SuperNan79

holding tank with slime coat enhancer and melafix.

Thanks cello- I pulled her out and debrided her side a bit and did an iodine wash and she's in a separate hold

I have a unique problem apparently because  I can't find anything on google.  I have two tomato clowns I moved to my sump due to a power outage and not having enough resources to support the tank they were in.  The main display above the sump already has a pair of clowns so that was out of the idea. 

Aaaaanyways,... so the sump has some extra rock I'm seeding for a family member to start a tank and the rock is stacked so that the water has to flow through it- it's all the way to the surface across the center of the sump.  The clowns were a bit freaked out by the sudden move and during the night my large tomato tried to jump the 'rockwall'.  Unsuccessfully.  She found herself with her head enough in the water to survive but she was almost all the way upside down with the left side of her belly out of water.  I don't know why she didn't flop more because it appeared that she would have easily been able to flip herself and end up on the other side of the wall.  So, that area of her skin was exposed to air for a prolonged amount of time and must have dried up a bit.  I got her back in the water as soon as I saw her in the morning and she seemed fine.  Later that day I noticed that that area seemed to be peeling and now we are 3 days later and the peeling continues.  It is restricted to the area that was exposed and she shed part of the fins on that side as well.  I'd wait it out and let it heal but she's not really eating.  Has interest in eating but is either not feeling well or is freaked out by the move still- goes up to the food but doesn't eat it.  

I hand caught her and placed her in a bath of tank water with melafix in it for about 20 minutes- should I do this often?  I don't want to add it to the entire tank because it does kill bacteria and I feel like things are just finally getting balanced in there.  Should I do an area treatment with some iodine?  I can capture her relatively easily by hand because of the size of the sump and could hold her over a container and apply some iodine or is that too harsh- maybe dilluted iodine?  

Ideas please?  I don't want to set up a hospital tank but can if I get a general consensus that it's the best solution.

Are any of the TFT tanks inhabited by clowns?

*PLEASE RELOCATE THIS POST AS NEEDED- I WASN'T SURE WHERE WOULD BE BEST TO POST*

I have a pair of mated tomato clowns. I am wanting to rehome them, but I am going to be picky about their new home. I was entrusted with them by someone who was in a desperate situation but cared about them dearly. I have tried to figure out another way to keep them myself, but the clowns I already have come first and I can't risk putting them all together in the 75 gallon due to the female's aggressive nature.

THE ISSUE: The tomatoes need a bigger tank than the 30 gallon FOWLR they are in and I need that tank for other fish I have temporarily housed in a sump :(

THE SOLUTION: Tomatoes won't be separated. I can transport in a month or two- or they can be picked up in Coos Bay. I am not making them available on a first come first serve- I will be screening homes to fulfill my obligation to keep them safe and happy.

These two are beautiful and I do like having the diversity, but I can't have FIVE tanks running anymore so I need to consolidate and there's no way to do that with so many clowns to keep separate. The female is a gorgeous dark red and the male is far smaller and a bright vibrant orange-ish red. He is very docile but as I said I will not separate the two. The female is not aggressive to people (like another fish I have, lol) and they are both incredibly fat, healthy, and somewhat happy but need a bigger tank all to themselves clown-wise.

Please pm me or call/text to 541-404-7216.

If I don't reply to pm's give me time, I am a full time student, mom, wife and work lol- so I'm not on here often. Best luck is to try my phone.

Picture was during the summer after I got them. The male is brighter now. (there is an acrylic divider between them and the b&w clown fyi to those who are wondering )

Pic taken through algae covered glass lol. Going to do another water change 100% and clean the tank top to bottom (need to do that anyways if it is a parasite) tomorrow- new water mixing tonight.

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So this is one side and the other side is about the same but not quite as bad. Same exact area tho. Note the lack of a tail.

Good to know on the water changes :-) I had finished the full treatment as the directions called for on the antibiotics before I did the water change. I wish I could take a better pic of the areas on the CB. Maybe I can get a pic tomorrow during daylight hours (no lights on the tank- it's by a window, I like the extra algae growth... It's like a built in algae scrubber lol). The tank looks like it should house something from the green lagoon lol- a swamp beast or something. But the CB picks at it and it feeds the snails. I pulled the snails and started some of that protozoan killer stuff- malachite green or whatever it's made of (read label but can't remember how to spell or say it). The fish's affected areas (not including the eye) didn't really get better or worse with the antibiotics... but they've been in this 'way' for quite a while- the lady I got it from said the ornery clown had been badgering the CB. I believed it for quite a while but it just wasn't healing. Is it possible it's scarred? I know I know TTIWWP lol. Tail fin has been almost nonexistent whole time I've had it and it's not ragged nor does it have any obvious funky stuff growing on it- it's pretty puzzling. Anyone know much about that linear line disease? Starting to look at other causes and that stood out in the list of diseases.

