance he can. I wonder sometimes what goes on in those little brains.

[Lance]

I have noticed thru my own observations and in talking to others who come in to the shop, that one fish or one move, can completely change the whole complexion of a tank. We had an emperor angel in our display tank at the shop for several months. He never munched on anything other than zoas. A regular customer of ours and member here, had been asking Kevin about the fish for quite some time. About 3 wks ago and after some doing, we managed to catch the fish out of the display and home it went. The angel then proceeded to eat several corals (we of course took the fish back).Somewhere between our display and buddies tank the angel decided to snap. I also have an angel story...I recently removed a bi-color angel (because he also snapped and started eating corals) and after that my flame angel turned into an a$$. When the flame had the bi-color to chase around he left every thing else alone. Now he has taken to asserting himself every chance he can. I wonder sometimes what goes on in those little brains.


When the Emperor came back did he go back to his old ways in the DT or did he continue to eat corals? It is strange how some fish can change so quickly like that.

[lobsterboy]

same story with me, i had a unicorn tang in my tank, nice size about 2.5lb, never bothered anything,, then one day i was watching tv and looked over at the tank, and he was having my GSP colony for supper. I flipped him a hand jesture and two mintues later he splashed water out of the tank at me.:twised::question::lol:

[fishytime]

When the Emperor came back did he go back to his old ways in the DT or did he continue to eat corals? It is strange how some fish can change so quickly like that.

Um...actually the angel didnt make it back into the display....he is in a large fowlr tank now with several largish fish waiting to go to a project at a local car dealership. We wernt gonna take the chance putting him back in our display. Its kinda too bad because he is one of my favorite resident fish at the store.

[fishytime]

same story with me, i had a unicorn tang in my tank, nice size about 2.5lb, never bothered anything,, then one day i was watching tv and looked over at the tank, and he was having my GSP colony for supper. I flipped him a hand jesture and two mintues later he splashed water out of the tank at me.:twised::question::lol:

A fish that eats GSP??? Did you give him a golden tank and name him king??? I know of a few peeps that would pay big bucks for a GSP eating fish.

[Lance]

I lost my new Chocolate Tang. :sad:
I found him dead this morning and am feeling very guilty as he was the picture of health while in QT. If you've read this thread you know I've been battling an Ich problem; brought to the tank via my Harlequin Tuskfish. After extensive research and advice from members, I decided to leave all the fish in the 225 gal and let them run the Ich gauntlet. I fed them 3 times per day, soaked all their food in garlic and Selcon, run a 25 watt UV sterilizer 24/7, a diatom filter for several hours each day and change 25 gals of water every week: Hoping that healthy fish, with good water conditions could survive the Ich. Well, it only took 6 days for the Chocolate Tang to succumb to it, and my SF Tang while still eating isn't in much better shape. The Tuskfish also has a good dose of Ich as well, but is at least eating and behaving normally. All 12 Chromis, Angelfish, LM Blenny, Hawkfish, Foxface and Bannerfish are in good shape.
So, what to do with the Sailfin? I can catch him and treat in hospital tank. If he survives that, then what do I do? Put him back in the DT to become infected all over again, or will he be able to fight it off after surviving it once. Another course of action is to go and buy a larger QT tank, remove all the fish, and leave the DT fallow for 8 weeks. But how will that many fish make out in a 30 or 40 gal hospital tank for 8 weeks? Might be doing more harm than good. While the other fish are fine does this mean I can never put another tang in this tank again? I just don't know what to do!

[fishytime]

I feel for ya and hear ya. I struggle with the whole qt/hospital tank thing for bigger fish like tangs and large angels. They really seem to not handle they cramped quarters and lack of security very well. Then there is the whole netting of the fish issue that I wont go in to. A tough decision for you for sure.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this :(

May sound harsh but to live in my tank, the fishes have to be able to survive and fight off ich. Its just not avoidable in my tank and has been there going on three years now.

I have yet to loose a fish to ich in the display though, only in QT.

Right now I monitor it closely and as long as there is no scratching or signs of stress, I just feed well and keep the water clean. It seems to come and go. Before adding my Powder Brown, I think I was getting way ahead of the ich--he seems to be stressing the tank enough now to cause a new outbreak.

If a fish were to ever get bad enough to need QT, I would probably Qt them and sell. Replace the fish with another who can hopefully fight it off. Wouldn't be easy to do but like you said, if you QT them and put them back, they will most likely just get really bad again.

Its such a hard thing to deal with :(

Good luck!

[marie]

If it was my tank, I would pull all the fish and treat.

If that is what you are going to do then I would set up more then 1 quarantine tank, maybe even 3 or 4 to spread out the fish load.

I have an empty hagen 48 (48x12x20) It just needs some cleaning if you want to borrow it.

