Well, I finally got some nitrate in the tank! I took a 5-gallon pail from a client's tank and put it into my tank.
The client's tank is 0.04 ppm PO4 and ~25 ppm NO3. Perfect dose of nitrate for my tank. Here's today's readings:
Cal 435 ppm (Salifert)
Alk 160 ppm 8.9 dKH (Hanna)
Mg 1320 ppm (Salifert)
NO3 0.5 ppm (Salifert)
PO4 0.00 ppm (Hanna 713)
I ordered a group of Maldives Flame Anthias (
P. ignitus) from my LFS. This species is very similar to Dispar Anthias and similarly are difficult to get eating. I waited until Quality Marine had them in stock so that I could get the healthiest fish possible rather than getting my LFS to order the (cheaper) Anthias from an overseas supplier. They arrived on Wednesday evening, and picked them up straight out of the shipping box. There are 6 small females and 2 big males. I put them into a 40-gallon quarantine tank and got some brine shrimp eggs in the hatcher. I also ordered some live blackworms from Petland, but they won't be here until next week. Thursday morning I fed a mix of PE Mysis, R.O.E., and frozen Cyclopeeze. 5 of the females came out to eat, and pecked around, ate a few bits. Very good.
The two males and one female stayed hiding behind the pot. Thursday afternoon they were fed again and they all came out and ate a few bits. I fed them twice more and most of them ate a few bits, but not as well as earlier in the day. They were all most interested in the Cyclopeeze, but ate a few Mysis. This morning the 5 females were out pecking and eating a bit, and the males and one female were interested, but no action. The Brine Shrimp eggs failed to hatch. So I mixed up a cube of Hikari Mysis, Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp, and R.O.E. All the fish except the one shy female were very excited about the Brine Shrimp, and quickly grabbed a piece, but promptly spat it out. They repeatedly did this. Grrr! I did see one female eat one Brine Shrimp. No interest in the R.O.E. nor the Mysis. The two males and one female remain very shy.
The smallest female has a mark on her back - I haven't been able to look close enough to tell what it is. She is one of the more active ones. It may be bruising or it may be aberrant markings which would be cool. There's a possibility that it's a sore, but at this point I don't think it is. That's where we're at now.
Here's most of the herd:
