Just got my aquarium up and running (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

boy 2 triggers is a lot, even in a 120.

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

anyone have a link for a place where i can get info on setting up a saltwater tank. my gf and i are looking for a joint project and have each done the freshwater but were looking for something new.

we have absolutely no idea what we're doing and most of the lfs don't even sell saltwater.

 

[Philip_G]

www.reefcentral.com
the less you listen to your LFS the better off you are IMO.

 

[James_S]

Mark,
Here is the site that I use:
http://www.saltwaterfish.com
I haven't posted there to much lately, but the information and other peoples post have helped. If you have any questions I may be able to help you.
Just remember it takes alot of time to set them up, don't think that everything is going to happen overnight. One thing I can piece of advise I can say is: BE PATIENT!!
I also suggest reading a couple of books, I am at work right now when I get home I will post the name of the book that I used.
BTW: I have a 250 gallon custom saltwater tank built-in to my wall.
Good Luck
James

 

[Clinton McClure]

Well I just got home with two tiger barbs (floating them right now) to help cycle the tank. When everything gets back to normal, I'm going to add more tigers, some green barbs, some cherry barbs, a bala shark and a pleco.

 

[Neil Joseph]

This is a great hobby, as HT is. I am moving in the next 3 months and plan on setting up a "large" aquarium there. I am planning on a 108 gallon tank with the following fish....
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Can't wait.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Lucky you. Several Months ago, we lost a clown trigger, a grouper, 2 angelfish, a damzel and gobey all to ick (now fixed with UV filter) except for the clown trigger.

Holy smokes! Sorry to hear about that Aaron. That's some serious dollar lost there and some very very nice fish. Was the trigger aggressive towards the Grouper, or the other fish?

 

[Corbin Stirn]

Clinton,


One thing you might want to consider is to introduce ALL of your fish into your tank at the same time. The reason is that fish, like most animals, set up territories. You are already dealing with semi-aggresive, not passive, fish and if you introduce new fish weeks after your initial batch, you could be looking at MAJOR problems. The old fish already have their territories set up, and any "new" fish are intruding on their territory. When all the fish are introduced at once, they will work out their territories then, instead of fighting a newcomer because they are intruding on "their" space. Or a newcomer could also fight to establish a territory, while at the same time the original fish fight to keep "their" territory(chances are very good that a new territory will intrude on an established territory). These are barbs we're talking about, not guppies. Barbs are considered "fin-nippers".....if you are going to mix other fish(non-barbs) with them, try to avoid fish with longer fins. I.E. Long tailed zebra danios would be bad, but normal zebras would not. Angels would want to be avoided.....male bettas as well(unless you might want to see fights!). Swords, neons, danios, maybe even gouramis would be good. Just something you should definitely consider.


Also, you never want to mix together goldfish with "normal"(i.e. tropical) fish. All fish emit a body slime to keep their scales(skin) healthy and to control temperature....very similiar to the way humans perspire to control body temperature and oil to keep skin healthy. Goldfish emit a MUCH higher amount than most tropical fish(mostly due to the colder climates they can come from). Goldfish together are no problem......but goldfish mixed with other fish can create problems for the other fish. You CAN mix them.......but it is not recommended. The goldfish would be fine......other fish may not be so lucky. I'm suprised that no one has mentioned that to you yet. I've had both........but always kept them seperate. Others who have mixed the 2 have not been so lucky. Hope this helps.....Good luck with your tank.

 

[DwightK]

55 with various Cichlids and a 46 with a male Red Empress Cichlid and of course a pl*co in each tank. I have yet to decide whether to convert the 46 to salt or add more from the 55. The Red Empress in the 55 breed quite well which is why the one is seperated out to another tank. More than one male of a species is certain death to the smaller/younger one. Have 2 new youngins that survived the latest batch.
As for temp, etc, I do a 30% water change every week so can control temp downwards in the summer with that. No sicknesses in 4 years (age of a few of the fish). Oh and I chose Cichlids so I could use regular tap water for the tanks. Works great with the well water here

 

[AaronMg]

Was the trigger aggressive towards the Grouper, or the other fish?

Not towards the grouper. But come to think of it, The clown trigger ate the Gobey several days after we got him ...I have never seen a Gobey swim so fast!

 

[Gary_E]

When I had my shop, I had an acrylic 55 gallon set-up with rear and side black panels, black gravel, a large ceramic tiger in the center, and 100 tiger barbs. It was quite a display.
Tiger barbs are rather hardy and can tolerate each other but not other species. They never stop moving, which can upset some of the more easy going species such as gouramis and angels.

-Gary

 

[Clinton McClure]

I got home yesterday to find my tigers had attacked and partially devoured one of my green barbs. They have never acted aggressive before. Also, I noticed one tiger, one green barb, my pleco and my shark were all covered with tiny white specs I identified as ick. They were not there two days ago and suddenly appeared almost overnight. I got some ick treatment and treated my water last night, but it appears it spread quickly and the damage could not be undone. This afternoon, I returned home to find my larger tiger barb dead as well as a green barb lying on the gravel bed motionless. I am going to do a partial water change in a few minutes as well as treat the water again, per the directions on the treatment. I still have one small tiger and two green barbs which show no visible signs of ick and are all very energetic.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Treating Ick takes about a week. Those white specs will fall off in a few days, which is when the treatment actually works - the parasites have to be free swimming to be killed. If you raise the temperature to about 80 degrees it speeds up the life cycle. Most of the treatments call for treating every second day without water changes. Keep treating for the recommended duration, even after symptoms are gone.

While I haven't had an Ick outbreak in a long time, I have had these parasites which end up prutruding from inside the fish, then eventually detatching themselves. This killed my beta (it actually survived the parasite, but died from infection afterwards).

 

[Jay H]

Keep treating for the recommended duration, even
after symptoms are gone.

I second that, many novices out there will look at the spots gone and say "oh cool, no more Ick" but this is where you have to keep treating because like Jeff says, this is where you actually get to extract revenge on the ick parasites, so continue your treatments for a bit after the directions, perhaps a week would do it. Don't forget to read the labels and warnings for scaleless fish like some loaches and sensitive fish like some tetras (rummy, cardinal, and neons come to mind here).

Jay

 

[Clinton McClure]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I'm planning on a week's worth of treatments. They have already fallen off the pleco but the shark is still covered. I hope I don't suffer any more losses.

What exactly causes Ick (IE: How does the parasite get in the tank)? I introduced my last fish well over a month ago. Could the parasite have been laying dormant for that long?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Just like humans, all fish have parasites and bacteria living in them, and they can also lay dormant in the tank. Normally the fish's immune system will keep them in check, but if the fish is stressed, or just naturally the parasites can take over. Ick is common in both the fall and spring when the weather changes.

Parasites also live in the gravel, and attack the fish when they sleep at night. One method for slowing the onset of a parasitic takeover is to get the fish off the bottom of the tank, however doing this often leads to just stressing the fish out more, weakening its defenses.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Fascinating.

 

[Jay H]

There are also other more active methods of parasite removal and stuff. UV filters kill certain parasites and other living thingies. But they need a water pump and replacement of the light to keep it's effectiveness..

Jay

 

[Clinton McClure]

So far, so good, Jay. My remaining fish look to be pretty good. I am still shocked at how quickly things can show up and spread like that.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Some fish are just more sensitive than others. Makes it ough to go on a 2 week vacation huh?