Newbie intro and questions

MarineMom0413 · 04-18-2005, 10:17 AM

I want to start by introducing myself. My name is Lauryn, I am 22 years old. I have a wonderful husbend, Matt and a one year old son Logan. I have been into saltwater reef tanks for about 6 months, after seeing a tank where my friend was house sitting. I knew I had to have one. So after about 3 months of reading everything I could find, I finally got to start one.

My tank has undergone some big changes recently. It went from a small 10 gallon eclipse setup to a 29 gal. The only casualty was my yellow tang who for some strange reason after having him for almost 2 months stopped eating entirely. We couldn't entice him with anything.

I love to read and learn about this hobby. Not so much a hobby it seems as an addiction though :-/ That's what I really like, always something new to learn about.

Which brings me to my questions.

I have a pink tip anemone I bought at my LFS. He has been cruising around looking for a spot to call home. The other day however he was 'hugging' my heater. I didn't think to move him, guess I figured if he wanted to be there he should be fine. Except the next morning when I turned on their light, he had moved and part of his body, er tenticals I guess were melted to the heater! He was doing alright except for a little area that seems to be dying off. Will he just regenerate? He's doing great other than his battle wound.

Secondly, I have some colony polyps placed toward the top of my tank about 6-8 inches away from the light. They do open sometimes but not too much. I have 3 very spirited damsels who swim very close to my perty polyps. Could they be why they haven't wanted to open?

Thank you guys all so much. This is the nicest, most informitive forum!
~Lauryn

Doug1 · 04-18-2005, 10:42 AM

Welcome Lauryn glad the anemone seems to have survived its ordeal with the heater. Is it one of the Caribean Condylactis anemones? These don't normally host clowns but have been known to eat fish on occasion. They will appreciate a bit of shrimpmeat or similar, not as demanding as the Pacific host anemones but can grow out of a 29 if they survive. You might find the archive section helpful, I have it broken down into several categories to make it a little easier to target info

Welcome to The Reef Tank

tdwyatt · 04-18-2005, 11:04 AM

Hi Lauryn!

WELCOME TO THE REEF TANK!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE PLUNGE INTO THE REEF AQUARIUM HOBBY !!!

A few points to consider. Yellow tangs in such a small system would have had issues that will affect their ability to maintain adequate immune status and normal behavior. These fishes are quite active and accustomed to open swimming ranges and generally need a minimum volume requirement for a captive habitat. Depending somewhat on specie, a minimum of 75 gallons (US) and/or a system with at least 6 feet of clear swimming range is suggested as a rule of thumb, as these fish are known to dart quickly from one location to another. Six feet (2 meters) allows for such behavior. Tangs should be limited to one conspecific within a 75 gallon volume, and fed marine-sourced algal products like dried nori to provide the nutrition they need. It is not uncommon for Tangs to refuse to eat when maintained in such a small system.

Unfortunately, many Tangs kept in small systems fail to live much more than a year at the most. This also accounts for the reputation that many spp. of tangs (and Surgeonfishes in general) have as ich magnets (undeserved). Keeping them under these limited-volume conditions often leads to reduced immunity that allows for opportunistic infestations by the parasite responsible for Ich.

We'll need more info on the anemone, pix would help, as would an ID of the specimen.

The button polyps may not open/expand for any number of reasons, but constant physical contact is one of the major ones. Once the fishes settle down and so long as water conditions are stable and correct, the polyps will open, especially if they sense the presence of food in the water column (try chumming the water with a few brine shrimp.

Sorry to hear that you've had these kinds of experiences to start out, hopefully you won't have to learn the hobby through trial and error. With the number of resources available to you through the Internet and the number of good books on the market, you should be able to find out better resolutions for future problems without any additional losses of specimens. Most of us have already had to deal with these type of experiences, I hope we can help you avoid them from here on out.

Again, Welcome to TRT!

HTH

MarineMom0413 · 04-18-2005, 11:21 AM

Thank you so much for your replies, Doug and TD.

I really appreciate all the info. As soon as I figure out how to post pics I will. I will also put all my tank specs up as soon as I can.

Doug- I think it is a Caribean Condylactis anemone. I was told a clown wouldn't host in it. But for 5 bucks, I figured..... I'm pretty happy with how well he is doing, my water chemistry is spot on, but I read there are so many other factors to consider.

