CCOMBS FIRST REEF!
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Justfebreezeit
Valuable Member
My female clown sometimes, and by that I mean its pretty rare, lets the cleaner shrimp clean her. The male never does. I find bigger fish like it more.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
You are correct! Although there have been a lot of negative effects from Finding Nemo in the aquarium industry (impulse buying wise) I think they chose an awesome fish as a protagonist!
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ccombs
Valuable Member
Interesting. I have a medium sized golden head goby and the cleaner shrimp cleans inside of his mouth.
Symbiotic relationships are my favorite part about this hobby.
RIreefGuy
Salt life
Oh 100%. Even worse for all those juvi blue tangs that ended up with Nemo in a Petco 10 gallon. The other side (my glass is half full haha) is I am sure we gained some responsible aquarists out of it too. It was a dark time either way.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
Yeah, the tangs got the worst of it
My LFS owner was telling me he had to talk a mom and child out of getting a 'Dory' for their 15 gallon brand new not even cycled tank the other day because they saw a baby one in the store. I saw the tang in question and it was seriously like 1.5" haha, they had no idea how much space they need. Luckily the fish stores around me do a good job of being sure you are making a good purchase, not just selling the fish and not asking questions.
RIreefGuy
Salt life
Yea for sure. I know Petco gets a bad rap and often deservedly so, but my local one is actually pretty good. I hear them taking ppl out of bad decisions all the time, will mark tanks under observation and not available for sale etc. That said, ain't nothing from there going in to my systems without QT
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ccombs
Valuable Member
I read on here all the time about people getting marine fish from petco or petsmart. I have never seen anything except Glow Fish and normal freshwater stuff here. I wonder if they choose not to stock marine fish at stores in Nashville because we have a couple of really good fish stores and they figure it isn't worth competing.Yea for sure. I know Petco gets a bad rap and often deservedly so, but my local one is actually pretty good. I hear them taking ppl out of bad decisions all the time, will mark tanks under observation and not available for sale etc. That said, ain't nothing from there going in to my systems without QT
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ccombs
Valuable Member
I cannot express how much I am laughing right now. I am just sitting in my bed doing emails and watching the tank. I watch a hermit crawl into the hole that the goby has dug for himself. The goby sees this and dives at the crab, bites the backside (pointy part) of the shell and swims with the hermit in his mouth to the other side of the tank and drops him off in the sand. I have never seen this and wish I had that on video!
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ccombs
Valuable Member
Alright, so I am going to be 100% honest here, I am a tad worried.
I just fed for the day and all the sudden within like 5 minutes my GSP completely closed. I hope I didn't have something on my hand and contaminate the tank. I know GSP can just decide to close up, but it is strange that it did it right as I finished feeding.
Thoughts?
EDIT- I see a crap ton of sand on the GSP, thanks a lot goby.... Potentially the issue? This thing had been growing fairly quick.
Double Edit- I am thinking it was something in the tank over a parameter thing since it happened so instantly, it was not like a slow fade. I am about to test my parameters for the first time per the Lasse method and see where I am at.
I just fed for the day and all the sudden within like 5 minutes my GSP completely closed. I hope I didn't have something on my hand and contaminate the tank. I know GSP can just decide to close up, but it is strange that it did it right as I finished feeding.
Thoughts?
EDIT- I see a crap ton of sand on the GSP, thanks a lot goby.... Potentially the issue? This thing had been growing fairly quick.
Double Edit- I am thinking it was something in the tank over a parameter thing since it happened so instantly, it was not like a slow fade. I am about to test my parameters for the first time per the Lasse method and see where I am at.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
The Lasse Method calls for not checking parameters. That being said, the reasoning is not because something magic happens if you don't check, it simply keeps you from chasing parameters in a new system. Because the GSP closed up, I wanted to be sure it was not a sign that something was wrong. I checked my parameters knowing that I would not chase any numbers. I just wanted to sleep better tonight.
Luckily these were the readings, didn't do every parameter, just the ones that might be an issue in an early tank.
Temp: 79
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0 (Surprising Actually)
pH: 7.4 (Once I Get Chaeto Going I Will Re-Assess)
I took a pipette and blew out all sand in the GSP. I will update you guys in the morning. It opened very slightly right before the lights went out so my hopes are high.
Luckily these were the readings, didn't do every parameter, just the ones that might be an issue in an early tank.
Temp: 79
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0 (Surprising Actually)
pH: 7.4 (Once I Get Chaeto Going I Will Re-Assess)
I took a pipette and blew out all sand in the GSP. I will update you guys in the morning. It opened very slightly right before the lights went out so my hopes are high.
Rick.45cal
2500 Club Member
I think your GSP will be ok. I’m glad to see things are moving right along. Clowns were the perfect choice for the tank and generally the fish I choose when I want to start a new tank.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
Yeah, I think it will be alright too. I just had my GSP close leading up to my tank crash so it brought back some dread when I watched this baseball size chunk literally close in minutes. My heart sank and I thought 'not again...'I think your GSP will be ok. I’m glad to see things are moving right along. Clowns were the perfect choice for the tank and generally the fish I choose when I want to start a new tank.
After thinking about it and investigating I feel a lot better.