[Lance]

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear this :(

May sound harsh but to live in my tank, the fishes have to be able to survive and fight off ich. Its just not avoidable in my tank and has been there going on three years now.

I have yet to loose a fish to ich in the display though, only in QT.

Right now I monitor it closely and as long as there is no scratching or signs of stress, I just feed well and keep the water clean. It seems to come and go. Before adding my Powder Brown, I think I was getting way ahead of the ich--he seems to be stressing the tank enough now to cause a new outbreak.

If a fish were to ever get bad enough to need QT, I would probably Qt them and sell. Replace the fish with another who can hopefully fight it off. Wouldn't be easy to do but like you said, if you QT them and put them back, they will most likely just get really bad again.

Its such a hard thing to deal with :(

Good luck!


Thanks.
You know what really gets to me? My SF Tang has been with me for over a year, living in my 90 gal. One of the reasons I wanted another tank was I felt he needed a bigger home. He wasn't aggressive or anything, I just wanted a bigger tank for him as well as some other larger fish. So I put him in the new larger tank and now I may be killing him. Pi$$es me Off! I sure hope he makes it. If not, I may rethink the whole purpose for this new tank. It was supposed to be all about the fish. (Large swimming area, bare bottom, and big skimmer.) The 90 gal was going to be pretty much all corals and just a few fish. The way I feel right now I may end up with two SPS tanks. At least when I lose a coral I don't feel as bad.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks.
You know what really gets to me? My SF Tang has been with me for over a year, living in my 90 gal. One of the reasons I wanted another tank was I felt he needed a bigger home. He wasn't aggressive or anything, I just wanted a bigger tank for him as well as some other larger fish. So I put him in the new larger tank and now I may be killing him. Pi$$es me Off! I sure hope he makes it. If not, I may rethink the whole purpose for this new tank. It was supposed to be all about the fish. (Large swimming area, bare bottom, and big skimmer.) The 90 gal was going to be pretty much all corals and just a few fish. The way I feel right now I may end up with two SPS tanks. At least when I lose a coral I don't feel as bad.

Man that is rough. I hate to loose fish too. Thats why I have stopped with QT.

The last QT I did was hypo. 6 weeks no fish in the display and fish in 1.008. Fish got ich about 3 weeks after going back to the display. No new fish added. Tried it all over again for 8 weeks and lost my favorite fish in QT this time. Again, still got ich. Never again. I did a ridiculous amounts of reading and found the longest documented case of ich surviving without a host was just over 3 months. Not all strains can do this and I think its rare but who knows what strain is in the tank...there are apparently hundreds.

Some are thought to have a decent immunity to hypo now too. Why not? Everything evolves. Especially hardy parasites like ich.

I am one that believes if this problem is not dealt with from the beginning at wholesalers and collectors holding tanks, it will get out of hand one day to the point the ich parasite will be a "super bug" kind of thing. May get hard to treat.

Its hard to treat already...hypo is not always going to work and copper destroys a tangs gut fauna. I would never copper tangs personally. I think it takes years off their lives.

[marie]

...

Its hard to treat already...hypo is not always going to work and copper destroys a tangs gut fauna. I would never copper tangs personally. I think it takes years off their lives.

Where did you read about copper destroying a tangs gut fauna? I had to treat my achilles 3 yrs ago with cupramine (he had marine velvet)

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Where did you read about copper destroying a tangs gut fauna? I had to treat my achilles 3 yrs ago with cupramine (he had marine velvet)

My older brother is a marine biologist and has told me.

Here is Bob Fenner talking a bit about it:

<Surgeonfishes have a mix of microbes, bacteria, protozoans... more that like E. coli in our intestines, or better, similar organisms in termites allowing them to utilize cellulose... With loss of these obligate co-digesters, the animal hosts suffer from nutritional deficiencies... Where do the Surgeonfishes et al. pick up these helpers? From ingestion in the wild (sediment, detritus, fecal pellets... Perhaps having a not-too clean system, with other healthy Tangs would re-seed the impugned fishes guts. Bob Fenner>

<Likely a cumulative nutritional disorder... very common with this species (and other tangs)... due often to the "urban-myth" of feeding them terrestrial greens like the nutritionally zero lettuces... A related possibility is the loss of gut fauna from exposure to copper, other medications, that kill off the necessary microbes in their "stomachs"... Does any of this sound familiar? There are other less likely causes of mortality... internal parasites, genetic defects... Bob Fenner>

Do some searching on the web...there is plenty of info about tangs and meds.

[marie]

My older brother is a marine biologist and has told me.

The choice at the time was to lose him within hours or treat, I'm still glad I treated

[Lance]

Man that is rough. I hate to loose fish too. Thats why I have stopped with QT.

