PLEASE HELP !
30 posts • Page 2 of 3
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jdak702 - Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:26 am
aquaman, how did you get that flame scallop to stay on the rock in both photos? Mine would always hide from light. amy, The shrooms look kind of shriveled. What did you say you keep your salinity set to? I think your tank just needs time to settle and heal. I think purple up is a gimmick honestly. Get yourself some 2part of any brand and you will see it work.
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AquamanCA - Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:02 pm
Amy, glad I can be of help. Its always been my belief that one of the great aspects of this hobby is people's willingness to share knowledge. None of us started out knowing everything and by asking questions and talking to others we have learned what we know today. I've been doing this for 35 years, spent my first 2 years in college as a marine biology major, and I still don't know everything and am learning something new all the time. The hobby is constantly changing and evolving and I have found that I often will learn something, or look at it from a different perspective by listening to novice and intermediate hobbyists.
I need to correct something I previously said and expand on my explanation. I misspoke earlier when I was talking about cycling a tank with cured rock...I guess that happens when my mind and typing fingers are out of sync LOL
It is perfectly acceptable to cycle a tank with cured rock, however I do not believe that fully cured rock can be found at any LFS. What you need to know is that by cycling with "cured" rock you can often get what is called a "false cycle". We all want to believe that our rock we purchase has been completely cured. However we must remind ourselves what path the rock has taken before we finally get it into our tanks. An abridged example: after the LFS gets the rock it has been sitting wrapped in newspaper in a box for possibly weeks. The LFS stacks it in vats with powerheads, hopefully several poswerheads so they have massive water flow. If they think about it, have time or even care, they will change the water in the vats once a week...we can almost never know if they are actually doing this. Many LFS will have multiple vats so they can move the rock over as it "cures". We come along and buy some rock from the "cured" vat. Remember this rock has been stacked on top of itself and most has not been exposed to the massive water flow or light. It may look decent and not have any noticeable smells. NOTE: ALWAYS SMELL THE ROCK YOU PURCHASE!!! Now we get the rock home and put it in our tank. It is exposed to much more water flow and light in our tanks than in those tightly packed vats at the LFS. The rock can/will now go through an additional curing process. We think it is fully cured, our water parameters all check out perfectly so we run back to the LFS and get that cool fish we have had our eye on. Fast forward a couple of days...suddenly the rock begins to have more die-off that is coming from inside the rock not the outside surface area. Our rock is going through another curing and we discover that we had a "false cycle". I am not saying that this will happen everytime, but it can and does happen. We just need to be prepared and ready to deal with it should it happen. We can avoid problems by waiting to add any livestock. We can also avoid problems, when adding additional rock to an established system, by keeping it in a bucket with powerheads for a couple weeks before adding it to our tank.
My reply is getting long and I am not even close to addressing all your questions and concerns. I have to run off and check in on a set-up one of my techs is doing so I will be back later to finish writing back to you.
To jdak: patience and persistence...the flame scallop actually kept moving to the back of the tank. I kept moving it and eventually it stayed. If yours is hiding from light try placing it lower in the tank, maybe even building a cave to place it inside of. It may also just be moving due to water flow and food supply.
