PLEASE check out your intended fish purchases here first!

[snorvich]

Steve,

I got 4 dispar Anthias (1m,3f) in on Wed from Blue Zoo. They were supposed to arrive on Tues, but got delayed at Fedex, so they arrived a day late.

Anyhow, they seem to be doing ok in my 20g long QT, but they don't seem to be eating... Any suggestions?


I have tried the following foods:

The dry food pack that came with the fish from BZ
Live brine shrimip (didn't think it would work, but thought it was worth a try...)
PE Mysis
PE Cyclpop-eeze
Small bit of Roggers food-chopped up
And even a small bit of flake food I use in my other Fowlr tank


Thanks for your help,
Charlie


They just seem to want to hang out on the bottom of the tank, hiding behind or inside two pieces of 2" PVC pipe I've got resting on the bottom. Nothing else in the tank other than an airstone and a HOB filter.

I find that Nutramar Ova and frozen cyclopeeze are irresistible to newly acquire anthias. Water parameters?

 

[tmerf11]

Your tank is not mature enough for algae grazers. Also, putting large fish in your tank will make it look small. Given your tank age I would go more slowly. It would be great if you would learn to quarantine starting about now.

My QT is already set up and awaiting the first fish...

 

[snorvich]

My QT is already set up and awaiting the first fish...

Now THAT is terrific. I am always happy when people start in this hobby by doing the right thing from the beginning! Congrats!!!! :thumbsup:

 

[snorvich]

Steve,

I got 4 dispar Anthias (1m,3f) in on Wed from Blue Zoo. They were supposed to arrive on Tues, but got delayed at Fedex, so they arrived a day late.

What was the SG of the transport water? How did you acclimate?

Anyhow, they seem to be doing ok in my 20g long QT, but they don't seem to be eating... Any suggestions?


I have tried the following foods:

The dry food pack that came with the fish from BZ
Live brine shrimip (didn't think it would work, but thought it was worth a try...)
PE Mysis
PE Cyclpop-eeze
Small bit of Roggers food-chopped up
And even a small bit of flake food I use in my other Fowlr tank


Thanks for your help,
Charlie


They just seem to want to hang out on the bottom of the tank, hiding behind or inside two pieces of 2" PVC pipe I've got resting on the bottom. Nothing else in the tank other than an airstone and a HOB filter.

 

[cbm369]

I find that Nutramar Ova and frozen cyclopeeze are irresistible to newly acquire anthias. Water parameters?

At work right now, so I don't have the exact #'s of the water params. When I checked Friday, nothing was out of line... Planning on doing a partial water change Monday a.m. and recheck everything.

The cyclopeeze I take one cube and put in a tiny cup and then take about a teaspoon or two of tank water and defrost it with that. I then take an eyedropper and squirt in a small amount at a time instead of dumping in the whole amount. Does this technique sound ok? Since there is not a lot of water movement, (only the HOB filter), to keep the food suspended, I figured this might be best.

Do you this this QT setup is ok, or should I add a powerhead for more water movement? I do have a spare Koralia Evo 750.


thanks again,
Charlie

 

[snorvich]

At work right now, so I don't have the exact #'s of the water params. When I checked Friday, nothing was out of line... Planning on doing a partial water change Monday a.m. and recheck everything.

I ask because I recall that BZ transport water is low SG (1.020) which requires quite a while going up. On the other hand, if you matched your QT water to the expected transport water you would have a short acclimation.

The cyclopeeze I take one cube and put in a tiny cup and then take about a teaspoon or two of tank water and defrost it with that. I then take an eyedropper and squirt in a small amount at a time instead of dumping in the whole amount. Does this technique sound ok? Since there is not a lot of water movement, (only the HOB filter), to keep the food suspended, I figured this might be best.

That sounds fine. Nutramar is irresistible to anthias so if you can get some and use it the same way, that would be good.

Do you this this QT setup is ok, or should I add a powerhead for more water movement? I do have a spare Koralia Evo 750.

