Just added my first fish.

[Dirtyshoez]

I cycled, tested, water changed, retested, and now I have added my first few fish. Its 140 gallons so I didn't want it to be weird for 1 fish... so I added 4 small fries. 2 smaller clowns, 1 chromis, and 1 small tang.. the clowns are a pair, and the other 2 were in a tank together already.

I'm assuming I can expect them to be a little skiddish till they get accustomed, am I correct to rest easy?

I floated them for about 20 minutes and then dripped them for about an hour maybe a little more. Checked the drip water and it was 1.023 and 73.4 degrees, my water is 1.026 and 77 degrees. I left all the lights off in the room while I dripped them and went ahead and left them off and left the room so they can relax..

Thoughts?

 

[painter1982]

I just added a 6 line wrasse that I drove 2 hours home with. Floated it for 15 minutes added a cup of water every 5 minutes starting immediately until salinity matched then dumped him into a net and into tank. It was picking pods within 5 minutes. Acted normal within 30 minutes. I’m not convinced long drip acclimation is great. If parameters match, what’s the point of waiting longer?

 

[Dirtyshoez]

I just added a 6 line wrasse that I drove 2 hours home with. Floated it for 15 minutes added a cup of water every 5 minutes starting immediately until salinity matched then dumped him into a net and into tank. It was picking pods within 5 minutes. Acted normal within 30 minutes.

I guess I'll wait and see, it hasn't even been 30 minutes. I just wanted to get an idea... its the tang mostly that I want to see get more active I'm not to worried about the chromis and the clowns id say they are pretty normal right out of the box. But I know tangs are pretty active and mine ducked off to a corner. Chromis found a rock and posted under it and the 2 clowns are down low being fairly active.

 

[highonh2o]

I cycled, tested, water changed, retested, and now I have added my first few fish. Its 140 gallons so I didn't want it to be weird for 1 fish... so I added 4 small fries. 2 smaller clowns, 1 chromis, and 1 small tang.. the clowns are a pair, and the other 2 were in a tank together already.

I'm assuming I can expect them to be a little skiddish till they get accustomed, am I correct to rest easy?

I floated them for about 20 minutes and then dripped them for about an hour maybe a little more. Checked the drip water and it was 1.023 and 73.4 degrees, my water is 1.026 and 77 degrees. I left all the lights off in the room while I dripped them and went ahead and left them off and left the room so they can relax..

Thoughts?

Just make sure you keep a close eye on parameters, that’s a good amount of bioload to introduce all at once. All fish are different in how they settle into your tank. Just watch for any aggression, or any signs of infections or diseases and you’ll be fine. For the tang, I have a blonde naso and a clown, tangs are sensitive little guys, took mine a while to not run away to a cave and get all discolored from stress just by me being within 5 feet of the tank. Make sure you have a constant supply of nori and algae for them to graze on and they will get used to you and the tank, mine now follow me around and have super fun personalities

 

[CrewePD210]

I guess I'll wait and see, it hasn't even been 30 minutes. I just wanted to get an idea... its the tang mostly that I want to see get more active I'm not to worried about the chromis and the clowns id say they are pretty normal right out of the box. But I know tangs are pretty active and mine ducked off to a corner. Chromis found a rock and posted under it and the 2 clowns are down low being fairly active.

When I got my Tomini Tang, he hit the rocks and I didn't see him for about 2 weeks except occasionally when feeding. He still is a little shy, but is all over the place now. its been about 2 months.

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Just make sure you keep a close eye on parameters, that’s a good amount of bioload to introduce all at once. All fish are different in how they settle into your tank. Just watch for any aggression, or any signs of infections or diseases and you’ll be fine. For the tang, I have a blonde naso and a clown, tangs are sensitive little guys, took mine a while to not run away to a cave and get all discolored from stress just by me being within 5 feet of the tank. Make sure you have a constant supply of nori and algae for them to graze on and they will get used to you and the tank, mine now follow me around and have super fun personalities

Great to know. I will be back home in about 2 hours and plan to put some nori in and see if they want to eat. They got in the tank late last night and so I didn't want to feed, figured they would be stressed. But I will be home pretty much all day today to monitor and stuff. He was out of the corner this morning but got skiddish when I approached the tank... don't blame him lol.

I turned off the skimmer because I also have a reefmat on so the guy at the LFS said just run the skimmer about 4hrs a day for now

 

[Dirtyshoez]

When I got my Tomini Tang, he hit the rocks and I didn't see him for about 2 weeks except occasionally when feeding. He still is a little shy, but is all over the place now. its been about 2 months.

Awesome, this is reassuring news. I'm going to continue daily water tests and make a batch of saltwater today just to have on standby. I have 30 gallons ready but think I may do another 15 or 30 juuuust incase.

But I'll test a few times a day for the next week or so just so I can have a solid idea of how fluctuation is going.

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Also if anyone has any pointers on flow I would appreciate it, I want to make sure there is plenty but don't want to over load them either so right now I have 4 gyres all pulsing but not exceeding 62% because it's a peninsula and I want to make sure im getting current all the way across

 

[vetteguy53081]

I cycled, tested, water changed, retested, and now I have added my first few fish. Its 140 gallons so I didn't want it to be weird for 1 fish... so I added 4 small fries. 2 smaller clowns, 1 chromis, and 1 small tang.. the clowns are a pair, and the other 2 were in a tank together already.

I'm assuming I can expect them to be a little skiddish till they get accustomed, am I correct to rest easy?

I floated them for about 20 minutes and then dripped them for about an hour maybe a little more. Checked the drip water and it was 1.023 and 73.4 degrees, my water is 1.026 and 77 degrees. I left all the lights off in the room while I dripped them and went ahead and left them off and left the room so they can relax..

