Thanks to those members that never judged and made my dreams come to life.

[Myka]

See PM Diana.

[Skimmerking]

Hey at the end of the day its your tank and if you go through all of this for your fish then who cares what you do its your hobby and your Opinion on how things are done. I would rather see or anyone on here take a fis hthat is impossible to take care of and give it a place to live even if its life can only live for 3-4 months at least it made it that far. But when some one buys a the same fish and doesnt have the background or some of us and it dies like in 2-3 days or hours that is sad.

Like I have satated to you befoe in a PM, who cares what other people think. its your money ,time and passion that keeps your fish going through day after day.


MIke

[banditpowdercoat]

Diana, your tank is awesome, and you have done extremely well. I see that combo's are possible that I was told never would be. Your tan has been a great inspiration for mine.

[niloc16]

i'm pretty sure i'll get it for this post but its ok, i feel i've earned the right to speak my mind on here. i think alot of the time people should keep their mouth shut as to what 'THEY' feel should be allowed into someone elses tank. where someone gets off deciding what should and shouldnt be allowed to be sold or kept is beyond me. if you really stand back and think outside the box, nothing we put in our tanks should technically be there. but at the end of the day the hobbyist is the strongest researcher in marine life when it comes to owning an aquarium. we spend more time on our tanks and staring into them for endless hours than actually scientists do in the lab. yes i agree there is alot of losses of marine life in the industry but there is a greater loss in the wild with global warming. all the time spent in attacking others for their decisions or protesting stores or suppliers for what they are bringing should be spent in trying to make a difference in the environment.

hats off to you for doing a great job in not only keeping your livestock alive but obviously having them thrive. sorry i couldnt find the regulations on timelines of keeping livestock alive to prove your success. but by the sounds of it, it exists. along with the red and yellow fish list.

"thank you, come again"

[Navarchus]

Hi,
First of all...


Now, to the hurt of the matter…

Just like you I had successes with some hard to keep specimens such as Diacanthus (keep2 3 together for some time, all eating dry food) I head a mandarin for 4 years and he eat dry food eventually, cleaner wrasse was my tank doctor for a long time and so on….

you said:

All it takes is for a member to do their home work, make adjustments to their system and make darned sure to be committed to making this work..

I believe this is the key to success!
These hard to keep specimens requires advance planning and some aquarium modification. For example the Diacanthus is very sensitive to nitrogen cycle, so it is better to introduce it to an established system 3-6 month. If you have some aggressive fish in your system you should know you will have to give them away in order to maintain this delicate fish.

These are not fish you buy on the spot out of enthuse! Buying them without a proper planning and knowledge will end in their death and the enthusiast bitter disappointment!

[brickwood]

Blah blah blah. Red list, yellow list, green list, whatever. If you have a tank with fish and corals, you are a hypocrite! I have broken every rule. Tangs, bring em on. I have many. Different species of clowns in one tank? I got em. Mixed reef? Mine is. It thrives. I have seen many tanks like mine that thrive. Even when I posted my journal, I was judged. I say whatever. I am in a hobby that can only be supported by taking from mother nature. Am I a bad person? Maybe. I am no worse than anybody else in the hobby. Maybe we all need to keep our opinions to ourselves, unless asked, including myself.

[my2rotties]

Thanks for the more positive comments, they are nice to see. It is also nice to see some members agree with some of these other posts as well. I do have to mention I didn't think there was a three year time line in order to know you have been successful. I may not have this tank and the fish for three years, I don't know that. As long as I live in this house, I will have them and consider their health and well being while I have them to be a success. I don't worry about if they will be dead in the morning or have the mentality that I am going to fail them. If I had this mind set, I should not be in this hobby... I wouldn't want to be, since that would not be enjoyable at all. I paid those dues at start up and with every fish I added. I am glad I have all the fish I want, and don't need to put myself through worrying about any new fish. If any do die, I will admit to it... why hide. Perhaps others could learn from the deaths and do better if they try.

I was told my limited success I have had in the past months in no way makes me an experienced hobbyist, but I never claimed to be one to begin with. I never tell anyone to do what I did, and never advise anyone to do what I have done. I would never advise or condone anything I had done...However, what I have done to make things work, may be different then other people's so I do think I deserve some credit. I am aware that problems may or will crop up later on as the tank matures, it is almost nine months old now. I was worried about hitch hiker crabs, but they give my Banana wrasse a hobby. He is a hunter and he loves to look for the crabs. Sometimes bad things can be blessing in the long run.

My husband built this system, and for someone that has never known a thing about things of this nature, he by far outdid himself. He made things very simple for me to do my job, which is care for the fish and the system. Nothing came easy and with the higher risk fish came great amounts of stress and tension.

Some times rules are made to be broken or bent. Sometimes it takes a newbie reefer to have the torch passed onto them, to try something once again. From my extensive research on many fish, there is not a large amount known about them to begin with, and if people continue to try, perhaps more knowledge of keeping them successfully will come along. I don't know everything of claim to even know very much. However I do know what I have learned, and I do know everything I had done to be where I am.

I continually see people get beat up for stocking choices, or impulse buys. Instead of bashing people and making them fearful to ask questions, why not say nothing at all. Why bother posting the tank will crash, the fish will die, or they have no chance. What is the point of closing doors?

Any ways, I have a serious hike to go on, and I appreciate all the input and insight on my post.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by niloc16

. if you really stand back and think outside the box, nothing we put in our tanks should technically be there.

Pretty much says it there. It's funny how we criticise people killing a tang as we type over our dinner plate of salmon. These ornamental fish are actually food in their parts of the world, and get killed all the time. Groupers probably eat more fish than hobbyists kill
In all honestly, if a person is that passionate about fish, they should be working in a field trying to preserve reefs, not contributing to their demise. A fish does not, ever, belong in an aquarium. Birds don't belong in cages. Nor snakes. Or any wild animal. But as a species, we tend to be a bit selfish in our self rewarding behaviours, and "pets" often pay for that with their lives.
That being said, if you're going to keep these poor little things captive, doing your best is all that one can ask......

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Pretty much says it there. It's funny how we criticise people killing a tang as we type over our dinner plate of salmon. These ornamental fish are actually food in their parts of the world, and get killed all the time. Groupers probably eat more fish than hobbyists kill
In all honestly, if a person is that passionate about fish, they should be working in a field trying to preserve reefs, not contributing to their demise. A fish does not, ever, belong in an aquarium. Birds don't belong in cages. Nor snakes. Or any wild animal. But as a species, we tend to be a bit selfish in our self rewarding behaviours, and "pets" often pay for that with their lives.
That being said, if you're going to keep these poor little things captive, doing your best is all that one can ask......

This is a very truthful statement, to acknowledge that the hobby we partake in is detrimental to the lives of the animals we care for makes sense. To become passionate about it though (and that's why I believe most of us stay in this hobby) is what is really the life blood of the reefing industry. To see beyond the fish tank and understand that your responsible for the lives of ALL of these organisms is what everyone has to understand. Good on you Diana, it really looks like you are putting the effort in to care for these animals if I can give you any advice it's just to learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of the others around you, after all that's what this forum is for.
Levi

[Pazil]

Diana we still have not seen any new pics of your setup... I would love to see some. Glad to hear the new tang (well not so new any more) is doing great!! Get some pics up.