Sounds fine to me, a powerhead will increase evaporation. Are you treating prophylactically or just observing.


thanks again,
Charlie

 

[cbm369]

I acclimated according to Blue Zoo's recommendation, since they were in the bags for 2 days. This is what they told me:

"Fish – It is very important to provide oxygen as quickly as possible, so please have an air pump and air stone at the ready. When you receive your fish, do not float the bags! Instead, pour the shipping water into your acclimation bucket, put the Stress Guard in right away and put the air pump and stone in immediately. Then begin your drip as normal." (small dropper of Stress Guard was included with the shipment)

Acclimation time was about 2.5 hours total.

Salinity of QT and bag water was within .001. (QT=1.025, bag=1.024) using refractometer.

 

[snorvich]

I acclimated according to Blue Zoo's recommendation, since they were in the bags for 2 days. This is what they told me:

"Fish "“ It is very important to provide oxygen as quickly as possible, so please have an air pump and air stone at the ready. When you receive your fish, do not float the bags! Instead, pour the shipping water into your acclimation bucket, put the Stress Guard in right away and put the air pump and stone in immediately. Then begin your drip as normal."

Acclimation time was about 2.5 hours total.

Salinity of QT and bag water was within .001. (QT=1.025, bag=1.024) using refractometer.

Sounds fine but I am surprised the bag water was 1.024, that is a change for the better

 

[cbm369]

No treatment as of right now, just observing. I haven't noticed any signs of parasites or other maladies, yet. Hopefully everything will turn out ok. This was my first time ordering from Blue Zoo.

I will also see if I can locate some Ova locally.


Thanks,
Charlie

 

[308systems]

Hi Steve,

Note - I don't know how to use bulletin board cut/paste formatted sections of the prior message, thus have simply cut/pasted the unformatted text below:

The Maracyn-Two was to cure the fin rot introduced by our LFS. I did the recommended 5 days of treatment and the fish were better after 2 days - amazing!!!

We are running the DT and sump at 1.008sg, and moved all the inverts into the refugium tank, which is now isolated from the DT and only has inverts at 1.024sg for the duration of the hypo treatment. We will be keeping the DT/sump system running at 1.008 for 80 days. Thus, all is working well. Curiously, the skimmer doesn't work as well with the low sg....

Once we get past the 80 days, we will be quarantining all new fish to avoid this mess in the future. Thus, we have started thinking about new fish and value your expertise.

Can you provide the max recommended bioload to be added from the following list? ie - given our current DT fish load, how many of these fish would be prudent to add once the tank is back?

Banded Coral Shrimp(2) can take fish
Debelius Reef Lobster can take small fish
Venus Anemone Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Pincushion Urchin, Needle
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail
Blue Tang Hepatus tangs really need an 8 foot long tank
Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
Firefish/Purple(4 more) Firefish can exist as a bonded pair, otherwise they will diminish to one
Dwarf Flame Angel
Flame Hawkfish
Foxface
Kardens Cardinal(4) Can exist as a mated pair only; other wise two or more will be killed
Purple Dottyback(2) will preclude firefish as the dottybacks are aggressive; I doubt you can keep two
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Neon Blue Goby(2) I think these also must be a pair
Tiger Watchman Goby

 

[snorvich]

Hi Steve,

Note - I don't know how to use bulletin board cut/paste formatted sections of the prior message, thus have simply cut/pasted the unformatted text below:

The Maracyn-Two was to cure the fin rot introduced by our LFS. I did the recommended 5 days of treatment and the fish were better after 2 days - amazing!!!

yes, it works quite well. Always good to keep it on hand

We are running the DT and sump at 1.008sg, and moved all the inverts into the refugium tank, which is now isolated from the DT and only has inverts at 1.024sg for the duration of the hypo treatment. We will be keeping the DT/sump system running at 1.008 for 80 days. Thus, all is working well. Curiously, the skimmer doesn't work as well with the low sg....

skimmers do not work well if you are running hypo or with fresh water

Once we get past the 80 days, we will be quarantining all new fish to avoid this mess in the future. Thus, we have started thinking about new fish and value your expertise.

Can you provide the max recommended bioload to be added from the following list? ie - given our current DT fish load, how many of these fish would be prudent to add once the tank is back?

Well bioload is not a "number" so I can provide compatibility information. But there are factors such as available algae for grazers, perceived territories, etc.

