Life Any fishkeepers here? Saltwater or freshwater - Page 14

Silock · 11-16-2011, 04:02 AM

I'm looking at starting up a saltwater tank. Is there a good fish store in the KC area without driving out to Lawrence?

htismaqe · 12-13-2011, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lumpy

Translation: I has a lot of teh poopz too.

The thing is, my tank is HEAVILY planted. The last time I pruned the Hygrophilia - PRUNED - I removed 2.5 GALLONS of plant material. And it covers nearly half of my tank again 4 weeks later!

**Lumpy** · 12-13-2011, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing is, my tank is HEAVILY planted. The last time I pruned the Hygrophilia - PRUNED - I removed 2.5 GALLONS of plant material. And it covers nearly half of my tank again 4 weeks later!

It's a shame that's a high-light plant or I would offer to take some off your hands.

I take it you use CO2? My plants are growing at a steady pace w/ just adding Excel 3x/week and I'm sitting at 1.5 wpg. However, I would love for them to grow faster. I just can't bring myself to spend the money on a CO2 system.

htismaqe · 12-13-2011, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lumpy

It's a shame that's a high-light plant or I would offer to take some off your hands.

I take it you use CO2? My plants are growing at a steady pace w/ just adding Excel 3x/week and I'm sitting at 1.5 wpg. However, I would love for them to grow faster. I just can't bring myself to spend the money on a CO2 system.

It's not a high-light plant at all. It's probably one of the easier to grow actually.

http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_difformis.php

And I did use DIY CO2 for a while but it was SO good that I couldn't keep up with the growth. There appeared to be more plants in my tank than WATER.

I use Flourish Excel now - it's good enough and it helps keep hair and staghorn algae down too.

**Lumpy** · 12-13-2011, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

It's not a high-light plant at all. It's probably one of the easier to grow actually.

http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_difformis.php

And I did use DIY CO2 for a while but it was SO good that I couldn't keep up with the growth. There appeared to be more plants in my tank than WATER.

I use Flourish Excel now - it's good enough and it helps keep hair and staghorn algae down too.

Oh, hell, I didn't recognize it by the scientific name... it's just Water Wisteria. Yeah, I have that in both of my tanks. It's damn near growing out of my 5g! I love it! The reason I thought it was high-light was because I did a google search w/ the scientific name and clicked on a site that showed it as high-light for some reason.

Silock · 12-13-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Because there's no bacteria. Without the presence of some biological entity to "infect" the tank, the NH3 just sits there and does nothing. Ultimately, the bacteria has to come from the air, etc.. You have to be really patient with the ammonia method because it takes much longer than most other methods.

The other advantage of using fish is that, as you add them over time, your bacterial bed adjusts the population to support the bio-load of your tank. People that cycle with ammonia (or fish food or shrimp) often find that they have to re-cycle when they add fish because they didn't use enough to get a big enough biofilter to accomodate the number of fish they added.

I'm not trying to be difficult, so pardon my persistence, but this goes against everything I've been reading.

Fishless cycle folks advocate building up the bio filter enough so that it clears out as much ammonia as you can throw at it in 24 hours. I suppose it could take longer than a fish cycle, but it is more humane.

You are the first person to advocate against a fishless cycle that I've seen recently. And I, too, did a fish cycle on my first tank ten years ago, so I'm not anti-fish cycling. Just curious.

Although, it should be a moot point, being that I'm going with a planted tank. Not only do the plants absorb the ammonia, negating the immediate need for a bio filter, but they have the bacteria on them just as old filter media does to spur its growth if there is any excess ammonia present.

htismaqe · 12-13-2011, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silock

I'm not trying to be difficult, so pardon my persistence, but this goes against everything I've been reading.

Fishless cycle folks advocate building up the bio filter enough so that it clears out as much ammonia as you can throw at it in 24 hours. I suppose it could take longer than a fish cycle, but it is more humane.

You are the first person to advocate against a fishless cycle that I've seen recently. And I, too, did a fish cycle on my first tank ten years ago, so I'm not anti-fish cycling. Just curious.

Although, it should be a moot point, being that I'm going with a planted tank. Not only do the plants absorb the ammonia, negating the immediate need for a bio filter, but they have the bacteria on them just as old filter media does to spur its growth if there is any excess ammonia present.

Oh, sorry, I gave you the wrong impression. I'm not anti-fishless cycling. I just prefer to cycle with fish.

Quite frankly they all have advantages and disadvantages.

Silock · 12-13-2011, 07:14 PM

Ah, that makes sense!

