NOT-SO-GREAT UPDATES
As for the not-so-great updates… I’ve lost a few fish. First up was my Firefish, who somehow found his way through my mesh top and I found laying on top of the euro-bracing of the tank (this happened before the Tangs were introduced). Then I lost my Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish to what I suspect was bullying by the Moorish Idol. I noticed it mostly at feeding, where the MI would essentially charge the YLB if they were going after the same food and would sometimes even nip at him. I didn’t think anything of it and thought it would settle down after a while (especially since I feed so much), but then I noticed what looked to be a slight discoloration (a darker spot) on the YLB, and his appetite being suppressed, then ultimately him passing. Finally, I lost my McCosker’s Flasher wrasse, which is a bit more of a mystery, although I think it may have been due largely to the addition of all of the tangs, because it seemed shortly after they were introduced, he simply went into hiding (along with my Royal Gramma) and did not want to come out. It’s odd since I don’t see the tangs ever interact with any of the other fish except for the Starry Blenny (as noted before). Some of these deaths could also be explained by my other update below, but I inspected the bodies very thoroughly and did not see ANY signs of disease/parasites before or after they passed.
The other not-so-great update… something may have gotten through my QT (or could have been introduced by the two fish I had someone else QT for me – not placing blame on anyone, just saying that it was either my oversight in QT protocol, or the one other source I received the fish from). I don’t know what the parasite/illness is yet, but I first noticed a few spots with no flashing or behavioral signs on my Moorish Idol. My first thought was that it very likely was lymphocystis since I know that my YLB had this during quarantine, and while it is not curable, it also is not deadly. Then, I figured that if anything was in the tank, it would show up on the tangs, so I figured they would be my “canaries” of the tank. After about a 10 days in the DT, I did notice a few spots on the Purple Tang’s body (none on the fins) but no behavioral signs, and then those slowly went away (again was thinking lympho here). Then the Powder Blue Tang had 2 or 3 spots on the body (none on the fins) with no behavioral signs, which also slowly went away. Having said that, since the spots have gone away, I have seen the Powder Blue Tang flash here and there. So, I decided, before I even entertain the thought of taking all of my fish out and placing them into quarantine, I would try dosing Hydrogen Peroxide for about 2 months to see if that would address whatever is in the tank. I’m about 2 weeks into this and still don’t see any spots on the fish, have seen some flashing here and there by the PBT but everyone is eating great and behaving. So, we’ll see what happens, but I wanted to give you guys the GOOD and the BAD of this build… and this is the first roadblock that I will have to navigate.
As for the not-so-great updates… I’ve lost a few fish. First up was my Firefish, who somehow found his way through my mesh top and I found laying on top of the euro-bracing of the tank (this happened before the Tangs were introduced). Then I lost my Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish to what I suspect was bullying by the Moorish Idol. I noticed it mostly at feeding, where the MI would essentially charge the YLB if they were going after the same food and would sometimes even nip at him. I didn’t think anything of it and thought it would settle down after a while (especially since I feed so much), but then I noticed what looked to be a slight discoloration (a darker spot) on the YLB, and his appetite being suppressed, then ultimately him passing. Finally, I lost my McCosker’s Flasher wrasse, which is a bit more of a mystery, although I think it may have been due largely to the addition of all of the tangs, because it seemed shortly after they were introduced, he simply went into hiding (along with my Royal Gramma) and did not want to come out. It’s odd since I don’t see the tangs ever interact with any of the other fish except for the Starry Blenny (as noted before). Some of these deaths could also be explained by my other update below, but I inspected the bodies very thoroughly and did not see ANY signs of disease/parasites before or after they passed.
The other not-so-great update… something may have gotten through my QT (or could have been introduced by the two fish I had someone else QT for me – not placing blame on anyone, just saying that it was either my oversight in QT protocol, or the one other source I received the fish from). I don’t know what the parasite/illness is yet, but I first noticed a few spots with no flashing or behavioral signs on my Moorish Idol. My first thought was that it very likely was lymphocystis since I know that my YLB had this during quarantine, and while it is not curable, it also is not deadly. Then, I figured that if anything was in the tank, it would show up on the tangs, so I figured they would be my “canaries” of the tank. After about a 10 days in the DT, I did notice a few spots on the Purple Tang’s body (none on the fins) but no behavioral signs, and then those slowly went away (again was thinking lympho here). Then the Powder Blue Tang had 2 or 3 spots on the body (none on the fins) with no behavioral signs, which also slowly went away. Having said that, since the spots have gone away, I have seen the Powder Blue Tang flash here and there. So, I decided, before I even entertain the thought of taking all of my fish out and placing them into quarantine, I would try dosing Hydrogen Peroxide for about 2 months to see if that would address whatever is in the tank. I’m about 2 weeks into this and still don’t see any spots on the fish, have seen some flashing here and there by the PBT but everyone is eating great and behaving. So, we’ll see what happens, but I wanted to give you guys the GOOD and the BAD of this build… and this is the first roadblock that I will have to navigate.