Blaxsun's Abyss: Red Sea 750XXL
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following!
I’m with this dude! LEESSGOOOO!!
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blaxsun
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Blaxsun's Tips: Laundering Filter Socks with OxiClean.
What you need: OxiClean, Seachem Prime (optional)
Like some of you, we try to keep a good separation between bleach and vinegar - as we use vinegar a lot more for every day household cleaning. Everyone always talks about "bleaching" their filter socks, but we wanted a better alternative - and I found a few suggestions online that we were able to revise and test out for the past year. Before I begin, this works with all types and sizes of filter socks - including nylon and felt.
First and foremost, you'll see videos of people pulling filter socks out of their tanks and throwing them in a bin (usually sealed) until it's time for them to get washed. Yeah, this is generally just a bad idea unless you're trying to grow your mold farm. We give all our filter socks a quick rinse (inside and out), let them sit for a bit in a tub or laundry sink and then place them in a (open) container for collection.
We opt for a pre-scrub on the old filter socks when changing out for new ones - but you can also do this when you have a bunch. We start by grasping either side of the felt (this is much easier with nylon) and just rubbing them back and forth to work out as much grime as possible. Rinse, invert the filter sock and repeat the same process (you'll notice that the water is much more yellow-green on the second pass).
When we have enough for a load, we'll place all the filter socks in a container (usually a 5-gallon pail) with one scoop of OxiClean and hot water - and let sit overnight. When laundry day arrives, we choose a sanitize setting with heavy load on our washer, add one scoop of OxiClean and place all the (inverted) socks in. When the cycle is complete, we revert all filter socks to original, add a cap of Seachem Prime (optional) to the fabric softener tray and choose sanitize again with a regular cycle. When complete, simply remove the filter socks and let air dry. They're good-to-go within a few hours.
I should note that over time (usually 3-6 months) felt filter socks will take on a slight yellowish tinge. This is completely normal and doesn't mean they aren't coming crystal clean (just the difference between bleaching and OxiClean).
What you need: OxiClean, Seachem Prime (optional)
Like some of you, we try to keep a good separation between bleach and vinegar - as we use vinegar a lot more for every day household cleaning. Everyone always talks about "bleaching" their filter socks, but we wanted a better alternative - and I found a few suggestions online that we were able to revise and test out for the past year. Before I begin, this works with all types and sizes of filter socks - including nylon and felt.
First and foremost, you'll see videos of people pulling filter socks out of their tanks and throwing them in a bin (usually sealed) until it's time for them to get washed. Yeah, this is generally just a bad idea unless you're trying to grow your mold farm. We give all our filter socks a quick rinse (inside and out), let them sit for a bit in a tub or laundry sink and then place them in a (open) container for collection.
We opt for a pre-scrub on the old filter socks when changing out for new ones - but you can also do this when you have a bunch. We start by grasping either side of the felt (this is much easier with nylon) and just rubbing them back and forth to work out as much grime as possible. Rinse, invert the filter sock and repeat the same process (you'll notice that the water is much more yellow-green on the second pass).
When we have enough for a load, we'll place all the filter socks in a container (usually a 5-gallon pail) with one scoop of OxiClean and hot water - and let sit overnight. When laundry day arrives, we choose a sanitize setting with heavy load on our washer, add one scoop of OxiClean and place all the (inverted) socks in. When the cycle is complete, we revert all filter socks to original, add a cap of Seachem Prime (optional) to the fabric softener tray and choose sanitize again with a regular cycle. When complete, simply remove the filter socks and let air dry. They're good-to-go within a few hours.
I should note that over time (usually 3-6 months) felt filter socks will take on a slight yellowish tinge. This is completely normal and doesn't mean they aren't coming crystal clean (just the difference between bleaching and OxiClean).
Oxi clean huh? I never knew thanks for the tip bud!
Manny’s Reef
2500 Club Member
Well it’s about freaking time.
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blaxsun
10K Club member
May 4. Finishing Up the ATO.
On Monday my permanent ATO reservoir arrived. It's an Innovative Marine Hydrofill Ti ATO 15-gallon glass reservoir. It has a neat pull-out tray in the front that makes it easier to fill. Alongside you'll see a cord for a Sicce Voyager Nano 2000 that I'm running in my sump for more circulation (works awesome!) and a Tunze Care Magnet Strong - which I highly recommend if you're looking for the ultimate tank scraper.