DJ's left nut · 12-15-2011, 10:15 AM

This is in Columbia, MO - but if I didn't already have a setup extremely similar to this guy, I'd buy this one in a heartbeat.

http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/fuo/2716548333.html

That's a damn nice rig and he has it price at about 1/3 of what you could put it together for (his estimates are a little high).

If anyone has a truck and is willing to drive a bit for it, this is a really good deal. If you want to break it up a bit, there's a lot of stuff in there that I'd like to get my hands on, but 75% of the package would be redundant for me so I'd maybe chip in some money as well.

htismaqe · 12-15-2011, 10:33 AM

Holy crap. I could afford to drive to Columbia for that.

The Bunk · 12-20-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bunk

I made my frist major mistake in reef tanks a few weeks ago, and became the poster boy for QT tanks. I bought a fish that had ich (unbeknownst to me) and put him directly in my tank. Within two weeks all but two fish in my tank were dead. I'm fighting an uphill battle to save the last two I'm afraid. I won't be buying another fish until I get my QT tank setup.

Quick update on my situation. The garlic treatment I've been using seems to have worked. The goby and the blenny have really made a turn around, and no more signs of the ich anywhere. I only wish I would have gotten it sooner, and possibly saved my other fish.

I didn't reach the point of using the treatment that htismaqe recommended, so I'm keeping it in my back pocket in case of another outbreak.

htismaqe · 12-20-2011, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bunk

Quick update on my situation. The garlic treatment I've been using seems to have worked. The goby and the blenny have really made a turn around, and no more signs of the ich anywhere. I only wish I would have gotten it sooner, and possibly saved my other fish.

I didn't reach the point of using the treatment that htismaqe recommended, so I'm keeping it in my back pocket in case of another outbreak.

That's great!

DJ's left nut · 12-20-2011, 11:09 AM

So I just had a flame angel go nuclear on me; still no idea what happened.

He got some popeye looking stuff in his left eye, but no appreciable loss of appetite or spots or anything. My fish have been a little annoyed over the last few days so I figured he just banged his eye on something when he was swimming. Worst case, he loses sight in it and swims funny.

It started to clear up a little bit, then I noticed one morning he just parked under a rock at the back of my tank. Still swimming, but not trying to come out. The next morning he went into a cave rock I have and just tried to stay up high in it. At that point, I'm figuring something is clearly amiss.

I set up my quarantine and was able to reach in and pull him out of the cave rock. I realize at that point that he's simply gone blind altogether. I put him in QT, drop some Clout in there (nastiest stuff you'll ever use) and give him a day. He seems to be feeling better in the tank, pecking along the bottom, etc... trying to find food even though he can't see. I grab a high-intensity LED and hit him with it and discovered that he's essentially hollowed out through his face. The eye sockets have 'eyes' still, but there's just nothing behind them. They've sunken in and he's starting to lose flesh along his body.

The next day, dead as a stone.

All told, it took about 1 week from start to finish. I have absolutely no clue what led to it or what it was. A lot of parasites are type-specific, so I'm hoping he just had some kind of angelfish funk that came in on the Coral Beauty I tried to add (died within a week).

I'll let it go with no Angel fishes for a month or so to try to let whatever is in there finish out its lifecycle. Then I'll try again and see how it goes.

Crazy; I've never seen anything like that before.

htismaqe · 12-20-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

So I just had a flame angel go nuclear on me; still no idea what happened.

He got some popeye looking stuff in his left eye, but no appreciable loss of appetite or spots or anything. My fish have been a little annoyed over the last few days so I figured he just banged his eye on something when he was swimming. Worst case, he loses sight in it and swims funny.

It started to clear up a little bit, then I noticed one morning he just parked under a rock at the back of my tank. Still swimming, but not trying to come out. The next morning he went into a cave rock I have and just tried to stay up high in it. At that point, I'm figuring something is clearly amiss.

I set up my quarantine and was able to reach in and pull him out of the cave rock. I realize at that point that he's simply gone blind altogether. I put him in QT, drop some Clout in there (nastiest stuff you'll ever use) and give him a day. He seems to be feeling better in the tank, pecking along the bottom, etc... trying to find food even though he can't see. I grab a high-intensity LED and hit him with it and discovered that he's essentially hollowed out through his face. The eye sockets have 'eyes' still, but there's just nothing behind them. They've sunken in and he's starting to lose flesh along his body.

The next day, dead as a stone.

All told, it took about 1 week from start to finish. I have absolutely no clue what led to it or what it was. A lot of parasites are type-specific, so I'm hoping he just had some kind of angelfish funk that came in on the Coral Beauty I tried to add (died within a week).

I'll let it go with no Angel fishes for a month or so to try to let whatever is in there finish out its lifecycle. Then I'll try again and see how it goes.

