Maybe someone else nearby has a QT tank empty they can hold him for that extra week??

I wouldnt do this....that would be two more moves you would be putting the fish through....Ive said it before....I compare putting a net to a fish to hooking it with a rod and real...anytime we stress our fish by trying to net it we cause lactic acid build up which can ultimately kill the fish.

I would put the checkerboard in the display to let him heal up and settle in before the bully is there.

I'm pretty sure the velvet is long gone so it should be safe, and I agree there's no sense stressing him out by moving him somewhere else for a week.

As for the bullies (lunare wrasse and king angel) they go in the FOWLR tank whereas the checkerboard goes in the reef tank, so he wont have to worry about the bullies :biggrin:

I have to agree I think it is wise to move it back way less stress, i'd take the chance.
When you transfer the other's back do you do it over a period of time?

My friend Chris probably would, but if he did I might not get the checkerboard back :razz: :wink:

Since there isn't many fish left I originally was going to add them all at the basically same time.

Going into the reef tank: checkerboard wrasse, CBB, sohal tang, and 3 chromis

Going into the FOWLR tank: king angel, lunare wrasse, and bursa trigger.

The whole system (the 2 tanks and sump are all plumbed together) is 550g. So it should be fine adding them all back at the same time.

I do plan on restocking but I do not want to be way overstocked like before. I am going to try to really plan out and think hard about what fish I really really want for my tanks and try to stick to those fish.

Well, it seems like neither one of us wants to be the one to take the risk and put the fish in. There was a lot of "You can if you want to, but I'm not sure yet". So it looks like we're off to buy some egg create for a divider.

I was just wondering something...

If the displays have sat empty for two months, would adding the fish cause an ammonia spike? I am wondering if the bacteria in the tanks might have died off since there was no more bioload. I would hate for you to be condemned to doing those types of water changes with pails again.

The anemones, snails, shrimp, and hermits etc. got fed small amounts of food every so often and with all the LR and critters in there I doubt the will be any spikes.