madweazl July 16, 2016 Author Share July 16, 2016 Needed some more negative space but didnt want to make it too artificial looking! I think the shadows created by the overhangs create a lot of depth (doesnt show well in the pictures) and the fish seem to really enjoy hanging out in the shadows to keep an eye on you. They're out and above the structure a lot more then they were previously (current isnt as strong above it now either). Still a little cloudy but I'm liking it. Blue channels off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl July 19, 2016 Author Share July 19, 2016 (edited) Lost my clown last night. I had literally posted that he was doing fantastic the night before and that he had doubled in size since arrival. Came home from work yesterday to find him breathing rapidly but no other signs of disease, parasite, or abuse. My anthias had ich, no doubt about that but the clown never showed any signs of it (no scratching, no spots, no nothing). I've been doing this 20 years and the only thing I've ever seen take down a clown fast (less than 48 hours) was brooklynella but this little guy was perfect appearance wise and it is easy to spot. The only thing I could think of was that maybe he had been harassed while I was at work and was just exhausted so I moved him to the refugium. The lights come on at 10am and my wife feeds them shortly after but said she didnt observe them because she was busy with other stuff so I dont know at what point what ever happened, began. At 945pm the night before he was doing great (their last feeding of the day). Water parameters all check out; no ammonia, nitrite, nitrate undetectable, phosphate .015, pH between 7.9 and 8.1 for weeks, dkH 9, salinity 1.0255 to 1.026. I just dont have any theories. The angel and anthias show no signs of labored breathing, the skimmer isnt running abnormally to indicate something ended up in the tank that shouldnt, ATO working like it should. What the H-E-double hockey sticks kills a fish in less than 24 hours with no visible signs? Edited July 19, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 sorry if I missed something in the late night skim but I was told to see if I could help out here. a gram negative bacterial infection or marine velvet could wipe something out that fast. was there a chance you missed a wound or behavioral symptoms like flashing or swimming into flow of powerhead at some point? what is your quarantine protocol like? MV has been running rampant through most of California wholesalers at higher rates then I've seen in the last five years - there's no getting around a proper quarantine nowadays. even if not treating prophylactically, a 4-8 week observation is very helpful while doing freshwater dips checking for flukes also incredibly popular right now or running prazi. the ich you mention seeing in the tank, are you 100% sure of that diagnosis, any photos of symptoms? hope all else continues well but considering the few fish left and smaller size of tank, it might be an ideal time to remove remaining fish for treatment and let tank go fallow to avoid future issues with other additions but there are more than one way to keep a tank and not all folks are up for the extra effort. feel free to PM me as I'm always glad to help out WAMAS family whenever I can. g'luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl July 20, 2016 Author Share July 20, 2016 I spend a couple hours a day observing the fish so I notice different behaviour right away (plus I have a fair amount of experience of what "normal" is). I've never seen a case of velvet that wasnt really easy to see visually (especially at time of death); the clown was spotless (like the rest of the fish). The anthias would flash occasionally (every three to four days consistent with the ich lifecycle) but hasnt been observed doing it for a couple weeks. There was a cyst on the pectoral fin of the female anthias (and maybe the male, cant recall now) a couple days after going in the tank but they were never observed again (would have been a little over a month ago). None of the fish have ever had anything visible on their body to indicate there was infection, disease, or parasite since though. Poop has been fine (nothing stringy or malformed) for all of the fish so I don't believe there were any bacterial infections internally). The coral beauty, male, and female anthias all had some wounds a while back; I never observed any physical confrontations between any of the three but the male got beat up by something. After he died (quit eating after the wounds appeared), the coral beauties wounds healed up right away (as did the females) and nothing else has happened since (18 days ago I think). The clown however, has never had any issues at all. I don't have a picture from the day he died but I had really checked him out the night before noting how much he had grown (literally doubled in size). Even when I pulled him out of the tank after death, the color was great and there was nothing abnormal. The only thing of note was the rapid breathing and abnormal swimming that I noticed as soon as I walked in the room (wife didn't observe them in the morning when she fed so I don't know when this behavior started but it was sometime after 10pm the night before). Nothing abnormal was observed yesterday with the anthias or angel As for QT, none. At this point, I wouldn't bother with a fallow period; if I'm going to set up another tank and wrangle up the fish, I'll just go bigger and begin a TTM or fallow period at that point. Appreciate the input and hopefully you can help brainstorm something because I just cant think of anything at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl August 31, 2016 Author Share August 31, 2016 (edited) Wife has been taking care of the tank all month because I've been out of town. She has been feeding about three times as much as I do (I feed three times a day and she did the same but WAY more food each feeding). I was worried when she showed me how much she was tossing in the tank but everything looks great. The female anthias is HUGE (didnt grow much longer but grew much taller!). I had never witnessed the angel eat much but he eats quite a bit now which was cool to see. Growth in the refugium is way up (nice to see it respond to the additional bioload she has been adding). Everything needed a good cleaning but is doing really well. Added a carpenters wrasse and a pajama cardinal today along with a duncan frag. Coralline has really started to take off on all of the dry rock. Edited August 31, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl August 31, 2016 Author Share August 31, 2016 Carpenters is actually a yellowfin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf August 31, 2016 Share August 31, 2016 Thanks for the update!