Ok folks...I will be back later. Hopefully my tech hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble with the set-up LOL
I need to correct something I previously said and expand on my explanation. I misspoke earlier when I was talking about cycling a tank with cured rock...I guess that happens when my mind and typing fingers are out of sync LOL
It is perfectly acceptable to cycle a tank with cured rock, however I do not believe that fully cured rock can be found at any LFS. What you need to know is that by cycling with "cured" rock you can often get what is called a "false cycle". We all want to believe that our rock we purchase has been completely cured. However we must remind ourselves what path the rock has taken before we finally get it into our tanks. An abridged example: after the LFS gets the rock it has been sitting wrapped in newspaper in a box for possibly weeks. The LFS stacks it in vats with powerheads, hopefully several poswerheads so they have massive water flow. If they think about it, have time or even care, they will change the water in the vats once a week...we can almost never know if they are actually doing this. Many LFS will have multiple vats so they can move the rock over as it "cures". We come along and buy some rock from the "cured" vat. Remember this rock has been stacked on top of itself and most has not been exposed to the massive water flow or light. It may look decent and not have any noticeable smells. NOTE: ALWAYS SMELL THE ROCK YOU PURCHASE!!! Now we get the rock home and put it in our tank. It is exposed to much more water flow and light in our tanks than in those tightly packed vats at the LFS. The rock can/will now go through an additional curing process. We think it is fully cured, our water parameters all check out perfectly so we run back to the LFS and get that cool fish we have had our eye on. Fast forward a couple of days...suddenly the rock begins to have more die-off that is coming from inside the rock not the outside surface area. Our rock is going through another curing and we discover that we had a "false cycle". I am not saying that this will happen everytime, but it can and does happen. We just need to be prepared and ready to deal with it should it happen. We can avoid problems by waiting to add any livestock. We can also avoid problems, when adding additional rock to an established system, by keeping it in a bucket with powerheads for a couple weeks before adding it to our tank.
My reply is getting long and I am not even close to addressing all your questions and concerns. I have to run off and check in on a set-up one of my techs is doing so I will be back later to finish writing back to you.
To jdak: patience and persistence...the flame scallop actually kept moving to the back of the tank. I kept moving it and eventually it stayed. If yours is hiding from light try placing it lower in the tank, maybe even building a cave to place it inside of. It may also just be moving due to water flow and food supply.
Ok folks...I will be back later. Hopefully my tech hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble with the set-up LOL
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AquamanCA - Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:02 pm
Hello again Amy. Sorry for my delay getting back to finish my response. I went to check in on my tech doing an install and afterwards treated him to dinner...yep we had sushi LOL
Your equipment:
lighting looks good...I assume each bulb is 24w? This will be enough light for corals that require low to moderate lighting...mushrooms, zoanthus, and some LPS and soft corals. Part of the fun in the hobby is discovering what will thrive in your tank.
I'm not a big fan of Marineland's products, but I'm not going to tell you to go out and change everything. Are you using the "bio-wheel" that comes with the Emporer? If so I'd suggest you remove it. You may initially get a bacterial bloom but that will go away in a couple days. A bacterial bloom looks like a fog blew into your tank but the outer corners will still look clear. Its an imbalance but is rarely a concern. Also try to not use the carbon cartridge with the Emporer. Carbon actually has an affect on how well a protein skimmer works.
As far as your rock goes I'd just let it be for now. The tank has been running for 2 months so any die-off should have been completed by now. You might consider slowly exchanging some lace rock for premium live rock over a period of time. If you decide to go this route, let me know and I can give you some tips, including curing procedures...I'll leave that for another day. Just to add...if you do remove the bio-wheel do this AFTER you have replaced some lace rock with premium.
Get yourself a complete testing kit. In addition to the standard ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, temp and salinity you will also want to be testing for calcium, phosphates and dKH. Technically you can wait on the dKH (carbonate hardness) until you really get going and have more corals in your tank.
You mentioned adding "stresscoat". I am firmly opposed to the use of any stresscoat in any type of tank. I know my viewpoint on this is different than most people but I have a reason. What we want to do is make sure the water we are adding is chlorine free. So we can use deChlor for this, or better yet, RO/DI water. Whenever we add water or do a water change we are stressing our fish which causes them to breath harder. Their little gills are pumping hard. These so called "stresscoats" contain a slime that covers the fish including those hard working gills. In turn the fish becomes more stressed because their gills are clogged. Fish die from secondary causes that have been brought on by stress. So why do we want to stress them more? Also I do not like these stresscoats to get on my corals. I will use a stresscoat on occasions in a hospital tank though but this is different than using in the main tank.
