So I have switched to flakes for the time being. This prevents the food from getting to the bottom of the tank where the shrimp can get it. Maybe this will inspire them to eat other things in the tank.
Went to the LFS to get the next fish in the set, a purple fire fish. And just my luck, the LFS didnt have any. My wife spotted a torch coral and asked if the clowns would host it. I replied,"Maybe. Tank bred clowns dont know what hosting is. If you want to see it happen, this is a safer bet than the anemone a year or so from now. The coral will be easier to take care of than the anemone." I then asked the LFS guy about the care for a torch. He replied that pristine water conditions are needed and that algea can grow on the skelliton and irritate the coral. Being that my tank is new, probably doesnt have the proper nutriants, and has algea growing all over it in may different forms, its probably not a good idea for a torch at this time. So how long should I wait for the torch? I would imagine the first thing I need to do is get the reef master test kit to find out what the calcium, kh (?), amongst other readings are of my water. In all the discussion about the torch, I totally forgot to get the xenia/didnt really think about getting it. Once in the parking lot, my wife did ask. Maybe next weekend we will get the xenia.
Not to leave the store empty handed, we got the next fish on the list to get, 2 PJ cardinals. The cardinals are ORA and we watched them eat in the store. We then had him put them in a specimen container so we could give them a good look over and they looked to be really healthy. Dripped them into the tank and sure enough, they were MIA once in the tank. It took about 3 hours before they came out from under rocks and in clam shells. Once they were out, they were happily staying towards the back of the tank behind the rocks. I would imagine with such timid fish, there will be an adjustment period to get through. The 2 clowns have not shown agression towards the 2 PJs and all seems well inside the tank. Oh yea, we got 2 more margaritta snails too. they were on sale and these have nifty shells. Why margarittas? Out of all the snails in the tank, a good variety mind you, the margaritta is the only one that has been routinely found on the glass attempting to keep it clean. The next thing to get is something that eats the algea that is growing on the rocks. I have 2 astrea snails that spend all their time on the rocks, but I dont see them eating the algea I want them to eat. The nassi sticks to the sand as does the conch. The trochs that i got sticks to the rocks and I havent seen it on the glass.
Here is a perplexing question for someone. I have one cernith snail that looks like this :
I have seen this guy climg the glass to the top of the tank. A while back, about a week, in the morning I found it on its back on the substrate. I thought it was dead. I reached in and pulled the shell out only to find the snail inside and moving. So i placed it back in the tank on its bottom and like 2 minutes later it would be climbing the glass. Last night I noticed that it climbed to the top of the tank again. This morning, again, it was on its back on the bottom of the tank. I reached in again and this time, just flipped him over. Again, 2 minutes later, he was up climbing the glass again. What is going on with this wierd behavior? Is the snail ill? Physically or mentally, LOL? We have called him possum and will never think he is dead ever again.
HOWEVER, like the moron I am, in my zest to make things as perfect as possible, I broke my overflow. I bought a baby bottle brush at sprawlmart and apparently it was too big. Cursing up a storm, to myself as the kids were near, I took apart the tank to get a closer look at the damage to the overflow. I cracked the plastic on the part of the overflow that goes in the tank that starts the "U" shape tunnel to the back. I grabbed a pair of curved shears, yes shears and not scissors (my wife would kill me calling them scissors), and pulled the plastic back into place. I made sure that there wasnt a hole anywhere and put it back together. I started things up, and it works just like before. So for right now, it works like nothing is wrong and if the crack gets worse, it is under the water line so it shouldnt cause a proble. What I want to know is how long does it take for silicone to "dry" so I can properly fix this. If it does take a while, What can I do to keep the system healthy while the overflow "dries"?
water tests
79.5 (started to lower the tank temp last week for the margaritta snail. almost down to 78 where I would like it.)
SG 1.0245 (have water change water ready and will probably do 10 gallons on monday)
7.8
0
0
10
There has been a steady reduction in the nitrates. I have noticed that the cheato I have has grown since being moved into its own area in the sump.
I will accept, willingly, all the abuse about not QTing the new fish. It was hard to leave the LFS without a fish since we promised the little one her purple firefish was coming home today. What's really scarry is they did have firefish in stock. They had 3 helsinki firefish in stock. I actually prefer their colors as opposed to the other varieties of the firefish. I just cant see spending $90 for a fish. I was very very relieved that my daughter told me that she didnt like they way they looked and insisted on getting her purple firefish.
