New arrivals

[melev]

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/live_aquaria_order.jpg

[melev]

Last Saturday, Pete told me that Live Aquaria finally had the Lyretail Anthias on sale. I ordered 4 females, 8 chromis, and a Royal Gramma.

These were shipped yesterday, and arrived here just before noon.

I started to float the bags in my quarantine tank, but remembered how badly anthias did each time in the past, so I decided to put the new fish right in my reef. :rolleyes: Hopefully, that won't be a risk I'll regret later.

Here's the quarantine tank, far too full of fish.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/floating_bags_qt.jpg


Thinking about 13 fish being added at once into a 14g cube seemed like a bad plan, so they were moved over to the prop section of my sump.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/floating_bags.jpg


After about 20 minutes, I cut off each of the aluminum ties. If you cut them on their midpoint, each half can be removed carefully.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/cut_aluminum_ties.jpg


To keep the bags floating upright, I affixed each one with a clothespin to a Kent Scraper handle.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/floating_bags_clipped.jpg


Every few minutes, I added more tank water to their bags to acclimate them to the vodka-laden water my reef enjoys. hehe
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/adding_water_to_bag.jpg

While they were acclimating, I made 3g of saltwater to pour into my reef. I knew some water would be lost with acclimation, after all.


Once they were full acclimated, I put a net over a bucket, and poured the water and fish into a net.

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/net_over_bucket.jpg


Look at that tiny yet adorable Royal Gramma.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/gramma_in_net.jpg


The fish were then released into the reef, one by one.

[melev]

Here are a few shots of them in the tank. I couldn't find the Royal Gramma, but hope he's just hiding at the moment and will come out in the next few days.

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/fish_in_tank1.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/fish_in_tank2.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/fish_in_tank3.jpg

As of now, the only loss was a single chromis that poured out of the acclimation bag dead into the net. I'd have to call that a DOA.

I like how tiny the chromis were, because that way they shouldn't have a problem integrating with the ones I have.

The anthias are a beautiful color, and smaller than the ones I already have. So hopefully that won't be a problem either.

I finally have a reason to feed my tank again. :lol:

[dfs/la2]

Melev,

Thank you for your order and post. We apologize to hear about the loss of the Chromis and have applied a credit for you on your customer file.

Your acclimation steps really impressed us. We certainly enjoyed looking at the beautiful pictures and thank you again for showing us your aquarium.

Pat S.
LiveAquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com)
Drs. Foster and Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com)

[melev]

I'm sorry to report that the fish from this order are not doing well. I don't understand why, but it has really gone south.

I had three anthias before I ordered, so my goal was to have seven. At this point, I think all of the new ones died, plus one more (from my original order from LA 1.5 years ago). My tank has never been more stable, and I feed three times a day. As of this writing, I'm down to 2. *sigh*

I expected to have some losses from the Chromis, but I think half of them died. I had 6, and added 8 new ones. Last night's head count was 10. :(

The Royal Gramma hasn't been seen since Day 2, but it is an elusive fish and I have hope it will reveal itself in the near future.

I just felt I should update this thread to keep you in the loop, considering the 14 day guarantee.

One anthias was found dead.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/dead_anthias2.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/dead_anthias1.jpg

And this one had a wound. I can't find it now.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/anthias_damage2.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/anthias_damage1.jpg


And even worse, now something odd has afflicted my Naso on the top of her head, and I don't recognize it. I don't know if it was something that hitchhiked on the new arrivals, but the timing is too coincidental to rule it out.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/spock2.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/spock1.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/spock3.jpg

http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/spock4.jpg

I'm making up water for a water change, as that was a suggestion that would encourage the slime coating of the fish to slough off that stuff. Link (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=15001767#post15001767)

So the biggest loss has been the Anthias, because from what I can tell, none survived and one of my own healthy ones died as well. If any of them turn up in the days to come, I'll be sure to update this thread.

[klasiksb]

Sorry for everything that's happening. This is another good thread that tells me the importance of QT, no matter how big your tank is or how long you've been around. Good luck with the rest.

[jmaneyapanda]

Marc:

That looks like brookynella to me. I am really sorry, but you made a big mistake by not quaratining. If it is brook (which it may not be, but thats what it looks like to me), it will be very deadly, and will spread quickly. I hope Im wrong. Good luck.

[dfs/la2]

Melev,

Thank you for your post. We are sorry to hear about the additional losses on your order. A credit has been placed to your file for these specimens.

After discussing this matter with our Aquatics Director, we have determined that the Tang in the photo you have provided appears to either be affected by Brooklynella hostilis or Uronema marium. For the Anthias you have added, stress from shipping, or from aggression by the other Anthias, is likely to have stressed these fish to the point of breaking down.

In both cases, it is important to place new arrivals in a quarantine system to reduce stress from the other fish and to prevent the spread of disease. Maintaining proper water chemistry is also critical to the survival of your fish.

To treat the Tang for disease, we recommend performing a freshwater bath and then dose with Rid Ich (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4734), Formalin, and Malachite Green (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4745) in the quarantine system. We appreciate you keeping us posted on the status of your fish. If you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know.

Mike S.
LiveAquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com)
Drs. Foster and Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com)

[melev]

Thank you for your replies. I'll keep updating this thread with news. The Naso looks better today, much to my surprise.

I never saw any aggression in my tank. The new anthias didn't fight with the older ones, prefering to swim out where they felt safe, and ducking into the rockwork if they felt shy. I didn't see any fighting, chasing, or fin flaring at all. It's like they went into the system, then one by one vanished. :(

The Chromis seemed happy to welcome the new ones, and I think the reason that they were accepted is because they were so darn cute and small. :D

[melev]

To update, I still haven't found the Royal Gramma. :(

I had to leave town, since I was speaking in Sacramento Friday night. While I was out of town, my son took care of things, and sent me a text message indicating that the Naso was eating and looked perfect. Here's a picture of Spock. There were quite a few particulates in the water since the fish were eating, but she's absolutely clean on both sides. The white dots in this picture are NOT on her flesh.
http://melevsreef.com/pics/09/05/spock_0515.jpg

Whatever she had, I think she overcame it on her own.

[Ian]

Was this a Divers Den purchase or were the fish from Live Aquaria?

[melev]

My order was from Live Aquaria.

[IridescentLily]

Hi Melev,
What's the status of the Royal Gramma?

[melev]

I never saw it again. :(

[dfs/la2]

Melev,

A PM has been sent regarding your order.

Chris C.
LiveAquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com)
Drs. Foster and Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com)

[Hens4Fish]

What's that big white thing on your purple tang. That looks deadly!!!!

[melev]

That is a snail on the front glass, between the camera and the tang. ;)