I'm feeling pretty discouraged right now. I've posted about various things here and also on FB groups. Read books, watched BRS, Reef Dork, Mad Hatter, and many others. And there are so many contradictions it makes my head spin.
I've had some problems getting going, lost a crab to failed molt, stupidly got a Hector's Goby for a new tank on poor advice, lost the neon I traded it back in for two days later to what looks like bite wounds - in a tank with only snails, a tiny scarlet hermit, and a baby cleaner shrimp. And a largeish bristle worm.
I've been told my tank is cycled, I've been told it isn't cycled, I've been told its in a mini cycle, I've been taught how to properly calculate toxic ammonia with Ph and temp, I've been told never to test ammonia or nitrites in this tank ever again.
I've been told certain fish are okay to start with only to learn later they starve, aggressive fish are supposed to come later, but clowns are hardy and should go first, but they are also damsels, yet care shows them to be peaceful, but they're territorial jerks that bite you. Non-sifting gobies don't need pods, but all gobies eat pods, you don't need to feed hermits and CUC, you have to feed them, wait months to a year to add coral, add hardy coral (GSP) as soon as cycled, cycling is possible instantly with the right product, 4 days (when I had nothing left but nitrates) to 3 weeks with Microbacter7, but it really it takes many months, have lights on from the beginning, don't turn them on until you have critters that need light, stay on top of nuisance algae before its a problem, but it's just the uglies, it's a good sign the cycle is progressing and most of it will go away on its own. Use live rock, cure dry rock and avoid hitchhikers, most hitchhikers are neutral to good and bring necessary diversity to your ecosystem, take bristleworms out they are the spawn of the devil, bristleworms are the best free CUC, bristleworms never bother anything alive, but that big one might have attacked your fish, micro brittles will overrun a new tank so I'm begging you to please take it out, micro brittles are golden and I'm begging you to send it to me if you dont want it, inverts should be in fishless QT for 76 days, start that over if any new inverts are added, just keep track of each one for 76 days, inverts "don't count" can't carry ich and should go straight into DT, dose everything in QT prophyactically, but observe and don't treat unless something shows signs of sickness because it stresses your fish, if you don't QT aggressively its only a matter of time before your whole tank will crash from ich or velvet, and so on and so on.
I think I'm just going to enjoy my cleaner shrimp, snails and hermit for a while and watch my coralline grow. My inverts are happy, and now I'm scared of fish. I don't know what to believe. I'm doing so much research and trying ro learn, but sometimes it just makes things worse and I'm paralyzed.
I love learning and research, but I don't know what to believe half the time and that makes learning very hard. It's worse than having your first baby, or trying to decipher public health guidelines in a pandemic! Everything is so polarized.
How do you manage all the contradictory opinions, wisdom, protocols, etc. ?
I've had some problems getting going, lost a crab to failed molt, stupidly got a Hector's Goby for a new tank on poor advice, lost the neon I traded it back in for two days later to what looks like bite wounds - in a tank with only snails, a tiny scarlet hermit, and a baby cleaner shrimp. And a largeish bristle worm.
I've been told my tank is cycled, I've been told it isn't cycled, I've been told its in a mini cycle, I've been taught how to properly calculate toxic ammonia with Ph and temp, I've been told never to test ammonia or nitrites in this tank ever again.
I've been told certain fish are okay to start with only to learn later they starve, aggressive fish are supposed to come later, but clowns are hardy and should go first, but they are also damsels, yet care shows them to be peaceful, but they're territorial jerks that bite you. Non-sifting gobies don't need pods, but all gobies eat pods, you don't need to feed hermits and CUC, you have to feed them, wait months to a year to add coral, add hardy coral (GSP) as soon as cycled, cycling is possible instantly with the right product, 4 days (when I had nothing left but nitrates) to 3 weeks with Microbacter7, but it really it takes many months, have lights on from the beginning, don't turn them on until you have critters that need light, stay on top of nuisance algae before its a problem, but it's just the uglies, it's a good sign the cycle is progressing and most of it will go away on its own. Use live rock, cure dry rock and avoid hitchhikers, most hitchhikers are neutral to good and bring necessary diversity to your ecosystem, take bristleworms out they are the spawn of the devil, bristleworms are the best free CUC, bristleworms never bother anything alive, but that big one might have attacked your fish, micro brittles will overrun a new tank so I'm begging you to please take it out, micro brittles are golden and I'm begging you to send it to me if you dont want it, inverts should be in fishless QT for 76 days, start that over if any new inverts are added, just keep track of each one for 76 days, inverts "don't count" can't carry ich and should go straight into DT, dose everything in QT prophyactically, but observe and don't treat unless something shows signs of sickness because it stresses your fish, if you don't QT aggressively its only a matter of time before your whole tank will crash from ich or velvet, and so on and so on.
I think I'm just going to enjoy my cleaner shrimp, snails and hermit for a while and watch my coralline grow. My inverts are happy, and now I'm scared of fish. I don't know what to believe. I'm doing so much research and trying ro learn, but sometimes it just makes things worse and I'm paralyzed.
I love learning and research, but I don't know what to believe half the time and that makes learning very hard. It's worse than having your first baby, or trying to decipher public health guidelines in a pandemic! Everything is so polarized.
How do you manage all the contradictory opinions, wisdom, protocols, etc. ?