125 Tank Diary

[browniebuck]

Well...I found the charger...and we have added more since the butterfly.
We added 2 regular firefish about a week later (after testing the water after a few days with the butterfly).
Yesterday, we added a lavender tang and a flagfin angel...they went directly to the display as I also purchased 3 lyretail anthias...I had to make the order worthwhile...so, 5 fish were purchased at once. The angel was too big for the QT, he was supposed to be a "small", he is more like 6+ inches. I didn't want to add the anthias and the tang to the QT, so the tang, which looked VERY healthy, also went into the DT. The anthias are in the QT and will stay there for a while, but they are looking quite healthy as well. Everything has eaten already, so that is a relief.
Pictures are to follow.....enjoy!

 

[browniebuck]

photos were kind of impromptu...sorry for the messy glass. The tank also has a section that is pretty scratched up...didn't notice when I bought it, but for my needs right now, it works well...relaxing, I could sit down here all night!
The fish have also been enjoying their new, homemade food....shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, cod loin, green algae, purple algae, and garlic extreme...I think that's all?!?

 

[browniebuck]

here are some of the anthias in the QT tank...just realized that the background got thrown out when we switched from the 55 to the 30 to the 125...woodgrain isn't exactly "natural" for fish background

 

[browniebuck]

more of DT...after cleaning the glass a little (the scratches are still there, though

)

 

[browniebuck]

even more...time to give the inverts some love...

the last one kind of shows how chubby my flagfin angel is, a little concerned about him because he hasn't been eating very much...but I will add a little garlic to dinner tomorrow to encourage him.

 

[meowzer]

I love the BLUE lips on that angel.....

 

[browniebuck]

when you see the lips in person, it looks like a little boy that got into his mothers make-up and very sloppily applied lip stick...the angel is definitely a character (I hope that he becomes more of an eater....right now, he just picks a little here and a little there).

 

[browniebuck]

Now in day 3 of everyone together (the anthias are still in the QT tank)...so far, so good. Everyone seems to be pretty happy, water tested well yesterday (only measurable test was nitrate which was in the 10-20 range...doing a water change tonight). I also ordered 2 Koralia #4's...which will allow me to move the cheap power sweeps behind the LR which should actually work out well as they will be able to give flow to all of the rock from behind.
My next investment will be an Eschopps protein skimmer...I had been using the skimmer from my 55 but just realized that it is leaking...I evidently tightened the intake too tight and cracked the plastic (the part that screws onto the actual body of the skimmer)...sooooooooo, there goes another expense of $100+...I sure am glad that I didn't decide to take Cranberry up on her Aquarium thread keeping track of the year's expenses...I would have a heart attack!

 

[browniebuck]

My flagfin angel has become quite a pig...eating my homemade food, an angel butterfly mix (San Francisco Bay brand...I think), and today he was tearing up a purple algae sheet that I soaked in garlic extreme.
I tested the water today and, again, everything seems fine (I use the AP test kit...0 Ammo, 0 Trites, 0-20 Trates (does anyone else have trouble matching this one up on the color card???), and 8.2 pH). I was more than a little worried that adding the tang and angel at the same time might cause some headaches, but they have gotten along with everyone and my water levels are right where they were before I added them.
My lyretails are eating and schooling in the QT...I am going to have to force myself to keep them in there for the 3-4 weeks...they are going to look so great in the DT when they get there.
In all, probably only going to add a couple more fish over the next couple months...a powder blue tang, another ocellaris clown, and a mandarin down the road.
Stocklist as of now
Halfblack Dwarf Angel
Flagfin Angel
2 Firefish
Ocellaris clown
Lavender Tang
Long Nose Butterfly

 

[browniebuck]

I suffered my first loss since starting the new tank today...one of the three anthias that are in my QT tank died. I did a water change yesterday on both the DT and QT tanks, everyone else seems fine. I did notice that there was one of the three anthias that wasn't really sure about eating...but I thought that it was eating a little. Everyone had been doing so well in there that I had considered adding them early to my DT, now I will have to wait. I didn't notice any disease on the fish, but it was under a piece of LR that I have in the tank and I could tell that some of the critters in the LR had started their clean-up chores (tank isn't being treated for anything, just being used as a QT).
I am a little bummed about the fish, I was looking forward to a little group of three in the DT...now, there are only 2. On the positive side, everyone else seems to be thriving, eating well, and the only aggression issues that I have seen are from the angel towards the fire fish...though I think that they are just intimidated by his size and dart under their rock when he gets near, I haven't seen him do anything to the fire fish.
I also added 2 Koralia #4's today, what a difference! I put one on the left and one on the right sides of the tank, both pointing towards the front middle of the tank. The surface is definitely showing a LOT more movement than with the cheap Power Sweeps that I had (they are now sweeping behind my LR). The fish were a little freaked at first, but now they are having fun fighting the current (angel, tang, and butterfly especially).