I added a third Neptune optical sensor to the reservoir to trigger an notification when it gets low as well as a Neptune low profile leak detection sensor (not shown, on the back wall between the reservoir and tank) - which I already know works thanks to some jerks in the tanks that decided to get "wet and wild" when I was doing some sump maintenance.
After a week of tweaking the ATO configuration (should out to @SuncrestReef) it's working perfectly. The ATK is set to Auto with a "kill" configuration that turns the tile to Off should the PMUP pump run for more than 6min. As you can see from the additional image, the ATK is On (Auto), the ATK_LO sensor has been tripped (Closed - meaning it's wet and the pump won't engage until this changes to Open), the ATK_HI sensor is fine (Open - meaning it's dry), the ATK_RO sensor is also tripped (Closed - meaning I still have RO water) and last but not least, the LEAK sensor is fine (Open - meaning I don't have to get the mops ready!)
There are literally so many failsafes in this setup (3 optical sensors, 1 leak sensor and 2 floats) that I can't ever see a scenario where I end up with overfilling the sump.
On Monday my permanent ATO reservoir arrived. It's an Innovative Marine Hydrofill Ti ATO 15-gallon glass reservoir. It has a neat pull-out tray in the front that makes it easier to fill. Alongside you'll see a cord for a Sicce Voyager Nano 2000 that I'm running in my sump for more circulation (works awesome!) and a Tunze Care Magnet Strong - which I highly recommend if you're looking for the ultimate tank scraper.
I added a third Neptune optical sensor to the reservoir to trigger an notification when it gets low as well as a Neptune low profile leak detection sensor (not shown, on the back wall between the reservoir and tank) - which I already know works thanks to some jerks in the tanks that decided to get "wet and wild" when I was doing some sump maintenance.
After a week of tweaking the ATO configuration (should out to @SuncrestReef) it's working perfectly. The ATK is set to Auto with a "kill" configuration that turns the tile to Off should the PMUP pump run for more than 6min. As you can see from the additional image, the ATK is On (Auto), the ATK_LO sensor has been tripped (Closed - meaning it's wet and the pump won't engage until this changes to Open), the ATK_HI sensor is fine (Open - meaning it's dry), the ATK_RO sensor is also tripped (Closed - meaning I still have RO water) and last but not least, the LEAK sensor is fine (Open - meaning I don't have to get the mops ready!)
There are literally so many failsafes in this setup (3 optical sensors, 1 leak sensor and 2 floats) that I can't ever see a scenario where I end up with overfilling the sump.
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blaxsun
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May 5. Current Livestock - Fish.
So in my various posts I've alluded to a lot of fish in my tank. I thought I'd give a bit more information on the specific breakdown of my (current) fish in case anyone was interested. Measurements are 'best guess' as the darned fish refuse to line up with my ruler... All are plump and healthy (my wife insists some of them have double-chins!)
• 9x Chromis ... 6 green (2.25"), 2 bicolor (1") and 1 black bar (1")
• 6x Wrasses ... 1 Quoy's parrotfish (7"), 1 melanarus (4.25"), 1 bicolor cleaner (2.25"), 1 sixline (1.75"), 1 Lubbock's fairy (2"), 1 yellow corris (2.5"); the parrotfish has been quite an interesting addition!
• 4x Angelfish ... 1 midnight dwarf (3.5"), 1 coral beauty dwarf (3.25"), 1 Lamarck's female (5"), 1 emperor juvenile (3"); all get along with each other and are reef-safe with the exception of the midnight dwarf (loves acans!)
• 4x Damselfish ... 1 azure (2"), 3 blue devil (2"); *they are all fat; no issues between any of them
• 4x Anthias ... 2 Marcia's anthias (3"/2.5"), 2 lyretail anthias female (1.5"/2")
• 3x Cardinalfish ... 1 pajama (3"), 2 baggai (1.75"); these all get along.
• 2x Clownfish ... 2 mocha ocellaris male/female pair; these fish have an official kill-count of 26!!
• 2x Blennies ... 1 midas blenny (4"), 1 lawnmower blenny (2.25"); the midas blenny spontaneously changed color from yellow-orange to blue-purple!
• 1x Grouper ... 1 marine betta (5.5"); actually extremely peaceful and shy - prefers roaming at night.
• 1x Tang ... 1 sailfin tang (4"); just an awesome fish!
