SF, so sorry to hear about your chromis, that's sad. I lost my first fish too, from something unknown (possibly cyanide - other fish was and still is fine, nothing else affected). Don't beat yourself up - you're right it's not easy, but you
are up to it.
Last night I went to the LFS to buy PhosGuard (the Phos-X I'm using seems to work but is in bags that are hard to fit into the skimmer's media chamber, and PhosGuard looks like a better product). Of course, I had to look at the corals, and ended up purchasing a white Xenia frag (aquacultured). When I got home, I saw that I had my dry goods, my Xenia, and - surprise! - two scarlet hermits! I guess the guy behind me in line had put them on the counter, and before he could pay for them, the cashier accidentally put them into my bag. By the time I realized it (at home) it was too late to go back, and I don't really feel terrible about taking a couple $2 crabs off the store's hands since the Xenia was so expensive (though they did knock $8 off the price for me, which was really nice of them). I found it really funny though, since people have been saying to get some scarlets to take care of the hair algae. My tank is now absolutely overrun with hermits, I had intended to trade some in anyway, now it's even more crucial!
The Xenia was pumping away last night even though it was flopped over and shriveled down to a tiny nub, this morning it's standing up straight but still shrunken, and not pumping. I figure it will take the little guy a few days to get used to his new home, hopefully he likes it here.
SF the onion netting is indeed holding the mushroom down (its little space suit was restricting flow and also didn't hold it securely in place so it went wandering), that thing is driving me nuts! No matter what I did, it would manage to work its way onto its face - not the brightest little animal I've ever owned. It's strapped in pretty tight right now - I figure it will either adjust and attach, or I'll end up tossing it in the back of the tank to fend for itself and attach or not out of sight. I've been told to give it up to three weeks, so hopefully it will figure things out within that time. It's a pretty little thing, I just don't know how long I can torture it by tying it down.
Hercules the emerald crab moulted last night, now I've got a monster in my little tank! I had no idea these guys could get so large, so fast! When I bought him, his body was about the diameter of a dime. After just two moults and less than six weeks, his body is the diameter of a dollar coin, and his front claws are HUGE! I thought he was leaving the polyps alone because he was being well fed, it's possible it was just pre-moult lack of appetite. I'll have to keep an eye on him now - he's a giant, he could wipe out my tiny frags in no time. I'm still contemplating returning him, he's a cutie, but a bit of a beast at times.
HAPPY NEWS, lol I'm so excited about this, I think the skimmer has finally figured out its job. Yesterday it stopped working completely - wasn't pulling in water at all. I took off the intake, checked it for obstructions (none), replaced it and whammo! Bubbles like never before. I adjusted it so the water level is at the height recommended in the manual, and started seeing protein actually being removed from the tank. This morning it was back to the usual few bubbles and not much happening, but as soon as I fed, boom! The skimmer reacted (never done that before) and started making more bubbles. It's been ages, I'm so glad it's starting to work.
Tonight/tomorrow it's time for a water change, stay tuned!
