Turtle's Fairy Tale

[That Crusso Kid]

Well guys, it's with a bit of sadness, I'm going to be shutting down this tank. I'll still keep most of my stock(just not the devil melanarus), but the tank has gone into a state of neglect and disrepair I dont really want to come back from. Ive lost my mccoskers and pintail wrasse, as well as my copperband passed the other day. The two wrasse I 100% blame the melanarus for bullying. The mccoskers just disappeared, and the pintail had a spinal injury. The copperband, well it wasn't getting enough food. I ran put of the blood worms and brine shrimp it was eating, and the LRS wasnt in small enough pieces. I saw it a few times try and eat something and have it stolen from it by a wrasse or clown. It was still eating, but couldn't get enough. It finally gave up last week.

Everything is also covered in GHA that would make every 80s hair band jealous. My LPS are doing great in the dirtier water, but SPS are struggling. I haven't really done anything to clean the tank in a while. It's time to just focus on one reef.

I'm not getting out of the hobby tho. We still have my fiancee's Reefer 250, the Minature Menagerie, and my clowns will be going into my 35g cube which will house just the pair and couple BTAs. Just something simple and easy that I can just do a water change on and fix. I have all the equipment already, it just needs a new plywood stand. I'll use the existing MDF one as a template.

We did pick up two new fish for the Reefer today. The fiancee looked at me with the sad puppy eyes when she saw an orange butterflyfish, and I picked up a canary wrasse. Better pictures will come when they arent in hiding... yea, butterfly fish aren't reef safe. Neither are dwarf angels and we have two of them already. Puppy dog eyes, remember?

Nothing wrong with stepping it back some. Especially when one cannot find the time to do justice to their livestock. Cool you're hanging on to the 250!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Nothing wrong with stepping it back some. Especially when one cannot find the time to do justice to their livestock. Cool you're hanging on to the 250!

Yea. I needed to shut down one tank, and altho the 250 is slightly smaller(just an inch or two in each dimension) than the 90g, it's the nicer of the two, and the overflow is silent. The 90 sounds like a waterfall. I may make a few upgrades to my current equipment down the road(Noopsyche lights), but I have all the equipment I need to run it well. It's just going to be LPS and softie with whatever SPS makes it. The montis are hanging on, and should bounce back once in a tank that is taken care of.

 

[Brew12]

Yea. I needed to shut down one tank, and altho the 250 is slightly smaller(just an inch or two in each dimension) than the 90g, it's the nicer of the two, and the overflow is silent. The 90 sounds like a waterfall. I may make a few upgrades to my current equipment down the road(Noopsyche lights), but I have all the equipment I need to run it well. It's just going to be LPS and softie with whatever SPS makes it. The montis are hanging on, and should bounce back once in a tank that is taken care of.

I'm sorry to see this, but I understand completely. I have no idea how people can take care of 3 or 4 tanks. I struggle just to keep my 1 running well. If I had 2 tanks I wouldn't have any free time or they would be a disaster.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Ok, both fish are out and swimming around. No aggression between the orange butterfly and the bicolor angel. The butterfly was actually out and swimming around last night, the wrasse came out today.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

PSA, clean your lights...

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Alright, after much debating and back and forth... I'm going to revive this build. The Reefer will have to remain FOWLR. It's the fiancee's tank, and she likes the fishies more. And the fishies she picked, eat corals. That's ok, it's her tank she can stock it how she wants.

My LPS are mostly healthy, SPS is about toast, and Zoas are unphased. The hair algae infestation is actually slowly dying off, without my intervention.

I have more bad news tho, I lost Cleopatra, my leopard wrasse. I never saw any signs of illness in the tank, and still do not. That makes at least 4, most likely 5, fish that died without cause, other than aggression from the melanarus. I will be catching him using the barbless hook method, and taking him to an LFS and telling them he's an aggressive fish killer and letting them deal with him.

From here out, I will be keeping LPS and mostly leopards, when I can get them... and a fairy or two. Peaceful wrasse. I also want to save up and get the new IM 70 dropoff. I love the dropoff design, and even tho it's a slight downgrade in size, the length of swim room is the same for the fish, so my current stock will be ok. The downsize comes from the shelf, the dimensions are almost the same, just peninsula and not panorama.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Ok, so I admit it; I've been a lousy member of R2R and a crappy friend. I could give all kinds of excuses/reasons why I went MIA but will save you the agony. Bottom line is I jumped out of the R2R ocean without warning or saying anything to nearly anyone. It was an uncalled for and selfish act. So, I offer my apologies to you, and anyone else, that I had built a cyber-friendship with through this forum. I won't let it happen again.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

What's new and different?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

What's new and different?