Crazy; I've never seen anything like that before.

Missing tissue like that sounds like lateral line erosion, which is usually caused by severe nutrient deficiencies. It usually shows up together with an infection (the infection is actually the cause - LLE is really a "symptom")...

Have you ever used Wonder Shells? They're great little mineral blocks that can help defend against these kinds of things...

DJ's left nut · 12-20-2011, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Missing tissue like that sounds like lateral line erosion, which is usually caused by severe nutrient deficiencies. It usually shows up together with an infection (the infection is actually the cause - LLE is really a "symptom")...

Have you ever used Wonder Shells? They're great little mineral blocks that can help defend against these kinds of things...

It's not lateral line erosion; I've seen that before. Besides, I've never heard of Angels getting it. If it shows up in anything, it will show up in my tangs well before the Angel.

I soak my food in Selcon anyway. I feed Mysis, Reef Crack, Enriched Brine and Formula 2, not to mention 3 Norii sheets/week.

If there's anything my fish have going for them, it's that they get fed very very well.

htismaqe · 12-20-2011, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's not lateral line erosion; I've seen that before. Besides, I've never heard of Angels getting it. If it shows up in anything, it will show up in my tangs well before the Angel.

I soak my food in Selcon anyway. I feed Mysis, Reef Crack, Enriched Brine and Formula 2, not to mention 3 Norii sheets/week.

If there's anything my fish have going for them, it's that they get fed very very well.

I just can't think of any pathogens that would completely consume internal tissue like that without ANY external signs.

11-16-2011, 04:02 AM
Silock MVP Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $10020882	Any fishkeepers here? Saltwater or freshwater I'm looking at starting up a saltwater tank. Is there a good fish store in the KC area without driving out to Lawrence?
Posts: 19,908

12-13-2011, 07:14 PM	#202
Silock MVP Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Overland Park Casino cash: $10020882	Ah, that makes sense!
Posts: 19,908

12-15-2011, 10:15 AM	#203
DJ's left nut Sauntering Vaguely Downwards Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Columbia, Mo Casino cash: $-680901	This is in Columbia, MO - but if I didn't already have a setup extremely similar to this guy, I'd buy this one in a heartbeat. http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/fuo/2716548333.html That's a damn nice rig and he has it price at about 1/3 of what you could put it together for (his estimates are a little high). If anyone has a truck and is willing to drive a bit for it, this is a really good deal. If you want to break it up a bit, there's a lot of stuff in there that I'd like to get my hands on, but 75% of the package would be redundant for me so I'd maybe chip in some money as well. __________________ "If there's a god, he's laughing at us.....and our football team..." "When you look at something through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
Posts: 66,750

12-15-2011, 10:33 AM	#204
htismaqe 'Tis my eye! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Chiefsplanet Casino cash: $8179900	Holy crap. I could afford to drive to Columbia for that.
Posts: 104,292

12-20-2011, 11:09 AM	#207
DJ's left nut Sauntering Vaguely Downwards Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Columbia, Mo Casino cash: $-680901	So I just had a flame angel go nuclear on me; still no idea what happened. He got some popeye looking stuff in his left eye, but no appreciable loss of appetite or spots or anything. My fish have been a little annoyed over the last few days so I figured he just banged his eye on something when he was swimming. Worst case, he loses sight in it and swims funny. It started to clear up a little bit, then I noticed one morning he just parked under a rock at the back of my tank. Still swimming, but not trying to come out. The next morning he went into a cave rock I have and just tried to stay up high in it. At that point, I'm figuring something is clearly amiss. I set up my quarantine and was able to reach in and pull him out of the cave rock. I realize at that point that he's simply gone blind altogether. I put him in QT, drop some Clout in there (nastiest stuff you'll ever use) and give him a day. He seems to be feeling better in the tank, pecking along the bottom, etc... trying to find food even though he can't see. I grab a high-intensity LED and hit him with it and discovered that he's essentially hollowed out through his face. The eye sockets have 'eyes' still, but there's just nothing behind them. They've sunken in and he's starting to lose flesh along his body. The next day, dead as a stone. All told, it took about 1 week from start to finish. I have absolutely no clue what led to it or what it was. A lot of parasites are type-specific, so I'm hoping he just had some kind of angelfish funk that came in on the Coral Beauty I tried to add (died within a week). I'll let it go with no Angel fishes for a month or so to try to let whatever is in there finish out its lifecycle. Then I'll try again and see how it goes. Crazy; I've never seen anything like that before. __________________ "If there's a god, he's laughing at us.....and our football team..." "When you look at something through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
Posts: 66,750