 

[browniebuck]

Well....self, I added my 2 remaining anthias to the DT the other day, they seemed fine and the QT was due for a filter change as well as a water change...didn't want to stress the remaining 2 out. They are in the DT and doing well, eating and have actually adopted my remaining ocellaris clown into their "clique".
I am looking to add a total of 3 more fish over the next few months...we would like either a powder blue tang or a blue hippo (my tank needs some blue), another ocellaris clown (maybe a black and white), and a mandarin (down the road).
Any thoughts out there, or am I talking to myself???

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by browniebuck
http:///forum/post/3220208
Well....self, I added my 2 remaining anthias to the DT the other day, they seemed fine and the QT was due for a filter change as well as a water change...didn't want to stress the remaining 2 out. They are in the DT and doing well, eating and have actually adopted my remaining ocellaris clown into their "clique".
I am looking to add a total of 3 more fish over the next few months...we would like either a powder blue tang or a blue hippo (my tank needs some blue), another ocellaris clown (maybe a black and white), and a mandarin (down the road).
Any thoughts out there, or am I talking to myself???
oooh definitely get a hippo. they are soo pretty and much bluer than a PBT

 

[browniebuck]

The powder blue, when you see a good specimen, is a breath-taking fish...but, they are more aggressive than the hippo, they cost more (usually) than the hippo, and they both have ick reputations.
My only concern with getting the hippo is that they are a bit more reclusive than the powder blue (from what I have seen and heard).
The other reason we were considering the powder blue is that the body shape is very different than the lavender that we already have, whereas the hippo is similar in shape...kind of tear-drop shaped.

 

[browniebuck]

Well...things are still going very well...total, I have lost a few snails, hermits (I assume...I am not counting all 100 of them), a fire shrimp that got taken advantage of after molting, and one lyretail anthias. All water tests have shown to be good (0-ammo, 0-nitrites, 8.2-8.4-pH, 0-10-nitrates, 1.024 specific gravity...I test with 2 hydrometers to look for errors).
Yesterday, we went on a LFS tour of NE Ohio. We ended up in Columbia Station on our first stop(tiny little town near Strongsville, southwest of Cleveland). While there, I saw a flag fin angel that was slightly smaller than the one that I got for $29.99 for sale for $99.99

(WHAT A DEAL!!!). We found a 3 inch powder blue tang for $51.99 (the most I have ever paid for a fish), witnessed it eating (one day after arriving...which almost turned me off to the fish), observed the behavior to be very personable, checked for signs of ick...looking at gills, fins, face and observed nothing unusual...so, we decided to take him home to our QT. After acclimation, he went into the QT and started looking for food, so...I gave him some of my home-made frozen food...and he went to town chomping on it! I would take a picture of it...but my camera seems to be on the fritz!
My plan is to keep him in the QT for a month...but I am sure that he will end up in the tank by early March as both my wife and I are impatient. If he goes through the next two to three weeks without any problems, continues eating, and shows no signs of illness...would I be risking things too much?

 

[browniebuck]

Well our Powder Blue Tang has been found to be quite the pig!!! On night one I observed his belly to be slightly caved in, so I fed him some of my homemade food...which he quickly gobbled up, I noticed his belly to be a little less caved in.
About 2-3 hours later, I noticed that he was picking at the 2 pieces of rock that are in the tank as well as the bottom of the tank looking for food....decided to try some purple algae soaked in Garlic Extreme. He ignored the algae for a while and I thought that he would be more of a frozen eater (which has algae in it). I came back down about an hour and a half later to find the algae clip empty and the tang's belly to be full.
When I turned the lights back on in the morning, I noticed that his belly wasn't as full and gave him some Ocean Nutrition Formula One flakes....which he happily gobbled up. Since the first night (Saturday), he has eaten like a champ each day at least twice (3 or 4 times yesterday).
Still no signs of ick, still very personable, and still full of color. I have been holding a mirror up to the DT to try to get the lavender tang ready for his new tankmate...he doesn't seem too bothered by it. Things are going so well, I couldn't be happier...after snowblowing this morning, I went down and just vegged by the tank for a few hours...so relaxing!!!

 

[browniebuck]

Figured out the camera...my rechargeable batteries weren't recharging...so, bought some new ones to tide me over until I buy a new camera...
Here are some new pictures of everything, including the powder blue in the QT.

 

[browniebuck]

more...including a full tank shot. I like the 4th picture...the powder blue is in the corner for misbehaving

 

[browniebuck]

Well.....2 weeks in QT today and I decided that it was time to move our powder blue into the DT. Acclimation went fine....but, powder blue and lavender don't seem to be getting along! The aggressor is, for the most part, the powder blue (which is the smaller of the two tangs). I will keep my eye on them and see if one or the other starts showing signs that they are the weaker link. At that point (which I hope I don't come to...hopefully they will calm down), whichever one I catch will be odd man out....which bums me out because they both look beautiful in the DT.

 

[noah's nemo]

Try the mirror trick,i heard it works.Do a search for "mirror trick" good luck.

 

[browniebuck]

well...checked on the ornery little fishies this morning, powder blue and lavender both seem to be doing fine (a mark on powder blue's tail fin and a mark near lavender's scalpel). Observed them for a while and they seem to be more or less ignoring each other at this point.....hoping that they have felt each other out and have decided that they can co-exist in a 125 gallon tank....hopefully!