koj11 said:
I can't believe how blown out of proportion this whole thing has become. Here is what I mean so there is no more confusion. In the initial post, he was talking about some die off and some spikes in his water parameters.
No, this is incorrect, he said that his ammonia level was off the charts. This is a fact, if the ammonia level goes off the charts with a tank that contains TBS L/R, the rock will begin to die until there is no more life on it. Your response to this information from provided by omchris was, "it sounds like a normal cycle to me."
These are both very common and typical things to see in a cycling tank.
They may be common and typical, but if this happens in a tank with TBS rock, then the outcome will be a large die off of the life on the rock.
He received a response from tbs saying "At this point you have stressed the rock out and it will continue to die.....once the ammonia gets toxic, the rock dies.....". Now remember this is a beginner to this hobby. How much help do you think this gave him (he did, after all post here for help in the first place)?
The response from TBS was valid and proven, no amount of sugar coating will get past this part.
The tbs response also told him that water changes are necessary, even though he had already said he was doing multiple water changes per day. Once again, not helpful.
What do you mean "not helpful?" If omchris was doing water changes, and yet his/her ammonia levels were still off the charts, then it is quite obvious that the only response would be to do more of them. The advice that should never be given in this situation is that which you gave "sounds like a normal cycle to me."
That was all I was trying to say. Tbs wasn't doing much in my opinion to try and help him. I am confident that his tank will be ok, and as such I tried to give him some encouragement during this stressful time in the early part of his adventure into this hobby.
The simple fact is that TBS was correct in their response, and although you may be "confident" that his tank will be alright, you have provided no proof for this statement. When the validity of your statements were brought into question, such as "A rock itself is inanimate, no matter what other living organisms are on it", your response was that people were flamming you. A better answer at this point might have been that you didn't realize that there was a difference in the amounts of life on different rocks IMO.
It is apparent that you have no personal experience with this rock, so I must question why you would make such bold assertions.
What would you have expected TBS to say? Let me emphasize this point again. It was apparent to me that TBS's response was more in the direction of
your response to a newbee. If they would have said some of the same things that you did, IMO they would have been doing a disservice to anyone starting up a tank with their L/R. How exactly should they have sugar coated the fact that if the ammonia level climbs past 1ppm, then the life on the L/R will begin to die?
Now, you can try and disquise your statements as "encouragement" all you like, but IMO its just bad information on your part due to a lack of expereince with Fla aquacultered rock.
Steve
). While cleaning my rock today I have found what looks like some sort of clam (?) that detached itself from on of the rocks. It is plain looking and about 3" big. The "animal" inside the shell still looks that light pale color, doesn't look like its dying, but I do not know. Can anyone tell me how I can tell if it is dying? (It doesn't stink).
