Crypto wins the gamble- QT Journal

Humblefish · Apr 25, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
Yes to all those, except maybe the black mussels but I have some. I have that ova coming too, it kind of picked at the shad roe so maybe that will interest him.

So all he eats is sponge meat? I would give that Mega-Marine stuff a try, since the primary ingredient is sponge.

ngoodermuth · Apr 25, 2017

Humblefish said:
So all he eats is sponge meat? I would give that Mega-Marine stuff a try, since the primary ingredient is sponge.

And algae from the rocks. That's it so far :/ it ate maybe 2-3 flakes total, so I don't consider that eating it.

ngoodermuth · Apr 25, 2017

Also, I was thinking to wait until the first water change to add in the metroplex for it's possible worms. I didn't want to bombard them with medications all at once.

Do you think it might help the angel's appetite, if maybe worms are the cause, to just dose it now?

Humblefish · Apr 25, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
And algae from the rocks. That's it so far :/ it ate maybe 2-3 flakes total, so I don't consider that eating it.

Have you tried rubber banding some nori to a rock with algae on it? Maybe he'll accidentally eat some.

ngoodermuth said:
Also, I was thinking to wait until the first water change to add in the metroplex for it's possible worms. I didn't want to bombard them with medications all at once.

Do you think it might help the angel's appetite, if maybe worms are the cause, to just dose it now?

I would wait. Unfortunately, medications will just further suppress his appetite.

Brew12 · Apr 25, 2017

Humblefish said:
Have you tried rubber banding some nori to a rock with algae on it? Maybe he'll accidentally eat some.

I've had great luck rubber banding it to a PVC fitting in my QT's. They don't seem to like the clip at first.

ngoodermuth · Apr 25, 2017

Brew12 said:
I've had great luck rubber banding it to a PVC fitting in my QT's. They don't seem to like the clip at first.

I did try attaching it to rubble before, but I'll try this with the PVC.

@Humblefish I think I missed your reply about dosing metroplex now or waiting. I'm a little nervous bombarding the flame wrasse with meds. He's been breathing a little fast since I moved him. I don't know if it's the ich bothering him, or just stress from being caught. That fish has been sensitive from day 1.

So, the metro might help the angel but stress the wrasse more :/

Humblefish · Apr 25, 2017

@ngoodermuth My concern with dosing metro now is it might just further suppress the angel's appetite. Have you seen stringy white poop come out of any of the fish? (I can't remember.)

ngoodermuth · Apr 25, 2017

Humblefish said:
@ngoodermuth My concern with dosing metro now is it might just further suppress the angel's appetite. Have you seen stringy white poop come out of any of the fish? (I can't remember.)

Yes, from the angel :/ one of those double-edged sword moments

Humblefish · Apr 25, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
Yes, from the angel :/ one of those double-edged sword moments

I would dose metro then.

ngoodermuth · Apr 26, 2017

The nutrimar ova came in today, and I think the Mandy took a few nibbles!

I dosed a little phyto to help the pods...maybe a bit too much. The rocks turned green overnight [emoji23]

Also marking today as DAY 1 of my fallow period. I had a little store credit to use up so I grabbed a couple of nice acro colonies to join in the fallow tank fun [emoji108]the fuzzy one in the front and the smoothskin purple one in the background.

ngoodermuth · Apr 28, 2017

Copper level is around .35, still very slowly bringing it up. I've been adding between 2-3ml a day, in 1ml doses. It's taking a lot longer than I'd like, but I'm trying to go as easy as possible for my sensitive flame wrasse.

Did a 10g water change last night and added the second dose of kanaplex and first dose of metroplex.

Angel has not eaten anything that I've seen since the sponge and rock came out :/ I might throw a little chunk of sponge in there for it.

ngoodermuth · May 1, 2017

Happy to report the regal angel is doing much better after adding the metroplex. I do think the intestinal parasites were impacting his appetite. He's been chasing flakes and tearing up clams since yesterday afternoon and appears much more active and alert. I'm hopeful again.

Added the second dose of metroplex / third of kanaplex after a water change last night. Copper is finally at .5 with no ill effects on the wrasses. And the mandarin is still eating ova and I think actually gaining weight in his little refuge.

