Melissa's Red Sea Max S650

[cameronh]

Hi everyone, haven't posted anything in a while. Don't really have an tank updates, more of an update on my status in the hobby. I'm going to be just trying to maintain the status quo for a while - not add any new stock. My dog was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month and it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks try to get her the best care and make the best/quickest decisions. She is an amazing dog and friend and I would never spend time or money on my tank that I could be spending on her. That being said, here's my last FTS for a while. Hoping to get her healthy ASAP, but until then: happy reefing everyone.

How is your dog doing?

 

[UConnMel]

How is your dog doing?

So nice of you to ask :) She's doing pretty well. She had a tumor ~8" across that had grown in less than 2 months. It was wrapped around her shoulder and leg so we had the leg amputated and she's now having radiation and chemo. All of that sounds very extreme, but in the dog world it isn't. She's taking to everything really well with no side effects and still has the same happy, silly personality. We are just trying to savor every day.

Tank wise, everything is going ok. Only change so far has been my hippo tang - just decided to stop eating all of a sudden. No disease apparent, but got skinnier and skinnier until he was gone. :(

 

[cameronh]

Sorry to hear about your tang:( really hope your dog will be ok, I have a Australian shepherd we rescued from getting put down as a puppy for being 85% blind and completely deaf.......and 100% retarded:D I've grown very attached to him and I'm sure you are to your dog as well and I really hope she pulls through. That's him on the counter asking for some food

 

[UConnMel]

Sorry to hear about your tang:( really hope your dog will be ok, I have a Australian shepherd we rescued from getting put down as a puppy for being 85% blind and completely deaf.......and 100% retarded:D I've grown very attached to him and I'm sure you are to your dog as well and I really hope she pulls through. That's him on the counter asking for some food

Aw, that is so sweet. I'm sure despite all that stacked against him, he's an amazing dog and friend. My girl just finished her last dose of radiation today and the amazing staff at the treatment center gave her a completion certificate. Such a great group of people.

 

[UConnMel]

I broke my no tank spending rule for this ember blenny today. One of the ones I've been stalking LiveAquaria for, so figured it was worth it.

 

[cameronh]

Aw, that is so sweet. I'm sure despite all that stacked against him, he's an amazing dog and friend. My girl just finished her last dose of radiation today and the amazing staff at the treatment center gave her a completion certificate. Such a great group of people.

I broke my no tank spending rule for this ember blenny today. One of the ones I've been stalking LiveAquaria for, so figured it was worth it.

Well I hope that she does well! That's great that she finished:) and he's a good dog, best behaved I've ever had. Understands sit, shake, lay down and roll over with the point of a finger.
Awesome looking blenny! I just made an order from live aquaria and blue zoo aquatics yesterday. How's the tank doing overall?

 

[dricc]

Wish your dog the best.

You have great taste in fish and coral!

Some sad news: pretty sure my leopard wrasse is toast. Went into the sand the day I posted the pic of him and haven't seen him since. Was hoping he was just taking some healing time, but pretty safe to say at this point that he's a goner. Very disappointing :(. Such a beautiful fish.

Otherwise everything is going fine and not much to report. My dad and I are working on making my water change system as automated and easy as possible since I'm extremely lazy and won't keep up with it otherwise. Will post pics when that is completed.

As far as new additions, I have the following heading my way from @AquaSD's live sale:

[/QUO.you have great taste!

 

[UConnMel]

Wish your dog the best.

You have great taste in fish and coral!

Thanks, I appreciate that!! :D

Well I hope that she does well! That's great that she finished:) and he's a good dog, best behaved I've ever had. Understands sit, shake, lay down and roll over with the point of a finger.
Awesome looking blenny! I just made an order from live aquaria and blue zoo aquatics yesterday. How's the tank doing overall?

Tank is doing pretty well overall. Mostly just keeping up with water changes. I had a baby hippo tang when I had my cube, obviously it outgrew it quickly so I gave it to my dad to put in his 220g. But since I just lost my hippo, he caught my old one and I now have that guy as well. He's about 2-3x bigger than the sailfin and purple so clearly did not skip any meals. Get anything fun in your recent orders??

 

[cameronh]

Thanks, I appreciate that!! :D

Tank is doing pretty well overall. Mostly just keeping up with water changes. I had a baby hippo tang when I had my cube, obviously it outgrew it quickly so I gave it to my dad to put in his 220g. But since I just lost my hippo, he caught my old one and I now have that guy as well. He's about 2-3x bigger than the sailfin and purple so clearly did not skip any meals. Get anything fun in your recent orders??