I am glad I went with the Wyoming Whites over the gold stripe maroon/gold nugget combo I originally planned. The maroon get so big for a clown and it seems they can be a bit more aggressive. I want a really peaceful tank. Some sites say a 30 gallon is ok, but I don't like pushing size limits if I do not have to. I would rather have smaller fish with more space than cramped fish that are technically alright.
I am rounding out my stocking with some sort of wrasse TBD. I had a long talk with @evolved and he really guided me through some options. I am planning to source the fish through @Humblefish and support his business. Humblefish added some great insight into diseases and problems specific to wrasses and helped me in narrowing down some choices.
If those 4 go well I might add a Mandarin way down the road. I know 30 gallons is a controversial size for being able to sustain pods. That being said I am not set on having one, I will just feel out the goby + clowns + wrasse and make a decision after that. I want to be sure the Mandarin is not being out competed by the others. I will not add a mandarin unless I feel 100% confident that the tank can sustain it considering size, pods, tank mates, etc.
I´m glad that you use your own head
You asked me a question about nitrite toxicity in another place - I prefer to answer in your own thread
On request – I will write down my thinking about nitrite (NO2) and its toxicity in different waters.
First – nitrite in the bloodstream is toxic for nearly all organisms including most fish and even us. When nitrite reach the blood stream it will create another form of haemoglobin – methaemoglobin. The NO2 ion will oxidize the iron part of the haemoglobin from Fe 2+ to Fe3+. This form of haemoglobin can´t take up oxygen and the organism will suffocate till it dies. Among humans nitrite can enter the bloodstream through the digestive system from nitrite rich food (like spinach) or from nitrate not fully denitriated by the digestive bacteria. Therefore – in Sweden it is advised not to give a child below 2 years old spinach and there is a norm value of NO3 concentrations in drinking water (50 ppm in Sweden).
In water with high NO2 levels has it been shown that the NO2 ion can enter a fish body and hence coming into the bloodstream and causing methemoglobin formation and hence cause suffocation of the fish. It has been shown that the uptake take place in the gills and the uptake process use certain channels (or mechanisms) for this.
NO2 toxification in newly started FW aquaria is the most common reason for death of freshwater species IMO. When the forming of methaemoglobin take place – the blood become brownish – Brown Blood Disease.
However – it is rather easy to hinder NO2 toxicity in fresh water even if there is NO2 ions in the water – its only need enough of free chloride ions in the water – as described here:
Further – FW fish do not drink normally – the digestive entrance is blocked for uptake
This means that we in saltwater with a chloride concentration of more than 19 000 ppm do not need to have any concern about high NO3 levels in the water and uptake through the gills.
However – most SW fish do drink water. Should we be worried about uptake through the digestive track. IMO not because I have measured NO2 levels of up to 2 ppm in the water with no problems with SW fish. Further - could high NO3 levels and a not fully completed denitrification in the digestive track cause NO2 toxicity among SW species – IMO – not normal likely. One reason for this is that most organisms using haemoglobin as oxygen transporter normally produce low amount of methaemoglobin too and therefore also have developed an enzyme in order to change it back to haemoglobin again. With FW species I´m pretty sure that this enzyme exist among them because the brown blood disease (NO2 poising) is reversable among the fishes I have had experiences with.
One interesting thing is how organisms that not use haemoglobin as oxygen transporter reacts to elevated NO2 levels in SW. Horseshoe crab is one example – anyone that have experiences with this organism and elevated NO2 levels in the water? They and some other arthropods and molluscs use hemocyanin instead of haemoglobin as an oxygen transporter. The active metal is here not Fe – instead it is Cu. The answer I can see is that it looks like a similar pattern between FW and SW with these organisms.
Sincerely Lasse
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ccombs
Valuable Member
First off, big thanks to @Lasse for the write up on NO2 toxicity. I had recalled him explaining that before, but could not find where he talked about it so I asked him to explain again. He was kind enough to re-explain his findings for me. Always a pleasure reading up on his thoughts, I always learn something new.
Second, my GSP looks happy as can be. I had a stern talking with my Goby this morning about where he drops sand and I think we have come to an understanding.
Second, my GSP looks happy as can be. I had a stern talking with my Goby this morning about where he drops sand and I think we have come to an understanding.
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ccombs
Valuable Member
If any newer reefers are reading this, here is an exhibit in patience that I do not think I could have done months ago.
My water is not a clear as I would like, so my plan is to drop some carbon in (Lasse Method calls for waiting on carbon at first, I am at a point where I could)
However, I know I am going to add some chaeto in this weekend, so to avoid doing too much to the tank at once, I am going to wait on the carbon and live with water that is not quite as pristine as I would like for a few more weeks. Previously I would change a ton to the tank at once, I am choosing not to do this now.
My water is not a clear as I would like, so my plan is to drop some carbon in (Lasse Method calls for waiting on carbon at first, I am at a point where I could)
However, I know I am going to add some chaeto in this weekend, so to avoid doing too much to the tank at once, I am going to wait on the carbon and live with water that is not quite as pristine as I would like for a few more weeks. Previously I would change a ton to the tank at once, I am choosing not to do this now.
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
Excellence Award
Reef Squad Emeritus
Pacific Northwest Reefers
This is a wise course, but it doesn't have to be a binary decision. You could add a very small quantity of GAC, to effect changes slowly.
I use GAC and other filtration products, but the amounts I use are small and the quantities I change at any given time are even smaller.
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