johnoburns

The coaline will die when exposed to air for too long. Don't sweat it as there will be new coraline that grows on the rock over time.

My wife says she bets that in 12 months I'll be in a 90 gal.... I have a challenge! I think I can easily win this one.

Get her to bet you $500 or more then you'll have a good base for your new tank .

Two more related things to consider. A quarantine tank and a good dip for corals. They are sort of like insurance policies, you don't appreciate them until you see them pay off. They are easily over looked, and you honestly might get away with not doing either for a while. Just remember like accidents, parasites and pests are not planned.

Oh, and welcome to the hobby!!!

Awesome! Way to jump into the hobby.

It's fun to aspire for a bigger tank, but there is no shame in a small tank. Small tanks have many advantages over large tanks. There are a lot of beautiful creatures you can keep in a 42g tank. You can keep all kinds of cool small fish that would be lost in a big tank. A manderine is not out of the question, but it should be considered "expert only" in that size tank (as in you must train it to eat other foods). It will take less resources to fully stock it, less energy to power it, and it will not take up as much time on matainance.

Andrew is right, manderines in that small of a tank are very difficult to keep alive. I would recommend against it with that small a tank. If you can not resist (or think you might be tempted later on down the line) I would recommend adding a refugium to your setup. Plumbing one is easier when your tank is dry.

Also, strongly consider replacing the wall outlet where you are plugging your tank in with a gfci outlet. This will help protect you and your tank from being electrocuted. I don't know of anyone themselves getting hurt, but have read storeis about some piece of equipment falling in the tank and killing everything. The outlet is easy to replace (about 5 min) with no tank in place and cost about $10. It is a pain in the *** to do later if the tank is full of water and in front of the outlet.

Really sorry to hear that. Any clue if where this came from, as in, do you think Okie had it when you got him?

I think he did have it when I got him. I have been wanting to get purple fire fish for a while. They seemed like they got along well in the store and possibly were a mated pair, making this ideal. I should have studied him closer in the store, but was too eager to get a mated pair. We noticed it pretty early on but it took a while to figure out what it was. Even with the parasite he was acting like a normal fish. No breathing or eating problems. He swam and moved just like the other firefish.

Just a note, after doing research this parasite is pretty rare in aquaria. However, it must be removed and the only way I found to do it was with tweezers. If it is not removed it kills one fish, then moves to another until there are no more fish.

Is the eta still Thursday?

I did freshwater for 6 yrs and saltwater for 1 and have never had ick! I noticed tonight that all my fish have it. How is it treated? Is it treatable?

It is treatable. There is a lot of information online about saltwater ick/ich.

Are there corals or invertebrates in the tank where the fish are currently? If so, do you have a quarantine tank?

Do a water quality test and post the results.

Were the fish just moved to your new tank? Moving fish can stress them. Stress can lower their immune system.

Sorry if any of this is a little incoherent, but it is late and I just wanted to get you started.

I've had most of my problems with my nem when I move rocks around or do other things that change the flow in the tank. I have used things to inhibit movement of the nem. Things being a smooth piece of glass or plastic (no sharp edges). I do this when I suspect it might move and can not watch it.

I've never tried to protect just one thing. I'm thinking you could cut the top off a 3 liter, wash it well, and use it to protect the birdsnest while you are not home/watching. I don't know much about birdsnest, so I don't know how this might affect it.

We were able to remove the parasites; but we lost the fish aka Okie and two peppermint shrimp in the process. One of the parasites was embedded in the gill of Okie. The gill tore as we removed the parasite. Okie declined rapidly and died shortly after. His wife Dokie will be holding a service later this week.

If anyone is interested I have some pics of the removed parasites I can post tomorrow.

In for $14.02.

Tonya has a 45 and 46 gallon for sale. I'm not sure if they are RR.

reef_pug has some for sale. I just stopped by his place and they look pretty cool.

I'm pretty sure it is a snail as its been hanging out on my front glass all day. I'm not worried about him, so I won't try to take another crappie pic!