• 1x Dottyback ... 1 striped (2.25"); this one burrows and sand-sifts.
• 1x Basslet ... 1 royal gramma (2"); this one actually prefers to hang-out around one of my wavemakers.
• 1x Hawkfish ... 1 flame (2.5")
• 1x Goby ... 1 Rainford's goby (1.5"); seldom seen
I should mention that all of these fish get along - even the relative newcomers (the small chromis and goby). Each has carved out their own 'niche' for sleeping, and you'll often find several angelfish clustered together in a cave. When the lights go out literally 90% of the fish just disappear...
..........
Addendum May 29. Fish count: 42
• 1x Mandarin Dragonet male (2"); found a copepod vein deep in the rocks so he's off hunting there most of the time (and ironically out of sight the vast majority of the time).
• 1x Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (2"); I haven't historically had a lot of luck with leopard wrasses, but this one seems to have taken to the new tank and is thriving.
Addendum June 11. Fish count: 43
• 1x One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish (2"); small guy - we've named him "Roger".
So in my various posts I've alluded to a lot of fish in my tank. I thought I'd give a bit more information on the specific breakdown of my (current) fish in case anyone was interested. Measurements are 'best guess' as the darned fish refuse to line up with my ruler... All are plump and healthy (my wife insists some of them have double-chins!)
• 9x Chromis ... 6 green (2.25"), 2 bicolor (1") and 1 black bar (1")
• 6x Wrasses ... 1 Quoy's parrotfish (7"), 1 melanarus (4.25"), 1 bicolor cleaner (2.25"), 1 sixline (1.75"), 1 Lubbock's fairy (2"), 1 yellow corris (2.5"); the parrotfish has been quite an interesting addition!
• 4x Angelfish ... 1 midnight dwarf (3.5"), 1 coral beauty dwarf (3.25"), 1 Lamarck's female (5"), 1 emperor juvenile (3"); all get along with each other and are reef-safe with the exception of the midnight dwarf (loves acans!)
• 4x Damselfish ... 1 azure (2"), 3 blue devil (2"); *they are all fat; no issues between any of them
• 4x Anthias ... 2 Marcia's anthias (3"/2.5"), 2 lyretail anthias female (1.5"/2")
• 3x Cardinalfish ... 1 pajama (3"), 2 baggai (1.75"); these all get along.
• 2x Clownfish ... 2 mocha ocellaris male/female pair; these fish have an official kill-count of 26!!
• 2x Blennies ... 1 midas blenny (4"), 1 lawnmower blenny (2.25"); the midas blenny spontaneously changed color from yellow-orange to blue-purple!
• 1x Grouper ... 1 marine betta (5.5"); actually extremely peaceful and shy - prefers roaming at night.
• 1x Tang ... 1 sailfin tang (4"); just an awesome fish!
• 1x Dottyback ... 1 striped (2.25"); this one burrows and sand-sifts.
• 1x Basslet ... 1 royal gramma (2"); this one actually prefers to hang-out around one of my wavemakers.
• 1x Hawkfish ... 1 flame (2.5")
• 1x Goby ... 1 Rainford's goby (1.5"); seldom seen
I should mention that all of these fish get along - even the relative newcomers (the small chromis and goby). Each has carved out their own 'niche' for sleeping, and you'll often find several angelfish clustered together in a cave. When the lights go out literally 90% of the fish just disappear...
..........
Addendum May 29. Fish count: 42
• 1x Mandarin Dragonet male (2"); found a copepod vein deep in the rocks so he's off hunting there most of the time (and ironically out of sight the vast majority of the time).
• 1x Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (2"); I haven't historically had a lot of luck with leopard wrasses, but this one seems to have taken to the new tank and is thriving.
Addendum June 11. Fish count: 43
• 1x One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish (2"); small guy - we've named him "Roger".
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I’ve been lookin to add a yellow coris wrasse. Does yours get along with the Melanarus?
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blaxsun
10K Club member
When I setup the new tank I decided to switch to Tropic Marin Pro Reef from Red Sea Coral Pro and this salt has been nothing short of amazing (Turkish hiccups aside). I'd been stockpiling RO water in 5-gallon pails for the previous 2 months, so when I was ready to setup the tank all the saltwater was mixed and ready to go. As you may recall from a previous post, I'd been cycling approximately 85lbs of Marco shelf rock - and that would form the bulk of the new rock going into the tank with maybe 50-60lbs of existing Marco shelf and base rock from the pair of IM Nuvo Fusion Lagoons.
