jamal

thats the funny thing. they didnt show any aggression toward each other after order was established besides the normal corraling by the male. i feed twice a day. they already eat pellets. i was considering an autofeeder but all the good ones are expensive and all the cheap ones suck. if you know of a reasonably priced one that works well i may take that option. they are well fat and getting fatter not long every day. also the other female didnt look good but she has recovered so thats a relief. i hate losing livestock because i am killing these animals when they could have lived. i try to be responsible but i guess it happens sometimes.

no i started with 9 females. one became a male then 2 were killed and then 2 more. i had 5 for several months and now this. another of the females looks bad. i just checked. they are lyretail anthias

the important thing to understand is more than one male equals deaths. as they establish dominance females will be killed. i started with 9 and now i have 4 so that should give you an idea. they are more aggressive to each other than any other fish you could keep in the tank except certain fairy wrasses

everybody is losing life stock these days. sorry man

this is one of the issues that makes keeping anthias difficult and heartbreaking

my female anthias are being dispatched one by one. i dont know what to do. i think one of the females may be turning into a male after several months of peaceful coexistence. this blows.

broken record time. brk sells them. call ahead to make sure he has them in before you go.

generally it is understood that the blue legged hermits are the most aggressive to snails and in general. watch your snail population. you can just get 10 shells to start with as soon as you can

well since it appears as though your cycle is not done this would be the best time to add it. 25% is a good starting point. you still want to add live things slowly. your oxygen and organic levels will be negatively affected. this can be dangerous if not done slowly. add the sand and monitor ammonia. if and when it hits 0 again you can add another 25%.

look here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdis...&forumid=36 for info on clownfish compatibility. crabs are a mixed bag. they do a good job with cleaning but snails will be attacked.

if your goal is to use the sand bed for denitrification as i suggested than you will need 4-6". anything less and you wont have the anaerobic zone needed for denitrification. you want a sand size of about 0.5mm to 1mm. a sand size to small will cause sand storms.

thats not necessarily true especially if you feed them specifically. i keep sps and acans together successfully and everyone is happy. i wish you would have called me chris i am a big acan fan and amateur collector. if you still have those when you frag let me know. they are very beautiful as usual you amaze me with your collection

crushed coral is a bad idea. it will trap detritus and organic matter which will break down and contribute to nitrates for a long time. take out the crushed coral asap. the macros that chip is referring to are what i suggested. macro algaes like chaetomorpha and gracilaria species are great for this task. they will grow and take up nitrates which will keep them down and you will need to remove them peridiocally to complete the export process. you dont need to add chemicals to assist the cycle it will take place naturally with patience. just cut down on feeding and dont add anything for a while to let the bacteria catch up. continue to monitor the trates over several weeks to make sure the bacteria are starting to colonize. a deep sand bed with finer sand will help with denitrification as well.

excellent idea. i am excited

do you have a refugium with macroalgae growing in it? if not i would add that quickly. i was at 25 ppm last year. after upgrading my skimmer and growing the macro in a controlled environment i am at 5ppm last i checked. the stuff really works. also do you have a deep sand bed anywhere in the system. this will also assist with denitrification. you can do a remote deep sand bed in a bucket if you didnt already do one in the tank so you dont disturb your live stock. also brian is right about the overfeeding and the high nitrates during the cycle. they would not be that high from the dieoff. i suspect that you added those fish prematurely and the bacteria has not had a chance to reestablish equilibrium in the tank yet. also how much live rock do you have?

The TOTM Committee is looking for additional nominations. If you would like to nominate someone please send an FTS to flowerseller. Also, if you were previously nominated but, chose to decline the committee hopes that you will reconsider your decision. We want to recognize those that work hard to keep these microcosms going. This is the current list that we have: Modelrr Madmax Yauger Howard Scott711 Dbartco Reefhunter

ill play. i have a 180 gal display 100 gal sump a 20 gal fuge and a 2 gal hang on fuge= about 300 gallons

one word. brk

i keep mine in the refugium. the funny thing is that he plays nice in the reef with everyone except my lubbocks wrasse.

i thought you were gonna say aiptasia

my goodness that tank is worthy of totm indeed. your tank is ok johnny

2 hrs acclimating time minimum. make sure the starfish is not melting flesh off. also make sure it has been properly kept before you receive it

i agree dave, dan will definitely be getting a call from me on my next upgrade

i did a water change tonite and my calcium is 420 exactly so maybe it isnt uniform. it was the same salinity and same batch of salt.

i was going to go with oceanic but i was warned against it by a credible source so i might try seachem at some point. there is a picture of a bucket but i dont know if it comes in a bucket