I think your tank has fully cycled. So just let things be. Do your regular maintenance on a weekly basis. I always suggest a 10% water change once a week. When performing a water change, assuming you mix your own saltwater, never do what is sometimes referred to "hot mix". This is when you mix the salt and immediately add it to the tank. I suggest mixing at least a day or so prior to the water change. This allows the density and pH to equalize and you can adjust them accordingly prior to adding to the tank...salinity tends to go up as the water sits.
No way to be exactly sure what caused the white, bleached algae but as previously suggested, just let it go. If it appears brighter that is probably because any brown algaes that may have been on it before have all disappeared.
Yes your mushrooms will be ok. In fact your lighting is perfect for mushrooms. I suggest the lights be on 6-8 hours a day, although I've run tanks with the lights on for 12-14 hours a day. It comes down to preference and how the tank seems to be reacting...no 2 tanks are alike.
Don't waste your time or money on things like purple-up. Just use strontium. As you get more mushrooms you will also want to start adding iodine. Be careful with iodine though. Too much can cause iodine toxicity. Also make sure you are dosing your tank with calcium. Calcium is the building block of every reef and they cannot grow and thrive without this. Kalkwasser is the best and purest form of calcium. This will also help to maintain and stabilize your pH. Make sure to test and monitor calcium and dKH levels.
When you do the coralline propagation technique just do it one time. Remember it can take 8 weeks to see any significant new growth.
The common name for your mushrooms is actually "Purple Mushroom" LOL The scientific name is "Actinodiscus sp." They appear to be getting too much water flow, undoubtedly from your wavemaker. Move the wavemaker to the back of the side wall and I'd bet you see the mushrooms open up a lot. The white thing could be a mushroom, but it is closed also so it is difficult to identify. It may even be a small soft coral...something like a cabbage or toadstool.
I hope all of this helps. I know its a lot to take in at one time.
BTW, I just thought of something to add. This is not pointed at you, but thought you could file this info into your knowledge bank. Since joining this discussion site I have browsed various postings and have seen something I find very disturbing. I've seen where some people will mention using distilled water in their tanks or suggest to others to use distilled water. After reading all that I thought I should post an article discussing this practice. NEVER use distilled water!!! It can kill all the fish. Humans cannot even drink distilled water so I can't imagine someone would suggest using it. YIKES!!! I suppose that some may be misusing the term or may think that the DI in RO/DI means distilled...I don't know. Distilled water inhibits osmoregulation and will cause fish to die a horrible and painful death. YIKES!!! I will not get into the scientific aspects here, but simply advise anyone and everyone to please stop this horrible practice.
Your equipment:
lighting looks good...I assume each bulb is 24w? This will be enough light for corals that require low to moderate lighting...mushrooms, zoanthus, and some LPS and soft corals. Part of the fun in the hobby is discovering what will thrive in your tank.
I'm not a big fan of Marineland's products, but I'm not going to tell you to go out and change everything. Are you using the "bio-wheel" that comes with the Emporer? If so I'd suggest you remove it. You may initially get a bacterial bloom but that will go away in a couple days. A bacterial bloom looks like a fog blew into your tank but the outer corners will still look clear. Its an imbalance but is rarely a concern. Also try to not use the carbon cartridge with the Emporer. Carbon actually has an affect on how well a protein skimmer works.
As far as your rock goes I'd just let it be for now. The tank has been running for 2 months so any die-off should have been completed by now. You might consider slowly exchanging some lace rock for premium live rock over a period of time. If you decide to go this route, let me know and I can give you some tips, including curing procedures...I'll leave that for another day. Just to add...if you do remove the bio-wheel do this AFTER you have replaced some lace rock with premium.
Get yourself a complete testing kit. In addition to the standard ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, temp and salinity you will also want to be testing for calcium, phosphates and dKH. Technically you can wait on the dKH (carbonate hardness) until you really get going and have more corals in your tank.