I went with CaribSea Arag-Alive! Bahamas Oolite substrate (80lbs total). In hindsight, I probably should've added another 20lb or 40lb bag for a bit thicker sand bed, but overall I'm happy. This is really awesomely brilliant white sand - and absolutely a PITA (a fish can fart and kick up a dust cloud). For this reason, I'm running my return pump and wavemakers a bit slower. I didn't pre-rinse since this contains live bacteria, and with the clarity packets it only took about 8-12 hours to clear up (I just ran the main pump and filter socks).
Even though I was using live sand and cycled rock, because this was my first time insta-cycling a tank I wanted to err on the side of caution - so after the tank had cleared I added 3 large and 1 small bottle of Instant Ocean Bio-Spira. This was probably overkill, but I really didn't want to leave anything to chance. The first thing I did was add the three large Marco shelf rock pieces which I stacked in a rough pyramid (this created a ton of caves, crevices, overhangs and general hiding places for the fish). Next I moved over any existing rock, briefly exposing to air to weed out any bristleworms. Then I moved rocks with any attached corals, loose corals and then started catching fish! After the fish the inverts were the last to transfer - and I raked the sandbed after to find a few snail stragglers.
Everything went off flawlessly without a hitch. I had two large barnacle clusters that some of the fish had taken up residence in in the old tanks and they immediately found their new (old) home once again. I spent the next few days keeping an eye on everything to see how it was doing, repositioning rock here and there, finding ideal spots for coral and invert placement (rockflowers, feather dusters, tube anemones) and generally tweaking things.
The livestock that went over in the initial transfer were:
• 2 dwarf angelfish, 4 chromis, 2 dottybacks, 1 basslet, 1 blenny, 1 small tang, 2 dragonets, 2 wrasses, 1 cardinal and 1 hawkfish (17 fish in total)
• Dozens of snails, hermit crabs and 2 blue tuxedo urchins
You may note that the mandarin dragonets are sadly no longer with me. There's an interesting story there involving Velvet, which is both sad and educational in the sense that I was able to apply what I learned with treating fish illness and implement preventative measures along with boosting the immune systems of my fish. All of this has translated into a healthy and active reef. For more details, you'll have to Watch and stay tuned...
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blaxsun
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Yes. The melanarus wrasse is literally 10x his size (he's a big fella!), but I often see the yellow coris cruising around with the sixline while 'on patrol'. Like the other wrasses, he kind of does his "own thing". Both the melanarus and yellow coris wrasse travel all around the tank so there is some direct interaction, but the melanarus is kind of lazy. When there's no food to be found he's back sleeping in the sand bed.
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blaxsun
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May 6. Ones and Zeros.
I currently have 40 fish in my tank. When I started the new tank I created a spreadsheet alongside to track when I added various fish, how many, names (yes, I've named almost all of my fish), details, etc. Since May 2021, 64 fish went into the tank - so 24 unfortunately met an untimely demise. Here are the details:
MIS = Misadventure | LOP = Lost on Patrol | MIA = Missing in Action | KIA = Killed in Action
• MIS 1x Flame hawkfish ... I purchased a companion for our flame hawkfish, but apparently 'this tank ain't big enough for the two of us' - so he chased it out one evening after about a week and I found it laying on the floor. I never did find out if the second flame hawkfish was a male or female.
• MIS 4x Scissortail dartfish ... I should've known better that anything shaped like a torpedo - acts like one. The fish did fine with everyone - they were apparently altogether just too fun to chase and easily spooked!
• LOP 1x Sixline wrasse ... somehow got sucked into the main overflow pipe while hunting in the overflow.
• LOP 1x Naso tang ... Took a nosedive into an elegance coral within a few days. I kid you not!
• LOP 1x Blue sided wrasse... Found dead on the bottom within a week. May have been too stressed from transit as there were some delays in shipping.
• MIA 2x Green chromis ... 2 just "disappeared". I later found one living in the overflow, but after returning him to the display he succumbed shortly thereafter. I'm chalking the other MIA up to "cannibalism".
• MIA 1x Black neon dottyback ... Did great for 2 months and then just vanished.
• MIA 1x Orchid dottyback ... Also vanished without a trace after a month like the neon dottyback.