Banded Coral Shrimp(2) can take fish avoid
Debelius Reef Lobster can take small fish avoid
Venus Anemone Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Pincushion Urchin, Needle
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail
Blue Tang Hepatus tangs really need an 8 foot long tank avoid with other fish in tank
Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
Firefish/Purple(4 more) Firefish can exist as a bonded pair, otherwise they will diminish to one two only if a pair, otherwise one
Dwarf Flame Angel
Flame Hawkfish will eat shrimp
Foxface
Kardens Cardinal(4) Can exist as a mated pair only; other wise two or more will be killed
Purple Dottyback(2) will preclude firefish as the dottybacks are aggressive; I doubt you can keep two
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Neon Blue Goby(2) I think these also must be a pair
Tiger Watchman Goby

Those with commentary should be avoided or reduced as I indicated. I hope this helps

 

[RJT]

Hello Steve,

I usually come here to triple check my selections.

I have a 6ft 150g tank with 2 melaranus wrasse, 1 flasher wrasse and 1 female flame wrasse. Considering getting a red velvet wrasse. Is there any threat requiring a special introduction/acclimation box to the tank that I need to do before I place him into the tank? After qt, of course. They are listed as peaceful and I have seen them in the same tank together. Just want to be sure.

 

[308systems]

Thanks Steve, I have modified our fish "œwish list" based upon your recommendations.

Thus, if we added all the Inverts/Fish below, would we run into territory problems or overload our skimmer/filter socks/liverock/refugium/external canister sewage system?

The artificial center tank reef surface area is approximately 14" dia and 4' tall, with lots of fake corals, etc on it and it seems to have a decent algae growth. In addition, we usually feed 1 seaweed sheet/day for the tangs/wrasse.


Existing Fish:
Yellow Tang, Sailfin Tang, Firefish, 6 line Wrasse, Ocellaris Clownfish(2), PJ Cardinal(2), Yellow Damsel, Super Tongan Narcissus Snail(5), Turban Snail(4), Pencil Urchin(1), misc hermit crabs, Cleaner Shrimp(2)


New Inverts:
Venus Anemone Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Pincushion Urchin, Needle
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail

New Fish:
Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
Dwarf Flame Angel
Foxface
Kardens Cardinal(2)
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Neon Blue Goby(2)
Tiger Watchman Goby

Ps "“ ballparkish, how many lbs of live rock would I have to place in our mature DT to keep 2 Mandarin Dragonets alive?

pss - is there a recommendednorder to introducing the new fish/inverts?

 

[308systems]

Thanks Steve, I have modified our fish “wish list” based upon your recommendations.

Thus, if we added all the Inverts/Fish below, would we run into territory problems or overload our skimmer/filter socks/liverock/refugium/external canister sewage system?

The artificial center tank reef surface area is approximately 14” dia and 4’ tall, with lots of fake corals, etc on it and it seems to have a decent algae growth. In addition, we usually feed 1 seaweed sheet/day for the tangs/wrasse.


Existing Fish:
Yellow Tang, Sailfin Tang, Firefish, 6 line Wrasse, Ocellaris Clownfish(2), PJ Cardinal(2), Yellow Damsel, Super Tongan Narcissus Snail(5), Turban Snail(4), Pencil Urchin(1), misc hermit crabs, Cleaner Shrimp(2)


New Inverts:
Venus Anemone Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Pincushion Urchin, Needle
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail

New Fish:
Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
Dwarf Flame Angel
Foxface
Kardens Cardinal(2)
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Neon Blue Goby(2)
Tiger Watchman Goby

Ps – ballparkish, how many lbs of live rock would I have to place in our mature DT to keep 2 Mandarin Dragonets alive?

pss - is there a recommendednorder to introducing the new fish/inverts?

 

[snorvich]

Hello Steve,

I usually come here to triple check my selections.

I have a 6ft 150g tank with 2 melaranus wrasse, 1 flasher wrasse and 1 female flame wrasse. Considering getting a red velvet wrasse. Is there any threat requiring a special introduction/acclimation box to the tank that I need to do before I place him into the tank? After qt, of course. They are listed as peaceful and I have seen them in the same tank together. Just want to be sure.

With wrasses, especially fairy and flasher wrasses, I have learned to be paranoid. I always use a social acclimation box just to be on the safe side.

 

[RJT]

With wrasses, especially fairy and flasher wrasses, I have learned to be paranoid. I always use a social acclimation box just to be on the safe side.

