How many pound of rock do I "really" need?

[Mrc8858]

My tank is a 40 gallon. 3 feet long. I know my tang needs more room( newbie mistake when I got him) eventually I'll be getting a bigger tank so hopefully he'll be ok till then

Once he reaches a few inches you will start seeing the effects of keeping him in a small tank.. ich is very prone in the tang family and stress is the leading cause. Best of luck to you though and hope you upgrade

 

[MikeYQM]

Ich is not caused by stress. Ich is a parasite, one which tangs are prone to carry, but may or may not be present on any given fish. While stress can be detrimental to the immune system, allowing ich to become problematic, a large fish added to a small system is far more likely to be stressed than a small fish that grows out in a smaller system.

Ich is vastly more predominant when a fish in recently introduced to a system due to the ongoing stress of catching & the supply chain or the addition of an antagonistic tankmate.

If the tang is healthy now, odds are it will remain as such. Keep it well fed, with plenty of grazing opportunity and keep a watchful eye on its size vs tank space. Again, too many myths in this hobby.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ich is not caused by stress. Ich is a parasite, one which tangs are prone to carry, but may or may not be present on any given fish. While stress can be detrimental to the immune system, allowing ich to become problematic, a large fish added to a small system is far more likely to be stressed than a small fish that grows out in a smaller system.

Ich is vastly more predominant when a fish in recently introduced to a system due to the ongoing stress of catching & the supply chain or the addition of an antagonistic tankmate.

If the tang is healthy now, odds are it will remain as such. Keep it well fed, with plenty of grazing opportunity and keep a watchful eye on its size vs tank space. Again, too many myths in this hobby.

Ich can be caused by stress. You even said it yourself. Stress will weaken their immune system allowing the parasite to take advantage of the situation. Also just because the fish is healthy now without ich doesn't mean it won't occur down the road.

 

[MikeYQM]

No, stress relates to the immune system, but it does not cause ich. That's like saying a person being stressed can cause a cold. The virus causes the cold. A stressed person without a nearby cold virus cannot catch a cold; likewise a stressed fish cannot get ich if the parasite is not present, no matter how stressed they become.

Further, ich has an 11 month cycle, meaning it cannot reproduce beyond this point. I mention this because, if a fish is ich free for 11 months or so without any new additions, the parasite will no longer be present. It simply cannot reproduce beyond that point.

 

[Mrc8858]

No, stress relates to the immune system, but it does not cause ich. That's like saying a person being stressed can cause a cold. The virus causes the cold. A stressed person without a nearby cold virus cannot catch a cold; likewise a stressed fish cannot get ich if the parasite is not present, no matter how stressed they become.

Further, ich has an 11 month cycle, meaning it cannot reproduce beyond this point. I mention this because, if a fish is ich free for 11 months or so without any new additions, the parasite will no longer be present. It simply cannot reproduce beyond that point.

I get what your saying but most fish have ich dormant in them to begin with. Now I say stress causes the ich because a healthy immune system will be able to fight it off normally. Once the fish gets stressed it has trouble keeping it at bay due to a weakened immune system. I'm not saying that stress creates ich but simply opens up the window for it.

 

[Gregcoyote]

You guys are arguing and are both a little bit right.

Everyone, including fish, carry around organisms that can kill them if their immune system collapses. Stress, especially in surgeonfish, can open the fish up to whatever. Ich can seem to appear from no where because it can come in from LFS water from a new fish or coral. Or the new fish could be carrying it and not be showing visible signs.

 

[crister13]

I was trying to keep the thread on track. And sarcasm is actually very hard to infer when it's in text. But, yes, tangs are more prone to ick than most fish. That being said, it can't pop up out of nowhere, it needs to be introduced. But them being stressed increases the chance they will get it if it's in the system.

 

[lbannie]

Holy cow! I just wanted to see if you guys liked my rockwork!! Calm down

 

[greaver83]

Holy cow! I just wanted to see if you guys liked my rockwork!! Calm down

I think your tank looks great and your tang looks healthy screw the tang police.

 

[crister13]

Again..... Calm it down. Stop attempting to put others down. I don't appreciate it. You realize that your tang needs a bigger tank, which is very good. He's fine for now, but when you upgrade make sure to move him. I think your rock work looks good, but if you want to switch it up.... It's your tank after all

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I believe I have 40 pounds of rock in my 40 breeder tank. This December it will be up for 3 years. I'm getting a little bored with my rock arrangement. I don't seem to have any room for more corals. If I rearrange the rockscape can I take some out?

I'd definitely rearrange it. Not because it doesn't look nice but because you want to. Variety is the spice of life after all.

If you're up to it, consider dividing your rock into two parts: two thirds on the left and one third on the right with a small open space, clear to the glass between them. It'll be almost like a lagoon area. I would build out the larger portion of rock on the left into a wide slanted "U" shape so it juts out into the front sand right before the open area. This would create a mini open sand area on the left with a portion of live rock separating it from the main open "lagoon" area in the center-right, with an uneven island of rock at the far right to maximize coral placement.

The idea is to break-up the flat wall against the glass and give the layout different areas of visual interest. The left side would be different from the right and the center left would have the most rock while the center right would have the least.

I've noticed that fish and shrimp behavior can sometimes be much easier to notice in this kind of arrangement. Animals that claim one section of rocks will almost have their own home as opposed to just a different room in the same house (like that made any sense!). When an animal moves from one side to the other it seems mire dramatic. Like it's visiting a different reef. This can be greatly enhanced by placing groups of corals or coral types in one area or the other, but not in both. You could have a cluster of toadstools in one spot, xenia in another, LPSs in it's own little colony, with zoas and palys as the gypsies going wherever or having a grove of their own. Anyway, just throwing some ideas out there for you.

 

[Mr. Crabs]

I like less is more when it comes to rock. I like openess around the rock formation, inluding the back. Helps to keep debris from collecting in one spot and keeps water quality up to par over a long period of time. With that said, I like the amount of rock you have in there. I like the new arrangement better than the rock wall too.

I will stay away from the tang thing. And I won't mention the dolphin I have in a 20L. I plan on getting a bigger tank and he wiggles real hard when he's hungry. (kidding)

 

[Gregcoyote]

You might try one of those tank bred dwarf dolphins.

 

[crister13]

Ya I've been keeping my manatee in a 14g bio cube and he does great.