You mentioned adding "stresscoat". I am firmly opposed to the use of any stresscoat in any type of tank. I know my viewpoint on this is different than most people but I have a reason. What we want to do is make sure the water we are adding is chlorine free. So we can use deChlor for this, or better yet, RO/DI water. Whenever we add water or do a water change we are stressing our fish which causes them to breath harder. Their little gills are pumping hard. These so called "stresscoats" contain a slime that covers the fish including those hard working gills. In turn the fish becomes more stressed because their gills are clogged. Fish die from secondary causes that have been brought on by stress. So why do we want to stress them more? Also I do not like these stresscoats to get on my corals. I will use a stresscoat on occasions in a hospital tank though but this is different than using in the main tank.
I think your tank has fully cycled. So just let things be. Do your regular maintenance on a weekly basis. I always suggest a 10% water change once a week. When performing a water change, assuming you mix your own saltwater, never do what is sometimes referred to "hot mix". This is when you mix the salt and immediately add it to the tank. I suggest mixing at least a day or so prior to the water change. This allows the density and pH to equalize and you can adjust them accordingly prior to adding to the tank...salinity tends to go up as the water sits.
No way to be exactly sure what caused the white, bleached algae but as previously suggested, just let it go. If it appears brighter that is probably because any brown algaes that may have been on it before have all disappeared.
Yes your mushrooms will be ok. In fact your lighting is perfect for mushrooms. I suggest the lights be on 6-8 hours a day, although I've run tanks with the lights on for 12-14 hours a day. It comes down to preference and how the tank seems to be reacting...no 2 tanks are alike.
Don't waste your time or money on things like purple-up. Just use strontium. As you get more mushrooms you will also want to start adding iodine. Be careful with iodine though. Too much can cause iodine toxicity. Also make sure you are dosing your tank with calcium. Calcium is the building block of every reef and they cannot grow and thrive without this. Kalkwasser is the best and purest form of calcium. This will also help to maintain and stabilize your pH. Make sure to test and monitor calcium and dKH levels.
When you do the coralline propagation technique just do it one time. Remember it can take 8 weeks to see any significant new growth.
The common name for your mushrooms is actually "Purple Mushroom" LOL The scientific name is "Actinodiscus sp." They appear to be getting too much water flow, undoubtedly from your wavemaker. Move the wavemaker to the back of the side wall and I'd bet you see the mushrooms open up a lot. The white thing could be a mushroom, but it is closed also so it is difficult to identify. It may even be a small soft coral...something like a cabbage or toadstool.
I hope all of this helps. I know its a lot to take in at one time.
BTW, I just thought of something to add. This is not pointed at you, but thought you could file this info into your knowledge bank. Since joining this discussion site I have browsed various postings and have seen something I find very disturbing. I've seen where some people will mention using distilled water in their tanks or suggest to others to use distilled water. After reading all that I thought I should post an article discussing this practice. NEVER use distilled water!!! It can kill all the fish. Humans cannot even drink distilled water so I can't imagine someone would suggest using it. YIKES!!! I suppose that some may be misusing the term or may think that the DI in RO/DI means distilled...I don't know. Distilled water inhibits osmoregulation and will cause fish to die a horrible and painful death. YIKES!!! I will not get into the scientific aspects here, but simply advise anyone and everyone to please stop this horrible practice.
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amygentry08 - Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2010 4:59 am
Wow thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! I swear you are a genius! :)
What would a good rock smell like vs a bad one? lol
I think we will exchange lace for live, so any tips are appreciated & very much needed! lol
We are thinking of getting a baby powder brown tang. I realize they get very big compared to our tank size, but as soon as he gets about 6 inches we're gonna get a larger tank. Do you think our tank is ready for this guy??
When a new rock is bought from the LFS what is the suggested method of curing when we take them home???? Should we set up another small tank just for rock curing!? And, lets say the LFS uses less lighting than we do, how would you suggest we introduce it to our lighting?
What do you not like about the bio wheel! It is the one we have! :{ & are there any more cartriges than the carbon ones??
