Quick Question

[stevechouinard]

I have a 40 Gal Tank with 35 pounds of figi liverock my tank has been running for 3 years, yesterday I bought a coral beauty angel. I tried feeding him today with some flake and also some frozen food, and it doesent seem like hes eating any of it. My liverock is covered in both green and purple algae as is the back wall of my tank. It seems like hes doing quite a bit of nipping at the rock and wall but should I be worried that hes not eating the food??? Can he live with just eating off the rocks or should I try different foods?

 

[ccampbell57]

Originally Posted by SteveChouinard
I have a 40 Gal Tank with 35 pounds of figi liverock my tank has been running for 3 years, yesterday I bought a coral beauty angel. I tried feeding him today with some flake and also some frozen food, and it doesent seem like hes eating any of it. My liverock is covered in both green and purple algae as is the back wall of my tank. It seems like hes doing quite a bit of nipping at the rock and wall but should I be worried that hes not eating the food??? Can he live with just eating off the rocks or should I try different foods?
Welcome to SWF.com! First off, your fish is still in the process of adjusting to its new environment. It is very rare that a fish comes home and starts to eat within the first day. I am extatic if the fish starts to nibble by the second day.
If he is "grazing" on the live rock then it is a great sign. Get some pellet food and spread it on the rock. Once he gets more comfortable, try getting some ghost shrimp from the LFS and try placing one or two in the tank at a time and see if he eats those.
If that doesnt work, get some frozen food an drop that in the tank as a cube and let him "graze" on that. The problem is, some fish are not aqua-cultered and don't understand what flake food is and need to be trained to accept it.

 

[nicetry]

Give it some time. If the fish is otherwise healthy, it should begin to accept prepared foods fairly soon. Angels I've kept are good grazers. My majestic and eibli are constantly foraging on the rocks, and the eibli actually doesn't consume many prepared foods but gets most of it's nourishment from the algal film he scours from the rocks and glass.

 

[stevechouinard]

Originally Posted by ccampbell57
Welcome to SWF.com! First off, your fish is still in the process of adjusting to its new environment. It is very rare that a fish comes home and starts to eat within the first day. I am extatic if the fish starts to nibble by the second day.
If he is "grazing" on the live rock then it is a great sign. Get some pellet food and spread it on the rock. Once he gets more comfortable, try getting some ghost shrimp from the LFS and try placing one or two in the tank at a time and see if he eats those.
If that doesnt work, get some frozen food an drop that in the tank as a cube and let him "graze" on that. The problem is, some fish are not aqua-cultered and don't understand what flake food is and need to be trained to accept it.
Ok so with the frozen food what you are saying is to keep the whole cube intack and place it in the tank... Because the guys down at the LFS said to place it in a cup of tank water and let it thaw out...
I know it usually takes a few days to get them to start eating its just this is the most colorful fish in the tank and i dont want anything to happin to him/her... She or he seemed to be breathing a little fast upon release into the tank but that stopped quickly and now shes moving all over the tank.
My Clownfish seems to love the new addition seeing as though he was the only fish in the tank for the last year after an ich spike wiped out my tank and he was the only survivor
I dont do much to maintain my tank because honestly it doesent need it all of my level are always dead on, alot of people said its alot of work to take care of a tank which at first it was but after a few years it seems like the tank takes care of it self... I only have a Starfish (Chippy) Clownfish (Nemo of course) and the Coral Beauty (Unnamed as of now) and there all living peacefully... any other advise you can give is much appreciated...
PS thanks for the welcome & look foward to the support I will get from all of you

 

[1journeyman]

Welcome to the boards.
Did you allow your tank to run fish-less for several weeks after the Ich outbreak? If not you need to monitor carefully. Ich may still be in your tank. QT (quarantine) is really a must for marine fish.
Thawing the food usually works best (thaw it in tank water though, not tap). But, as pointed out, new caught fish sometimes need to be tricked into eating prepared foods.
Again, welcome to the boards!

