Another fish died today. My Black clown. He was my favorite of all of them. I liked him because the center line on his side didn't connect (a sort of rare find in fish keeping)(see the pic in the beginning of this thread). His death was the straw that broke the camels back
I'm doing this QT thing all wrong. First of all, I didn't let it cycle, but instead loaded the tank with chemicals to keep the ammonia and trites down. The second mistake was getting a crappy filter... it was rated at 200gpm, I figured it would be good enough, but it's not anywhere near as good as the filtration on my RSM.
I'm raising the salinity today and tomorrow, and will be returning the fish to their homes once it reaches normal levels. I'm purchasing a used and cycled 60 gallon aquarium with 20 gal sump and will be putting my tang in there. I'll be taking the "preventative measures" route until I can afford to have a proper QT (not a pittly little 20gal one)... I'm thinking at least a 30gal, and it NEEDS a skimmer and at least 2x the flow in the tank than what I have now which is a rio 400 at the bottom and the HOB at the top.
I don't want any more fish to die in this QT environment, and I'll take the garlic route until I can learn/afford to do the QT properly. I think I'm doing the more responsible thing by: getting them out of a QT that I'm not doing right, putting them in larger environments, and strengthening their immunity with a garlic and vitamin supplement which I soak their food in.
The death of the clown hit hard. This sounds so stupid, but I'll say it anyway... It feels like I'm spitting in the face of God when I flush His creations down the toilet. I mean these fish are so beautiful and unique... colors and shapes, the symbiosis of different species (cleaner shrimp, anemone and clowns, pom pom crab)... and here I am flushing some of it down the toilet. I was talking to a lady at a mom 'n pop fish store the other day, and she was like "see that Mandarin Goby? Boy, God was having a good day when He made that." Whatever your beliefs, you must admit that most saltwater fish, corals, and inverts are truly unique and beautiful, and whether you believe there is a God or not, it's still tragic to destroy them because of your own stupidity and carelessness.
Also, how awesome is it that we have a fully alive piece of the ocean in our homes? I mean it's totally mind boggling. I can spend thousands on a Caribbean vacation and go snorkeling for a day, or I can have a freaking piece of the freaking ocean in my house, looking at it every day. The balance of it all is amazing too, how the bacteria break down the detritus, and the hermits and snails do the cleaning. The flame shrimp and cleaner shrimp literally ride on the sides of the fish and clean them. It's so cool. All I need to do is provide electricity for the circulation and feed them (along with WC's and filtration maintenance, of course).
Call me an idiot, call me what you want, but I really love this hobby.