:))))
What would a good rock smell like vs a bad one? lol
I think we will exchange lace for live, so any tips are appreciated & very much needed! lol
We are thinking of getting a baby powder brown tang. I realize they get very big compared to our tank size, but as soon as he gets about 6 inches we're gonna get a larger tank. Do you think our tank is ready for this guy??
When a new rock is bought from the LFS what is the suggested method of curing when we take them home???? Should we set up another small tank just for rock curing!? And, lets say the LFS uses less lighting than we do, how would you suggest we introduce it to our lighting?
What do you not like about the bio wheel! It is the one we have! :{ & are there any more cartriges than the carbon ones??
:))))
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jdak702 - Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:26 am
A tang is not a good idea for your tank. First, it is way too small and second, your LR is not mature enough for its needs. HOB filters really aren't needed for marine tanks. Bio-balls and wheels are nitrate factories...
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AquamanCA - Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:02 pm
I'm hardly a genius but thanks for the vote of confidence :-) Julian Sprung is a genius. He's my reef God that I pay homage to LOL If you are interested in some great reading and vast amount of knowledge, get his books "Reef Keeping" Vols 1,2, & 3 and also his "Reef Notes". Although not riveting reading these books are filled with everything you ever wanted to know about reef keeping but didn't know what to ask.
Ah rock smell. Something near and dear to my, well, my nose LOL Cured rock will have a clean, fresh ocean smell...like you just walked out onto the sands of Bora Bora. Uncured rock will smell like death...it literally has a putrid stank to it. Uncured will also have a lot of organisms that look like they are rotting. Once you see the two types side by side you will never forget the difference.
As I mentioned previously, when you exchange live rock for lace rock, do it slowly. A couple pieces a week or so. If you are daring and feeling confident, once you cure the new rock OUTSIDE the tank, you technically could exchange all the rock at one time. How much lace rock vs live rock do you have? Is it a 50:50 ratio? Based only on the pics I see I'd guess you do not have enough rock. Shoot for 1 1/2 lbs per gallon, or 45lbs. You will also want 45lbs of sand.
Instead of going through a rock curing lesson, I did a quick search and found a site that gives a great breakdown of how to cure your rock. I agree with what the author has written and he does pretty much exactly what I do. Although I have not read his entire website, the only thing I came across that I disagreed with was his comment about where the majority of rock in the U.S. comes from. He claims that Fiji and Florida are the main sources for rock, and maybe it is on the east coast. He forgets about Bali, Tonga, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, etc. But this is another discussion and I don't want you thinking about what type you should be looking for. Although for you I'd suggest Fiji or Bali. Please do not get caught up in types of rock for now and how they are different but it is primarily density, shapes and the micro and macro-organisms. Now see what you got me into LOL j/k
Anyway here is the link:
http://www.livestockusa.org/CURING.html
Regarding the light issue for new rock...it is nothing to worry about. If it gives you any peace of mind, I never worry about it.
As jdak mentioned the biowheel is unnecessary in a reef or saltwater tank. A biowheel provides biological filtration which is already present with the rock. And to address the question you are thinking right now ;-) More is not better. Biowheels harbor detritus which raise your nitrate levels. Detritus is just a fancy word for undissolved organic waste. We have shared enough posts back and forth now, and I also know what my clients ask, so I will take a guess that you are thinking "should I just get a different type of filter?" Am I right? LOL Getting a different filter is not really necessary for now. In actuality you could run a very successful reef with only a wavemaker and a skimmer. I don't suggest this for a novice or intermediate reefer though. If you do, one day, decide you want to upgrade your filter we can cross that bridge, I mean ocean, when we get there. Baby steps :-) For now, see if your LFS has any filter media that fits the Marineland but does not have carbon. If they give you a hard time and say you have to run carbon tell them I said they do not know what they are doing. You might need to find something that will work in place of the filter media you can get. Example...get a Magnum filter pad, utilizing the plastic piece inside the Marineland media cut the Magnum one to fit and that should work. Excuse me if that doesn't make sense...long day and I am tired LOL You could also look and see if they have a sponge filter that will fit.