So far so good!

ngoodermuth · May 3, 2017

3rd/4th doses of metroplex/kanaplex respectively last night. The water is pretty cloudy this morning...thinking bacterial bloom. I'm going to do a 10g water change here shortly and see if that helps. The ammonia alert has also been in the slight green this week so it's been daily to every other day for water changes to keep it down.

For anyone who is wondering, I do dose my replacement water with copper and both medications each time I water change to keep all of the levels consistent. In addition to adding the full recommended dosage (minus copper) every 48 hours. This is probably the most *annoying* part of the whole process - managing the water quality and medications simultaneously. Luckily, I'm in the home stretch for the antibiotics.

And just for fun, a video of the regal eating his clam:

Brew12 · May 3, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
This is probably the most *annoying* part of the whole process - managing the water quality and medications simultaneously.

That is a big part of the challenge. It's never easy. I have a few fish in QT and am playing with macro algae with amphipods in it. I've been shocked that I have had amphipods survive over 7 days in therapeutic levels of copper. I left a small piece of red ogo algae and it is also surviving. I may look into trying to do more with macro algae in an HT to help with water stability. And the amphipods have noticeably helped keep my tank cleaner. Just not sure how long they will live for.

ngoodermuth · May 4, 2017

4th/5th doses after 20g water change. The 10g change from yesterday didn't really change the ammonia badge so I had to step-it-up today.

The flame wrasse is acting a little off today also. Breathing a little faster and sort of lethargic. Go-figure. I'm thinking it's either being sensitive to the low level of ammonia or the copper.

I brought the copper back down to .4 with the water change since he was fine at that level. I'll just have to be extra-vigilant that it doesn't drop any lower than .4. I check it daily and anytime I change water, so I should be ok...I hope.

Maritimer · May 5, 2017

I've found that wrasses can be a bit sensitive to ionic copper meds, such as Cuprimine - but have had better results with chelated copper (CopperSafe).

If your flame is tolerating 0.4, then it sounds as though you're on a path to success!

~Bruce

ngoodermuth · May 5, 2017

Yea, unfortunately I wasn't able to get coppersafe quickly, so I went with what I had. He does look better today. Still breathing a little fast, but out swimming again.

I'm more concerned with keeping the ammonia down and feeding the regal. I've been careful with feeding so there's little waste, but those clams really gunk up the water fast :/

I've done 30g of change over the last two days, and while it's mostly yellow this morning, I still see a little hint of green. I'm debating on changing another 10g today to get ahead or giving it a little more time to let the fish rest. All the water changes could be stressing them out as well.

Areseebee · May 5, 2017

I can't, for the life of me, read these things. I've tried image analysis on my computer and I'm still convinced I'm not getting accurate readings. If you are done with TTM can you stuff a ton of sponge in a HOB or something and dump a bunch of bottled bacteria on it?

ngoodermuth · May 5, 2017

Areseebee said:
I can't, for the life of me, read these things. I've tried image analysis on my computer and I'm still convinced I'm not getting accurate readings. If you are done with TTM can you stuff a ton of sponge in a HOB or something and dump a bunch of bottled bacteria on it?

I'm doing copper in this tank, not TTM. I have a large sponge in there that was seeded in my sump for several weeks- but it's not holding up against all the meds I'm using.

I don't know if you can see it, but it is the same length as my baffles. I thought as big as it was, would do a little better.

Brew12 · May 5, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
Yea, unfortunately I wasn't able to get coppersafe quickly, so I went with what I had. He does look better today. Still breathing a little fast, but out swimming again.

I'm more concerned with keeping the ammonia down and feeding the regal. I've been careful with feeding so there's little waste, but those clams really gunk up the water fast :/

I've done 30g of change over the last two days, and while it's mostly yellow this morning, I still see a little hint of green. I'm debating on changing another 10g today to get ahead or giving it a little more time to let the fish rest. All the water changes could be stressing them out as well.

You are just fine. This is from the Seachem website. The green tinge is normal.

"In the absence of free ammonia the unit will assume a yellow or faint yellow-green color. It is normal for the dry sensor to have a greenish hue. It may take up to a few days for a dry sensor to equilibrate with the water. No sampling of water, chemicals, or test procedures are required. The presence of the free ammonia is detectable continuously with a response time of about 15 minutes. Response to decreasing ammonia is slower, requiring about 4 hours to go from TOXIC to SAFE on removal of ammonia."