• MIA 1x Lyretail anthias female ... For a month or so I had 3 - then there were just 2. Nothing - no trace.
• KIA 1x Ocellaris clownfish ... One of Bonnie and Clyde's victims (bringing their total to 25 kills).
• KIA 1x Black bar chromis ... Bonnie and Clyde's latest victim (bringing their kill tally to 26).
• KIA 1x Valentinie Pufferfish ... Killed by the bicolor cleaner wrasse within 48 hours! I didn't realize there's such animosity between cleaner wrasses and pufferfish until I watched a YouTube video with Parker's Reef where he described the exact same scenario between two of his fish.
So 5 fish essentially jumped (or were "pushed" by tank mates) - death due to misadventure. Considering all are known jumpers (especially the dartfish), this isn't exactly earth shattering. 3 were healthy and active up until they did something ill-advised. 5 simply vanished. I suspect cannibalism with some, misadventure while exploring for others (they may have gotten trapped in the rocks or something collapsed their exit). 3 were killed outright by other tank mates. I knew of Bonny and Clyde's propensity for killing clownfish, but they got along fine for around 6 months with the third ocellaris before turning on it. I suspect it changed from female to male (or vice-versa). They also chewed up a black bar chromis which had (up until that point) been doing fine. It apparently ventured too close to their anemone and they retaliated.
If you're adding everything up you'll note that 8 are unaccounted for. To learn what happened, stay tuned for the next exciting instalment...
I currently have 40 fish in my tank. When I started the new tank I created a spreadsheet alongside to track when I added various fish, how many, names (yes, I've named almost all of my fish), details, etc. Since May 2021, 64 fish went into the tank - so 24 unfortunately met an untimely demise. Here are the details:
MIS = Misadventure | LOP = Lost on Patrol | MIA = Missing in Action | KIA = Killed in Action
• MIS 1x Flame hawkfish ... I purchased a companion for our flame hawkfish, but apparently 'this tank ain't big enough for the two of us' - so he chased it out one evening after about a week and I found it laying on the floor. I never did find out if the second flame hawkfish was a male or female.
• MIS 4x Scissortail dartfish ... I should've known better that anything shaped like a torpedo - acts like one. The fish did fine with everyone - they were apparently altogether just too fun to chase and easily spooked!
• LOP 1x Sixline wrasse ... somehow got sucked into the main overflow pipe while hunting in the overflow.
• LOP 1x Naso tang ... Took a nosedive into an elegance coral within a few days. I kid you not!
• LOP 1x Blue sided wrasse... Found dead on the bottom within a week. May have been too stressed from transit as there were some delays in shipping.
• MIA 2x Green chromis ... 2 just "disappeared". I later found one living in the overflow, but after returning him to the display he succumbed shortly thereafter. I'm chalking the other MIA up to "cannibalism".
• MIA 1x Black neon dottyback ... Did great for 2 months and then just vanished.
• MIA 1x Orchid dottyback ... Also vanished without a trace after a month like the neon dottyback.
• MIA 1x Lyretail anthias female ... For a month or so I had 3 - then there were just 2. Nothing - no trace.
• KIA 1x Ocellaris clownfish ... One of Bonnie and Clyde's victims (bringing their total to 25 kills).
• KIA 1x Black bar chromis ... Bonnie and Clyde's latest victim (bringing their kill tally to 26).
• KIA 1x Valentinie Pufferfish ... Killed by the bicolor cleaner wrasse within 48 hours! I didn't realize there's such animosity between cleaner wrasses and pufferfish until I watched a YouTube video with Parker's Reef where he described the exact same scenario between two of his fish.
So 5 fish essentially jumped (or were "pushed" by tank mates) - death due to misadventure. Considering all are known jumpers (especially the dartfish), this isn't exactly earth shattering. 3 were healthy and active up until they did something ill-advised. 5 simply vanished. I suspect cannibalism with some, misadventure while exploring for others (they may have gotten trapped in the rocks or something collapsed their exit). 3 were killed outright by other tank mates. I knew of Bonny and Clyde's propensity for killing clownfish, but they got along fine for around 6 months with the third ocellaris before turning on it. I suspect it changed from female to male (or vice-versa). They also chewed up a black bar chromis which had (up until that point) been doing fine. It apparently ventured too close to their anemone and they retaliated.
If you're adding everything up you'll note that 8 are unaccounted for. To learn what happened, stay tuned for the next exciting instalment...