Powder Brown Tang...bad, bad, bad idea. For the reason that jdak mentioned but also because the species is very susceptible to parasites, specifically Oodinium, saltwater Ich. Powder browns are also on the list of fish with a high mortality rate in home aquariums...this is where some hobbyists will say they have had one for years with no problem. Its true some can experience success with the species but overall they do not live. I have my personal list of fish I feel should be outlawed and the Powder Brown is one of them. I’ve been working with wholesalers for years to get many fish put on the list but far too many hobbyist request them so they will continue to be caught.
A Tang I will suggest for you would be the Kole Tang. It will fit your tank and is very hardy…they are cute too. I attached a pic for you. They are also great algae eaters and can help to eliminate hair algae should you begin to get some. If you do not have much algae growing you will want to give them some romaine lettuce to grub down on. Just get a lettuce clip from your LFS. Replace the lettuce every day so it does not add to the waste. There are actually are some species of Tangs that will work in your tank. You just need to get a juvenile. Baby Blue Tangs will do ok but they tend to hide inside the rock. The key is to not overcrowd your tank.
Just to add…I was talking to someone today and thought I’d share this with you. Never give your fish a name! Sounds silly but trust me. Once you name them they die. The first fish to die are always the ones with names.
Ah rock smell. Something near and dear to my, well, my nose LOL Cured rock will have a clean, fresh ocean smell...like you just walked out onto the sands of Bora Bora. Uncured rock will smell like death...it literally has a putrid stank to it. Uncured will also have a lot of organisms that look like they are rotting. Once you see the two types side by side you will never forget the difference.
As I mentioned previously, when you exchange live rock for lace rock, do it slowly. A couple pieces a week or so. If you are daring and feeling confident, once you cure the new rock OUTSIDE the tank, you technically could exchange all the rock at one time. How much lace rock vs live rock do you have? Is it a 50:50 ratio? Based only on the pics I see I'd guess you do not have enough rock. Shoot for 1 1/2 lbs per gallon, or 45lbs. You will also want 45lbs of sand.
Instead of going through a rock curing lesson, I did a quick search and found a site that gives a great breakdown of how to cure your rock. I agree with what the author has written and he does pretty much exactly what I do. Although I have not read his entire website, the only thing I came across that I disagreed with was his comment about where the majority of rock in the U.S. comes from. He claims that Fiji and Florida are the main sources for rock, and maybe it is on the east coast. He forgets about Bali, Tonga, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, etc. But this is another discussion and I don't want you thinking about what type you should be looking for. Although for you I'd suggest Fiji or Bali. Please do not get caught up in types of rock for now and how they are different but it is primarily density, shapes and the micro and macro-organisms. Now see what you got me into LOL j/k
Anyway here is the link:
http://www.livestockusa.org/CURING.html
Regarding the light issue for new rock...it is nothing to worry about. If it gives you any peace of mind, I never worry about it.
As jdak mentioned the biowheel is unnecessary in a reef or saltwater tank. A biowheel provides biological filtration which is already present with the rock. And to address the question you are thinking right now ;-) More is not better. Biowheels harbor detritus which raise your nitrate levels. Detritus is just a fancy word for undissolved organic waste. We have shared enough posts back and forth now, and I also know what my clients ask, so I will take a guess that you are thinking "should I just get a different type of filter?" Am I right? LOL Getting a different filter is not really necessary for now. In actuality you could run a very successful reef with only a wavemaker and a skimmer. I don't suggest this for a novice or intermediate reefer though. If you do, one day, decide you want to upgrade your filter we can cross that bridge, I mean ocean, when we get there. Baby steps :-) For now, see if your LFS has any filter media that fits the Marineland but does not have carbon. If they give you a hard time and say you have to run carbon tell them I said they do not know what they are doing. You might need to find something that will work in place of the filter media you can get. Example...get a Magnum filter pad, utilizing the plastic piece inside the Marineland media cut the Magnum one to fit and that should work. Excuse me if that doesn't make sense...long day and I am tired LOL You could also look and see if they have a sponge filter that will fit.
