Navyblue
Low maintenance first
Chaeto and skimmer, they don't do the same thing, so they don't replace each other. Skimmer is more for general filtration, remove organics from the water before they could decompose. The organic decomposed will eventually turn into nitrate and the chaeto is supposed to remove them.
You will want a skimmer regardless of chaeto.
As for nitrate export, your options are chaeto, very large water change, or carbon dosing (requires skimmer). If chaeto fails, then you will need one of the other two.
Miracle mud might do no harm to you in the short run, but years later it will eventually be a detritus trap, not needing it is an understatement.
As for the fish, there are some good info in that thread, but there are bad ones too. Fishes don't die from ammonia for spending 2 hours in a reasonably sized bag. There are many reasons that a fish would die, most of which we as hobbyist will never know.
Most of the fishes moved from one part of the world to another simply don't survive. If I were to take a wild stab this would be it. Most fishes I bought would die within the first few weeks, even though they all looked fine in the LFS. Of course, the LFS around me are far from the best. My suggestion would be, never buy any new arrivals. If a fish lived in an LFS tank for weeks if not a month and still looks good, chances are that it will stay alive when given the right condition. Otherwise what you are experiencing is not rare at all.
I once moved to a nearby apartment within walking distance, even with such a short distance move. A fish that I had for years died in a matter of hours while other fishes showed no sign of distress. The only attributable factor is stress from the moving, this is one aspect that is seldom talked about and impossible to quantify.
You will want a skimmer regardless of chaeto.
As for nitrate export, your options are chaeto, very large water change, or carbon dosing (requires skimmer). If chaeto fails, then you will need one of the other two.
Miracle mud might do no harm to you in the short run, but years later it will eventually be a detritus trap, not needing it is an understatement.
As for the fish, there are some good info in that thread, but there are bad ones too. Fishes don't die from ammonia for spending 2 hours in a reasonably sized bag. There are many reasons that a fish would die, most of which we as hobbyist will never know.
Most of the fishes moved from one part of the world to another simply don't survive. If I were to take a wild stab this would be it. Most fishes I bought would die within the first few weeks, even though they all looked fine in the LFS. Of course, the LFS around me are far from the best. My suggestion would be, never buy any new arrivals. If a fish lived in an LFS tank for weeks if not a month and still looks good, chances are that it will stay alive when given the right condition. Otherwise what you are experiencing is not rare at all.
I once moved to a nearby apartment within walking distance, even with such a short distance move. A fish that I had for years died in a matter of hours while other fishes showed no sign of distress. The only attributable factor is stress from the moving, this is one aspect that is seldom talked about and impossible to quantify.