 

[stevechouinard]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Welcome to the boards.
Did you allow your tank to run fish-less for several weeks after the Ich outbreak? If not you need to monitor carefully. Ich may still be in your tank. QT (quarantine) is really a must for marine fish.
Thawing the food usually works best (thaw it in tank water though, not tap). But, as pointed out, new caught fish sometimes need to be tricked into eating prepared foods.
Again, welcome to the boards!
Yea that outbreak was over a year ago it ran with out anything except for the Clown which I took over to my uncles tank for a litte "Vacation" I let it run for about 3 months without fish all the time treating it... I have got rid of the ich and will never shop at "that" fish store again...
As always with salt water its a learning experiance
I lost 145 dollars worth of fish so I now am very careful to monitor... I will take some pictures of my setup so that you experianced fish keepers can tell me what if anything I am doing wrong or right

 

[1journeyman]

Sounds good.
How did you "treat" for ich? Many ich meds are bad things.
I strongly encourage everyone to keep a QT tank running and to put all new arrivals in it. If your new fish have ich it's now in your tank again. Also, by taking your clown to your uncle you could have introduced ich into his tank... Ich is a nasty parasite, but easy to eliminate and avoid with simple QT procedures.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Sounds good.
How did you "treat" for ich? Many ich meds are bad things.
I strongly encourage everyone to keep a QT tank running and to put all new arrivals in it. If your new fish have ich it's now in your tank again. Also, by taking your clown to your uncle you could have introduced ich into his tank... Ich is a nasty parasite, but easy to eliminate and avoid with simple QT procedures.
Good advice! EVERY hobbiest should research and have some basic understanding of this parasite; even if they don't have it. A perfectly healthy fish (Or anything) from another SW source can introduce this stuff.

 

[stevechouinard]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
Good advice! EVERY hobbiest should research and have some basic understanding of this parasite; even if they don't have it. A perfectly healthy fish (Or anything) from another SW source can introduce this stuff.
Ok well i dont have ich any more we are talkin 1 year maybe a year and a half ago...
Used some stuff called STOP Parasite or something like that but only a little while the fish with ich was still in there after that all the hosts were out of the tank the treatment was time... My uncle has a tank that he calls the hospital and thats where the fish went its a 20 gallon tank that he use's to treat sick fish......
But I do appreciate all the heads up...
UPDATE:
Put a full frozen cube in the tank and for the first time my Coral beauty ate some of it I sat there and watched him for about an hour and about every 5 minutes he nibbles at the algea so im sure hes doing great...
Here are some pictures of my new fish

 

[stevechouinard]

Dont mind the tank its a little salt covered but what I was wondering was is my light a power compact??? I wanna get some of those acentic(not sure of the spelling) bulbs cause I love the color and I hear it really makes the fish and tank look awsome but the guy at the LFS asked and honestly I really dont know, I know its a dual element with one blueish bulb and one white one but dont know if its considered a "power compact". Just so I know, what classifies a power compact from a florescent???
Heres some pics of my light

A little salty but you'll get the point

 

[stevechouinard]

Someone Please Help

 

[stevechouinard]

Bump for answer

 

[dupreyjaq]

yes you have power compact lights, yours is 50/50, so half white half blue.
If you like the blue you can get an actinic bulb “all blue" and the put a normal bulb on it with your white to add more actinic color.

 

[srfisher17]

You have some good questions; hope you don't mind a few suggestions.
1.) Thaw frozen food in tank water or a little Selcon, don't toss frozen food right into the tank.
2.) Looks like a diatom problem and you said your tank has been set up a while. Easy to clean. Maybe high nitrates.
3.) A full tank will add a little capacity quiet the filters, and, IMO- the tank will look more natural.
4.) A real easy and cheap way to make a background (to give your tank looking like it has more depth and to hide all the plumbing) is to just use a piece of fabric from Wally World. (dark blue, black, or whatever color you ) Just have them cut it to the exact length and use a piece of duct tape; 1/2 on the fabric, 1/2 on the top/back tank frame. Be sure its ironed. A lot of folks question this idea--but if done neatly, is almost impossible to tell from painted--cheap to change too.