My First Tank

[ctenophore]

Probably the best thing is to just feed her like crazy. 3x a day or more, keep that belly full. Feed stuff with a lot of vitamins, protein, and HUFAs Also, the high flow will help because ick attacks gills, and many fish suffocate. So high dissolved O2 is helpful. I think the only way to eradicate the ick is to take out all the fish for 6+ weeks and put them in a hyposalinity hospital tank. Probably more trouble than it's worth. I've found that if you just keep the fish fed really well they will eventually build up an immunity on their own. But sometimes they die. I'm no fish expert but this is what I would do for my tank.

[Amuze]

You can also use garlic. I use it when feeding the fish. Just get a bottle of Brightwell garlic and soak the food in it for a few minutes. You'll will only need a couple of drops at a time depending on how much you feed. I dose 2 to 3 times a weeks with it now, but I did a little more for the first two weeks. If you want them on pellets, now would also be a good time to try it also as the garlic will attract them to it more.

 

My yellow belly hippo got ich three times when I first introduced him. I also have a cleaner wrasse that eats just about anything I put in the tank. Even nori and pellets...

[mexicanjavafish]

pictures finally

i was going to wait till i got a decent camera to do this but i just couldn't wait.

 

at the social that saturday, jason bought me an orange spot lawnmower blenny, and, since adding him to the tank, he's been searching for a perfect spot to make his 'home' so i usually find him hanging out in different holes in the rocks, or digging up the sand to make a cave. he's been favoring two spots in particular for the past few days, so when i got home today i expected to find him in one of the two. when i didn't see him there, i looked around the rest of the tank and started to panic when i couldnt find him. i was about to open the doors on my stand to look in my sump just in case when i noticed a little head poking out of an empty medium-sized shell on the sand......

 

 

 

he stayed for quite a photo shoot

 

 

 

kinda blurry, but it's a cell phone, what can i say?

 

i think i scared him out of his hiding spot...notice how large he is and how not large the shell is....lol

 

he didn't seem tooooo mad tho

 

a few more random tank shots and thats it till i can get a camera to do our tank justice

 

awesome mushrooms

 

the best tank shot i could get with my phone

 

 

thats about all i could get for now, more if i can get a camera anytime soon

[Sikryd]

Looks like put er' in reverse and backed inta' the little shell!!! That is too funny.

 

Those are some pretty good shots with a cell phone!!! Geez. I don't think my digi takes that good of shots and it cots $400 (a few years old I guess)

Thanks for sharing some cool pics. I needed a smile.

[reefmontalvo]

That is a good phone, to have taken such nice quality pictures. I like your Blenny very colorful. I noticed mine has a cave in the rock and likes to watch me as I play PS3 or watch TV. Either way there really cool and I enjoy the one I my tank.

[mexicanjavafish]

Yea, they're really animated....lol for lack of a better word. Mine watches me from wherever he is, I watch his eyes move and it's hilarious. He's got such personality for a fish...

[reefmontalvo]

That is what I tell people when they come over. Mine will actually watch you then swim left and right to make you notice he is there. I also noticed mine made best buds with the Skunk Cleaner shrimp.

[Smoothtriqueter]

I hadn't seen the orange spotted one before, very nice! Mine too has become best friends with the skunk cleaner, he is the only one that will sit long enough to get cleaned (two damsels wont stand for it)

[mexicanjavafish]

maybe i should get one of those skunk cleaner shrimp...i don't have any shrimp so far and my blenny needs a friend...

Edited October 23, 2008 by mexicanjavafish

[Sugar Magnolia]

That blenny is just adorable. I can't believe he crammed himself into that shell. I really miss my blenny. Those fish have such interesting personalities.

 

Tank is looking great!

[Amuze]

Oh! I almost grabbed that blennie at the social! Haha. Glad he made it to a good home. My blennie might have hurt it at the time so I passed it up, but my blennie has since passed away. I think he was very old when I got him.

[Smoothtriqueter]

Thanks for showing me the tank, the blenny was amazing, pictures didn't do it justice. A promising start for a tank cant wait to see how it grows, bunch of little zoas and shrooms everywhere. Thanks again!

[mexicanjavafish]

New pics n such

 

i was so excited for this one

 

 

 

is this still alive? its pretty hard to tell cuz im still taking pictures with my phone but i think it still might be...i really hope it is, its one of my favorites.

 

 

 

this looks a lot better in person...

 

these were lost and almost dead when we found them but they're making a great recovery.

 

watermelon mushroom from jason

lol i don't know why it looks like that...

 

first anemone its doing well and i can't wait for it to get bigger, i hope my clowns decide to host in it.

 

i don't actually know what kind of mushroom this is but it looks really weird...which is cool...

 

this is the best picture i could get of my new addition

i didn't know what kind of tang it was when i bought it, so i was a tiny bit disappointed when i found out that he's going to turn blue in about a year, i really wanted to add a yellow fish to my tank....but oh well i love him anyway

 

flame angel peeking at my anemone...hehe

 

full tank shot with my crappy camera phone

 

that's all for now, i'm sure there will be more soon

[Vader]

Your tank has really come along nicely, I look forward to furture pics.

[jamesbuf]

That yellow tang is a Blue Atlantic Tang. You can read up on it here:

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDeta...819&cid=287

and

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDeta...818&cid=287

 

They actually look pretty good when they turn blue.

[jason the filter freak]

NOTE ON THIS TANK: THERE ARE 4 maxi moded power heads in that tank CAN YOU FIND THEM? :D They're all easy to access and clean or un-jam if needed. Second note that leather which is a neon green leather came from Jamesbuf about 6 months back and was one of the only corals that barely made it though my tank crash when I go it it was about the size of a dime

[dschflier]

I am impressed with the tank. It has been fun watching you guys work on it together.

[jason the filter freak]

Updating some pics. All cell phone shots sorry .

 

 

 

Clam from Mr.Coral

 

Palys from Kevin garrison

 

I'm meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelting (Mushroom from me)

 

 

Don't remember who from

 

 

 

Mushroom from Kevin Garrison

 

 

Rodactis from Mr.Coral

Mushrooms from Justin ctenephore

Red Mushrooms from ctenephore

Clam again

 

This is a rescued galaxia! Since adding to the tank it has sprouted 7 new polyps Must be that Columbia tap water.

 

 

GBTA from Chris Phisigs79

[jason the filter freak]

 

 

 

 

I just think this is an awesome shot...

[Vader]

 

I just think this is an awesome shot...

 

I think that's a great shot also, Thats what I'll be doing once my is up and running........except I'll be holding a nice cold beer.

[mexicanjavafish]

So I'm worried about my tangs....

 

they both have ich worse than they've ever had it before, and it's been going on for longer than it usually does. I'm feeding them nori soaked with garlic, Jason and I have installed the UV Sterilizer and its been running for weeks now. Not only do they have ich but usually when they do they still act normally, but this time they're both swimming weird and neither of them will eat very much.

 

I tried taking pictures, but my phone isn't good enough to capture those little white ich spots...is there anything more that I can do? Or something I shouldn't do maybe?

 

I don't want to lose them, my tangs are the whole reason I have such a big tank...

[Smoothtriqueter]

I would say to try and QT and treat, but I also know how hard it would be to catch them. I personally don't know of any reef safe ich meds.

How old is the bulb in the UV?

The new tang too?

I hope they recover and do well.

Edited December 5, 2008 by Smoothtriqueter

[Sharkb8]

Hello from CA. I actually caught this thread from a reference from another thread and glad I did. Great way to use up an hour or two at work I really admire how you two have carefully planned this all out.

 

Wow, to go from dry tank and tubes to where you are now is really cool! You have incredible patience!

 

The problems you are experiencing with ich are very common, so don't beat yourself up about it. I've read, been told, that ich in fish is much like the common cold in humans, but maybe a bit more life-threatening (maybe more like pneumonia?). I'm sure you've been reading lots of stuff on the internet about ich - there are pages and pages and pages of info on it, its life cycle and how best to treat it. If not, get to it! The best way to treat ich, I think, is to first understand its life cycle and how it arises. In my reading the one common factor I've seen is poor quality conditions in the tank, be it too much stress, water quality (which I'm sure in this case is not an issue if Jason is helping out), not enough nutrients (diet stress), or some other environmental factor. So I would carefully check all water param's and really push up the quality of food. Be sure all food gets eaten though as excess will end up increasing nitrates/trites. Check all areas of the tank for any possible detritus or dead spots in the water column, maybe do some water changes. Cut down on the light cycle to decrease stress on the fish. Check out their behavior - are they being bullied by any other tank member? If so, take action to decrease the tensions in the tank. Basically, if meds are not working, do everything you can to make those fish 110% comfy and peaceful. As you've seen before, ich will sometimes just go away on its own. But it seems in this case its been around since the beginning and just never totally went away. Be sure the meds you are using are fresh (check shelf life, etc.) - some of these chemicals can settle out of solution due to oxidation over time, contamination, etc. I think isolation at this stage would probably stress the fish out even more, so I would not recommend it. Other than that, cross your fingers and be patient I guess.

 

Give us an update - nothing since December - they still alive/ok? Any better?

 

In any case, congratulations on entering this new hobby and sticking with it through all the planning/prep. You've already done 200% more than most beginners do in this hobby in terms of planning/prep.

 

And the landscaping is really cool. I am probably going to steal your designs for my nano in the near future

 

P.S. See also: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...c=27236&hl=

Edited December 31, 2008 by Sharkb8

[mexicanjavafish]

Well it's certainly been FOREVER and, despite popular belief, I still have the tank and it's looking better than ever :]

I just took a look at all the old photos and it just hit me how much things have really grown and changed in my tank.....and I figured I'd share a glimpse of that growth with everyone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There will be plenty more pictures to come - but someone stole my camera when they broke into my car - so I'll have to wait until I have access to a better camera. These cell phone pics really don't do it justice!

[surf&turf]

Your tank is looking great!!