Thanks to those members that never judged and made my dreams come to life.

my2rotties · #1 07-17-2009, 12:00 AM

Hey Fox good luck with your future plans for your system, and there are many awesome people on these forums. Seahorsefanatic, I know the Doofus you speak of, it was his owner that really helped me with Ari, my Achilles. With my CBB, he has just always been healthy and eating all along. I think the food I make for my puffer has a big part of him staying alive and healthy though. He really eats a lot of it, and I think there must be nutritional components that he must need in that food.

I should also thank the members that helped me with my corals and mentored me with dosing and my profilux controller, which I still don't have worked into the system yet. After the summer for sure. There are people here that will come all the way to your house in a shot to help you out or loan you tank space, or loan you items when yours break or you have a power failure. There are so many thoughtful and helpful people that hardly ever post, but are always there to help if needed.

Aleks · #2 07-17-2009, 01:11 AM

I agree its a little overboard with the fish police at times....Well done, must be a nice tank!

Clay&Chey · #3 07-17-2009, 01:35 AM

"let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

good for you for persevering and creating the slice of ocean you desire. I'm new to this hobby and it really perplexed me how how some people can tell people off for the fish they have when they themselves have fish. The fish you choose are cruel to keep but the ones I have aren't? Deep down wouldn't it be cruel to keep ANY fish in a tank away from it's natural habitat. It's like the rapist saying to the petofile, " ya but yours are underage" if your gonna preach what's right and wrong you better be doing no wrong yourself. I agree it takes research, passion and a respect for the life that's in your hands and those who respect that will have a tank of healthly, content fish for years to come.

naesco · #4 07-17-2009, 02:03 AM

I think you posted that you had been lucky enough to get a hold of a juvenile red sea regal angel. Juvenile regals from the red sea have been successfully kept but sadly they are rarely available. The PI/Indo angels which are often found in LFS are almost impossible to keep.

A few reefers have managed to keep cleaner wrasse but the survival statistics are so poor they are best left in the ocean doing the great job they do cleaning other fish.

I have kept tangs for almost 18 years. My powder brown (A. japonica lived for 11 years).
The Achilles tang does well for a while than for no apparent reasons dies often taking a few other fish along with it. I believe they need something in their diet that has yet to be determined. Having said that there are a few reefers that are successful.

Mandarins can be kept successfully if you have a tank that is aged (10 months or so), a large tank with live rock that harbours lots of pods. The problem is most of them are very difficult to 'wean to' frozen food.

Best of luck in keeping these fish.
Wayne

fishoholic · #5 07-20-2009, 03:37 AM

I go away on holidays and I miss out on commenting earlier. I have seen Diana's tank and it is beautiful. She has been a great friend to me and I am glad she has the fish she wants and the ability to take care of them. I agree that research should be done before buying a fish, needless to say I have bought fish I shouldn't have thinking I could care for them when a bit more research turned up things I didn't know about the fish which may have made me not buy it, but in the end you learn from mistakes and try to do better for future reference.

Sometimes it's good to try (within reason) because you just never know what might work that otherwise you wouldn't of thought possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by naesco

I think you posted that you had been lucky enough to get a hold of a juvenile red sea regal angel. Juvenile regals from the red sea have been successfully kept but sadly they are rarely available. The PI/Indo angels which are often found in LFS are almost impossible to keep.

FYI her regal is a indo regal angel and is basically full grown, not a juvi red sea regal.

seanoman · #6 07-20-2009, 03:44 PM

Hey Diana! Great to here that your tank is doing so good. I am glad that you have had success so far with these fish. Just curious on how your sargassum trigger is doing. I would love to see some pics of these guys in your tank.

Keep up the good work!!

my2rotties · #7 07-20-2009, 05:45 PM

Thanks Laurie, at least you saw it in person, so nobody thinks I am lying.

Seanoman, the trigger is doing awesome. He is a fat so and is a really neat fish. Very quirky personality, and fun to watch playing in the powerheads.

naesco · #8 07-17-2009, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clay&Chey

"let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

good for you for persevering and creating the slice of ocean you desire. I'm new to this hobby and it really perplexed me how how some people can tell people off for the fish they have when they themselves have fish. The fish you choose are cruel to keep but the ones I have aren't? Deep down wouldn't it be cruel to keep ANY fish in a tank away from it's natural habitat. It's like the rapist saying to the petofile, " ya but yours are underage" if your gonna preach what's right and wrong you better be doing no wrong yourself. I agree it takes research, passion and a respect for the life that's in your hands and those who respect that will have a tank of healthly, content fish for years to come.

I wouldn't be perplexed, Clay.
As well as reading the experiences of reefers on this board it is easy for a newbie to go online or read a few good fish books to determine which fish is easy to keep and those that should not even be available unless specially ordered. Most articles and books are written by experienced authors

Those that you say 'preach' have been around for a while and have already read the online stuff and the books on fish keeping. Many have attempted some 'impossible to keep fish' with obvious result.
It is always your choice as to which fish you decide to keep.

