I have a question

[coyoteman0]

there seems to be some very smart people here when It comes to reefkeeping, and untill recently I didn't know your board was here and relied on the sorry ass LFS to help me out.

About a year ago I purchased a Yellow Tang for my 55gallon, at the time I only had 1 star polyp coral and a bunch of live rock. The tank had been set up for about 2 years.
It was eating healthy, swimming, being a good Tang - No other fish were in there, I took the Clown I had and put him in the 20 gallon.
After about 3 weeks his eys turned bloodshot red and he started acting funny - That was in the morning when I woke up he was like that, when I got home that night he was dead.
The LFS said they didn't know, and it has been bothering me ever since because I really liked him and hate to see things die -
It has been another year since that happened and I haven't added any other fish or anything to the tank, just really haven't wanted to become attached to another fish to have him die.

Anyone know why or what happened to him
The Nitrates have always been 0-.5
0 Ammonia
450 Calcium
12dkh
1.025-1.026
It is the same way now as it was, and I was dripping Kalk.

 

[jdeets]

Coyoteman--it is difficult when fish die. So far I haven't lost anything but a few damsels that I put in, and they were sick when I put them in (first fish purchase). At any rate, I hope I don't have to deal with any of my established tankmates dying for a very long time.

At any rate, it would be difficult to try and determine what happened to the tang. What I can tell you is that you need to try another small fish. I wouldn't recommend a tang for that size tank, but perhaps you could try a small fish and see how it does. Dust yourself off and try again.

I do commend you for not indiscriminately replacing the fish--these guys should be with us for years--they're not disposable. You've got a good attitude about it--now it's time to pick yourself up and try again.

[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: jdeets ]

 

[Carpentersreef]

[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: Carpentersreef ]

 

[coyoteman0]

LOL, it was a small tang, and I had intentions when I bought it to be the only fish in there and eventually when I needed to upgrading to a bigger tank (Excuse for the wife to let me do this)

I have a damsel and clown in there now, but I don't like either of them and been debating on what to replace them with - I am going to take them back to the LFS and get something I actually like.

 

[coyoteman0]

I was thinking about your comments about a Tang being to large for a 55 -
So what would be a good size fish for a 55 -
I have 2 175MH 10K and 2 VHO 03's on it
Simmer - No DSB and a Sump.
I know I want a Percula or 2
And I want to keep mainly Shrooms, Polyps and maybe some other corals but not sure what.
Maybe A Brain ? Do I have Enough Light for that ?
What other Fish - I only want like 1 or 2 more besides the Perculas and Corals and I am going to get a clean up crew too.

 

[jdeets]

You have more than enough light for most LPS corals that might interest you. Brains are good and generally easy to keep.

As far as fish go, do your research and find one that you really like. In my 180, my favorite fish (besides my tangs) are the maroon clown and a fairy wrasse. Both are relatively small and have LOTS of character.

 

[Anonymous]

My lawnmower blennie has a lot of character and though I bought him for the primary purpose of eating algea, which he does, he has also turned into a great asset in stiring the surface of my sandbed. You got to love a fish that earns his keep.

My Banggais Cardinals add a lot to the tank also but do not work very hard at any tasks.