stupidest question of all time

[Phishnoob]

Well after that bad advice from the LFS about the Mandarin and the Linkia (yeah yeah I took my abuse in another thread) I moved on to a fish that would live.

Jenn recommended mated Ocellus but they did not have that and so I got a Maroon Clown fish that looked healthy. My tank has three months on LR, no nitrites or ammonia, the bottom bar on nitrates and there is not more dirt off the rocks with a clean up crew as well.

I looked up what to feed him and it said flakes. At the LFS there were like 8 million kinds. Last night he ate a sliver off a cube of the frozen stuff so can I just feed him that?

If I kill another fish I am gonna just cry.

Phishnoob

P.S. I know this is a reef site but we are thinking of going FOWLR ...is that okay here?

[Alice]

Anything salty is ok here

There are a few good flake foods out there, I'm sure several people here can recommend one. The biggest thing about any food is its phosphate content. Flake and other processed foods are usually high in phosphates. You can eliminate some of that by soaking the food in ro/di water or even a little tank water and then pouring the water off before you feed.

Clowns will, by and large, eat just about anything. Pigs with fins When you have more fish, and corals to feed, looking into making your own blender mush would be a good idea. (Do a search on "blender mush" here and you'll come up with recipes.) For now, with just one fish, feed it a mixture of things to round out its' diet. Maybe a little premium flake one day, some slivers of frozen cube the next, tiny pieces of shrimp (uncooked) the third, etc. Adding Selcon or Selco (a fatty acid supplement) to the food is a good idea for overall health.

Clowns are tough, and maroons are about the toughest of the bunch. Don't let it go too long being the only fish in the tank or it will OWN the tank. If you ever think you might want a pair of Maroons, now is the time if yours is still small. They can be rough on newcomers.

Good Luck!

[Phishnoob]

Well thanks to good advice I found a great LFS 30 miles away and added a mated pair of blue tangs to the maroon clown the same size. They seemed way more competent than the one close by so it is worth the drive. I had a few "test" questions based on what I have learned so far and they were an A+.

My problem is that the two tangs wedged themselves into crannies and I thought they were dead when I looked at the tank this morning. Is this normal? They were all happy last night and the maroon and the tangs ate just fine.

Phishnoob

[Alice]

Yes, that's normal for blue tangs (AKA regal or hippo); they look dead about half the time, lol. Anytime they are feeling threatened or stressed, or at night time, they hole up.

Now that you have tangs in the tank, it's time to feed nori, the seaweed Sushi wrappers you can find in the asian foods section of your grocery store. If it's a big square piece, the size of a notebook paper and your tangs are still small, start by cutting the nori into 6 pieces and feeding one piece a day, either on a suction-cup clip or rubberbanded to a small rock on the bottom of the tank. Tangs need their veggies Selco or Selcon and garlic is good to soak the nori in before feeding.

I'm not sure about the tangs being mated up. I know that when they are small, they tend to hang out together but I really don't know the adult mating habits. I hope you don't end up with a fight on your hands. Maybe someone else can chime in here.

Enjoy your new fish!

[Phishnoob]

I got the tangs out of the same tank at the store and they had been there a long time.

I have a pretty much wide open 90g so I am crossing my fingers but heard that more than one can be bad. The two spent all of yesterday schooling. The good news is that the Maroon Clown did not be a big meany.

We got a clip and instead of nori I have seaweed from the asian store ready to go. The LFS recommended the frozen number two stuff so I will add that a little as well and keep an eye on things. There are three shrimp and ten hermits that will eat any leftovers.

I am going to sit on my hands now and keep a testing for a month and let everything just simmer down.


Phishnoob

[ruhspolostar]

Pnoob whats the name of the LFS, can't have to many LFS's to go to and their a rarity here in socal

[tdwyatt]

hmmm... 90 gal...

[Doug1]

Originally posted by tdwyatt
hmmm... 90 gal...

gettin stitches in tongue now

[ruhspolostar]

I totally missed that until now

and yes I agree

hmmm......

Pnoob what kind of tangs are they and how big are they....??

[USA reefer]

And by the way the stupidest question is the one that is never asked!

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Doug1
gettin stitches in tongue now

heh!

Either you've got quite the sharp tongue or you're really biting it...

[Phishnoob]

Heya Polostar,

We found an incredible store for fish in HB, well really Westminster but it is on the ocean side of the freeway anyway.

It is Tong's on Warner a block West of the 405. They are huge and every question I asked was answered the same way folks on the board have replied.

We were going to a place down in Mission Viejo, but you gotta do your own math if you go there.

If you really feel up for a drive there is a place in Yorba Linda off the 91 with just an amazing amount of frags. The store seems to have no name and commands to package your stuff are in either Vietnamese or Korean. It is fun to go to though to see it all..they even have a dozen or so Nautilus guys in there.

Phishnoob

[Doug1]

Not wanting to start TW round 2 but as the hippos get bigger they will need more space, they can grow to 12+" FWIW

[Phishnoob]

Ack..we read they get to six inches and I only have a 90g. Well if he gets too big one of you guys with a jacuzzi big tank will have a new pet. We just got the 500 book and it says 12" and a hundred gallons. The guy now is barely three so time will tell. Might be the runt of the litter.

Phishnoob

[ruhspolostar]

Noob by HB did you mean Hermosa Beach