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That is funny. My wife names everything. Some call it bad luck, but since our 1st fish was the 1st to get a name and is still with us 3 years later... we don't buy into that. The old BTA was Annie... now my question for you. Do each of the dotters get a new name? Did Annie cease to exsist and we now have Fannie and Manny?

Shrimp are not male / female. They are all hermaphrodites (sp?) IMO If they are both molting they are both eating and doing well. Often cleaners "advertise" their services by staying in one spot swaying to and fro and holding up their antenna. I wouldn't worry

If you have been following the board you may know that the past week has been tough for me. 1st My BTA that had never left her rock started to wander... causing great concern. She looked good with nice bubbles, but my fear of her getting caught in a powerhead, or just diying and poluting the tank kept me up at night. Then we hosted 8 guests over the weekend and 8 more for easter dinner... topped off with a 4 year old dumping about 2 years worth of food into the tank. Sunday and Monday spent doing water changes and last night I was SURE the BTA would be dead in a few days. She would not eat for the 1st time ever and looked terrible. So now it's Teusday... they happen in 3s tight? My wife worked from home and was on BTA watch. Updates were via IM: She looks bad She was moving toward the green hard coral so I moved it Will she go on the sand? Now she is inbetween a rock and the glass I came home expecting to find the worst. When getting ready to do another 35% water change (still cleanup from the sunday disaster) I said: "boy she is moving around fast, she was way over there, 5 min ago... wait... that is another BTA. I'm a DAD!!! Thanks everyone that help me get past my natural (non-fraging) Marine reporductive event! Cigars on me at the meeting.

Consider a power inverter. Save $500 and turn your car into a generator.

Yea, thanks for the feedback. Things LOOK okay. The cloudy water has passed, and everything is alive. Haven't tested for Amonia in a long time, starting to wonder if I still know how.

What does one pay for RO/DI? For $150 you can't beat a bare bones RO unit and a "tap water filter" DI cartridge.

Thanks all for the feedback. Still feel like I may be missing something, so please more comments welcome. THANKS Eddi for the offer of temporary housing

I had 16 people over for Easter dinner. Long story short, the 4 year old that liked the pretty fish and who gets to feed the gold fish at home: found, opened and dumped a 10 ounce jar of pellet food into the tank... My bad. I don't have kids, and based on this I may not ever. In a 33g, I did a 10g water change using the syphon vacum as soon as we found what had happened. I figure I got 85% of it out. Changed some of the filter media and added carbon. Questions: 1. I was thinking that another 10g chance tonight, and one Teudsay, again using the syphon and moving the rockwork to do some reall clean up. Thoughts? 2. What is your guess on the chances of a TOTAL CRASH? 3. I'm near RT 29 and 7100 (Farfax county parkway) If things are really bad (but something is still moving) when I get home tonight, I may be looking for temporary housing for: BTA assorted softies Shrooms Zoos Assorted LPS (Incl Candy, Hammer, and Frogspawn.) Assorted SPS Xena 2 O-so-silly-aris clowns 1 Royal Gramma 1 purple firefish 1 watchman goby 2 fighting conchs Crabs and snails can ride out the spike I think Send a PM if you could help with housing. There are a few of you near me, but not sure who will be around and comfortable with this idea. Thanks all Phil

That is a very interesting point. She really does look very good, just on the move. Perhaps she is getting ready to split. Been thinking of adding silversides to the mix, I like giving a mixed diet to all critters.

1. No, not really. There are 2 O-silly-airis that hang near the BTA stealing food and waste, espically the femail. They are not "bathing"... they are not as close as normail, but I guessed that is due to the fact that the BTA is not in the normal place. 2. No. 3. Interesting. There are SPSs. 4. Yes, a mix of: Mysis, Table shrimp, Scalops soaked in Sel Con, and Eddi's home made fish food. 5. The lighting doesn't seem to be it. I'm at 7.5 w/gal now, and that isn't too high. Some many things it could be. Water quality, flow, light, other livestock... too many things to guess at. Thanks again everyone for the feedack! Phil

Eddi, ANY TIME you want to upgrade, I'll help you move the old tank out and the new one in. Seriously, yer not done expanding are you?