May 6. Ones and Zeros.
I currently have 40 fish in my tank. When I started the new tank I created a spreadsheet alongside to track when I added various fish, how many, names (yes, I've named almost all of my fish), details, etc. Since May 2021, 64 fish went into the tank - so 24 unfortunately met an untimely demise. Here are the details:
MIS = Misadventure | LOP = Lost on Patrol | MIA = Missing in Action | KIA = Killed in Action
• MIS 1x Flame hawkfish ... I purchased a companion for our flame hawkfish, but apparently 'this tank ain't big enough for the two of us' - so he chased it out one evening after about a week and I found it laying on the floor. I never did find out if the second flame hawkfish was a male or female.
• MIS 4x Scissortail dartfish ... I should've known better that anything shaped like a torpedo - acts like one. The fish did fine with everyone - they were apparently altogether just too fun to chase and easily spooked!
• LOP 1x Sixline wrasse ... somehow got sucked into the main overflow pipe while hunting in the overflow.
• LOP 1x Naso tang ... Took a nosedive into an elegance coral within a few days. I kid you not!
• LOP 1x Blue sided wrasse... Found dead on the bottom within a week. May have been too stressed from transit as there were some delays in shipping.
• MIA 2x Green chromis ... 2 just "disappeared". I later found one living in the overflow, but after returning him to the display he succumbed shortly thereafter. I'm chalking the other MIA up to "cannibalism".
• MIA 1x Black neon dottyback ... Did great for 2 months and then just vanished.
• MIA 1x Orchid dottyback ... Also vanished without a trace after a month like the neon dottyback.
• MIA 1x Lyretail anthias female ... For a month or so I had 3 - then there were just 2. Nothing - no trace.
• KIA 1x Ocellaris clownfish ... One of Bonnie and Clyde's victims (bringing their total to 25 kills).
• KIA 1x Black bar chromis ... Bonnie and Clyde's latest victim (bringing their kill tally to 26).
• KIA 1x Valentinie Pufferfish ... Killed by the bicolor cleaner wrasse within 48 hours! I didn't realize there's such animosity between cleaner wrasses and pufferfish until I watched a YouTube video with Parker's Reef where he described the exact same scenario between two of his fish.
So 5 fish essentially jumped (or were "pushed" by tank mates) - death due to misadventure. Considering all are known jumpers (especially the dartfish), this isn't exactly earth shattering. 3 were healthy and active up until they did something ill-advised. 5 simply vanished. I suspect cannibalism with some, misadventure while exploring for others (they may have gotten trapped in the rocks or something collapsed their exit). 3 were killed outright by other tank mates. I knew of Bonny and Clyde's propensity for killing clownfish, but they got along fine for around 6 months with the third ocellaris before turning on it. I suspect it changed from female to male (or vice-versa). They also chewed up a black bar chromis which had (up until that point) been doing fine. It apparently ventured too close to their anemone and they retaliated.
If you're adding everything up you'll note that 8 are unaccounted for. To learn what happened, stay tuned for the next exciting instalment...
I want to give you all the emojis!
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Just another girl who likes fish
Loving this thread!
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blaxsun
10K Club member
There were several fish lined up for QT: a Quoy's parrotfish, leopard wrasse, dusky wrasse, flame angel, melanarus wrasse, marine betta, red coris wrasse and juvenile emperor angel. Over a period of maybe 6-8 weeks all of these fish went through the full copper, prazi, freshwater dip, observation (etc.) treatment. Sadly, the parrotfish, leopard and dusky wrasses and flame angel did not make it through the treatment (apparently copper is very hard on wrasses and there was an unknown ailment with the flame angel - as it made it through almost to the end). The four survivors were cleared for patrol and excitedly bundled up for the short journey to their new home. The melanarus and red coris wrasses were the first to be introduced and were welcomed by the reef inhabitants. The marine betta and emperor angel followed and were also easily integrated.
Success! Or so I thought. Then it happened...
V E L V E T - the terror of the deep and scourge of reefers around the world. My wife noticed something was amiss with the emperor angel almost right from the outset. He was hanging around the coral banded shrimp I had at the time like a dog is drawn to a sprinkler and spending a lot of time around the return outlets and wavemakers. Then his colors started fading and within hours there was noticeable flashing.