I got a moorish idol, emperor angel, naso tang, a Saddleback clown (did not survive shipping), and a green mandarin. All are doing great and have them all eating. Oh and a mckoskers flasher wrasse.

 

[cameronh]

You should post up a picture of your dads tank if you get a chance! Would like to see it. I'm assuming you got into the hobby through him? Maybe?

 

[UConnMel]

You should post up a picture of your dads tank if you get a chance! Would like to see it. I'm assuming you got into the hobby through him? Maybe?

Haven't done an update in a while. Been getting a bout of hair algae under control thanks to dialing in my skimmer, compressing light cycle, and adding the appropriate CUC. Still some to go, but not concerned about it being taken care of in the next week or so. Here's an updated FTS (sorry it looks blurry, just did a water change) and my two favorite fish. Love how active these wrasses are. The red tail is now eating brine whole - no more chewing, spitting out, chewing spitting out. Couldn't be happier with her :D

I also thought I would include a picture of my dad's tank who has been in the hobby for 30 years with the same 180 gallon tank. He just switched from the 180, which had plagued him with overflow aggravations and issues with the dimensions as it was tall, but not deep. Now he has a 220 with an extra 6 inches front to back to work with and is loving it! It has rejuvenated his love for the hobby. Here's a pic right after the move. The image does not do his rockscape justice - so many valleys, tunnels, etc. And props to anyone with the patience to stick with any hobby, let alone one that can be as frustrating and costly as this one, for so long!

I did get into because of him. He helps me when he can since he thinks he cursed me with the love for his hobby ;) I have a pic of his tank here. He had just switched from his 180g to this new 220g and has since added and grown out his coral collection. I'll have to add an updated pic. But you can see the littler of the hippos, which is now in my corner of the ocean.

 

[cameronh]

I did get into because of him. He helps me when he can since he thinks he cursed me with the love for his hobby ;) I have a pic of his tank here. He had just switched from his 180g to this new 220g and has since added and grown out his coral collection. I'll have to add an updated pic. But you can see the littler of the hippos, which is now in my corner of the ocean.

Nice tank! I wish i had the amounts of tonga branch he has, I have one lousy piece. Tank looks great! I like hippos alot, and when I was ordering fish I forgot all about them haha. How have they been for you? I hear they are rather touchy, but that could be just opinions.

 

[cameronh]

Any updates?

 

[UConnMel]

Nice tank! I wish i had the amounts of tonga branch he has, I have one lousy piece. Tank looks great! I like hippos alot, and when I was ordering fish I forgot all about them haha. How have they been for you? I hear they are rather touchy, but that could be just opinions.

Any updates?

Sorry, haven't been on in a bit. No real updates. Everything just holding steady - which I'm perfectly happy with.

As far as hippos go, I love them but I've only had experience with 3. 1) The one that started out in my biocube, transferred to my dad's tank and now back to my RSM 2) The one that I first got when I upgraded to the RSM, but stopped eating and 3) the one that my dad has. Other than the one that didn't make it, we have had very good luck. I have to say that I am ridiculously jealous of my dad's hippo, however. Most obviously look very similar, but you will not find of any type a fish with a better personality than his. He was the first fish in the tank and nearly died of ich. I'm talking zero blue color to him, floating around, getting stuck to powerheads, laying flat on the sand, etc. As a last ditch effort we put a cleaner shrimp in there and it went straight to work. Needless to say, he made a miraculous comeback which was a complete surprise to everyone. So that in itself is very cool. But what's really awesome about him, is he is basically the peace keeper of the reef. When a new fish is added and there's tension, he goes and breaks it up. Like a parent sending kids to their rooms. It's really very amazing and something you don't see every day. My hippo is not nearly as cool, but maybe just hasn't had the near death experience to let him see the bigger picture :p

 

[cameronh]

Sorry, haven't been on in a bit. No real updates. Everything just holding steady - which I'm perfectly happy with.

