55semireef
Moved On
lol. yes it is a Cockatoo. I didn't give bat birdt a very good look.
Carpet questions (Carpet Moving Pic) Is he healthy looking?
- Thread starter o2zen
- Start date
o2zen
New member
Ok here are the pictures from when I got home tonight until I went to bed tonight. I added a Fluval 405 canister for more flow in my tank and to pull more out of the water and actively use some carbon.
When I first got home, deflated and mouth wide open, clown eatting from within him:
Plumping up and then eatting something:
After he ate he opened back up:
Mouth after he opened back up:
A few minutes ago, the mouth is open again:
So is he stressed out? His color looks good and he is responsive to my touch.
When I first got home, deflated and mouth wide open, clown eatting from within him:
Plumping up and then eatting something:
After he ate he opened back up:
Mouth after he opened back up:
A few minutes ago, the mouth is open again:
So is he stressed out? His color looks good and he is responsive to my touch.
o2zen
New member
Did I mention my new water heater set to 81 jacked my water temp to 90-95 today and my Cucumber dumped his guts.
Talk about feeling like its all turning against you. Ohh yeah I might trade all of my LR in for some new LR due to the Intercepter which seems to still be leaching off the rock into my tank making one of my Cleaners act funny but at least 3 of my Hermits came back to life.
Talk about feeling like its all turning against you. Ohh yeah I might trade all of my LR in for some new LR due to the Intercepter which seems to still be leaching off the rock into my tank making one of my Cleaners act funny but at least 3 of my Hermits came back to life.
WILDTHING
New member
o2zen, that first pic looks distressing. As I said I've never had any experience with carpets except my own but when my guy deflates his mouth isn't prolapsed like that.
I see the hollow you made for him, I'd fill it back in for him now since he seems willing to stay there. He may be too weak to dig in any further. A good sign that he will eat. Tell me about what you see the clown eating from his insides, is it brown stringy stuff? From what I've seen my guy do he should be expelling a neat slimy little white packet of bones if you are feeding silversides. Are you sure you have the Salt water Silversides? Now more than ever its important that he gets the most nutrition out of anything he eats. Actually if I was in your place I'd go to the grocery store or a fish market and try to buy him some squid tentacles or octopus tentacles because they should be pretty easy for him to digest without the bones etc.
The last pic looks better but he is still in some distress, when my guy deflates the next day he is WIDE open, his body is very thin and firm and he is at his biggest. He looks like a womans flared skirt on the dance floor.
I'm really sorry to hear about your heater and the Cucumber, don't cucumbers release a toxin when they expel their insides? If so you will need to take some immediate and drastic action. Is it dead? If not can you move it to your QT tank in case it dies? You will need to do a huge water change, I'd go 75% at least and run some carbon. If you can't do 75% all at once then 25%daily for 5 days.
Did you do any tests on your water since the heater and cucumber incident, I'd test ammonia and trates. How many hermits do you think died? If a lot of stuff died then you might have an ammonia spike or a small cycle again.
I see the hollow you made for him, I'd fill it back in for him now since he seems willing to stay there. He may be too weak to dig in any further. A good sign that he will eat. Tell me about what you see the clown eating from his insides, is it brown stringy stuff? From what I've seen my guy do he should be expelling a neat slimy little white packet of bones if you are feeding silversides. Are you sure you have the Salt water Silversides? Now more than ever its important that he gets the most nutrition out of anything he eats. Actually if I was in your place I'd go to the grocery store or a fish market and try to buy him some squid tentacles or octopus tentacles because they should be pretty easy for him to digest without the bones etc.
The last pic looks better but he is still in some distress, when my guy deflates the next day he is WIDE open, his body is very thin and firm and he is at his biggest. He looks like a womans flared skirt on the dance floor.
I'm really sorry to hear about your heater and the Cucumber, don't cucumbers release a toxin when they expel their insides? If so you will need to take some immediate and drastic action. Is it dead? If not can you move it to your QT tank in case it dies? You will need to do a huge water change, I'd go 75% at least and run some carbon. If you can't do 75% all at once then 25%daily for 5 days.
Did you do any tests on your water since the heater and cucumber incident, I'd test ammonia and trates. How many hermits do you think died? If a lot of stuff died then you might have an ammonia spike or a small cycle again.
WILDTHING
New member
o2zen
New member
Ok just tested the water this morning after running the new filter on the system all night with 3 carbon filters.