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM August 31, 2016 Share August 31, 2016 Nice. Glad the anthias looks good. My tank also started doing better recently when I started feeding more and changing less water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 2, 2016 Author Share September 2, 2016 Few pictures of the new guys. Duncan Pajama mid right (been very reclusive thus far) Torch Green polyp toadstool (always been one of my favorites) Hidden tiger... Hermit inadvertently walked over the pistol and scared it half to death so it jump up snapping like crazy which scared the bejesus out of the hermit who beat feat. The pistol took off running and ran right into the the YWG that was just added (must have been fate). Wrasse is still a little stressed but is coloring up nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf September 2, 2016 Share September 2, 2016 Nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 8, 2016 Author Share September 8, 2016 Anemone is starting to poke out for some light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 12, 2016 Author Share September 12, 2016 Skimmer has gone wonky the past week. Went from working pretty well for a few months to not holding an adjustment. Tore it apart and thoroughly cleaned it but that hasnt seemed to help. The impellar had a small crack in it when I bought it but hadnt hurt performance; perhaps it has gotten to a point where it is now. I was never real happy with its appearance and now I'm thinking of just replacing the whole unit (take longer to get an impellar than it would a hole new skimmer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruleyii September 13, 2016 Share September 13, 2016 Are you able to JB weld the impeller? Dont know if thats reef safe or not but just throwing ideas out to keep you from having to buy a new skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 13, 2016 Author Share September 13, 2016 Naturally, it is working perfect today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 14, 2016 Author Share September 14, 2016 Time for a water change but I might push it off until Monday since we're having a house full of people this weekend and there is lots to do around the house still. It has been two weeks since the last change. YWG has been exceptionally reclusive; was hoping he/she would be a little more adventurous but alas, it is typical. Havent been able to find a Randall's goby in stock anywhere so the wait continues for one of those (they have always stayed out at the entrance to the casa in my previous tanks). Additions arriving tomorrow are: Kaudurn's cardinal, chalk bass, yellowhead jawfish, and some additional members to the CUC (20 snails, cucumber, and a brittle star). PO4 - .061 dKh - 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 15, 2016 Author Share September 15, 2016 Few new additions today.Mail order fish; why not...Used LiveAquaria's float method with an assist from wifey's hair jobbies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef September 15, 2016 Share September 15, 2016 Lol.. Love the dual use for the hair clips! The jawfish and chalk bass are adorable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 15, 2016 Author Share September 15, 2016 Have a video of the jawfish working on his home that I need to edit; he/she didnt waste any time! Chalk bass has been very reclusive thus far; was hiding in a rock up front for about an hour and then disappeared. The tiger pistol was snapping for about an hour so I assume the bass went over to his neck of the woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 18, 2016 Author Share September 18, 2016 Did some more investigating on the skimmer issue and noticed the water level in the sump was up about 1/4" above "normal." Once I lowered the water level, the skimmer started working great again. Ordered an new impeller too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 18, 2016 Share September 18, 2016 Did some more investigating on the skimmer issue and noticed the water level in the sump was up about 1/4" above "normal." Once I lowered the water level, the skimmer started working great again. Ordered an new impeller too. Just a quarter of an inch? That seems touchy. Glad that you got it going again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 18, 2016 Author Share September 18, 2016 Just a quarter of an inch? That seems touchy. Glad that you got it going again. Yea, it has always been very sensitive to water level but works great when it is right. Been my only complaint with the Bubble Magus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 21, 2016 Author Share September 21, 2016 Yellow assessor and a Randall's goby arrived today but the goby was in bad shape. They shipped from different locations and the goby was in a small bag, boxed up with an ice pack. The water was quite cold and there was no movement from the goby. I thought he was dead but was actually barely clinging to life. It is looking slightly better now (been in my sump for about three hours now) but I dont have much faith he'll pull through. Hate seeing this happen. The yellow assessor was/is doing great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 21, 2016 Author Share September 21, 2016 The goby was doing considerably better this evening and has been deliberately moving about checking out the sump. Breathing is still a bit labored but he/she seems to be responsive to outside movement and isnt so listless. I went ahead and moved it from sump to display so it could find a spot to hide, get comfortable, and hopefully continue to heal. Ended up in the pistol shrimp caves right away which is good and bad. I havent seen the YWG in days but have no reason to believe it isnt in there still which could lead to some squabbling (the Randall's is about twice its size) but we'll just have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl September 21, 2016 Author Share September 21, 2016 (edited) Yo Holmes, to Bel Aire! Tentacles of that lone aiptasia loom in the background. Edited September 21, 2016 by madweazl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef September 22, 2016 Share September 22, 2016 Lol... Sounds like some interesting additions happening inside the tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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