neutronics

Did u turn off the pump when you remove the live rocks in your refugium to check if it was dead? Algae blenny can really swim fast and I suspect it squeezed through the turned-off pump, then shot itself right up the return pipe into the main tank while you are searching for him Is this possible?

Ich will take about 1-2 weeks from the day it is visible as white spots on the fish to really kill that fish. Hence, don't panic to drop the salinity to 1.010 immediately. Salinity should be dropped to that level for about 4-5 days. After that it should remain at that level (1.010) for about a month from the day the whitespot disappear from view. Unless your tank is a no-invertebrate tank, you cannot perform hyposalinity in your main tank as it will immediately kill corals, snails, shrimps, etc. At that hypo level, nutritious food, fortified with vitamins (eg Kent Zoe, Selcon, Zoecon) should be given as well as garlic to help raise immune system. Low light, stress guard or other protein coat will help healing of the skin faster. pH tends to drop below 8.0 at low salinity. So you may have to constantly monitor pH level and raise it higher with pH increasing buffer when it does drop to below desired level of 8.3. Raising the salinity back from 1.010 to 1.023 should be done at an even longer duration, about 7 days minimum, in order not to shock the recovered fish.

Flame angel, sailfin tang, bt and pbt need mature and stable tank six months and above. I believe that may be the cause. Are the fishes eating well during all these 7 days? It can be due to starvation that leads to weakness and finally death. Improper pH level (below 8.0) can also be a cause for concern.

cool! looks like its time to buy another clown!

here... http://www.theaquariumcity.com/saltwater/F...eyellow/ybt.jpg and http://www.anchofish.com/_pristine/blue_hippo_tang_io.jpg

For FOWLR tank, get beautiful NON-REEF SAFE fishes, sure to get the attention of reef tank people cos they can't keep'em

Try LIVE brine shrimp for a start to feeding if he is really difficult to feed right now. After that you can wean him to other foods. Don't release the PT until the FA starts to feed various foods and stabilize.

what a dissapointment...I was already ready to go grab one!

FW dips can help relieve parasites off your FA but ich parasites are still present in your display tank. If you intend to do FW dip and then transfer back the fish to the infected display tank, then you should drop that idea because the fish will be infected again, in addition to the shock resulted from the freshwater dip (and netting) just carried out. Use copper-based medicine in well-cycled qurantine tank. Or, a zero cost solution, perform hyposalinity. The reason why hyposalinity is not supported by many major marine brands is because we don't need to buy anything to do it, yet 100% effective if your fish are still feeding during treatment. There is an ich strain reported (refer to links below) to thrive in hypo although in my experience, it is still a very rare and isolated case for now. Read up: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2003/mini1.htm http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/mini2.htm http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/mini3.htm http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2004/mini4.htm Terry B is a well-respected author of the above articles. You can communicate with him personally at saltwaterfish.com as he is the moderator there. He is a helpful person if you have any queries to ask him. Also, you can type his name in Google.com and more articles will appear. Been using hypo for two years for ich treatment and has never been disappointed with the results. But inverts (corals, shrimps - or prawns as some refer them to?? , crabs, etc) cannot stay alive in hypo, do take note.

If your fishes can eat those "spirulina-enriched" homemade fish food wholeheartedly, then it would be great as spirulina are colour-enhancing!

I have always marvel at the fact that we are literally throwing away salts into the drain during water change when we actually spent so much money to buy them in the first place. Its time we recycle our salt and start buying mineral additives instead!

Is tropic marine 6.8 kg for 29 dollars? I think its 6.6 kg (or less) on box if I can remember correctly...Correct me if I'm wrong anyone. I bought Marine Environment Coral Marine salt at ML. Can't really confirm if this brand is selling at Petmart.

around 29 dollars (50 gallons/6.8kg).

I'm using Marine Environment Coral Marine now as it really dissolves very well with water. pH is maintained at 8.3 - 8.4. I'm impressed so far with the quality of this brand. Used to switch between Instant Ocean and CoralLife for the last three years. My observation --> Instant Ocean: Very good but water appears a bit cloudy after water change but it does not affect LS. Cloudiness clears up after 1 or 2 days. CoralLife: the salt is coarser than IO but quite ok, CHEAP and safe for FOWLR tank. Plus you get a pail and Coralife T-shirt for free if you buy the larger package Heard that Tropic Marine is very good but too bad, its too expensive in comparison to competing ones.

That's great news to hear that the golden butterfly is on the road to full recovery and geting greedy again! Well done man!

Could you double check on present ammonia and pH level? Usually high ammonia level would result in death of fishes fast within 12 hours. Did you take out your dead damsels and koran fast enough after they die? Low pH (below 8) can also cause sudden loss of appetite or infection, which eventually leads to death......one by one.

A massive water change (although not recommended) should be able to reduce the nitratre somehow. Maybe the test kit is faulty or overdue. Try testing for nitrate on the brand new saltwater before adding into display. Does it show the same nitrate readings? Maybe get another test kit to be sure?

I wouldn't get the brown tang if I have the intention of getting the powder brown tang as I think the beautifully coloured powder brown tang will make the brown tang looks dull. I have seen powder brown and powder blue mixed together with no problems and i have also heard of the two powders fighting constantly until one dies, severely injured or cornered to one side of the tank. But if you must get these two powders, I would suggest getting them at the same time and of the same size. Also, it would be great if you have a spare cycled tank should continuous battle between these two occurs. You may have to give up one powder tang should this incompatibility fights happen. A larger tank will definitely increase your chance of success. I do find the powder brown less aggressive and more sensitive than the powder blue. But overall, these two powders are definitely more sensitive that most other tangs and should not be a beginner's fish. Just my honest opinion.

There might be a possibility of the occurence of semi-old tank syndrome where new fishes can't adapt to the different conditions of your tank fast enough. Read on.. http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html

Many people in US suggest that neon gobies are good substitute for cleaner wrasse as they do regular cleaning as much. But has anyone ever seen these gobies being sold in LFS? I have yet to see one really.

If ammonia, nitrate or nitrate is not the culprit as stated, then I suspect it is due to stress. Mine showed reddish marks on skin at times when stressed, but usually because of high nitrate. So after water change and some skin coating conditioner, he would be back to normal. You did mention some cuts on its skin. It can also be due to fighting. If they are still fighting, you may have to place the butterfly (or the aggressor) in another tank for this docile fish to recover fully from injury. Hope it is still eating and showing bright yellow colour, and not showing any whitespots.

yes you have any pics to share?

The golden butterfly was bought at $70 and that was about 2 years ago. Now may be cheaper I don't know. Well, guess just have to keep on trying to vary the regal's diet. How, got any more current pics of these two fishes ?

me wondering too... why not just type the full name without self censor?

Flame Angel