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.023
I did a 5gal water change last night. I am getting ready to do another right now (mixed water over night, I have 30 gals ready for the water changes)
The Cucumber is alive but looks very deflated but is in QT. I am thinking of changing my LR out for some new Cured LR straight from another reefers tank but I am going to want to QT that as well.
PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.023
I did a 5gal water change last night. I am getting ready to do another right now (mixed water over night, I have 30 gals ready for the water changes)
The Cucumber is alive but looks very deflated but is in QT. I am thinking of changing my LR out for some new Cured LR straight from another reefers tank but I am going to want to QT that as well.
WILDTHING
New member
sounds like you have things well in hand.
Here is an article on cukes
http://web.archive.org/web/20020815115555/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/2000/jan/wb/default.asp
In it he states that if your cuke was healthy enough before it expelled its intestines it may survive.
Q, why QT the rock from a established tank? Do you suspect flatworms or something of that nature? Just curious.
Here is an article on cukes
http://web.archive.org/web/20020815115555/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/2000/jan/wb/default.asp
In it he states that if your cuke was healthy enough before it expelled its intestines it may survive.
Q, why QT the rock from a established tank? Do you suspect flatworms or something of that nature? Just curious.
o2zen
New member
No I am just being over protective now since this all started due to my LR in the first place. My carpet and all my critters were happy and healthy then and now I feel like I failed my tank. Fighting to keep one Shrimp alive that spends 15 minutes looking and acting normal then lays on its back for hours but when I drop food in the tank it comes running for it. I fear he is dying on me. The Carpet is not acting right today and when I pushed some food his way he spit it all out on me. I used a turkey baster with Cyclops-eze and some Mysis in it. He got a good stream of it in his open mouth (worried about that as well) and he is not holding on good to the bottom for me but he is not 100% letting go either.
I am in the process of another way change and I have the new filter hard wired into my rig now as well so my overflow is also pulling for the new filtration canister and then the canister spits out its load on top of my wet/dry LR rubble system which I am still thinking about changing out for a protein skimmer anyway.
I am in the process of another way change and I have the new filter hard wired into my rig now as well so my overflow is also pulling for the new filtration canister and then the canister spits out its load on top of my wet/dry LR rubble system which I am still thinking about changing out for a protein skimmer anyway.
o2zen
New member
Silverfish (saltwater, 1 fish), Mysis (1 squares), Cyclops-eze (shavings)
I have placed the thawed Silverfish on him and wiggled it until it stuck to him and he closed over it. I have also squirted a mix of cyclops and mysis thawed in a baster into his mouth from a few inches away which he closed over and ate.
His poop as been a slimy stringy release as well as harder clumps of something. The clowns seem to like the stringy stuff and help clean it off him.
I have been doing more reading as well:
http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cptanemdisfaqs.htm
I have placed the thawed Silverfish on him and wiggled it until it stuck to him and he closed over it. I have also squirted a mix of cyclops and mysis thawed in a baster into his mouth from a few inches away which he closed over and ate.
His poop as been a slimy stringy release as well as harder clumps of something. The clowns seem to like the stringy stuff and help clean it off him.
I have been doing more reading as well:
http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cptanemdisfaqs.htm
WILDTHING
New member
Personally I wouldn't squirt anything in his mouth. If you must squirt something for him do it on his tentacles.
Ok now Anthony Calfo in the article from Wet Web media disagrees but I have never seen my Carpet accept any small floating foods like cyclopeeze or even small chunks of seafood I have put in the blender to make seafood mush for the tank. He won't let them stick to him and never has he closed up to eat them. Only larger items seem to get the feeding response from him. This may just be my guy, I don't know. But if your guy is stressed and you just bought him from the LFs I gotta think he hasn't eaten properly in a while. If he was mine I would be feeding him more *hearty* fare like squid or octopus tentacles. Those would be my first choices then silversides or some SW fish from the seafood market that you cut into strips about the size of your pinky finger. I would go with the tentacles because it has no bone or scales which should be easier to digest.
How is your Cleaner shrimp and the cuke donig?
Ok now Anthony Calfo in the article from Wet Web media disagrees but I have never seen my Carpet accept any small floating foods like cyclopeeze or even small chunks of seafood I have put in the blender to make seafood mush for the tank. He won't let them stick to him and never has he closed up to eat them. Only larger items seem to get the feeding response from him. This may just be my guy, I don't know. But if your guy is stressed and you just bought him from the LFs I gotta think he hasn't eaten properly in a while. If he was mine I would be feeding him more *hearty* fare like squid or octopus tentacles. Those would be my first choices then silversides or some SW fish from the seafood market that you cut into strips about the size of your pinky finger. I would go with the tentacles because it has no bone or scales which should be easier to digest.