The last QT I did was hypo. 6 weeks no fish in the display and fish in 1.008. Fish got ich about 3 weeks after going back to the display. No new fish added. Tried it all over again for 8 weeks and lost my favorite fish in QT this time. Again, still got ich. Never again. I did a ridiculous amounts of reading and found the longest documented case of ich surviving without a host was just over 3 months. Not all strains can do this and I think its rare but who knows what strain is in the tank...there are apparently hundreds.

Some are thought to have a decent immunity to hypo now too. Why not? Everything evolves. Especially hardy parasites like ich.

I am one that believes if this problem is not dealt with from the beginning at wholesalers and collectors holding tanks, it will get out of hand one day to the point the ich parasite will be a "super bug" kind of thing. May get hard to treat.

Its hard to treat already...hypo is not always going to work and copper destroys a tangs gut fauna. I would never copper tangs personally. I think it takes years off their lives.


Yeah, I read your old thread the other night. I too have been reading everything I can find on Ich, and I still don't know the answer. (Apparently there already is a Super Parasite showing up now).
I quarantine all my new fish in a permanent QT set-up with live rock, skimmer, etc. for 2 to 3 weeks just to observe them, fatten them up, and to make sure they`re healthy before going into the DT. If they do indeed have something I remove them and treat in a other hospital tank. I`ve had good success with quarantining them but not so good when having to treat a fish. Sometimes I think treatment is every bit as bad as the affliction. This time I couldn`t because of the unfortunate arrival times of the two fish I had ordered. In hindsight, I should have set up another QT and put them both in quarantine. Then I wouldn`t have Ich in my system now. I`ve got company coming tonight so there`s not much I can do about it tonight anyway. I`ll think it over tonight and decide to leave them be or remove them all for 8 weeks.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

The choice at the time was to lose him within hours or treat, I'm still glad I treated

Oh yeah it unavoidable sometimes. I wasn't insinuating that you did the wring thing. Sorry if it came across that way.

I was just warning Lance to be careful and not use copper unless necessary like in your case. Velvet kills within a day sometimes and does need rapid and aggressive treatment. I would would have done the same.

[Lance]

MRFish55 has offered me the use of his empty 180 gal. (Thanks Dave) So, I`m going to set it up tomorrow in my garage and move all the fish over. Starting to make up SW right now. I wouldn`t move them if I didn`t have adequate space for them, but a 180 is plenty big enough. I`ll put a bunch of PVC pipe for them to hide in and I have an extra skimmer, so I think this is the right thing to do.

[marie]

MRFish55 has offered me the use of his empty 180 gal. (Thanks Dave) So, I`m going to set it up tomorrow in my garage and move all the fish over. Starting to make up SW right now. I wouldn`t move them if I didn`t have adequate space for them, but a 180 is plenty big enough. I`ll put a bunch of PVC pipe for them to hide in and I have an extra skimmer, so I think this is the right thing to do.

I agree. It's not easy to get nice fish up here in PR so when we do get them we have to try and make sure they stay alive :mrgreen:

[Lance]

I agree. It's not easy to get nice fish up here in PR so when we do get them we have to try and make sure they stay alive :mrgreen:


Now I just have to catch them all! :doh:

[marie]

Now I just have to catch them all! :doh:

When I had to catch all my fish out of the big tank. I drained all the water out rather then have to rearrange the rock work.
It took 6 large rubbermaid tubs and 3 maxijet 1200 powerheads but I had all the water out, the fish in the quarantine tank and the water pumped back in within an hour and a half and not 1 rock had to be moved :biggrin:

[Lance]

When I had to catch all my fish out of the big tank. I drained all the water out rather then have to rearrange the rock work.
It took 6 large rubbermaid tubs and 3 maxijet 1200 powerheads but I had all the water out, the fish in the quarantine tank and the water pumped back in within an hour and a half and not 1 rock had to be moved :biggrin:



Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Corals in a tub and then all the water out.

[Lance]

One of my guests just noticed something strange. The ich infected SF Tang was hovering amongst the school of Chromis who were pecking at him just like a Cleaner fish. I hadn't noticed it until now. I googled Chromis and they are indeed a cleaner fish. Huh?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Oh man that sounds like so much work!

Hope it all goes well.

I am starting to worry about my guys now too. Its getting really bad. I don't have the choice to Qt though. I could do one fish at a time but no room in my condo for a proper QT.

In the very beginning I was going to stock my 200 with just a pair of Crosshatch Triggers and nothing else. They would outgrow it though so I scratched that idea. Then I had kind of decided just a pair of Blue Throats. Scraped that idea though as you can see :D

All this was because I didn't want to deal with ich again!

Feel your pain man.

[marie]

Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Corals in a tub and then all the water out.

I never even moved any of the corals, just pumped water out, retrieved fish off the bottom and pumped the water back in.