As far as hippos go, I love them but I've only had experience with 3. 1) The one that started out in my biocube, transferred to my dad's tank and now back to my RSM 2) The one that I first got when I upgraded to the RSM, but stopped eating and 3) the one that my dad has. Other than the one that didn't make it, we have had very good luck. I have to say that I am ridiculously jealous of my dad's hippo, however. Most obviously look very similar, but you will not find of any type a fish with a better personality than his. He was the first fish in the tank and nearly died of ich. I'm talking zero blue color to him, floating around, getting stuck to powerheads, laying flat on the sand, etc. As a last ditch effort we put a cleaner shrimp in there and it went straight to work. Needless to say, he made a miraculous comeback which was a complete surprise to everyone. So that in itself is very cool. But what's really awesome about him, is he is basically the peace keeper of the reef. When a new fish is added and there's tension, he goes and breaks it up. Like a parent sending kids to their rooms. It's really very amazing and something you don't see every day. My hippo is not nearly as cool, but maybe just hasn't had the near death experience to let him see the bigger picture :p

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing. Just figured I would check and see what all was going on. Glad to hear that all is going well

 

[cameronh]

Hey! Long time no post from you, how are things?

 

[cameronh]

@UConnMel, it's been quite sometime.....everything ok?

 

[UConnMel]

Hi All,

Certainly has been a while since I have posted anything. It has been a very busy 10 months. I lost my dog and best friend to cancer in June after she fought a very tough fight for 6 months. Just a beautiful soul inside and out that I miss terribly. I got married about a month later and now am just starting to be at a point mentally, as well as financially, to try to get reinvested in my tank. Not going to lie - there were some livestock losses suffered over this time. Off the top of my head, I no longer have my ember blenny, red tail tamarin wrasse, bluespot jawfish, and sailfin tang. All gorgeous fish that I loved and wish I still had. My favorite LFS, Greenwich Aquaria, had their fall sale last weekend and I got a few things to get me interested in looking at my tank again: small flame angel, small multibar angel, and a decorator crab. The flame has adjusted perfectly from the start, but the multibar is being fairly heavily harassed by my purple tang. Not sure why he dislikes him over the flame - maybe because the multibar sort of looks like a sailfin? Not sure. Either way the multibar seems to be managing ok in a little safety hole, picking at rocks and venturing out a tiny bit every so often. Hopefully things settle down. I put a large mirror next to the tank to distract the bullies.

I'm planning on participating in the WWC sale this weekend and maybe ASD too to replenish some of the colors that I've lost over the last few months. Apologies for being so MIA and thank you to those that send messages checking in. I'll try to get some pics up in the next day or so.

 

[Bob Escher]

Aw, that is so sweet. I'm sure despite all that stacked against him, he's an amazing dog and friend. My girl just finished her last dose of radiation today and the amazing staff at the treatment center gave her a completion certificate. Such a great group of people.

I feel so bad for your loss. I also lost a sweet girl named Mischief a month before her 17th birthday to cancer. It was swift and unrelenting, she was gone in month and a half.
I understand your grief and my tank and our other animal companion has helped us
Thanks for sharing your tank and thoughts

 

[Diesel]

Hi All,

Certainly has been a while since I have posted anything. It has been a very busy 10 months. I lost my dog and best friend to cancer in June after she fought a very tough fight for 6 months. Just a beautiful soul inside and out that I miss terribly. I got married about a month later and now am just starting to be at a point mentally, as well as financially, to try to get reinvested in my tank. Not going to lie - there were some livestock losses suffered over this time. Off the top of my head, I no longer have my ember blenny, red tail tamarin wrasse, bluespot jawfish, and sailfin tang. All gorgeous fish that I loved and wish I still had. My favorite LFS, Greenwich Aquaria, had their fall sale last weekend and I got a few things to get me interested in looking at my tank again: small flame angel, small multibar angel, and a decorator crab. The flame has adjusted perfectly from the start, but the multibar is being fairly heavily harassed by my purple tang. Not sure why he dislikes him over the flame - maybe because the multibar sort of looks like a sailfin? Not sure. Either way the multibar seems to be managing ok in a little safety hole, picking at rocks and venturing out a tiny bit every so often. Hopefully things settle down. I put a large mirror next to the tank to distract the bullies.

I'm planning on participating in the WWC sale this weekend and maybe ASD too to replenish some of the colors that I've lost over the last few months. Apologies for being so MIA and thank you to those that send messages checking in. I'll try to get some pics up in the next day or so.

Sorry to hear about your loss of friend and dog.
Hope things are settling down for you and more time on the tank means nicer and better results.
Looking forwards to these results.
Btw, congrats on your marriage.