I'm JScott and I'm new here!

[JScottS]

Just wanted to say that I'm excited to be a part of this forum. I have lurked for some times, and finally decided to join.

I have been participating in this hobby since the early 90s, so I'm not exactly new, but I have a ton to learn from you guys and girls.

I used to have a 75 gallon all fish tank, but after I moved it three times, the fourth time I moved I decided it was too much of a miserable experience, so I gave away pretty much everything I had. I've had a few dalliances with saltwater fish keeping, but only recently have I become passionate about it again.

Right now I am just running the CoraLife biocube (the 32 gallon one), with the standard equipment it came with (LED lights set on timers for different times of day, a protein skimmer that needs to be upgraded, and standard filtration.

All I have in it now is a pair of ocellaris clowns, and a yellow clown that may or may not be a clarkii.

In addition to that, I have the typical hermits and snails, and I've got a pair of purple firefish. I also have a black mini-angel. I'm thinking of trading him for a miniature fire angel. I've tried a couple anemones, and failed both times. I check my water regularly and do regular water changes, so I'm not sure what that's about.

My favorite thing I have in my tank (and I know there is some debate about their value in a reef tank) are blood shrimp, but I have two of them and they come out and play in the day time, they get along well, you can often see them sitting right next to each other on their favorite perch. They'll come out every time I approach the tank, and if I put my hand in the tank, they'll give it a good clean, and they eat out of my hand.

I've tried a few corals to varying levels of success. I have a couple zoas that are doing alright, but i recently bought a duncan coral, and it was dead within days haha.

Anyway, that's what I've going on right now (I'm probably going to upsize my aquarium soon), and there are some things I would love help with, such as why my anemones die, why my duncan coral died, and some smaller things.

Thanks for listening, it's great to meet you, and I hope we can all mutually learn from each other. Thank you! -Scott

[Aiken Drum]

Welcome to the community. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about what you are getting up to.

[LVstealth]

welcome! saltwater tanks are so pretty! post some pice! id love to see it

[Andy Sager]

Hi and welcome to the site.

I may be able to shed some light on your anemone/coral issue.
Both of these are greatly effected by water and light. Most anemones need brighter lighting while corals come in all forms from low light to high light requirements. Duncans are more a medium to low light specie so if in a tank with Anemones, you would need to place it in such a place that it was not getting the high light. Add to that your water parameters. Most anemones come from areas of high water flow/ low to no nitrates and phosphates. Have you checked your water's parameters? How about the water you use to replace for evaporation or water changes? All these play a role in your success.

At some point, if your Ocellaris pair up, the other clownfish is in jeopardy of being constantly attacked in a tank that small. You'll want to keep an eye on that because if it happens, removal from the tank is your only real option for recovery.

Hope this helps.

[JScottS]

I am aware of light requirements for anemones and duncans. I placed the duncan in the sand in a low light area at the opening of a cave. The last anemone I had actually lasted a few days. I put it in a sunny place that I thought it would enjoy, but by the next morning, it had moved itself from on top of the shelf to below, where it received little light. Finally, the tentacles deflated and it looked a few times like it was going to puff back up and be fine, but it never did. It languished for a few more days in this state, and then eventually just gave up.

As far as the duncan goes, it never opened back up once I got it home. I think I had it in the proper sun exposure, but apparently there was more to it than that. Like I said, it never opened again once I got it home, but it did kind of sit there until eventually the polyp turned to mush and drifted off into the water, leaving a whit skeleton. Have no guesses as to that.

I use distilled water in my tank, for water changes. I don't have a problem with evap, because I do a 10 gallon water change just about once a week. Don't hav my most recent water parameters, but my tests are always with the normal ranges. Next time I test, I'll make note of the test results, which may lead to possible solutions.

Thanks for all of your support and suggestion. You are helping already, and I'm glad I finally decided to join the forum Thanks everybody!

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by JScottS

I am aware of light requirements for anemones and duncans. I placed the duncan in the sand in a low light area at the opening of a cave. The last anemone I had actually lasted a few days. I put it in a sunny place that I thought it would enjoy, but by the next morning, it had moved itself from on top of the shelf to below, where it received little light. Finally, the tentacles deflated and it looked a few times like it was going to puff back up and be fine, but it never did. It languished for a few more days in this state, and then eventually just gave up.

As far as the duncan goes, it never opened back up once I got it home. I think I had it in the proper sun exposure, but apparently there was more to it than that. Like I said, it never opened again once I got it home, but it did kind of sit there until eventually the polyp turned to mush and drifted off into the water, leaving a whit skeleton. Have no guesses as to that.

I use distilled water in my tank, for water changes. I don't have a problem with evap, because I do a 10 gallon water change just about once a week. Don't hav my most recent water parameters, but my tests are always with the normal ranges. Next time I test, I'll make note of the test results, which may lead to possible solutions.

Thanks for all of your support and suggestion. You are helping already, and I'm glad I finally decided to join the forum Thanks everybody!

Anemones are tricky because they can move where they want. Most are bottom dwellers so you need to get light down to them vs putting them where the light is the best. They tend to go where their foot feels the best. That's usually in the substrate.
As for the coral, that sounds like a water issue. Your parameters might have been the "normal" range but not good for that coral. What tests do you have?