The official 65g FOWLR diary thread

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Lol Blinky...I can relate !

I can't seem to leave mine alone either......I just did a major gravel change in my 29 planted freshwater tank. I had a hair algae problem I just couldn't deal with anymore. I figured tossing out the ugly gravel/flourite mix I had in there and going Echo-complete all the way...might just help. So that's what I did last night ! Lol... I scrubbed every bit of algae I could see...and some I couldn't see....and picked off every algae covered leaf I could find...added a piece of driftwood........now I'm happy...lol...and when the cloud settles, I'll be even happier.....until that first hint of algae shows it's ugly face again...then I'll be in there again with the scrubrush !!

BTW....I wonder if the fishstores that sell that caulerpa bother to warn a person when they buy that stuff...LOL......probably not...

Thanks for that link Blinky....I registered and bookmarked the site !
 
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I got a handful of Culerpa 'free' when I bought my clownfish. I would just ask for a bit, most lfs will give you some to keep you coming back (it pays to get to know your lfs and go in often).

Blinky: I sometimes think I have a more laid back approach as compared to you (also financial constraints apply here) so I'm forced to go slower than I'd like. But, at the same time its given me 'think' time and I've had very few losses as a result. I can count only 2..ok3! I lost 2 trochus within 2 weeks (too fast acclimatization) I lost a little clump of xenia (I added phosguard and it did not tolerate the water chemistry change and I'm convinced xenia loves phosphate and nitrate).
Anyway, the thing is to learn from it. Its all trial and error and there is alot of controversy in the trade so sometimes its confusing. One says do this, another says I do this...so in the end you do what you think is best :) Good luck and happy salty New Year everybody!!!
 
KobeSumo - my Caulerpa and Chaeto were free. Get to know your LFS staff, all sorts of fun stuff happens :D

SF - I've heard others who had problems with Xenia in tanks that are 'too clean', but I'm not sure... PO4 and NO3 register a big fat zero in my 30g ATM and it's growing like mad. I'm using PhosGuard, though as the amount of Chaeto and Xenia increase and can take more PO4 and NO3 out of the water I'm planning to wean the tank off of the chemical goodies. I know some people use Xenia in their fuge for nutrient export because it grows so quickly. I'm not convinced it needs 'dirty' water, but it does tolerate it nicely.

I agree learning from mistakes and mishaps is the key. Unfortunately, I've learned that I may be limited in what I can keep with my maroon. I think Sam is responsible for several deaths - you mentioned the cherub earlier and something twigged; she may have tortured the poor thing when I wasn't watching, I had no idea why it died so suddenly. I'm sure she bit the Potter's or chased him into something, then he developed an infection I couldn't cure, and my husband actually saw her kill the other maroon. *sigh* I wish I could send her to that support group in Finding Nemo - 'fish are friends, not food' (or punching bags in her case).
 
Ya I kind of remembered the cherub and you didn't know exactly why and it didn't hit me until the yellow stripe was lost.Too bad about the potters. Pretty fish. Why not put Sam back into the reef tank and get new fish for the 65g? :) What fun!
 
Sorry to hear about the Potters, but I'll ask tomorrow at my LFS for some caulerpa. I'm a bit sad since I couldn't get my RO unit today, since the road conditions were very icy, but I'll run in tomorrow and get it.
 
SF - she looks ill, no way is she going into the reef right now but if she recovers it's worth considering... she doesn't seem any happier in a larger tank. In the other tank she swam around more, but in this one she sits in the corner or under an overhang all day and pouts. I'm at a loss. Next week I'm leaving town for a few days and my hubby will be fish sitting. I can't have her in the QT on meds, he'll have enough to do with topoffs and feedings as it is, trying to get him to monitor and adjust copper dosages would be asking WAY too much. She looks dusty, I suspect velvet, though it's white and not yellowish at all. Today she's looking very po'ed - not her usual sunny self at all. I'll do some research tonight and see what I can do. She's a bit of a PITA but I like her and really don't want to lose her to a parasitic infection that I could have cured.
 
Sorry to hear it. I wouldn't move her at this point either. All the best. Enjoy your away time and take a tank break! Hubby can manage. I think there is no point to hospitalizing this fish at this time best left on her own to see. Happier and better 06!!!
 
Thank you :)
Today wasn't fun. I caught Sam using a plastic fish bag on an old net frame and put her into the 5.5g. She's pestering the gobies, and I'm fed up with her behaviour - I know it's her nature, but if she kills another fish I'll lose my mind. These guys are a pair, it would break my heart if one of them was killed and the other just pined away. Whatever is going on with her skin isn't getting worse or better, and no one else seems affected so I've got my fingers crossed. I've researched oodinium and brooklynella, it looks like both and neither at the same time. I thought it might be brook since it was only her affected, but it's been three days and she's still eating - if it was brook she'd likely be dead or dying. The thing is, they both have such different treatments, I have no idea which to go with. Tomorrow I'll give her a FW dip and see how that goes, but if she gets better I don't know what to do with her. I think she's already turning into a murderer, I love her but don't want to dedicate an entire tank to her alone. Ugh. Just thinking out loud here, that's sort of what these diaries are for. I'm sure a solution will present itself soon enough.
Happy 2006 all :)
 
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