Very helpful info. I will start doing more frequent water changes. I was changing water percentage and schedule based on instructions on antibiotics. I just did a 50% water change because I'd missed the change day due to being out of town. Too much at once? Matched salinity, temp, and pH. I did have one tunnel in the tank that he would go into so I removed that. He doesn't seem stressed about it being gone. I think I'll cut back on the other treatments as eye seems just a little better. His appetite was lacking zest so I tried adding garlic extreme to some this morning. Maybe I'm just not seeing him eat, as he seems active and alert still.

My coral beauty has been in qt getting treatment for torn/ragged fins that weren't healing. Told when I got it (free) that another fish had been harassing it- I believe it as the B&W clown is super aggressive even to me! So, after two weeks of treatment- one week with melafix and another with erythromycin as it was apparent in qt that something more than lack of healing was going on. Fins are growing back, but has lesions/divots the size of nearly a dime on each side of body below dorsal fin.

LAST NIGHT I took a good look at him as I wanted to see how the progress was going and his left eye has popeye!

Started the melafix back up. Read that I should use Epsom salt so I bought some and got home and opened it only to realize it has added things to it; peppermint, rosemary, spearmint and fragrance:-/ anyone use this type before?

Fish are happy in the new tank... But do yellow tangs generally just plain act like they're on crack when given a large amount of area to inhabit? Lol. 'Big Bird', as he's been dubbed, is a wild child all of a sudden after being in a 10 gallon qt for months (wasn't supposed to take me that long) and behaving all relaxed and chill- now any time I come up to the tank he whips back and forth with all of his fins displayed to the max... Almost like he's trying to bluff me? It's absolutely hilarious! Who knew?!

Well it's day 4 since I first was noticing she was 'fat' BEFORE feeding time but tonight she isn't porky looking. There's no way anything would survive in that tank tho- between the two serpent stars, 5-6 hermits, and abundance of bristle worms that creep out at night I'd say they wound up a nutritious and delicious snack:-) going to qt the clowns anyways as want to get the cube cleared of any ich as they had it about a year ago and I just fed them garlic food but couldn't treat the tank. Maybe they'll spawn in the qt- it'd be a good money maker since there's a local setting up a new fish store in a couple months:-) if any lived.

I updated prices as I did some more competitive price digging and realized my initial 'comps' were high end sellers and there are much cheaper options for buying new. I've updated for sale price (and trade value) by comparison to new prices listed from sellers online. And as posted... OBO :-)

You might consider swapping for some sand thats not so fine instead-its just a thought. If you would' date=' please toss a price on what you would be thinking you'd want if they were to be sold or I can move your thread to the "want to trade" section. If its in the classifieds it needs a sale price.[/quote'] Good idea on the sand, but it would be more of a headache than I'm up for:-/ I got this sand and mixed it with some coarser sand in hopes to obtain a happy medium for flow, pods, bottom feeders/sand sifters, and prevention of detritus build up- it's the same sand I used in the cube and I've been SOOOO very happy with it in there. I think one of two things will happen; either the sand will be blown around no matter what circulation device I use and will eventually settle, or I will be able to find something that I can control and won't be on a constant high power. I dealt with a similar problem in the cube. It's not like the sand is obviously (at a casual glance) blowing all over... It's just that I end up with these mounds in random areas and divots around the bases of some rocks and it's all from water current (smooth- not moved by a critter). If I sit at tank bottom level I can see a few grains tumble here and there and I think that the fine dusty stuff underneath the surface is being released when enough of the sand moves and is clouding the water... Sooo, anyhow... Price: If interested to purchase, I'd like $150 OBO for the pair. I priced new for the two online at about $180 I will double check prices as I want to be fair:-)

Hey Micah, I think my clowns are going to spawn for the first time! My female is bulging with what I believe are eggs! Should I worry if she doesn't spawn in a certain amount of time? I know some fish get egg bound- how long after I noticed she looked 'fat' is too long?

Have two tunze turbelle pumps that I got with a set up and I just don't feel like they are doing what I want. I have really fine sand and there isn't really any direction combination I can find that doesn't rescape the sand bed and make the water milky.

I'm looking for trade, sell, or advice on how I can manipulate the pumps to get them where I need them to be. Ideally I want ramp up and down and timed cycles. I have been successfully maintaining a nano mixed reef for two years and this big tank thing with all the fancy technology is a bit above my know-how so far. I don't have a lot of $ to work with but might be able to add $ with the pumps in a trade for a simple controllable set up- fine with used in good shape.

Both pumps just detailed and working awesome according to how they're supposed to function. The nanostream is older and had coraline algae on it that I removed so it looks a little more used than the newer 6065.

TELL ME WHAT YOU GOT!!!! I'm all ears :-)

Well' date=' keep in mind I am totally jaded after fighting this for a several months. Allot of people shoot for .05 or even .02. So that means that you are running 10x higher or even more than some shoot for. Because of recent experience, if it were me, I would acid bathe the rocks. Extreme I know and sure won't help your tank cycle, but it is probably what I would do. Others should chime in. No matter what you decide, at least you are going in with eyes wide open! Good luck!![/quote']

 

I have a sincerely curious question... My test kit is European and measures in parts per mL's... How does that translate to parts per gallon? And did you do the conversion when you gave me recommended levels? I honestly am just trying to decide where my current levels stand and if I'm really at 10 x's the norm or if you read my levels as if it were ppg's? I ordered this kit with my nano and it tests everything so I haven't ever looked into how other kits measure- I'm clueless lol.

