Dawn's 56 gallon natural nutrient garden

[vlangel]

I was saddened to see my oldest fish (except the 10+ year old clown that was donated to me) passed last night. Jammies, the pajama cardinal came as a full grown fish some time in 2018. I knew he was declining because he got a bacterial infection several months ago in one eye. I treated it with antibiotics in a hospital tank and it seemed to look less red, although it remained popped looking. He ate well even yesterday but I had noticed his fins getting ragged so figured he was still declining. I am sad to lose him but he lived out a pretty normal lifespan for a pajama cardinal from what I have read.

 

[acer]

As always your posts show your passion and dedication to this hobby. I salute you, and sorry for your loss.

 

[vlangel]

As always your posts show your passion and dedication to this hobby. I salute you, and sorry for your loss.

Thanks Ted. Yes, of course I have lost a lot of fish over the years but it still hurts. It's somewhat easier when I have a sense that they lived out a pretty good life in my tank, rather than perishing because of something stupid that I have done.

Hopefully I will see you at the swap.

 

[vlangel]

I cleaned my tank today and thought it looked pretty good so snap a few pics! The green BTA retracted when I got too close to it, so it does not show in the pics, (which is too bad because it is very pretty). The fish are doing great and my coral look better than they have in months. I am dosing Coral Vite and Seachem stability after the weekly water change. Also I add calcium, alkalinity, iron and occasionally magnesium to the brute can where I make saltwater since Instant Ocean is low on these. It seems to be working.

 

[vlangel]

My hubby and I were in Nashville visiting kids/grandchild. They happen to live close to a nice lfs so we checked it out. They had a nice Colt coral and a perky little Kenya tree frag that I bought. They also shared about another lfs so we checked it out too, ha ha! And bought 2 paly frags, a mushroom frag, and a monticap frag so came home last night with lots of goodies. Here is a 30 second video but ignore the diatomous algae (or whatever is on my sandbed). Other than that the tank is good!

 

[vlangel]

I enjoyed the marine expo yesterday. I was coming mostly to just look (since I spent money only 2 weeks ago in Nashville on coral) but I did end up buying a purple plume gorg. I do not see a lot of gorgs in the lfs in the area and unless I want several or more, the cost of shipping is not worth it. I am very pleased with how the purple plume looks today. It seems to have adjusted well.

Thank you to everyone who worked and contributed to a nice event. I hope the vendors went home glad that they came.

 

[vlangel]

This goes against what most of us reefers believe but to get rid of the rust colored algae on the sandbed, I upped my feedings a bit and cut back on the water changes to just 5 gallons a week. I had been doing 10 gallons to get my nitrates down and that is when the rust colored algae came. Also I dosed Seachem Stability after every water change and Coral Vite. Anyway, it's almost gone now which pleases me.

 

[vlangel]

My new purple plume finally display polyp extension today. Gorgs can be sensitive to being moved so I was not worried when it too a week for PE, but still it's nice to see it open now.

 

[vlangel]

My tank has really been looking it's best in years, all except the green BTA. It inflates in the day but then when the lights are going down it shrivels to nearly nothing. It has been doing that ever since I got it which is about 6 weeks now. It should be settled and acclimated but I am thinking that it has a bacterial infection.

I read the treatment for nem's with bacterial infections and removing my nem from the stoney plating coral it's attached to scares me. The risk of damaging it's foot seems high. I could just let it be and see if it can recover on its own or I could try to intervene.

This intervention may be very risky and foolish but I am trying it anyway. I have Furan 2, a marine antibiotics that I used to treat my seahorses. I am soaking Probiotic spectra pellets in a very small amount of water with a small amount of Furan 2 in the water and then feeding it to the anemone. I turn the pumps off while I feed so that the nem gets all the pellets. Today is the 3rd day of treatment and the nem is readily eating the treated pellets. Last night the nem stayed inflated and so far everything else appears unchanged in the reef. I of course realize that my reef especially relies on a biological filter and putting any antibiotics in the reef could be detrimental. I have been keeping an eye on the pod population as well as the health of the Coral and so far so good. I am dosing Seachem Stability too as it can't hurt. If the tank continues to look stable I will treat the nem for 7 days and then what ever will be will be. Here is a pic from yesterday after treatment. The nem is fully inflated, it's oral disk is healthy looking and it's mouth clean and closed and not gaping. I am hoping for the best.

 

[vlangel]

Well, I have to say nothing has changed. The nem continues to look great during the day and then late evening it looks pretty bad to me, puny and deflated. Maybe that is just how this nem is, I don't know.

The tank is no worse for wear but I am done trying to intervene. I hope to enjoy it a long time but if not then that is just how it is. This is all part of the hobby.

 

[vlangel]

Did I say nothing changed? Apparently the GBTA wanted to make a liar out of me. The next day it left the pedestal I have for all my BTAs and is now down among my other coral, Uhhg! I guess I will just watch it and see if it stings the Coral it is near.

Since it is raining today, the tank and fuge are getting a little extra love and attention. I will be anxious to see how nice it looks when I am done!

My sinularia looks fabulous and the 2 paly plugs I got in Nashville are making more heads, which is very cool.