Why do they even try to do saltwater? I had a birthday recently and my secretary got me a $25 gift card to Petco. I went by there today to try to find something to spend it on.
As I walked past the freshwater tanks to see what was going on in the saltwater, I noticed a obvious lack of motion. Normally they've got some clownfish, damsels, firefish, some tangs, and once in a while some wrasses. Nothing crazy, just basic stuff.
Today, none of that. They had a few chocolate chip stars, one poor little blue damsel who looked like he wasn't long for this side of the great white throne, and the saddest looking pajama cardinal family I've ever seen. One poor little guy was missing half his tail. The tank they were in had this purple slime that not only coated the "live" rock, but also formed a nice little slick at the top of the water. The three cardinals were hovering around this fake plant whose leaves were all connected by the same purple slime. If I had a QT up and running, I would have tried to talk them into giving me all three of the cardinals who were otherwise just going to end up being a write off for the store.
In that same tank they had a nice little yellow headed goby who would be a great addition to my tank, but I'm not about to just throw him in there without the aforementioned QT.
There was one little six line wrasse in a tank by himself. I guess they figured he was hungry because they had some nori on a clip. Nevermind that he's a carnivore. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because he'd have had to eat his way through the slime covering the nori before he could actually eat it.
It was the most depressing thing a fish lover could see. Fish that would otherwise be incredibly beautiful just hours, maybe days, away from their deaths.
So, how long would a QT tank need to be up and running before you could add fish? I've got a couple 5 gallon tanks sitting around. Think I could put some water in them, a basic filter, and rescue those fish?
As I walked past the freshwater tanks to see what was going on in the saltwater, I noticed a obvious lack of motion. Normally they've got some clownfish, damsels, firefish, some tangs, and once in a while some wrasses. Nothing crazy, just basic stuff.
Today, none of that. They had a few chocolate chip stars, one poor little blue damsel who looked like he wasn't long for this side of the great white throne, and the saddest looking pajama cardinal family I've ever seen. One poor little guy was missing half his tail. The tank they were in had this purple slime that not only coated the "live" rock, but also formed a nice little slick at the top of the water. The three cardinals were hovering around this fake plant whose leaves were all connected by the same purple slime. If I had a QT up and running, I would have tried to talk them into giving me all three of the cardinals who were otherwise just going to end up being a write off for the store.
In that same tank they had a nice little yellow headed goby who would be a great addition to my tank, but I'm not about to just throw him in there without the aforementioned QT.
There was one little six line wrasse in a tank by himself. I guess they figured he was hungry because they had some nori on a clip. Nevermind that he's a carnivore. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because he'd have had to eat his way through the slime covering the nori before he could actually eat it.
It was the most depressing thing a fish lover could see. Fish that would otherwise be incredibly beautiful just hours, maybe days, away from their deaths.
So, how long would a QT tank need to be up and running before you could add fish? I've got a couple 5 gallon tanks sitting around. Think I could put some water in them, a basic filter, and rescue those fish?