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Our just run gfo in a reactor. It's a bit less extreme than acid bathing your rocks.

Yes, that will be the plan of attack if it remains a problem. I do also plan on feeding a lot of plant material to the tang to fatten it up- it's just a small juvenile, and get it growing more. I know that introducing high amounts of plant matter into the tank can release phosphates too so I assumes I'd be dealing with the levels raising anyways. Time to look for a reactor:-)

GOOD NEWS!... I have the tang, coral beauty, and chromi in the tank for a week now and they're doing great! Adding clean up crew gradually as there isn't a lot of debris yet and no algae growth. Just added a light tonight- temporary setup as I'm building a hood to house them in. Just have to figure out how to make easy access to the top of the tank and I'll be good as gold!

Kind of a side note... After my terrible' date=' terrible battle with phosphate laden rock I feel compelled to recommend this. I really recommend you do a phosphate test before getting too far into this. See if someone can do it on a hannah checker for ya. If your rocks are leaching phosphate the next six months will be painful and expensive to fight it.[/quote']

 

Ok- tested my kit with fresh RODI water (been a while since I used this test) with reading of 0. Then tested tank water (it's a German kit so bear with me) and got .5 mg/L which is slightly high, but not much above ideal. I have some cheato I was planning on adding to sump, but without livestock and higher nitrates, will it survive? I know it will help eat up phosphates. Part of the phosphates could be from the water I added from the brute can that the rocks stewed in for over 5 months- I was feeding flake fish food to the bacteria lol- that sounds retarded. But, I know flake fish food has high levels of phosphates... I was just trying to help seed the tank with some of that water- probably 10-15 gallons. I got the rock after someone had already been cycling it which explains why I didn't get elevated nitrates as well by adding the brute water... What do y'all think?

Kind of a side note... After my terrible' date=' terrible battle with phosphate laden rock I feel compelled to recommend this. I really recommend you do a phosphate test before getting too far into this. See if someone can do it on a hannah checker for ya. If your rocks are leaching phosphate the next six months will be painful and expensive to fight it.[/quote']

Ooooooo- that is a VERY good point. I don't know anyone with a Hannah checker:-( so I'll run a test with my kit to be sure.

QUESTION: I cycled rock in brute can for 5+ months, bought live sand, added a bit of water from cycled rock can and the rest was freshly made. I added Aquabella to the water day 1, day 2, and day 3 treatments... soooooo- theoretically, my tank is cycled. It's been up and running since Sunday. I tested Monday and got 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate. I threw in a squid leg to let it rot and see what happened (a small one) and it got stuck to the tunze. It finally finished 'melting' by the time I got home tonight and was gone so I tested again. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and I see the faintest change in color when I tested for nitrates which would be expected but it was still just barely above 0. SOOOOOOO... I feel very nervous to do it, but I really want to add some of the fish teasing me in the qt tanks for the past several months. SHOULD I DO IT? It just all seems too good to be true, but it was my plan to not have to cycle the tank after set up. Guess I'm just having a hard time believing it worked out so well.

Yep, no way that bad boy is budging. It already is farther from the wall than I wanted even when it's butted right against it with the plumbing :-( so I undid the unions and turned all the valves sideways so I can reach them from the side. Still can't get enough torque on my STICKY "easy turn" ball valves- gah! Easy turn my a**! So, I am just adjusting from under which sucks but isn't completely horrible. I think I have it fine tuned- running since Friday and I had to readjust only once and I don't think I HAD too. I cut power to see if the system started back up and it did- perfectly but then the main down pipe wasn't kicking into a full siphon and the noisy backup down pipe was taking over and has the tubing allowing it to drain air. I kept fiddling and adjusting and retesting and same thing- it was like there was an air lock and not enough head pressure to start the main siphon. ANYWAYS... I decided it's OK for it to do that in a power outage situation- it will alert me something happened and I need to do a whole once over on the tank (I don't have an apex or monitor like that). I can always get it going again after I mess with it. The emergency overflow works great if the other two are shut off.

Next project (after I finish cabinet floor and doors) will be to acquire gate valves and swap out the ball valves- at least the main.

I will tell you from experience' date=' it is worth every penny to buy a gate valve. You will go nuts trying to adjust it with a ball valve.[/quote']

Get gate valve!!! I even got easy turn ball valves and even they get sticky after sitting. If I decide I need to adjust after like 20-30+ minutes, it 'jumps' farther than I want it to turn because it sticks. I will probably redo with gate valve eventually (put some true unions on both sides of your ball valves if u don't want to get gate valves now- that way you can swap out pretty easily later without redoing ALL your plumbing:-)

I just leak tested the second go 'round after siliconing the bulkhead and NO leaks! Drained the hose/tap water and hooking up the RODI unit to start running some 'good' water in the tank:-) New problem... how to get the tank/stand close to wall yet be able to have access to the valves in the back in order to fine tune the flow:-/ afterthought. I hate afterthoughts.