Thank you! A little paranoia is a good thing sometimes.

 

[snorvich]

Thanks Steve, I have modified our fish "œwish list" based upon your recommendations.

Thus, if we added all the Inverts/Fish below, would we run into territory problems or overload our skimmer/filter socks/liverock/refugium/external canister sewage system?

The artificial center tank reef surface area is approximately 14" dia and 4' tall, with lots of fake corals, etc on it and it seems to have a decent algae growth. In addition, we usually feed 1 seaweed sheet/day for the tangs/wrasse.


Existing Fish:
Yellow Tang, Sailfin Tang, Firefish, 6 line Wrasse, Ocellaris Clownfish(2), PJ Cardinal(2), Yellow Damsel, Super Tongan Narcissus Snail(5), Turban Snail(4), Pencil Urchin(1), misc hermit crabs, Cleaner Shrimp(2)


New Inverts:
Venus Anemone Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp(2)
Pincushion Urchin, Needle
Blue Tuxedo Urchin
Bumble Bee Snail

No issues

New Fish:
Bluehead Fairy Wrasse
Dwarf Flame Angel
Foxface
Kardens Cardinal(2) Remember, these must be a male plus female not just two
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Neon Blue Goby(2)
Tiger Watchman Goby

No issues but watchman gobies need a place to hide. Do you have live rock at the bottom? Sand?

Ps "“ ballparkish, how many lbs of live rock would I have to place in our mature DT to keep 2 Mandarin Dragonets alive?

Two mandarins must be a male plus female or they will fight. The question is difficult because of the nature of your tank. I normally would recommend a 75 gallon with live rock for one, 125 gallons with live rock for two. That is assuming no competition for copepods such as leopard wrasses. Or alternatively, a producing refugium of at least 25 gallons for two in a 75 gallon with live rock. In my case, I have a mated pair in a 350 gallon tank with a 40 gallon refugium.

pss - is there a recommendednorder to introducing the new fish/inverts?

For fish, I always recommend the most aggressive, last. Least aggressive first. So, firefish are least aggressive/passive. Tangs are most aggressive. In your case, none of the additions are hyper aggressive. For inverts it is normally a non-issue in larger tanks

 

[snorvich]

Thank you! A little paranoia is a good thing sometimes.

Social acclimation makes a lot of sense if you want to avoid problems. I have used that for years and many on this board do it. I think bradleyj has a friend who makes them. I got mine off of ebay from a guy who built them to order.

 

[hedgehog1]

55 gallon stock list

55 gallon stock list

Tank
55 gallon (standard)
Skimmer
Sump
60 pounds live sand
75 live rock
2 hydor pumps
216watt aquaticlife fixture
Lots of reef carbon and de*nitrate

Stocking list *(in order of how they will be added)
(clean up crew)
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 firefish
1 royal gramma
1 mc coskers flasher wrasse
1 canary wrasse
1 flame angle *OR* 1 coral beauty (is one safer for corals) I am kinda leaning towards coral beauty, becuase personally, it looks better.

Inverts
(clean up crew) should I include hermit crabs in the clean up crew?
2 Scarelt skunk cleaner shrimp
Soft Coral
LPS
1 Rose bubble tip anemone

 

[snorvich]

Tank
55 gallon (standard)
Skimmer
Sump
60 pounds live sand
75 live rock
2 hydor pumps
216watt aquaticlife fixture
Lots of reef carbon and de*nitrate

Stocking list *(in order of how they will be added)
(clean up crew)
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 firefish
1 royal gramma
1 mc coskers flasher wrasse can occasionally be a problem with firefish, so be sure the firefish is well established first
1 canary wrasse
1 flame angle *OR* 1 coral beauty (is one safer for corals) I am kinda leaning towards coral beauty, becuase personally, it looks better. Well, neither is reef safe for LPS corals that are meaty, so go with what you like.

Inverts
(clean up crew) should I include hermit crabs in the clean up crew? While this thread is not about inverts, I always recommend no hermit crabs. There are better cleanup animals including fighting conchs, nassarius and other varieties of snail. Hermit crabs are opportunistic feeders and will kill snails for their shells
2 Scarelt skunk cleaner shrimp
Soft Coral
LPS
1 Rose bubble tip anemone