Myka · #9 07-17-2009, 01:40 PM

That's great that it's all working out for you right now! I'm glad you're finally happy with your tank. Your tank hasn't even been set up for a year right now though, and although you celebrate success at this point (which is great), success will be had when you have kept these fish for 3+ years. Long term success is a point of celebration, where short term success is often had.

my2rotties · #10 07-17-2009, 03:31 PM

I appreciate the comment Myka, but I have already do not touch the tank for any other reason aside of feeding and maintenance. I have not added any any new fish or corals and have no plans to do so. The less I touch the tank the better. No more fish, no more corals, meaning no disease or or dangers to the tank. I learned first hand that if you add fish or corals you run a risk of bringing unwanted things into the tank. I lost all of my acros due to flatworms that were infesting a LFS tank. I did not have the experience to know what was happening until it was too late. I dips all corals in Revive, which was not strong enough to make a dent in the flatworms, and I did not see them, due to the epoxy and rock they are mounted on. They were hiding inside of it all, where I could not see them. Lesson learned, and I have no interst in replacing them, since my fish need the swimming space.

Three years is a very long time, but I have no doubts my fish will be fine. I don't know how long most fish live in captivity, and perhaps if all their needs are fulfilled they still may not live that long. In the future I may remove fish and rehome them if they start getting aggressive, which I have done already in the past. Keeping the peace is first and foremost with my tank, and I have no ich, and no unhappy fish. Since I am not adding anymore, I have peace and harmony which is the other most important thing I have discovered. I don't watch television, I watch my tank instead, so I know all of my fish like the back of my hand and know if something is not right. The best way to know my water quality is not from testing, since I must be colour blind, since I never really know what the results say. I watch my fish's breathing and motion and know if something is out of whack. My Pagoda cup is also a big thing to know how my water quality really is as well. Testing my water just sends uncertainty and distrust, so I don't do it anymore. However, I don't suggest it to newer people with new systems, until they know their fish and tanks as well as I know mine. I also don't expect the same results for other people as I have had with my tank. Each system is different in the end, and because I get away with things, does not mean others can.

My only big issue I do have is that my puffer continues to eat snails whole, and ends up puffing up to cough them up. I was told this is stressful to them, but there is nothing I can do about it. It is an impossibility to remove all the snails, so I just hope he will be okay. So far it does not phase him, and perhaps it is a normal thing they do in the wild to align their pleats in their stomachs since there are so many.

I know there are members that have had fish for years, even ones from the very start, so I don't feel I would be any different. I also have a very experienced reefer that just moved out to my neck of the woods. He set up his tank and left for vacation, and I am taking care of his tank, and he will take care of mine when I take off for holidays with my dogs and hubby. I won't have a holiday disaster when I get home, and if there is a problem I am a phone call away. My tank has been around long enough now that I do not need to change the water much, although I do a small one twice a week, just because I want to do it.

I feel that if I have not killed my fish in a newly set up tank, the risk of doing so has lessened at least ten fold or more. I have found that the first six weeks is the most crucial part of bringing them into my system. My other success for this set up is the fact that I had bought over 250 pounds of live rock from a well established tank that was being shut down. I also added an additional 100 or more pounds of well established live rock from other shut downs. For me this was key in getting to where I needed to be. I added an additional 90g of water to the system for QT purposes that I could shut the water supply off of and run a skimmer, powerhead and heater when I needed to. I had a member come spend the night after a fish fest in the city and put all of her fish into that tank for the night. I shut it down from my water and when the fish were gone, I drained it, and cleaned and then added it to my water supply.

There are things that can be done to make things work out in the end. Perhaps I was lucky, perhaps it is the way the system is built, or perhaps I just some how know what I am doing. There are many members here that I know that bend and break the rules and have done amazing things with their systems. They just don't speak about it, since it against all odds or what others say is possible.

I may not have all my fish for three years but it will likely be due to them outgrowing their habitat, or the fact that all of them have grown too large and I will have to thin my school of fish. I have done this already, and it was a hard choice to make at times, which ones stayed and which ones went to new homes.

All I am saying it is possible to do things when the odds are stacked against you. New reefers should try to contact people in private after they do a search on fish or certain issues, to avoid the bashing and belittlement. It has always been an ongoing joke on how I get my butt kicked for asking anything on the forums, when other people get away with the same thing. There are people that are quick to bash others for adding a small tank to their smaller tank, when they have plans of upsizing or rehoming the fish when it outgrows it's tank. However the same people that often ridicule others for this practice do the exact same thing, and justify it. Why would anyone take these comments seriously or as helpful when people do not practice what they preach?

Any ways... I am just saying it is possible to house certain sea life together peacefully, through trial and error. Sometimes you don't know until you try, since every case is different. I see people that have killed multiple fish of the same species, only to get on their high horse and say not to do it. Well, why should I bother listening to these people when they don't follow their own advise, or blame other things that cannot be proven for a fact for the deaths?

I have made mistakes, and readily admit to them. I get beat up for it on these forums, but I have learned from each and every one of them. There are people that continue to make the same mistakes and errors in what they do, and nothing gets said. I can say from all the things I have done and mistakes I have made, I am a better hobbyist. I now know that I can't have it all, but I know some people that have more fish then me, and a tank full of the most amazing corals. I myself, have tried and can't, so I won't try again anytime soon, if I ever do. This is an amazing hobby and just the fact that we can keep marine fish alive and well, is a miracle all in itself. It just depends how much you can or want to do to ensure they thrive.