Don't forget corals are out of the water for hours at a time at low tide

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

One of my guests just noticed something strange. The ich infected SF Tang was hovering amongst the school of Chromis who were pecking at him just like a Cleaner fish. I hadn't noticed it until now. I googled Chromis and they are indeed a cleaner fish. Huh?

Yeah I knew that actually but never heard of them doing it in an aquarium! Cool! Well kind of....I guess cool would be not having ich right now :neutral:

[Lance]

I never even moved any of the corals, just pumped water out, retrieved fish off the bottom and pumped the water back in.

Don't forget corals are out of the water for hours at a time at low tide

Yeah I know but I'll have to move a few rocks anyway because the fish can get right underneath them and I won't be able to get at them. The corals on those rocks will have to be moved. The rest can stay.

[Lance]

Oh man that sounds like so much work!

Hope it all goes well.

I am starting to worry about my guys now too. Its getting really bad. I don't have the choice to Qt though. I could do one fish at a time but no room in my condo for a proper QT.

In the very beginning I was going to stock my 200 with just a pair of Crosshatch Triggers and nothing else. They would outgrow it though so I scratched that idea. Then I had kind of decided just a pair of Blue Throats. Scraped that idea though as you can see :D

All this was because I didn't want to deal with ich again!

Feel your pain man.


As I do yours. Good Luck! Hope your fish beat it.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

As I do yours. Good Luck! Hope your fish beat it.

Me too :neutral:

A few of them are absolutely COVERED in ich right now (Hippo, Powder Brown, Tusk). Its never been this bad. But they continue to act normally. I am quite surprised.

If it gets much worse, I will have to do something. Most likely will mean QTing and selling them or finding free homes with people who want to QT them. Hope it doesn't come to that though.

[lobsterboy]

A fish that eats GSP??? Did you give him a golden tank and name him king??? I know of a few peeps that would pay big bucks for a GSP eating fish.

he's at GOLDS, lol, in the back tank

[Lance]

The Ich epidemic wasn't getting any better. I was running a 25 watt UV sterilizer 24/7; a diatom filter for several hours every day; large water changes every 3 to 4 days; soaked food in garlic and Selcon; and provided nori every day. I lost my Chocolate Tang, and the Sailfin and Harlequin Tuskfish are in bad shape. A fellow reefer was good enough to lend me his spare 180 gal which I set up in the garage. Today I transferred all the fish over to the 180 where they will remain for 8 weeks leaving the display fallow. I began treating them with Cupramine and am keeping my fingers crossed, hoping I don't lose any more fish. It was a big job, but I felt it needed to be done. Thank-Yous go to MrFish55 (Dave) and Marie for all their help. It is very much appreciated.
Does anyone know what the shelf life of Cupramine is?

[Mrfish55]

I have lots of eggcrate sitting here as well if you want to cover the QT (last thing you need now is any jumpers) hope the move went well and they have a speedy recovery.

[Lance]

I have lots of eggcrate sitting here as well if you want to cover the QT (last thing you need now is any jumpers) hope the move went well and they have a speedy recovery.


Way ahead of you Dave. Got eggcrate on the tank already. :lol: Move went very well. Drained the tank, moved the fish over, did some rock and coral rearranging while I was at it. All in 1.5 hours. Then I sat back and had a beer. Was worried about my fish so I had a couple more. Then they tasted so good I had a couple more and now I'm half-****ed and feeling great. :drinking::drinking::drinking::drinking

[Rbacchiega]

Here's to hoping everything goes better from here
*cheers*

[Lance]

Here's to hoping everything goes better from here
*cheers*

Thank You and *cheers* to you too!

[Lance]

Well, it's been 24 hours since the big move and everything is looking fine. Never lost a coral or a fish. I put a bunch of PVC pipe in the treatment tank along with some fake, plastic corals and plants. So the fish feel relatively safe. I've got an extra skimmer I can run on this tank. Is it advisable to run a skimmer when treating with Cupramine? The bottle just says to turn off UV sterilizer and remove all chemical filtration.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Well, it's been 24 hours since the big move and everything is looking fine. Never lost a coral or a fish. I put a bunch of PVC pipe in the treatment tank along with some fake, plastic corals and plants. So the fish feel relatively safe. I've got an extra skimmer I can run on this tank. Is it advisable to run a skimmer when treating with Cupramine? The bottle just says to turn off UV sterilizer and remove all chemical filtration.

I think you can run the skimmer. I have in the past when treating with copper but I have only ever treated one fish with copper, so I don't have much experience.

Glad to hear its going well!

[Lance]

Happy Tuskfish!
Sydney is certainly feeling better. He was actually playing tonight, swimming on his side at the surface all around the tank. At first I thought he was screwed up but then I realized he was playing. After about 5 laps of the tank he stuck his head out of the water and spit water into the air. He did this one more time and then spit water again. It was hilarious! I ran for the camera but he wouldn't do it anymore. I'll keep the camera by the tank in hopes he'll do it again.

[marie]

Good to hear, everytime I get a reply to this thread in my email I almost hate to look in case its bad news

[Lance]

Good to hear, everytime I get a reply to this thread in my email I almost hate to look in case its bad news

Every morning I hate to look in the tank, not knowing what I'm going to find. The move went very well though and the fish have responded to the Cupramine quickly, which is surprising to me becasue I always under dose a little with this stuff. Maybe it's just the Ich cycle though; I'm not sure. The corals in the DT all came through with flying colours too. :clap2:

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Every morning I hate to look in the tank, not knowing what I'm going to find. The move went very well though and the fish have responded to the Cupramine quickly, which is surprising to me becasue I always under dose a little with this stuff. Maybe it's just the Ich cycle though; I'm not sure. The corals in the DT all came through with flying colours too. :clap2:

Glad to hear.

I am also always worried to open this thread and see whats happening. QT is so scary to me :neutral:

[Lance]

So, the fish have been in QT now for 8 days. Everything is going pretty well, aside from the fact that I'm going through salt like crazy. Between the 225g, 90g, and 180g and 3 sumps I have about 600gals on the go, and I'm having to change about 30 gals of water in the QT every 3 days to keep the ammonia levels down. It's kind of a catch-22: You want to feed the fish well to keep them healthy but at the same time it's hard to keep ammonia down. If I don't change some water frequently the ammonia level rises quite rapidly. I'm treating with Cupramine right now. I'm trying to find some info on using ammonia inhibitors such as Amquel in conjunction with copper treatment, but can't anything anything. Does anybody know if this can be done? Or will it cause adverse effects?

[Lance]

The display tank has now been empty for 11 days and in that short time the pod population has just exploded. I can't believe how many there are. :shocked!: Every square inch of the tank has some, and the sump has even more. The fish are going to have a feast when they get back in.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

So, the fish have been in QT now for 8 days. Everything is going pretty well, aside from the fact that I'm going through salt like crazy. Between the 225g, 90g, and 180g and 3 sumps I have about 600gals on the go, and I'm having to change about 30 gals of water in the QT every 3 days to keep the ammonia levels down. It's kind of a catch-22: You want to feed the fish well to keep them healthy but at the same time it's hard to keep ammonia down. If I don't change some water frequently the ammonia level rises quite rapidly. I'm treating with Cupramine right now. I'm trying to find some info on using ammonia inhibitors such as Amquel in conjunction with copper treatment, but can't anything anything. Does anybody know if this can be done? Or will it cause adverse effects?

I have used Amquel with copper in the past. I never really thought of it much, just did it. I don't think it caused any problems. All it does is make it hard to test for ammonia. If I use it, I end up just adding some day and night everyday to be sure. Its relatively cheap compared to doing water changes.

[Lance]

I have used Amquel with copper in the past. I never really thought of it much, just did it. I don't think it caused any problems. All it does is make it hard to test for ammonia. If I use it, I end up just adding some day and night everyday to be sure. Its relatively cheap compared to doing water changes.


LOL I just gave the tank a good dose of Amquel today. I figured if it was dangerous to use with copper I would have found some info on that.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Any updates? How are they doing?

[Lance]

Any updates? How are they doing?


Well, Kinda good and bad. I thought I had the Ich beaten. I hadn't seen any sign of it for over a week. The two-week copper treatment ended Tuesday. Then yesterday I noticed a few spots on the Bannerfish, so it's still there. I guess I should continue the copper a little longer, but using this stuff makes me very nervous. I'm going to try hyposalinity as well I think. They are all eating well and look good. Thanks for asking.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Well, Kinda good and bad. I thought I had the Ich beaten. I hadn't seen any sign of it for over a week. The two-week copper treatment ended Tuesday. Then yesterday I noticed a few spots on the Bannerfish, so it's still there. I guess I should continue the copper a little longer, but using this stuff makes me very nervous. I'm going to try hyposalinity as well I think. They are all eating well and look good. Thanks for asking.

I have been told in the past not to do hypo and copper at the same time. Not sure if you meant your plan was both at once and maybe its fine but I would look into it.

Good luck. Sorry to hear its come back :(

Man I HATE ich so much!!!!

[Lance]

I have been told in the past not to do hypo and copper at the same time. Not sure if you meant your plan was both at once and maybe its fine but I would look into it.

Good luck. Sorry to hear its come back :(

Man I HATE ich so much!!!!


No, not simultaeously. I've got the salinity at 1.022 in the QT. Will start hypo after copper treatment.
Yes Ich sucks! I'm so glad my SF Tang recovered. He was absolutely covered; looked like someone rolled him in salt. I thought he was a goner.