Powder Brown Tang...bad, bad, bad idea. For the reason that jdak mentioned but also because the species is very susceptible to parasites, specifically Oodinium, saltwater Ich. Powder browns are also on the list of fish with a high mortality rate in home aquariums...this is where some hobbyists will say they have had one for years with no problem. Its true some can experience success with the species but overall they do not live. I have my personal list of fish I feel should be outlawed and the Powder Brown is one of them. I’ve been working with wholesalers for years to get many fish put on the list but far too many hobbyist request them so they will continue to be caught.
A Tang I will suggest for you would be the Kole Tang. It will fit your tank and is very hardy…they are cute too. I attached a pic for you. They are also great algae eaters and can help to eliminate hair algae should you begin to get some. If you do not have much algae growing you will want to give them some romaine lettuce to grub down on. Just get a lettuce clip from your LFS. Replace the lettuce every day so it does not add to the waste. There are actually are some species of Tangs that will work in your tank. You just need to get a juvenile. Baby Blue Tangs will do ok but they tend to hide inside the rock. The key is to not overcrowd your tank.
Just to add…I was talking to someone today and thought I’d share this with you. Never give your fish a name! Sounds silly but trust me. Once you name them they die. The first fish to die are always the ones with names.
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jdak702 - Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:26 am
Blue tangs have over 100g needs, grow to be a foot long, and swim several miles a day in nature. Why would this one be ok cooped up in a 20g? The kole tang still has requirements several times over 20g too. I think you should be looking towards nano type fish.
http://liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium ... ?c=15+2124
http://liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium ... ?c=15+2124
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AquamanCA - Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:02 pm
That's why I specifically said baby blue tang. In nature baby blues tend to stay next to their home rock. They also adapt very well to smaller tanks. It would take years for a baby blue to outgrow her tank, which is actually 30 gallons, and would take much longer for it to grow to full size even in a 125g. Kole Tangs also do very well in smaller tanks. The pics I posted before, with the scallop, is a 29g and has a medium size kole who was very happy in his home. I know what the text books say, but as we all know text books and reality are usually quite different.
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jdak702 - Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:26 am
My bad.. it is a 30g. I do know what you mean about the text books. After all, most say a tang is an easy keep. I don't believe it to be. I do look at the required gallons and assume you can go lower than that but when your tank is less than half the size of recommendation, i don't think the margin of error is that far off from the text books. Personally, i just think tangs aren't exactly an easy fish to keep for a beginner. In nature, they swim far distances. They can be very picky in what they eat. They also have very small stomachs which keeps them thin but also means they need to be fed often and be able to forage thru live rock. And most grow to be at least a foot. This is why i only see a large, mature tank as a suitable home but i guess that is just my opinion.
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stingraysrule - Posts: 271
- Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:37 pm
"Not saying an ecosystem can't be created in freshwater but it seems most freshwater tanks don't even represent the region of the fish. Just a bag of gravel, plastic plants, and fish. "
Do you not have an 150G tank with bleached coral, fake rock and plastic,
along with a few bags of sand?
Maybe you created the region for your fish, but it is hardly the "real" thing.
So you could pretty much say this about your puffer tank.
Well, one good thing about this hobby, recession or not....... most everyone can afford it as all you really need is a bag of gravel, some plastic plants and a .99 cent fish and you have yourself a pet.
Do you not have an 150G tank with bleached coral, fake rock and plastic,
along with a few bags of sand?
Maybe you created the region for your fish, but it is hardly the "real" thing.
So you could pretty much say this about your puffer tank.
Well, one good thing about this hobby, recession or not....... most everyone can afford it as all you really need is a bag of gravel, some plastic plants and a .99 cent fish and you have yourself a pet.
