Keeping the Nitrifying Bacteria Alive

[mr_X]

So would it be best to transition over to metal halides for variety of coral and color? I never liked the predominately brown tank. I'm always looking for color.

yes, and i hope i didn't offend you. i perceive it to be a very well taken care of tank. imagine how good it would look with some stronger lighting!

 

[ryshark]

Well, I don't know if you've read any of my other recent posts, but I ended up losing all my fish. I took them all out to treat, but I didn't have a QT set up, so I had to set them up on the fly... I used some tank water, some freshly made water and did water changes often to avoid the horrors of the cycle process. The powder blue did really well in her own QT, the ich was gone and she was doing well. The other fish started getting a fungus. I tried treating them, but they didn't recover. I think it had to do with the uncycled QT. I kept the ammonia down and the nitrites with water changes, but they started getting the body fungus and died off one by one.
This was in the larger QT. After they died off, I moved the powder blue to their tank, after a water change, because I couldn't keep the ammonia and nitrites down in the 10G tank. The larger tank was cycled by then, no ammonia or nitrites and about 20 nitrates. I used carbon to remove the medicine and moved the powder blue over. A couple days later he got a reinfestation of ich and just wasn't strong enough for the second round of treatment.

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of all your fish. Don't feel too bad many many people have made that mistake by making rash decisions way too quickly. I tried my best to nicely advise against doing a QT in your particular situation with the first reply of this thread in post 2.
A lot of times the QTs are inadequate and the extra stress from catching the fish, moving the fish into a new and smaller tank with different parameters, adding chemicals or non natural conditions; is just too much additional stress and many times the fishes die, IMO and IME.
I have to say, I learned from it in my experience over 2-years ago. I reacted way too quickly when I saw an Ich outbreak and I tried to QT all the fish and I ended up losing them all. Somehow I got lucky the first time I did this and they survived, but not so lucky the second time. But I definitely learned a lesson from the sad/bad experience. For example, a few months ago I came home from a business trip being gone 4-days. I had my wife feeding the tank on a cut back diet which was easy for her. Unfortunately, my Achilles Tang broke out with a major Ich infestation. The fish was covered in ich, it looked so uncomfortable and initially wouldn't eat anything. My first instinct was, I have to do something to help the fish right away, I need a QT.......again, rash decision making. Then I remembered my lesson and just left the Achilles alone in his home and started feeding him heavy and healthy. Long story short, the Achilles recovered. I know for a fact, I would have killed him if I pulled him out of the tank for treatment. As I mentioned in post 2, a healthy fish can fight off ich with their own immune system. Not to toot my own horn, but I have had the Achilles Tang for close to a year I believe and not too many aquarist can say the same. If you are unfamiliar with them... Achilles Tang I do know that even at a year it does not deem complete success with the Achilles, but it is better than most.
On a positive note for you, after 8-weeks all the ich in your tank will be dead and you can start over by properly QTing new fish with a well cycled QT before adding them to the main tank...If you choose.

 

[sdellin]

Doug, of course you didn't offend me. I'm a whole lot harder to offend. In any case, I didn't take offense to you just stating a fact. I HATE everything all brown. I always have. I've always wanted to upgrade my lighting, but other priorities come up. I will try to plan for it this year. I met a man at Exotic Aquarium in Sacramento. He had rigged up a new lighting system using LED lights. He had this on a webcam for quite some time to prove it worked. He eventually commissioned someone to make it for him and before that happened his designs and idea was copied and he missed his window! That sucks! BTW, I remembered to pm you my email address for macroalgae in the spring. I'd be happy to ship you some, then I don't have to kill it by thinning it out.

Ryshark
Yes, I DO know what achilles tangs are! I want one so bad. I'm so envious . I went to the LFS recently and I got a hippo tang and a clown to start out with. I saw the most beautiful achilles there. I wanted it so bad, but....instead of making a rash decision.... I left with the hippo and clown.

I saw two things at the LFS that really P'd me off bigtime...and I voice my opinion. I saw a Morish Idol! I commented to the salesperson about this, and we talked about how they die in captivity from malnutrition and their refusal to adapt to captivity. He prompty pulled out a tub of mysis shrimp and told me to watch. That fish ate like crazy. He said he's had it for a long time and it eats well. I still don't agree with capturing and transporting them.

The other thing I saw there was....drumroll...wait for it..... a Nautilus. A live nautilus! I also commented on this for the same reason. He fed it and I watched it eat a ton of fish. It was so cool to see it swimming in real life, well, in a tank. Anyway, we talked a lot about this. I have been to this store a couple times, but I'm thinking of not going back. Last time I was there I saw feather stars and I know they should not be in captivity.

Anyway, I will post a pic and video if I can figure out how so you can see the nautilus.

 

[mr_X]

what size was the nautilus? keeping one of those would be like keeping a cuttlefish or octopus- it would have to be a species specific tank. i would imagine the tank couldn't be in the bedroom either, because that thing would keep you up all night bumping it's shell into the glass..lol


sharon, there are many people building LED fixtures now, and they are really coming down in price.

 

[sdellin]

what size was the nautilus? keeping one of those would be like keeping a cuttlefish or octopus- it would have to be a species specific tank. i would imagine the tank couldn't be in the bedroom either, because that thing would keep you up all night bumping it's shell into the glass..lol


sharon, there are many people building LED fixtures now, and they are really coming down in price.

I'm posting a pic of the nautilus now, it was HUGE! and I have been waiting for the led lights to come down. Can they support the same sealife that metal halide can?

 

[sdellin]

Here's a pic of the nautilus. It was bumping around the tank. Funny, but sad. I think it needs to be in the ocean. I hope this works. I could not load the photo here because I have reached my limit over the years, and the system won't let me delete old photos.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...704669035_100000014197055_670560_632824_n.jpg

 

[mr_X]

that place looks like a chop shop to me, judging by all of the freshly hacked up corals on that eggcrate. it's no wonder they order creatures like that.