D A Y 1 . This was probably the first major threat to my aquarium that I'd faced (a few flukes and a suspected minor case of ich that were both dealt with). But this was something new entirely. I sent an experienced friend of mine a few images that evening and he immediately suspected the worst. It was late, and everything was closed - but as he owned my LFS he promised to arrive the next morning with a pump and oversized UV to help me (one of the advantages of having an awesome LFS!)
Morning arrives and several fish are dead. Two chromis, one dottyback and our prized male mandarin dragonet (taken from the wild but trained to eat frozen). Roughly a third of our other fish including our dwarf angels and sailfin tang were also showing signs. A few fish were noticeable absent but we had more important things to deal with. While I had installed a UV on the tank from the outset - it just wasn't capable of sterilizing the tank with the kind of turnover I was going to need. In fact, it's probably the only thing that prevented all my fish from dying within the first 24-36 hours by holding back the velvet tide.
So we hooked up a Sicce Silent 5.0 pump to a AquaUltraviolet 40-watt Classic and ran a makeshift UV setup (the bulk of which ended up sitting on the floor in front of the tank). And since there was no way I was going to be able to catch all of the fish (simply too many places to hide) and ripping the entire tank wasn't an option - I was only left with one recourse: in-tank treatment.
Now in Canada, due to some really short sightedness and overly lax politicans who clearly lacked the capacity for critical thinking - nearly all fish medications (copper, prazi, etc.) had been banned. No import - nothing. You could supposedly contact your local vet, but in the years since the legislation was passed - literally none had taken up the torch to even educate themselves - let alone stock anything. So I was on my own. What to do?
Polyp Lab Medic was the only option for in-tank treatment of velvet. And with several more fish dead throughout the day, it was really a Hail Mary at this point. So I went with the maximum allowable dosage for the size of my tank - briefly turning off the UV for an hour each during the first two applications.
D A Y 2 . Morning arrives again with unfortunately more casualties. Another dottyback and our female mandarin dragonet (also wild caught and trained to eat frozen). And roughly a third of the survivors are not looking good. Suspect zero (emperor angel) is noticeable pale - almost bleached. A fine sprinkling on a lot of the fish (almost like sand) can be seen from certain angles in the light. Nothing else to be done at this point except continue the Medic treatment, run the UV at maximum flow for sterilization and keep feeding the fish. Extra portions with garlic are provided in smaller but more frequent feedings to keep everyone eating.
D A Y 3 . The emperor angelfish (Suspect Zero) is found dead on the bottom in the morning. Removal and inspection confirms 100% that it was, without a doubt - velvet. There is some noticeable improvement in the survivors, and at the very least they're all still eating. At this point 7 fish have died with roughly 4-5 showing some signs of velvet (the midnight dwarf angelfish appears to have it the worst, followed by the sailfin tang).
D A Y 4 - 5 . With continued treatment, over the next few days the survivors are all showing visible signs of improvement - except the red coris wrasse, who is found dead on the bottom (also a victim of velvet). He'd spent a lot of time in the sand bed over the past few days and wasn't able to be observed as closely. As it turns out, he was the last victim of this scourge. In all, 8 fish have perished.
D A Y 6 - 10 . Over the next few days the survivors have literally risen from the dead. The dwarf angelfish have their colors back, the sailfin tang is once again vibrant and everyone is swimming and eating normally. No flashing or signs of abhorrent behavior. Still, I decided to continue with the treatment longer.
D A Y 11 - 17 . I ran Medic for an additional week at a slightly reduced dosage with the larger UV. No signs of velvet - no signs of any ailment. The fish all behave like nothing happened. "Where's my dinner?"
At this point I wound up the treatment, stocked up on some Polyp Lab Medic for the next eventual crisis and set about figuring out what went wrong, how velvet rode in unsuspected on a quarantined fish and how I'm going to deal with adding new fish going forward - the last one being a really open question. It's early July - we're into the first wave of the Pandemic - and any new fish will have to simply wait until I come up with a plan...
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Susan Edwards
5000 Club Member
wow! Velvet sucks. I had it take 9 out of 13 fish when I first started. I added too many fish at one time--total newbie mistake I did get some polyp Lab medic for this tank. Guess I should see how much a treatment uses in case I should have 2 bottles on hand. LIke you, there is no way for me to remove fish and the rock structures are too big and heavy to attempt to pull out. Fingers crossed you don't deal with that again!
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