[Lance]

The new tank has been empty of fish now for 17 days, and it looks so barren and empty I decided to post some pics that were taken just before the Ich breakout got real bad.



http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3264.jpg


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3425.jpg


Just a few days after this was taken my Sailfin was so covered in Ich it looked like he was rolled in salt. I really thought he was a goner, but he's been Ich-free for over a week now.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3286.jpg


Wussy Tuskfish too scared to come out for his photo.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3278.jpg




And one of the Chocolate Tang who didn't make it. (RIP) Although I only had him a short while, I miss him. He was a beautiful fish with quite the personality. :cry:
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3298.jpg

[Lance]

No sign of Ich in the last 6 days...(crosses fingers). I discontinued the Cupramine and after a large water change am lowering the salinity. All fish seem to be healthy and fit. The Tuskfish is voracious. He literally attacks his food now. He can devour a cracked open clam in minutes; grabs it and shakes the crap out of it. He and the Foxface seem to have made peace (at least in the QT).

[Pazil]

Thats great news... Hopefully everyone stays healthy and ich free

[Mrfish55]

Well? are they headed back to the display yet? or you going to give them an extra couple weeks to make sure.

[Lance]

Well? are they headed back to the display yet? or you going to give them an extra couple weeks to make sure.


2 more weeks, just to be safe. Not going through that again.

[Lance]

WHOOO--------HOOOOOO!!!
Next weekend all the fish go back into the display. Fish have been in quarantine now for 46 days, and all are healthy and fit. (no losses while in QT) Haven't seen a trace of Ich since the end of March. Although I love my corals and other inverts, a tank without fish in it just seems kind of empty. In hindsight, I think I may have saved my Chocolate Tang if I had removed them and treated them a little quicker. :sad:

[Mrfish55]

Give me a call,I'll give ya a hand :drinking:

[lastlight]

Congrats man! Some serious patience you're showing there (or you're keeping yourself too drunk to care!)

[Lance]

Congrats man! Some serious patience you're showing there (or you're keeping yourself too drunk to care!)


A little bit of both!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Glad to hear!

I am happy to say I haven't seen any ich in my tank since mid March or so either but of course since I did not QT, I am sure its there. Just not seen. And if I don't add any more fish, it stays away.

Will be nice to know you should have an ich free tank!

[Lance]

Well, after 8 long weeks of quarantine the fishies are finally back in their home! Ich Free! (Yeeee Haaa!) :bananapowerslide::Banane44:
I am quite proud of myself for my patience and for the fact I never lost a single fish or coral in the process. I had to drain the tank and remove most of the rock and corals to get the fish out, then transfer them to the QT, treat them with Cupramine, and change water so often I should have bought stock in IO salt. A special THANK YOU to Dave (MrFish55) for the use of his 180 gal. Without a large QT I don't think I would have made it. So here are a few pics of the fish safe and sound back at home and a few new coral additions.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3766.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3783.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3782.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3770.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3760.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3795.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3303.jpg

I couldn't get a shot of the Sailfin and LM Blenny, but they are doing fine too.

[Lance]

And some of the new corals.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3753.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3755.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3759.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3781.jpg


And just a few random shots

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3756.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3757.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3763.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3769.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3768.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishtanks%20May09/IMG_3796.jpg

[Pazil]

tank and fish look great

[Doug]

Great work Lance. A truly dedicated aquarist. Hope they all know how lucky they are to have you looking after them :D

[fishytime]

A round of applause.....kudos to you for your patience.

[christyf5]

Awesome Lance! Great to see when dedication pays off!! :mrgreen:

[Rbacchiega]

looking great! But who on earth has a 180 just lying around?! why isn't that bad boy full of water!

And I LOVE the rockwork. Pretty sure I mentioned it before, but those ledges etc will look deadly when everything is grown in. DEADLY.

[Lance]

Thanks, Guys!

[hillegom]

Good for you! Alot of work but it sure paid off

[muck]

Nicely done Lance. Great to see all your livestock made it through the de-Ichnifycation process..

P.S. That air compressor seen any use lately.. :lol:

[fishytime]

I was wondering....do you have any shrimp in your tank? I noticed the falco (is it?) hawkfish. I always thought they were cool, but have been to chicken to try one....I even passed on some wee tiny 1" ones at the shop.

[Lance]

Nicely done Lance. Great to see all your livestock made it through the de-Ichnifycation process..

P.S. That air compressor seen any use lately.. :lol:


I've used it twice since, but she won't go anywhere near it. :wink:

[Lance]

I was wondering....do you have any shrimp in your tank? I noticed the falco (is it?) hawkfish. I always thought they were cool, but have been to chicken to try one....I even passed on some wee tiny 1" ones at the shop.

Nope, no shrimp in this tank. With a Tuskfish, Falco Hawkfish and a new Lunar Wrasse I don't think they would last very long. All I've got for a CUC is a bunch of large snails.