I have had a BTA for 6-7 months or so. She has never wandered, and always been in good health. Growth has been good more than doubling in size. She eats well and has good color... but never any "B" in my BTA. All along she had been out in the open, nearly straining to the surface for more light. Since making a lighting upgrade (FROM: 130w of 50/50 PC TO 226w of PC '130 10k & 96 blue') While she never looked bad, now she looks 100% better. No longer reaching for the sun, suddenly there were real bubbles like in the pictures. Sort of setteling in a crevas like they are supposed to. This was a happy looking animal! Then I went and did it. I moved her rock. Why you ask? She was looking so nice, wanted to show her a little better. After giving 3 or 4 weeks to adjust to both the light upgrade and then the switch to new bulbs (away from 50/50) I moved her closer to the front of the tank. Now she wont stop moving around. She is everyplace. I put her in light, she moves. She gets somplace with shade, and OVERNIGHT she moves. I fixed her a nice crevas in her old spot... still on the move. Getting VERY worried she is going to get sucked into a filter or powerhead, get her self shreaded and crash the tank. Tank maint. and water parms are constant since November (when we moved.) Water changes 10% / week since I can remember. Newer RO membrain, pre filter carbon block and DI unit. Filter and skimmer cleanings unchanged. Added a few LPS about the same time as the light change... could that me it? Please, all thoughts are welcome. Thanks all Phil

If you have a way to seperate him even just for a day or two, it would give the new guy a chance to settle in a little. Put em in aother tank, in-tank refuge (my wife calls it "fish jail") tank divider, anything!

If you are like me you have a lot of power converters left over from old cell phones and things like that. If you have one that matches (if it is a 12v... that is common) it could save you a few bucks.

oh no, I hear the "ick is everywhere / no it isn't" conversation coming. My feeling is that cleaners help, but not a cure

Dude, you are going to kill all your coral? As much as I can apreciate your desire to save the fish, if you are serious, at least have the sence to give those corals away to the first to shout: "DIBS." The heat thing is a new one for me. My thought is cranking up the heat like that would only stress the other fish making them more likley to get ick too. I'd take a real shot at catching that fish (including a barbless hook) and treating with hyposalinity in a hospital tank before doing something drastic... but anyway.... DIBS on all the doomed coral.

olive oil was what I was going to say... you are brilliant for thinking up the same idea I had... go with something more bio-digradable and less petrolium based.

What doesn't kill ya, only makes you stronger

Good times thanks all. Good point thanking the better half. While you would all be welcome to my house, I'm sure that pulling out a blender and bags of fish heads would send my wife over the edge. Thanks Kimo for the SPSs!

I think 260 watts of PC on a 90g is short. You could keep mushrooms and maybe some softies, but I think an anenome would be out, LPS would be tough and for get SPS. With all that room, you are gonna want to fill it. Better to spend an extra buck now, then buy 2 systems over time. I have 226w of pc on a 33g (think 55 only shorter) and wouldn't mind more power.

Eddie, I will bring some, it will not be a lot as I JUST tossed a bunch, but you will have a lot in a month or so. Your $ is no good here. I just rememberd, you don't have a skimmer on that tank. I think you GOTTA get one. Phil

I have some macro that came with 2 shrimp I got from Dr. Mac. The stuff is stringy and tanish color. I always assumed it was spaghetti, cus that's what it looks like. I don't know, but I've heard people say spaghetti is good for nutrent export, and the stuff does grow like a weed... but I'm not having happy tank days either right now. Anyway, want some? Phil

Sweet. Eddie, as we talked about via PM, I hope to be there. All, those of you attending are in for a treat. Your fish and inverts will be getting a treat too, that is for sure, but the tanks you will see this weekend are NICE. How about we do a live sand swap and or a little frag trading? Phil

I've had it before and know the causes... and it really isn't any worse then it has been int the past I've just never associated it with bubbles. Are you suggesting it is causing bubbles to form, or that it causes those in the tank from other sources to "stick" to stuff? Having added a few new rocks & frags at the last meeting (thanks everyone) may have imported a new strain. could that be it?

Prisim Skimmer, Tetratec HOB filter, and one of those sweeping powerheads I've been running this combo for over a year and nothing seems wrong with the hardware. Water coming from all 3 is as bubble free as it always is. I guess the bubbles in the water colum are are no more or less than usual, but they are sticking to everything more than they did before. Sand is about 2 inchs deep. I said slime alge, but Cayno may be what it really is. Thanks again for the help, I'm at a loss.