New fish, same tank

[Lightsluvr]

After we got rid of Charlie (the monster Vlamangi Tang), we let the tank stabilize for a few weeks, allowing the system to reach its new balance without the impact of Charlie's waste in the water.

Finally, last week we picked up a Solar Wrasse at Aquariums in Edmond. He is a beautiful fish and is doing well in the community.

We have been watching for an Achilles Tang, and Leigh Anne ordered one for us this week. He arrived yesterday and went right into the display tank. This is NOT a best practice for new fish! I know that failing to quarantine Tangs, especially the Achilles , is playing Russian Roulette with Ich. However, our fish have succesfully battled minor Ich outbreaks for years and it has been over a year since we saw the last white spot. Our good fortune is that good appetites, selcon and garlic supplements win over the Ich reproduction cycle. (Knock on wood)

Rather than subject the new Achilles to 10 days in a small QT with insufficient flow and food sources, I acclimated ours as to temp, salinity and pH, and he went straight into a dark display tank.

When the lights came on last evening, he was already picking at algae on live rock, playing in the flow of an MP40W and dodging attacks from a much larger yellow tang. This morning he feasted on nori like a "pig with fins".

So our fingers are crossed that this little guy (4"-5") will fend off any parasites and join the happy community.

Here is a link to the latest page of our updated Tank thread. If you haven't read the entire thread, there are lots of pictures. Pack a lunch.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=19833113&posted=1#post19833113

LL

 

[BrianOKC]

Good Luck George. This fish can be extremely difficult to keep alive in my experience. I've had them feeding like a pig and then just shut off and not eat. All fish are different so hopefully it works out for you.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Thanks Brian. We researched the Achilles extensively and read over and over that they thrive on strong flow. Well, that's something we have in our display: a closed loop powered by a Hammerhead Gold plus (3) Vortech MP40Ws.

We have had remarkable "luck" with fish (more than we have had with coral). Makes me think we should have gone FOWLR to begin with... most of our fish we have enjoyed for 3 to 4+ years.

The biggest cause of loss in fish has been from jumping... no more firefish for us. :debi:

LL

 

[cjilge]

Good luck on an awesome fish! I tried to rehab one recently but the little guy definately needed to be in a bigger tank than the qt I had and more flow. One of my fav fish