Oh uh, 3 months of neglect, lost all my SPS, frogspawns and a a few heads of acans, but no total losses so they will regrow. I finally got around to changing water and cleaning up the tank last week and it made a 180 after. My trachy is super full and happy now as well as the tell tale of the tank, the trumpet. If it looks bad, the tank need attention, and its looking good right now. I'll grab some pictures later today.

 

[siggy]

What's new and different?

Well I started getting alerts where ever you go. That is definitely different :p

 

[siggy]

Oh uh, 3 months of neglect, lost all my SPS, frogspawns and a a few heads of acans, but no total losses so they will regrow. I finally got around to changing water and cleaning up the tank last week and it made a 180 after. My trachy is super full and happy now as well as the tell tale of the tank, the trumpet. If it looks bad, the tank need attention, and its looking good right now. I'll grab some pictures later today.

Winters coming and time to spend on the tank. You're a newlywed you have at least 6 months of forgiveness for having your head in the clouds;)

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Winters coming and time to spend on the tank. You're a newlywed you have at least 6 months of forgiveness for having your head in the clouds;)

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Oh uh, 3 months of neglect, lost all my SPS, frogspawns and a a few heads of acans, but no total losses so they will regrow. I finally got around to changing water and cleaning up the tank last week and it made a 180 after. My trachy is super full and happy now as well as the tell tale of the tank, the trumpet. If it looks bad, the tank need attention, and its looking good right now. I'll grab some pictures later today.

Not a total loss after 3 months? That's some good luck you have there! Happy things have turned around quickly for you. It's a rare time when something quick happens in reefkeeping and it's a good thing!

Congrats on the wedding! (I did not know you got married... poor girl!) ;)

Well I started getting alerts where ever you go. That is definitely different :p

Yes, that is different. Especially when one considers I have had the magic tin foil on my head for the last three months. I cannot believe they could still track me!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Not a total loss after 3 months? That's some good luck you have there! Happy things have turned around quickly for you. It's a rare time when something quick happens in reefkeeping and it's a good thing!

Congrats on the wedding! (I did not know you got married... poor girl!) ;)

Now that I'm not so busy at work and have some time. Let me find a before and after picture.

Before... montis dead, frogspawn deflated and in the process of bailing out, GHA everywhere, hard film algae on glass that the metal blade on the Flipper! can not remove, both trachys half inflated, trumpet deflated, acans all retracted and covered in algae, frag rack covered in algae.

Most recent after, most of the GHA is gone, trachys, trumpet and acans fully inflated, frogspawn completely bailed, dead montis removed where possible, glass scraped clean, frag rack moved to better flow and cleaned.

One of my favorite wedding photos. Yes, I am a lucky guy.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Now that I'm not so busy at work and have some time. Let me find a before and after picture.

Before... montis dead, frogspawn deflated and in the process of bailing out, GHA everywhere, hard film algae on glass that the metal blade on the Flipper! can not remove, both trachys half inflated, trumpet deflated, acans all retracted and covered in algae, frag rack covered in algae.

Most recent after, most of the GHA is gone, trachys, trumpet and acans fully inflated, frogspawn completely bailed, dead montis removed where possible, glass scraped clean, frag rack moved to better flow and cleaned.

One of my favorite wedding photos. Yes, I am a lucky guy.

Nice recovery going on there.

Great pic of your lady and the hot animal! (The horse, of course) Not sure how that bald guy got into the pic. However, I'm fairly sure it took a lot of coaxing and cash! Seriously though, great pic of you two on your special day!

 

[siggy]

Beautiful wedding photo, Fine job on doing it right. BTW that trachy is sick!..in a good way :p What do you and fuds do to keep them happy? I picked up a small one until I can figure it out ;Blackeye

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Beautiful wedding photo, Fine job on doing it right. BTW that trachy is sick!..in a good way :p What do you and fuds do to keep them happy? I picked up a small one until I can figure it out ;Blackeye

Ignore it for the most part. Low flow, med low light, clean water. I don't feed mine.

My clownfish even sleep in it... doesn't seem to bother the trachy trachy at all.

 

[That Crusso Kid]

Ignore it for the most part. Low flow, med low light, clean water. I don't feed mine.

My clownfish even sleep in it... doesn't seem to bother the trachy trachy at all.

Directions for super healthy trachy;
1.) Totally neglect your tank for 3 months.
2.) Spend a little time getting rid of nuisance algae.
3.) Get params under moderate control.
4.) Continue ignoring your trachy.
5.) Voilá! You're done.

What a trip!

 

[Fudsey]

My foxface like to nuzzle one of mine ;)

 

[Scurvy]

Congrats @Robin Haselden! I knew you were engaged but hadn't caught wind of the wedding. Very nice picture, looks like the prefect fall day!