How is your Cleaner shrimp and the cuke donig?
WILDTHING
New member
I believe one of the products you can use is Selcon, garlic extreme is another that is supposed to get a good feeding response. But beware that items like Selcon can quickly and easily pollute a tank, esp since you don't have a skimmer.
Definitely don't mess with his mouth. Put it on his tentacles and gently wiggle it for a sec, he should immediately close up on it and stuff it in his mouth.
55semireef
Moved On
How's the green Haddoni doing?
o2zen
New member
Sad to say but he did not make it. I returned him to the LFS last night in a last ditch effort to get him help. It was too late.
Here is what I found out from one of the guys there and I wanted to run it past you all. Salinity drip method of adding an anemone to your tank. Example is that on the night I picked up my hammerhead, which is the night they talked me into this carpet for my clowns, I had my water tested which was perfect. Everything was in the spot it was supposed to be or better. Salinity was 1.024 but the anemone tank at the shop was at 1.022 and when I introduced my carpet to my tank the salinity difference migth have caused the carpet (one of the more fragile ones) to fill with a higher salinity level than it was used to and go into shock.
I am not sure if I understand this correctly but thats about the gist of it. He went on at great length about anemones and seemed to understand them very well. He was sorry the other sales person talked me into the carpet as he said it was a great one and he would not have suggested a carpet as a first host anemone for me, let alone one when my tank was so young.
Here is what I found out from one of the guys there and I wanted to run it past you all. Salinity drip method of adding an anemone to your tank. Example is that on the night I picked up my hammerhead, which is the night they talked me into this carpet for my clowns, I had my water tested which was perfect. Everything was in the spot it was supposed to be or better. Salinity was 1.024 but the anemone tank at the shop was at 1.022 and when I introduced my carpet to my tank the salinity difference migth have caused the carpet (one of the more fragile ones) to fill with a higher salinity level than it was used to and go into shock.
I am not sure if I understand this correctly but thats about the gist of it. He went on at great length about anemones and seemed to understand them very well. He was sorry the other sales person talked me into the carpet as he said it was a great one and he would not have suggested a carpet as a first host anemone for me, let alone one when my tank was so young.
o2zen
New member
I am very sad by this as I loved my carpet and I am sad to see him go. My tank seems lonely without him. He was falling apart yesterday and had some bubbles forming inside him that I found when he turned inside out again last night. He had what looked like chunks of himself floating away from him and tons of slime.
They quizzed me about everything from my lighting to the water quality to my LR and Sand and filters and said everything was perfect other than my being new to this and the tan being young but the guy who sold me the carpet came walking up when he was asking me about my water and started going on about how perfect my water was. Anyway I have learned a ton from this experience but I feel horrible about this. If it was really a difference in salinity levels that did it that is a first for me from anything and everything I have read in the past month. I have limited experience so I look to others.
Thanks for all of your help guys. I am planning a 150ish later this year and will think of another carpet down the road from then once my tank has been set up and going.
On another note my friend is downsizing from his 320 to a 150 and is giving away a lot of his life and has offered me a BTA but I am afraid at this point to even try.
They quizzed me about everything from my lighting to the water quality to my LR and Sand and filters and said everything was perfect other than my being new to this and the tan being young but the guy who sold me the carpet came walking up when he was asking me about my water and started going on about how perfect my water was. Anyway I have learned a ton from this experience but I feel horrible about this. If it was really a difference in salinity levels that did it that is a first for me from anything and everything I have read in the past month. I have limited experience so I look to others.
Thanks for all of your help guys. I am planning a 150ish later this year and will think of another carpet down the road from then once my tank has been set up and going.
On another note my friend is downsizing from his 320 to a 150 and is giving away a lot of his life and has offered me a BTA but I am afraid at this point to even try.
WILDTHING
New member
sorry to hear about your loss, I know you had a lot invested in it emotionally.
I would concentrate on getting your system stable first, work out your LR problem then give the tank some months of running stable before adding something as sensitive as an anemone. Actually it would probably be a good idea not to add anything new for a while besides your new LR. Get your routine re tank maintance and keeping parameters in order down then add things that are very hardy...mushrooms, zenia, zoas leathers. If you move too fast and things keep dying you will get frustrated and depressed and end up leaving the hobby.
