Newbie

[cowfishrule]

hello
ive had freshwater tanks for over 10 years now, my last conquest being discus/community in a 55g w/ 2 emperor 400's suckin/spittin.
i have taken the leap into the saltwater realm in april. i now have a 25g eclipse, 20# ls, 6#lr, 10 turbos, 1 hermit.
i had a cowfish, perc clown, long nose butterfly, a firefish, goldhead sleeper, and a coral beauty.
i let the tank cycle 4 weeks before i added any fish.
first week of june, my butterfly got ich, and before i could med the tank, it whacked everything but the snails and the firefish.
ive been doing regular water changes even after the tank got beat. is it to early to re-populate.
also, i have a major hair alge problem. i read one of the posts below about hair alge remedy. i usually just rip it off by hand when i do water changes. i also thought about putting a redsail tang in the tank to help out. what is the best way to beat the alge problem. i never had this in my freshwater tanks, even when i left the lights on all day/all nite.
what do ya think?

 

[robchuck]

It sounds like your tank may have been overstocked. SW rules are different than FW rules (I had the same problem years ago when I switched from FW to SW; bought too many fish too quickly). The general rule of thumb is 1" of fish (factoring the adult size of the fish, as opposed to its current size) for every 5 gallons of water. It takes a little while to get used to the subtle differences between FW and SW. As far as the Coral Beauty goes, dwarf angels generally only thrive in established tanks (6 mos. or more). I'm sure other members will give more detailed advice. But be patient, and don't give up because this hobby rules! HTH

 

[j21kickster]

WoW, slow down. Research those fich before you but them. A long horn cow can get 18in. you know. And in a 25?? check my signature

 

[bab]

wait, you have all those fish in a 25g? is that right? did anything even move in there.. no wonder everything died, my dad has a freshwater tank with soo many fish in there but it is very very different in saltwater fish keeping. I would say to every inch of fish (adult size) needs about 5 gallons of water.
your hair algae problem... where can i start yes a tang will probably get your hair algae problem under control but then again it might not and your stuck with a fish that you honestly didn't really want in the first place also i wouldn't think a tang could live happily in anything less than a 50 gallon tank and even then i would consider it a bit small, unlike freshwater fish saltwater doesn't leave the same room for mistakes.. read muchmore about the hobby in books and on the board and research saltwater keeping before you go any further

 

[bab]

wait, you have all those fish in a 25g? is that right? did anything even move in there.. no wonder everything died, my dad has a freshwater tank with soo many fish in there but it is very very different in saltwater fish keeping. I would say to every inch of fish (adult size) needs about 5 gallons of water.
your hair algae problem... where can i start yes a tang will probably get your hair algae problem under control but then again it might not and your stuck with a fish that you honestly didn't really want in the first place also i wouldn't think a tang could live happily in anything less than a 50 gallon tank and even then i would consider it a bit small, unlike freshwater fish saltwater doesn't leave the same room for mistakes..
one more thing, butterfly fish are not a beginners fish, i think people who have been in the hobby for 10 years still have much trouble keeping them, and fishkeepers are rarelly successful they are very delicate fish and IMO should they should be left in the ocean.. not to be discouraging keeping once sucessfully is fantastic but this is uncommon
read muchmore about the hobby in books and on the board and research saltwater keeping before you go any further

 

[alf3482]

I have to agree you were over stocked so there for you had more bio-load than your filtration could handle. As suggested above, Slow down. I would invest in a few good books before adding anything else to your tank. It will save you money and your critters lives. You are trying to house the wrong fish in this small tank.

 

[iechy]

Ditto on the stocking--I believe that Long Horned Cowfish submit a toxin when stressed or attacked. That might not be pretty. Those guys really are cool though. They remind me of "Meathead" from Meatballs 3.