storming and quarantine questions...

[krullulon]

storming question: i'm all about the turkey-baster storming... it's cathartic, really cleans up the tank and the critters seem to get a kick out of it. one thing that worries me a bit though is excessive debris falling on my mushrooms and polyps -- do i need to be extra-careful about small debris landing on the critters, or will they deal with it on their own? i blew a bunch of little particles on my mushrooms (indirectly) and was worried that i was going to irriate them... i have pretty good circulation in the tank so most stuff will move along eventually, but i wasn't sure about how close an eye i needed to keep on the storm results...

quarantine question: i also recently set-up my quarantine tank -- it's just a little 15g eclipse with a biowheel and a 7-lb chunk o' live rock... as of yesterday it has a small yellow tang residing in it that i inherited from a friend who lost interest.

the tang wasn't on my wish ist o' fish, but the poor little guy (he's only about 2.5") is pretty skinny and i didn't want him to be dumped into some random pet store tank (or flushed!). he doesn't have any visible signs of disease right now, but i'm preparing myself for it to happen.

i have some dried seaweed for him -- is there anything else i should be feeding him? if all goes well, i'll probably keep him in the quarantine tank until he's healthy and then either decide to keep him or give him to my very good LFS.

thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

storming question: i'm all about the turkey-baster storming... it's cathartic, really cleans up the tank and the critters seem to get a kick out of it. one thing that worries me a bit though is excessive debris falling on my mushrooms and polyps -- do i need to be extra-careful about small debris landing on the critters, or will they deal with it on their own? i blew a bunch of little particles on my mushrooms (indirectly) and was worried that i was going to irriate them... i have pretty good circulation in the tank so most stuff will move along eventually, but i wasn't sure about how close an eye i needed to keep on the storm results...

quarantine question: i also recently set-up my quarantine tank -- it's just a little 15g eclipse with a biowheel and a 7-lb chunk o' live rock... as of yesterday it has a small yellow tang residing in it that i inherited from a friend who lost interest.

the tang wasn't on my wish ist o' fish, but the poor little guy (he's only about 2.5") is pretty skinny and i didn't want him to be dumped into some random pet store tank (or flushed!). he doesn't have any visible signs of disease right now, but i'm preparing myself for it to happen.

i have some dried seaweed for him -- is there anything else i should be feeding him? if all goes well, i'll probably keep him in the quarantine tank until he's healthy and then either decide to keep him or give him to my very good LFS.

thanks!

In regard to storming.. I do the same thing.. what I usually end up doing though is giving a small "blast" to the shrooms, and coral after things have settled a bit. To some around here, getting rid of mushrooms would be a good thing and some wouldn't worry about it... I happen to like shrooms, so I give them a little blast after everything settles.

Is there a reason why you are QTing the tang? Was your friends system contaminated?

~wings~

 

[Anonymous]

the tang wasn't on my wish ist o' fish, but the poor little guy (he's only about 2.5") is pretty skinny

i have some dried seaweed for him -- is there anything else i should be feeding him? if all goes well, i'll probably keep him in the quarantine tank until he's healthy and then either decide to keep him or give him to my very good LFS.

Tangs are omnivores, while their main diet is algae which they graze on 24/7, they are little piggies, they readily will eat shreds of meaty foods such as squid, shrimp, scallops, mussels, etc. Soak these in a product like Selco and feed a couple times a day. Your Tang will be fat and sassy in no time.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you're using quarantine. Also, a q/t does not need to be a proper tank. I've done it in trashcans for volume (the fish seem happier to not be in a glass box when acclimating to captive life, too, and inverts could give a rat's patootie). Chemically inert and watertight are what you must have for a quarantine system.

 

[krullulon]

thanks everyone!

wings -- i'm QT'ing the tang because i've decided that nuttin' is going in my main tank until it's passed the 30-day test... i want to establish good habits early so i can get a nice system in-place. i also have a very new tank and want to give it at least another month to let the ecosystem build itself up.

davidmohr -- ty, will do.

seamaiden -- you and others have convinced me on the QT tank as SOP... and it also has the additional side-benefit of giving me another system to tinker with, which is always a bonus.

 

[ChrisRD]

Don't worry about the mushrooms and polyps. You couldn't kill them if you wanted to!!