Well, I'm an idiot. I recall thinking to myself when I started this tank that I should stick a piece of paper to the front glass with "Don't do anything stupid" written on it. Evil or Very Mad
Pfft.
So, about two weeks ago, I decided to buy a new bulb. A nice 10K bulb. I bought the XM 175w 10K and installed it. It looked glorious! And wisely (I thought) adjusted the light timer to decrease the photoperiod, and break the tank in slowly to the new bulb. It wasn't enough. It took me about a week to realize (DOH) that it was the reason my new acros were bleaching. So I hurriedly changed it back. Lost a number of small frags, and the larger ones bleached halfway, then stopped on a dime as soon as the old bulb went back in. Including my birdsnest. I have been watching closely since, and the bleaching has definitely stopped. I wonder how long it will take for them to return to normal? No idea. *sigh*
To complicate matters, I bought a striped fang blenny at the same time the new bulb went in. It died within two days of what seemed to be velvet. Those of you who are reading along will recall I've wanted one for a while now. Then, my canary wrasse, ole One-Eye, died. I am unsure whether the new fish's death had anything to do with it, so I decided to blame the coral banded shrimp, Tina. I removed her and took her to the store and sold her. Bye Tina, I loved you, but I was always uneasy about you being in there, and right now I need to lessen my stress levels Shocked
I replaced her with two small cleaner shrimp.
How many times have I told others to be careful with new bulbs?? Rolling Eyes
How many times have I told others to quarantine new fish??? Rolling Eyes
During all of this chaos, I never thought of testing for ammonia. Chances are, there was a small ammonia spike when One Eye died. That's the problem with wrasses...they tend to bury themselves in the gravel and many days can pass before you realize they are No Longer Alive. Dammit to hell. OH and let's not forget to mention the nasty cyano bloom that occurred in the midst of this Apocalypse.
So, let's see where things stand now:
-Lost: one new bulb. I bought another brand, since XM has quite a high PAR rating I won't bother trying it again. I will try the Ushio 10K instead. It is sitting on my computer desk, I'm scared to change it. Gimme another month, maybe then Very Happy In the meantime, the old bulb will have to do until I work up the courage to change it.
-Lost: Fangfish. *sniff*
-Lost: Ole One Eye, the canary wrasse. *sniff*
-Lost: Half my acro's and monti's due to bleaching. Grrr.
-Annoying cyano bloom. PITA, but dealable.
Positive points:
-Throughout all, the LPS's did well. Open brain has grown, fox coral looks lovely, cynarina was moved to a spot with less current and is doing well, platygyra receded a bit, but is holding on nicely. When I added the new bulb the rock anemone moved towards the platygyra, and at one point was touching it. I was concerned about stinging, but no damage that I can see. Rock anemone is still too close for my peace of mind, but both are doing well. I note that the platygyra is more than capable of defending itself Laughing
Remaining fish:
-Engineer Boy, the convict blenny, has grown to a healthy 5 inches. Holy Crap! He moves so sinuously,too Very Happy
-Six line wrasse, fatter than ever, and still no sign of flatworms, guess they are gone for good, or the cyano is camouflaging them Rolling Eyes
-Emerald crab: slightly peeved, but going strong.
-Two new cleaner shrimp, smallish, about an inch long each. Hanging out together on the powerhead cartridge. Eating like pigs.
-Canary Fang Blenny (Meiacanthus oualanensis): a most recent and appreciated addition. I wanted another yellow fish to replace the canary wrasse. He is doing very well, eating like a pig, no ich Very Happy and actually makes up for the loss of the striped fangfish and the canary wrasse, both.
