Why do some people...

D

dburt520

Member
Have such perfect tanks...

A plethora of tangs that don't fight, clowns that host any coral they add to the tank, mandarins that swim freely in the tank 24/7.

I have 2 clowns, 1 yellow eye kole tang, and a mandarin. My clowns don't host squat, my mandarin hides 24/7, and I tried a second tang only for it to beat my clowns up (I took it out and gave up).

Is there a secret to the madness?
 
I think it's like maintaining a hold on a sports record. Someone awhile ago did a survey of all the tanks of the month and found a large number had either had a tank crash or otherwise dropped from contention. The cool part is making a comeback if you can.
 
I don't know the answer but I would guess a bit of luck comes into play when adding fish. They each have their own personalities.
 
dburt520 said:
Have such perfect tanks...

A plethora of tangs that don't fight, clowns that host any coral they add to the tank, mandarins that swim freely in the tank 24/7.

I have 2 clowns, 1 yellow eye kole tang, and a mandarin. My clowns don't host squat, my mandarin hides 24/7, and I tried a second tang only for it to beat my clowns up (I took it out and gave up).

Is there a secret to the madness?
Click to expand...


Experience goes a long way

That said, clowns hosting corals is just a luck of the draw thing, and not really natural. When the appropriate species of clown is matched to the appropriate anemone, however, it should be clockwork.
 
I have 3 bubble tip anemones in my tank, two of which are doing great and one im not so sure how its fairing since ... it doesnt bubble up much but the mouth is still closed shut. My clowns finally hosting.. and they host the sick nem.. ITS SICKENING...
 
ajcanale said:
Experience goes a long way

That said, clowns hosting corals is just a luck of the draw thing, and not really natural. When the appropriate species of clown is matched to the appropriate anemone, however, it should be clockwork.
Click to expand...

Is it experience with knowing what fish looks friendly at the pet store...?

And yes, I was talking anemones in general. I have had a pair of Ocellaris's for a year, and they won't host either anemone I have. However I also have a mandarin that only seems to come out once a day (I have a good population of pods and when he comes out he goes to town on them).
 
Clowns are that for a reason. Do a search for clown hosting. I've seen anything from hosting a powerhead to hosting in bubble coral or green star polyp. I currently have one clown that will body slam your hand when it is in the water until you feed her.
 
I'm not aware of any survey on tank of the month longevity.
I'm skeptical that most have crashes.

Mine has been flourishing without significant issues for over 6 years. I pay attention to it and maintain very consistent parameters and routines.

All new fish specimens are qaurantined and treated preventatively for cryptocaryon irritans and as needed for other maladies .All new corals are dipped.

As for amphiprion (clowns) I have 6 breeding pairs :some host entmacea quadricolor aanemones,some coral overhangs; some pvc pipe caves .
 
i don't think anyone has a perfect tank, i think it's cyclic in that everyone has periods of problems and periods or glimpses of perfection. The LFS i go to has the cleanest tanks i've ever seen and the display tank is both huge and holds a ton of rare and valuable fish and corals, but the owner says he struggles from time to time with all of the tanks. I think it's just the way it is, and allows me to not too feel bad when things go crazy... The experience piece is knowing what to look for and knowing how to correct or deal with a situation quickly and with the least amount of stress on the fish.
 
It takes time to achieve perfection

Knowledge and experience. You can get a certain amount of knowledge by reading but a large unmeasurable amount comes from experiential learning. Sometimes there are things you learn to do that are important and are part of your routine but you do not know exactly how critical they are.

Consistency. Stick to an approach. Quit trying stuff. Maintaining living things is not the same thing as being clever with gadgets

Luck to a certain degree

Attention to detail. Noticing stuff helps build intuition about doing the right thing

Total and absolute scepticism that there is an easier way than hard work

Understanding what living things need and giving it to them. This something you learn growing up and from a lot of reading reading in a book.
 
I think that there is much art involved in reef keeping. Noticing very small changes early and making nearly immeasurable adjustments. A water change two days early. Pushing up the Ca reactor a hair. I'm just learning this but really paying close attention. Every day. Several times.
 
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