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

[Navarchus]

Hi,
First of all...


Now, to the hurt of the matter…

Just like you I had successes with some hard to keep specimens such as Diacanthus (keep2 3 together for some time, all eating dry food) I head a mandarin for 4 years and he eat dry food eventually, cleaner wrasse was my tank doctor for a long time and so on….

you said:

All it takes is for a member to do their home work, make adjustments to their system and make darned sure to be committed to making this work..

I believe this is the key to success!
These hard to keep specimens requires advance planning and some aquarium modification. For example the Diacanthus is very sensitive to nitrogen cycle, so it is better to introduce it to an established system 3-6 month. If you have some aggressive fish in your system you should know you will have to give them away in order to maintain this delicate fish.

These are not fish you buy on the spot out of enthuse! Buying them without a proper planning and knowledge will end in their death and the enthusiast bitter disappointment!

[brickwood]

Blah blah blah. Red list, yellow list, green list, whatever. If you have a tank with fish and corals, you are a hypocrite! I have broken every rule. Tangs, bring em on. I have many. Different species of clowns in one tank? I got em. Mixed reef? Mine is. It thrives. I have seen many tanks like mine that thrive. Even when I posted my journal, I was judged. I say whatever. I am in a hobby that can only be supported by taking from mother nature. Am I a bad person? Maybe. I am no worse than anybody else in the hobby. Maybe we all need to keep our opinions to ourselves, unless asked, including myself.

[my2rotties]

Thanks for the more positive comments, they are nice to see. It is also nice to see some members agree with some of these other posts as well. I do have to mention I didn't think there was a three year time line in order to know you have been successful. I may not have this tank and the fish for three years, I don't know that. As long as I live in this house, I will have them and consider their health and well being while I have them to be a success. I don't worry about if they will be dead in the morning or have the mentality that I am going to fail them. If I had this mind set, I should not be in this hobby... I wouldn't want to be, since that would not be enjoyable at all. I paid those dues at start up and with every fish I added. I am glad I have all the fish I want, and don't need to put myself through worrying about any new fish. If any do die, I will admit to it... why hide. Perhaps others could learn from the deaths and do better if they try.

I was told my limited success I have had in the past months in no way makes me an experienced hobbyist, but I never claimed to be one to begin with. I never tell anyone to do what I did, and never advise anyone to do what I have done. I would never advise or condone anything I had done...However, what I have done to make things work, may be different then other people's so I do think I deserve some credit. I am aware that problems may or will crop up later on as the tank matures, it is almost nine months old now. I was worried about hitch hiker crabs, but they give my Banana wrasse a hobby. He is a hunter and he loves to look for the crabs. Sometimes bad things can be blessing in the long run.

My husband built this system, and for someone that has never known a thing about things of this nature, he by far outdid himself. He made things very simple for me to do my job, which is care for the fish and the system. Nothing came easy and with the higher risk fish came great amounts of stress and tension.

Some times rules are made to be broken or bent. Sometimes it takes a newbie reefer to have the torch passed onto them, to try something once again. From my extensive research on many fish, there is not a large amount known about them to begin with, and if people continue to try, perhaps more knowledge of keeping them successfully will come along. I don't know everything of claim to even know very much. However I do know what I have learned, and I do know everything I had done to be where I am.

I continually see people get beat up for stocking choices, or impulse buys. Instead of bashing people and making them fearful to ask questions, why not say nothing at all. Why bother posting the tank will crash, the fish will die, or they have no chance. What is the point of closing doors?

Any ways, I have a serious hike to go on, and I appreciate all the input and insight on my post.