[Lance]

Now that the Ich ordeal is long over everything is going so well I even acquired some new additions. Some new fish, and corals and am considering some Vortech MP's. Dave has some MP20's and MP40's coming in so I can observe them in action. Here's a few pics of the new additions:

A little Fire Clown that Joan wanted because she says we have too many yellow fish in the tank. :rolleyes:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3854.jpg


So what do I do? Get another yellow fish of course. CBB I got recently from Chaloupa. He is doing well in his new home Sarah.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3832.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3850.jpg

There's also a Lunar Wrasse in there but he won't co-operate for a photo. Kinda camera shy yet.


Huge bubble coral I got from Marie because she has no room for it anymore in to her forest of SPS. This thing is pretty big. I measured it at over 12" when fully extended. I was a little worried I had too much flow for it in this tank but it seems to be happy in the corner protected by the rockwork.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3826.jpg

And I can't post any pics without at least one of Sydney.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3828.jpg

And a few random shots of the tank:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3813.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3831.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3833.jpg

[marie]

...Huge bubble coral I got from Marie because she has no room for it anymore in to her forest of SPS. This thing is pretty big. I measured it at over 12" when fully extended. I was a little worried I had too much flow for it in this tank but it seems to be happy in the corner protected by the rockwork.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3826.jpg

...

I had a feeling it would expand twice the size if given a chance :lol:

[karazy]

nice! put some SPS on the left side, let it grow out a bunch, and it'll look awesome.

[Lance]

nice! put some SPS on the left side, let it grow out a bunch, and it'll look awesome.

Frag order is on the way.

[Lance]

Well I got my new Vortech MP40's today. I set them up and fiddled with the settings for 10 minutes or so. Suddenly there was a loud thumping noise. Not to worry, it was just the sound of the old Korallias hitting the bottom of the garbage can. :mrgreen: The MP 40's are amazing, I should have got them a long time ago. Turned on high they blow crap out of every rock in the tank. Don't need any detritus eaters with these things; crap blows up into the water column and down the overflows. I haven't decided which setting I like best yet, but am leaning toward either Long Pulse Mode or the Reef Crest Random Mode.

[Snappy]

looks great Lance.

[Mrfish55]

Almost feels like Christmas in June, if it wasn't for the 30 degee temperature:lol: I turned mine up and started to rearrange the sandbed.

[marie]

I would really like to be able to afford 2 more of them but it does feel like christmas came to Powell River :lol:

[fishytime]

So whats the flow in the tank now? How many more do you need Lance?....Marie need two...I could use one....:mrgreen:

[Lance]

So whats the flow in the tank now? How many more do you need Lance?....Marie need two...I could use one....:mrgreen:


Flow now is at 13,600 about 60x turnover, but I'm going to take the Korallia 4 out. I'm considering setting both MP40's at one end of the tank on Long Pulse Mode and keeping 2x Maxi-Jet 1200's with upgrade kit at the other end, which hopefully will give me a fairly decent wave. If not, I guess I'll need 2 more Mp40s.

[Lance]

I would really like to be able to afford 2 more of them but it does feel like christmas came to Powell River :lol:


Ho Ho Ho! and frags coming Monday.

[Lance]

Uh Oh. The big Bubble Coral doesn't like the extra flow. It's shrinking faster than George did when he went for a cold swim. :wink:

[Mrfish55]

It will get used to it, mine did
Uh Oh. The big Bubble Coral doesn't like the extra flow. It's shrinking faster than George did when he went for a cold swim. :wink:

[Lance]

My little Fire Clown looks like it's had some Botox injections. It could put Angelina Jolie to shame. It has been trying to host with my large bubble coral and I think maybe it got stung in the mouth. Lips are huge and very pale. Has anybody any experience with this or could it be something else?

[fishytime]

We need pics of those frags you mentioned:mrgreen:....not to sure about your clowns issue...are they just swollen or do they appear "flaky"?

[Lance]

We need pics of those frags you mentioned:mrgreen:....not to sure about your clowns issue...are they just swollen or do they appear "flaky"?


I'll post up some pics soon. It's lips are swollen, and pale in colour but not flaky.

[Lance]

Update: with lots of pics

The tank is now 6 months old, and after spending a fortune on rock, corals and fish it still looks half empty. Oh well, in time it will fill in.


My new MP40's.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4001.jpg


FTS

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3969.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3970.jpg



I moved the Kole Tang over from the 90 gal because he was getting pretty big for that tank. I was a little worried how the Sailfin would react so I put the Kole in after lights out. Next morning when the lights went on the SF went right after him. Nasty fighting, but the SF got the worst of it as the Kole is a little bigger. Then the Tuskfish gets in on the act and bites a large gash in the side of the Kole. (This is the first time I have seen any aggression from the Tuskfish). The Kole hid out for most of the day after that. Next morning everybody is uneasy, but no more fighting. It's amazing how fast fish can heal. The gash on the Kole was an open wound 3 days ago. Now, you can see it has mostly healed already. They are all getting along now.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3974.jpg


My poor little Fire Clown has swollen lips. It has been trying to host to the large Bubble Coral and I think it may have gotten stung in the mouth. It's been 3 or 4 days like this now. The clown acts normally and is eating well, but its lips are still swollen up. Anybody seen anything like this before?