Consider joining a reef club, usually chock full of nice people in your area willing to help out a new guy. They usually have monthly meetings and frag swaps, good deals on used equipment, group buys etc. I belong to 3 in my area. A quick search brought up this one in your area
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=72
The best thing about a club is that when you ask advice you are getting advice from someone who has experience and you can see the product of their experience by their tanks. They also are not trying to sell you anything so have no bias in that regard.
Best of luck, and I hope to see you on the boards for a long time to come.
Colleen
I would concentrate on getting your system stable first, work out your LR problem then give the tank some months of running stable before adding something as sensitive as an anemone. Actually it would probably be a good idea not to add anything new for a while besides your new LR. Get your routine re tank maintance and keeping parameters in order down then add things that are very hardy...mushrooms, zenia, zoas leathers. If you move too fast and things keep dying you will get frustrated and depressed and end up leaving the hobby.
Consider joining a reef club, usually chock full of nice people in your area willing to help out a new guy. They usually have monthly meetings and frag swaps, good deals on used equipment, group buys etc. I belong to 3 in my area. A quick search brought up this one in your area
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=72
The best thing about a club is that when you ask advice you are getting advice from someone who has experience and you can see the product of their experience by their tanks. They also are not trying to sell you anything so have no bias in that regard.
Best of luck, and I hope to see you on the boards for a long time to come.
Colleen
o2zen
New member
Thanks Colleen. I might keep my LR as I love the life on it and I put some new hermits in last night to test and as of this morning they are still climbing all over the LR enjoying a weeks worth of food growth. Its possible I just added the Hermits back to quickly and had I waited a day they would have been ok. I have some nice wonderful growth going on my current LR with reds, purples, ornages, blues and not to mention the 4 mussles, cucs, and all the worms that help clean my tank.
I would be losing a great helper to a stable system and as long as my LR is safe to the hermits I think I will keep it. My cleaner is back to normal now as well and the other cuc that exploded is alive and well in a micro QT with the Gorilla crab I still have not tossed out the window when crossing the bridge very morning
I have two types of Micro algae also growing on my LR which I like. My Hammer is doing great and my green Rics look to be splitting on me now as well. All the snails and the rest of the tank is stable again and I think the addition of the Fluval is helping the tank greatly with over 400gph total of filtration flow in my tank.
My Fluval is pulling from my overflow and pouring back into my wet/dry which I am replacing with a protein skimmer soon I think. I am reworking it so it dumps back into my tank so I can get more flow inside the tank.
I do love the new LR thou but I think since it is awesome tightly packed branch that it is lighter and tanks up more space I cannot get 40 pounds of it into my tank to replace the 40 pounds I have now and while the branch has some awesome growth its mainly white and purple/red so I will lose my life and most of my color/algae.
I would be losing a great helper to a stable system and as long as my LR is safe to the hermits I think I will keep it. My cleaner is back to normal now as well and the other cuc that exploded is alive and well in a micro QT with the Gorilla crab I still have not tossed out the window when crossing the bridge very morning
I have two types of Micro algae also growing on my LR which I like. My Hammer is doing great and my green Rics look to be splitting on me now as well. All the snails and the rest of the tank is stable again and I think the addition of the Fluval is helping the tank greatly with over 400gph total of filtration flow in my tank.
My Fluval is pulling from my overflow and pouring back into my wet/dry which I am replacing with a protein skimmer soon I think. I am reworking it so it dumps back into my tank so I can get more flow inside the tank.
I do love the new LR thou but I think since it is awesome tightly packed branch that it is lighter and tanks up more space I cannot get 40 pounds of it into my tank to replace the 40 pounds I have now and while the branch has some awesome growth its mainly white and purple/red so I will lose my life and most of my color/algae.
WILDTHING
New member
Sounds like you have a solid plan. I think its a really good idea to add the Protein Skimmer, it will allow you to have really good quality water for your animals and make your life a lot easier re maintance.
Be carefull with the Macro, it tends to end up taking over tanks.
Consider if you have the space, using some of the new LR in your sump, you can also put the Macro algae in there along with critters you don't want in your tank like the Gorilla crab, they are destroyers in a tank but good at cleaning up and pretty cool to watch.
Glad your cuke and cleaner recovered!
Be carefull with the Macro, it tends to end up taking over tanks.
Consider if you have the space, using some of the new LR in your sump, you can also put the Macro algae in there along with critters you don't want in your tank like the Gorilla crab, they are destroyers in a tank but good at cleaning up and pretty cool to watch.
Glad your cuke and cleaner recovered!
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