TD- I use frozen brine about 2 times a day. My anemone likes it and the fish go crazy for it. Should I not use frozen or is that fine? I'm thinking about getting rid of my damsels (my hubby and I thought they would die anyway, but they're hardy lil things) and get some slower moving fish. My LFS take fish back if there is a problem or things aren't working out.

It's sad that alot of places I checked said that yellow tangs were great beginner fish. There sould be a foot note that the beginner should have a tank larger that 75gal. Oh well, if I knew then what I know now, ain't that how it always is?

~Lauryn

Doug1 · 04-18-2005, 11:30 AM

BTW Frozen brineshrimp is like feeding popcorn, lots of filler but not a lot of nutrition, but like candy most everything likes it, might want to get some good frozen food, I like the stuff thats in little cubes as opposed to the big frozen block.

DataDude · 04-18-2005, 11:42 AM

Hi Lauryn and Welcome to TRT!

I'm relatively new to the reefkeeping hobby myself. I think you'll find a lot of sound, practical advice here at TRT.

I'm sorry to hear about your yellow tang. They're beautiful fish. I'd like to get a few myself. However, I've got a purple tang in my 75 gallon, and that's enough tang for my tank. Like Tom said, tangs like their space.

Where are you at in Ohio? My wife and I live just north of Cincinnati.

alaskaknucklehead · 04-18-2005, 12:28 PM

Welcome to TRT!! Lots o great info here as you can see.

Tom, as usual, GREAT INFO!!

Now only if we could somehow download that into every LFS worker's brain like the Matrix or somthin.....

tims · 04-18-2005, 12:36 PM

Welcome to TRT Lauryn!

to insert your pictures go in to the FAQ area here. it will walk you through it.
if you have them already on the web some where that is even easyier ( cut and paste).

can't wait to see your pictures..( BTW we are soo much a picture freaks here).

reefBoyDc · 04-18-2005, 01:46 PM

Welcome Lauryn!

It sounds like your anemone wandered onto the heater while it was off, and then it started heating up and burned the poor thing. It should be fine. How long have you had the anemone?

You had a tang in a 10 gallon? I think even a 29 is small for a tang. BTW, I have a 29 too.

What are you testing for as far as water conditions? What brand test are you using? Give us your test results for salinity (SG), pH, alk, nitrate and whatever else you might have and we'll be able to better determine the problem with the polyps.

wharyat · 04-18-2005, 02:06 PM

Welcome!!

Sorry to hear about your anemone; but they are decently hardy when in good water. I've had mine over 16 months, it has gone through a lot, 2 heater fights in the beginning and just recently a piece of salt creep fell right in the center of it. But with regular feeding and perfect water they can survive most of anything; PH's are a different story, make sure you have some prefilters on them.

I'm with Mike, post up your ion tests and critical specs so we can help diagnose the zoa problem.

tdwyatt · 04-19-2005, 12:36 PM

Just a note to those of you with heaters in the display: Take a piece of PVC pipe with twice the diameter of your heater (usually a 1&1/2 ID piece of pipe will do) and cut it the length of the heater plus abut 3 inches. Make sure that you have space near the top for water to escape, such that it is at least an inch below the surface. Perforate the bottom extensively, either by drilling numerous holes in the bottom half, or for those of you with table saws, by cutting slots in the arc of the pipe material (for 1&1/2 inch pipe, cut slots every 1/2" including the kerf of the blade) with the blade set at 1" cut depth, flip it over and do the other side such that none of the cuts intersect cuts on the first side. Justmake sure to use a jig that will secure the pipe while using the table saw. A hand saw will work fine for this, just make sure that you secure the pipe well in either a vice or by making a clamp. Place the heater in the perforated pipe, allowing for space at the top to let the heated water escape. Make sure that the thermostat art of the heater is exposed to water, and remember that the pipe will have water that is warmer inside than the water temp of the tank, so you may need to play with the thermostat to get a good water temp. The top of this guard must be open to the water column, as the heated water will rise inside the pipe and escape at the top. I have seen folks take this and use a small PH to pump water through the device as well, so there are many alternatives on setting up such a device that will protect your tank's inhabitants from the water heater.

HTH