raeh1

My dottyback limits the population as far as I have seen, for both pods and bristleworms. He is FAT as now and growing heaps, ducking off into my coral rock regularly. Although I don't think he could even attempt to eat my big bristleworms, which are about 4inchs in length. Bristeworms must of eaten my poor sick old clown fish as he was never found. I think Bristleworms are great in controling water quality, by eating waste matter as are pods.

Thanks for the info.

On Monday a clown fish disappeared. (he looked sick and was struggling) But were did nemo go (nemo was not his name) Tuesday night I moved heaps of the rocks around, checked the powerheads etc, searched outside the tank. Now five days latter no sign of nemo. My tanks only 8 months old and 180 litres but my ammonia hasn't even moved. Gone, any ideas as to why nothings changed. I though I might have an ammonia spike, or pollute the tank. But nothing, and no nemo.

I think water flow is good. 10,000 litres per hour in 180 litres water. How do I get all the nutrients out of my tap water. I have 16 types of soft corals in the tank and one hard one. (lime star polp, green star polp, tan/white finger leather, green finger leather, pink finger leather, yellow tonga, silver xenia, blue mushrooms, green mushrooms, green/tan mushrooms, brown mushrooms, Brown with white polp leather, white trumpet coral, brown with green centre trumpet, and some type of green and orange polp.) Unknown type of hard coral. All look stoked. I don't use carbon as they all react badly to it. Maybe something is posioning it. Most are from frags and a growing really fast.

I have other leathers their fine My saltinity sits about 1.028 (rags has high salt levels in NSW) KH i have no idea, I'll move it down a little, Sometimes it looks a bit green.. if that helps

150 watt metal halide sits about 15 cm under the water surface, under the haldie with strong current.

Since I got it 3 months ago it has been struggling. Does anyone know a best conditions to keep it in? Cheers

My xenia grows at a snails pace. I love the stuff but for me it just groows really slowly....

thats why I gave up, as the saler near answered my question as to whether there were halides in it.

I got a new clown to replace my one lost during flatworm treatment. But he has within days grown little cysts like white things on his face. None of my other fish has got or had anything like this. How can I treat diseases on marine fish. I don't think I can use typical freshwwater stuff. and the fish shops in Hamilton are still not up to speed when it comes to this. All ideas appreciated Cheers Ru

I had that stuff in huge numbers when I began, After I introduced a seeded rock it (full of bugs) they ate it... within a few weeks gone. cheers

I ran a Fluval 304 for awhile, for carbon and extra filter wool. I have done away with it now, I can't tell the difference. But yes ok for saltwater. and water flow. etc

I treayed flat worms on the weekend. Sunday morning. I had been removing them for two weeks to reduce the numbers. After treating them, they died, but protein skimmer didn't pick up much, and water stayed clear I also used heaps of carbon. Also changed 40 litres of water 4 hours later. Went to bed all was fine. This morning everything was fine. Got home, corals look hammered, one clown is dead another blue chromis is missing. Tang is out and all fins are down. (he usually hides) dead pods all around. I have changed 40 litres more now, thanks to surf stock piling water. The tang is swimming in the water I am currently adding. Should I continue to use carbon, as usually I don't use I as my soft corals hate it.. Is there anything else I can do???????????????????????????? Also Clam looks fine, and so do shrimps. Any help is appreciated........

After research here what I found about coral banded shrimp. You can buy them in pairs, they can be caught in the wild this way. Can eat other shrimp including other coral banded shrimp of the same sex. Cheers

I feel for him/ her As when you setup you don't really know what the best way to do it is. It is gutting to buy a whole lot of stuff then realize its over the top or to weak to do the trick. The first time I went to Hollywoods they did the big sell on me to, I could have easily walked out spending thousands. (really) Prior to that a guy in Hamilton told me it would cost about $500. Now $1500 later I have a good CHEAP setup. Although the Hamilton retailer was really good about taking back my orginal protein skimmer and has reaped the rewards of being good about it....... ie food, and test kits and various other bits and pieces and future sales. Hollywoods would have been better to take it back and resale it as over time with marine fish we would all end up spending (dare I say it) THOUSANDS more over time. What is the retail for that type of skimmer anyway??

it was tis about three months after I got it

How can I kill them all. Even though I have only seen one there could be more.

Is it good or bad?? Chimera

I heard that clams can get parasite snails on them The one I found was about 4-5mm long and white, and shaped like a cone. This is the first I have spotted and looked all over the clam and saw no more. I have had the clam for about 2 months now. Cheers for your help guys...

Just spotted two on a rock and they are far larger than the average ones. Are they good or bad.

PS the clowns love a rock at the front which is the only with algae on it. I don't think they will ever go in the anemone as they are happy there.. lucky there is no preditors or they would be lunch

Well finally I think i've sorted out the photos.. Please remember my camera is stink not even 1 mega pixel. This tank is a $1,450 tank... and about $600 in live stock This is my first setup in future I am to work out a high performance setup. 4 foot - 200 litre tank (sump less tank) Equipment Acardia 150 MH (series 3000) and 2* artic blues (2nd hand 6 months old) 1* seio 4,400 litre hour pump 2* aqua one 372 litre per hour pumps Weir pro protein skimmer (hang on back) with fluval surface skimmer Heater 300watt 40 kg coral rock and coral sand Various test kits 60 litre of water containers to collect NSW (thats it) Live stock2 Yellow tang 2* common clowns 2* blue chromis 2* cleaner shrimp Bulb tip anemone Clam and thousands of bugs........ and insects Coral (this is a soft coral setup) Trumpet coral Tonga yellow Green star polys Pulsing xenia Green finger leather 4 types of mushromms (blue, green, brown, green-brown) a tiny green brain brown leather and something else This tank is now 7 months old and all corals were pretty much frags when I got them. Future additions: Equipment will be a Deltec or aquamedic hang on skimmer, and another seio. Live stock: Strawberry dotty back and maybe a manadrin fish, a hermit crab, and a simple star fish, also a red brain. Tank changes: glass will be removed from the centre of the tank and replaced with stainless steel thin support as the light is being bloked by saltglass. I have no wish to have a sump as I surf and can and do NSW water changes of about 40% per week. I don't add any additive to the tank apart from fish and anemone food. Here are the pics I hope they work Cheers raeh1 look forward to you comments and advice on improving the setup I'd like to thank Brianemone for frags and advice when begining my setup.

well now I only have two power head inputs. protected by foam (and lots of it) I bought/ swapped a seio power head with Brianemone made a bib on the powerhead and fitted it wrong. Into the powerhead it went..... after hours of designing anemone safe tank Two weeks later after not removing it it has healed alot. Two days ago it came and opened up again. Missing tenicles on one side. but I feed it as often as I could when I could see it. Problem solved. "THE LESSON learnt they are sneeky and a 2mm gap can cause major MAJOR damage". I have learnt that they deserve the most respect and planning should be put into tank setups as after research i found they can live up to 80 years in the wild, and cannot reproduce at a rate that we are taking them. I am glad he is happy again but I think that oonly tank produced aneomones should be purchased as sirvival rates are much higher.

Picked up water a rags (raglan) during the weekend. Not much swell so its quiet good. So get going before the next swell hits. Its very clear and will improve for the next couple of days on the west coast.

Its funny since the anemone was added the clown fish have been looking for a host. Well being percula clowns (bubble tip anemones not their natural host) they have decided on a rock at the tanks front that is covered in hair algae. (the only rock like that in the tank). I heard that anemones like bubble tips gain nutrients from fish p**oos is this true?