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4049.jpg

[Lance]

And the rest of the fishes:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3973.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3975.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4087.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3951.jpg

Lamarcks Angel: reef safe my ass! Here it is picking at corals; it's pretty well killed this one. Little Bastard!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3949.jpg

Sydney

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3946.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3945.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4041.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4065.jpg

All 12 Chromis in one photo
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4017.jpg

[Lance]

And finally, some coral shots:

mushroom rock
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3977.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3983.jpg

deepwater acro
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3989.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3993.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3996.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3999.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4000.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3966.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3964.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3961.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3937.jpg

And finally, for all you Albertans that have been having all the rain, snow, and hail: a shot from my sundeck. :mrgreen:
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3502.jpg

[Mrfish55]

You sure that clown didn't slip out for some botox injections? Tank is looking good, need to stop by and check out the latest additions.

[Lance]

You sure that clown didn't slip out for some botox injections? Tank is looking good, need to stop by and check out the latest additions.

Yeah, it's weird. It looks like Angelina Jolie with gills.

[fishytime]

Update: with lots of pics

The tank is now 6 months old, and after spending a fortune on rock, corals and fish it still looks half empty. Oh well, in time it will fill in.

One or three fish there that will really help fill things in too....very cool selection of fish.

[Lance]

One or three fish there that will really help fill things in too....very cool selection of fish.

Thanks. I like what I've got so far. That's it for fish for awhile but down the road I'm thinking of a Bluechin Trigger.

[Skimmerking]

Lance your tank is filling in amazing man, looks stellar keep it up

[Lance]

Lance your tank is filling in amazing man, looks stellar keep it up


Thanks, Mike

[Lance]

Actually, if not for Marie, it would be almost empty. Some of the live rock and the large corals came from her. I should change the name to Lance & Marie's 225 gal Build Journal. :wink:

[Lance]

If anyone is considering a Tang for their tank have a good look at the Kole Tang. (Ctenochaetus strigosus) I've had mine for 3.5 months now and am very pleased with it.
Because I have a Tuskfish, Lunare Wrasse, and Hawkfish in this tank I can't keep a CUC and was looking for a suitable detritus eater. Somewhere I read that the Kole was a good tank cleaner so I bought one. What a good investment! This guy sucks up film algae like a Hoover; and eats nearly anything ugly in the tank. It loves to eat fish poop (gross as that sounds :puke:) As an added bonus, they stay quite small for a Tang (6"-7"); and are quite peaceful. Most of them come from Hawaii, so no worries about questionable capture. I highly recommend them. Here's an older pic of mine, just after I got him. His fins are a much brighter orange colour now.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_3974.jpg

[fishytime]

I agree...loved mine when I had him.

[marie]

Actually, if not for Marie, it would be almost empty. Some of the live rock and the large corals came from her. I should change the name to Lance & Marie's 225 gal Build Journal. :wink:

Speaking of which, the 2 big corals in my quarantine tank are not doing well (not enough light) I'm not sure they will make the full 6 weeks (to make them ick free) do you want to take them before they die? (I think it's been 4 weeks without fish)

[Lance]

Speaking of which, the 2 big corals in my quarantine tank are not doing well (not enough light) I'm not sure they will make the full 6 weeks (to make them ick free) do you want to take them before they die? (I think it's been 4 weeks without fish)

Sure. I can put them in my QT for a few more weeks. Let me know when you want me to pick them up.

[Lance]

Updated pics:
Everything is going pretty well with this tank now. Fish & corals are growing nicely.

Right Side
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4468.jpg

Left Side
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4469.jpg

Bubble Coral is finally getting used to the flow. For scale: The Bannerfish in front of it is about 5" long.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4495.jpg

And this Pipe Organ is at least 12" across and 9" high.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4499.jpg

Candy Cane has grown a lot in the last few months.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4485.jpg

And a few random shots:
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4457.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4460.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4464.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4470.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4483.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4478.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4466.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4467.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishaug09/IMG_4492.jpg

[BlueAbyss]

Nice growth, things seem to be doing very well!

[Lance]

Nice growth, things seem to be doing very well!


Yeah, things seem to be coming along nicely.

[Navarchus]

Doesn’t the Heniochus pick on corals?

[Lance]

Doesn’t the Heniochus pick on corals?


No, he is a well-mannered fish; doesn't bother anything. But it sure likes it's grub. Biggest pig I've ever seen.