Thoughts?

You did the right introduction and they will hide first day or two and slowly come out. Keep light intensity lower for first three days as they slowly come out to explore tank surroundings. Thats a few fish to add at once despite water volume but hold off any new additions for at least 2-3 weeks

 

[Dirtyshoez]

You did the right introduction and they will hide first day or two and slowly come out. Keep light intensity lower for first three days as they slowly come out to explore tank surroundings. Thats a few fish to add at once despite water volume but hold off any new additions for at least 2-3 weeks

Yeah i don't plan on adding for another month or 2, wanted a small battle to get to acquaint myself with the tank but nothing to crazy, before any new additions I'm going to fire up a QT.

All 4 guys are really small so I don't expect a huge load but I'm also brand new.

That pic, I feel like the tang is a totally different color from when I got him so im 100% sure he is stressed. But the pic is to reference size

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah i don't plan on adding for another month or 2, wanted a small battle to get to acquaint myself with the tank but nothing to crazy, before any new additions I'm going to fire up a QT.

All 4 guys are really small so I don't expect a huge load but I'm also brand new.

That pic, I feel like the tang is a totally different color from when I got him so im 100% sure he is stressed. But the pic is to reference size

Hard to ee a fish clearly through bag or container but having many tangs, often a change in color is a sign of stress

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Ah right on, he's about the size of a silver dollar, little smaller. I'll get better pics later just didn't wanna be all up in his business lastnight lol

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Just poked my head in the room and they're swimming, I went in to get some water for feeding and he dipped under a rock. So...it's not him it's me . I put some nori in there for him and im prepping some frozen for the gang. , feeling pretty good about it.

Should I turn the pumps/return off completely or I can turn them down really low...

 

[Dirtyshoez]

My tang was the or is the most timid new guy in the tank buuuut I kinda think he's my favorite lol. He scurrys off when im about to feed and then pokes his head out and peeps the room before going to town on feeding, and now he is coming up to the glass and checking me out when I'm checking him out...the others are just doing their thing.

 

[fish_collector]

Welcome to the hobby! You will enjoy it for sure.

Oh boy you've bought a vlamingi. I know you have a 140 but that won't be nearly big enough in 1 year or so. They're cute when they're small, but start thinking ahead what you will do with him in a 1 year when he's 8" long and blows through frozen food like no other. Vlamingis are the fastest growing fish there is, on the order of 1" a month if fed enough. Don't try to slow it down or rethink it, it is a certainty you will have to rehome it soon enough. Not trying to scare you but it is what it is.

But in the meantime, enjoy him they are pretty fish. Normally they are silver with blue dots on their top half but get splotchy when they want to blend in, it's normal and you may observe him change color often. As they mature they darken and get a big bump on their nose. Give your fish a few weeks at least to begin acting normal, it's something they have to do and not anything you can force them into. 4 fish in a brand new 140 is nothing. The only flow you need currently is what ripples the surface. Ignore your LFS recommendation to only run the skimmer for a few hours a day, the oxygenation benefits far outweigh any reason they may have to only run it part time. It may not collect hardly anything for a few months but that's ok.

Fwiw, I've kept a few vlamingi tangs in my time and if I had a 10' tank I'd certainly have another.

My vlamingi in January

The same fish in August

And mature, not my fish.

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Welcome to the hobby! You will enjoy it for sure.

Oh boy you've bought a vlamingi. I know you have a 140 but that won't be nearly big enough in 1 year or so. They're cute when they're small, but start thinking ahead what you will do with him in a 1 year when he's 8" long and blows through frozen food like no other. Vlamingis are the fastest growing fish there is, on the order of 1" a month if fed enough. Don't try to slow it down or rethink it, it is a certainty you will have to rehome it soon enough. Not trying to scare you but it is what it is.

But in the meantime, enjoy him they are pretty fish. Normally they are silver with blue dots on their top half but get splotchy when they want to blend in, it's normal and you may observe him change color often. As they mature they darken and get a big bump on their nose. Give your fish a few weeks at least to begin acting normal, it's something they have to do and not anything you can force them into. 4 fish in a brand new 140 is nothing. The only flow you need currently is what ripples the surface. Ignore your LFS recommendation to only run the skimmer for a few hours a day, the oxygenation benefits far outweigh any reason they may have to only run it part time. It may not collect hardly anything for a few months but that's ok.

Fwiw, I've kept a few vlamingi tangs in my time and if I had a 10' tank I'd certainly have another.

My vlamingi in January

The same fish in August

And mature, not my fish.

Awesome, great insight thank you for all the info.. yeah I've seen my blend in when he wants to fit into the rocks, I've tried to just relax and other than monitoring the water and feeding just let them relax. I started running a light cycle cause they were seeming kind of lost in what to do and when to do it but as I've watched them I may either back off that or just make a custom schedule that is alot more lax for them, still monitoring that for a bit.

I do know they grow quick it's definitely unfortunate that I would have to rehome him in just a year, the little guy has character.

 

[fish_collector]

Well you'll know when it's time for him to have bigger accommodations, larger tangs get very restless when they need more space, and they get very food aggressive as well. Yes they are very personable fish and get to be quite tame. Enjoy him in the meantime.

I have my blue lights on at 7am for feeding time and white lights don't come on until 5pm when I get home, all lights are off at 10pm. I don't turn on white lights when I'm not home, it just grows more algae lol.

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Did a 25 gallon waterchange today, everything seems to be doing great. My PH has raised to 8.2. Nitrates are at 5.8, and nitrites and ammonia have stayed stable so I'm pretty stoked about my little gang.

Ps. My tang is a panzy, is everyone elses? Lol.