What happened to that fancy HD camera?

wow that is awesome, try to get a pic if you can.

I have also noticed tons of snail eggs lately, anybody else?

I have noticed tons of snail eggs also. The eggs started about 4 weeks ago. I see new eggs every 2-3 days. I haven't seen any babies yet, but I read it takes 2-4 weeks for them to hatch.

Please give us information on the tank where he is currently.

Try to minimize his stress in order to help his natural immune system. Tips to minimize stress.

1 Don't move him much more unless necessary.

2 Put some CLEAN/new pvc pipe (this would be very large pvc if the puffer is large) in the tank for him to hide in and feel safe.

3 Try to make sure tank conditions like temperature are stable and within 76-78 degrees.

You could also try dosing with Kent Marine’s Marine-C vitamin supplement might help boost his immune system as well.

Doing a google search I found this site on pufferfish which probably has a lot more helpful information.

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/

I got a lead that this is a parasitic copepod eggsac. I was also sent this link to confirm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/crustdisfaqs1.htm see topic Re: Fish Parasite 12/14/06. The treatment, as advised by Bob Fenner, is to remove them with tweezers. I'm going to sleep on the advice and try it tomorrow around 7pm. If anyone has any tips or ideas please let me know soon. If not I will post the results of the removal.

I agree on them being to large to be itch. Leaves me wondering what it might be though... I'm thinking of posting this a few other places and see if someone recognizes it.

Did more research and not thinking it is ich anymore. I think it maybe gill fluke??? Here is a picture. What do YOU think it may be and how should I treat it?

Has anyone tried using this therapy/treatment? I came across an article on Advanced Aquarist Online that talks about Hyposalinity Therapy http://www.advanceda...om/2007/6/fish. It goes through several benefits of this therapy, one being treating ich. I think I may have a fish with ich, although I'm not certain yet. I'm considering this therapy if it is ich.

There are some large white spots on a purple firefish I have. He seems to be eating and behaving just like the other firefish I have. I'll try and post pictures later.

Looking for advise on confirming ich and also on treatment. Thanks.

I have been using Lugol's for all of my coral dips.

I started a poll on another site to see what other people were using. Lugol's seemed to be pretty popular for everything, but there were other treatments as well. This is a summary of what people were using.

Zoas - Lugol's and BiFuran (Furan2)

LPS - Lugol's and Flatworm Exit

SPS - Lugol's, Interceptor, and Levasol (Pig and Sheep Wormer)

Fish - UV on the main tank. Check for overall health before adding.

I'm interested too.

Welcome to ARC Jessica.

I am going to be moving some things from a 24 gallon nano-cube to another tank later this month. I'm probably going to sell the nano-cube, although I haven't decided for sure yet (I may keep it as a frag tank). Aside from equipment, the nano-cube will be empty.

Nothing worse than losing a prized reef tank. Been there done that AND have the T-shirt to prove it. On the flip side you'll have a fresh start. Fellow reefers are always willing to lend a helping hand in a time of need. When you're ready, let me know and I'll help re-populate that awesome reef you have going there. Of course you'll have to get a controller first, and make sure you learn from your mistakes. My advice to you is dip every coral you get from your fellow ARC'ers. I've been burned in the past but learned from my mistakes. Keep you're chin up and have fun relaxing on the beach. Don't forget to wear sun-screen.

I second the dipping everything. I've seen some pretty nasty things from some of my recent dips. I would use this as a great time minimize pests you have in your tank and make sure you don't get new ones.

Man that stinks. It might be worth trying to keep your tank on a schedule though. Some corals can be pretty tough. I bought/rescued 3 corals from a guy who flea bombed his apt. His tank looked crazy and so did the corals. The corals looked horrible when I got them but 2 of the 3 are looking great now. The one that didn't make it I put on myself though. It was a chili coral on a huge rock that I had to set up a separate tank for and neglected.

Sorry for the long story, just wanted to say there is always hope. Also, I can give you a frag or two when you get back.

I think there is a freshwater website where you might want to list this too. I can't remember the name off the top of my head.