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travis32
07/06/2010, 12:08 PM
Well, I setup my QT today. Transferred 25 gallons from my 55g tank to my 25 gallon tank. I had to pull all the rock into buckets and filled the buckets with water from my 55g tank in order to catch the fish.

I caught the betta no problem (not a fast swimmer). caught the grama once the rock was gone. And I couldn't find my blenny once all the rock was pulled. :(

I'm sure he probably went and hid in the sand or changed color just enough to blend in with the sand .. I scratched the sand bed with multiple nets, hopeing to catch him. No such luck. It took me around 45 mins to get the rock out, water drained, and water transferred to the new tank and catch the fish.

Some of the rock was out of water and I kept on dripping water on the rock to make sure it stayed moist. I put the rock work back (No where near what it was.) Sacraficed a few pieces with no corals for the QT and I had some PVC in the sump for the last month or so in preparation for this.

So, a couple distressing things: My sand is blanketed in an ugly detritous in my DT. Do I need to vaccum this or will it get churned into the sand bed eventually? It looks really ugly!

Lastly.. About my lawnmower blenny? I'm trying to make my DT go fallow without fish due to ich on my grama. If my Blenny is still in the DT And assuming I didn't set a rock on top of him and squish him? Umm, what do I do?

What if I don't see him in the next 3 weeks? do I assume he was killed in the process? Never mind, I just saw him swimming in the DT. GRRRR!!!

So, second thought... How do I catch him?

Do I have to worry about another cycle after having the rock out of the tank (some exposed to air, but not much). and will a 25 - 30 gallon water change on the DT hurt anything?

I have an airstone going on the QT and one powerhead.. Will the airstone's bubbles hurt the fish?

Any info appreciated!!!!

Levito
07/06/2010, 03:07 PM
The lawnmower probably grabbed onto a piece of the live rock when you were pulling it out of the tank...probably jumped into a hole and stayed there. They're crafty little bastards. Just find him before you remove the rock so if he's on a piece you're trying to move you might be able to pull the rock out with him in it.

As for the air stone, I would take it out. If the power head is creating enough circulation you should be okay in there. But the air stone may stress the fish out if the bubbles are all over the place. Put a thermometer in the QT as well, I know my spare cheapo powerhead increases water temp quite a bit.

BunkerCA
07/06/2010, 03:25 PM
Do you have a decent clean-up crew? It is common with a tank move to get the detritus build-up on the sand bed. If you have an active ground population then it should be gone in a week or so. Vaccuuming is an option but in my opinion unnecessary, hermits seem to like digging through anyway.

For fish catching traps are always fun. Try a 2-litre bottle with a trap door, or you can buy something from a fish store. Another 2-litre method is to cut the bottle in half and reverse the neck into the bottle like a bee trap. Bait the main section and you should be good to go.

30 gallons out of a 55 system is a lot. Add new things and new water slowly. I believe the recommended water change max is 20% and you are over 50%. It is better to slowly fill the QT over the course of a few days and keep everything stable. You should be fine with a decent sand bed and lots of live rock. I wouldn't add anything too quickly, maybe wait a week to be safe.

Airstones are fine for the fish. As Levito said a powerhead should be fine, but only if the water surface is moving or if you have some sort of overflow to get a cascade going. The trick is moving water exposed to air. If this is not the case then I would say the airstone is necessary, or move up the powerhead.

Blennies are sneaky, but that's why we like them, right?!?

Good luck with the new system!

travis32
07/06/2010, 05:23 PM
Thanks.. I got 3 nets in the DT. The blenny is very curious. :) I also have some nori placed in one of the nets.. I think he'll get into the net.. Just requires manual work to sit and wait. I wanted to get the fish moved with the DT water in an effort to not have to float them. The blenny I'm unsure now. He's got all new water...

I didn't plan for having to have to acclimate a fish to that big of a water change. but, he's hungry and going for food now. So, it looks like he's doing fine in the new water...

I may have to acclimate him to the "old water" Not sure, both tanks are the same temp now, and exact same salinity. (I did spot on on the salt mix. I was impressed!)

If the temp, salinity, and ph are relatively close is it safe to just throw him in the QT water if / when I catch him?

Levito
07/06/2010, 07:39 PM
I would say no need to acclimate if all the params you mentioned were the same.

travis32
07/07/2010, 09:16 AM
By GOLLY I got him last night! Right as I was about to go to bed he was swimming by one of the nets and between the net and the glass. I just slowly closed the net around him and got him.. He swam further into the net. :)

I netted and placed directly in the QT!! My DT is fishless..... Now to watch all the ich die... :)


I'll be exchanging 5 gallons of SW with 5 gallons of Freshwater in the QT tonight. Hoping to reduce the salinity to 1.020 from 1.025. I'll do another 5 gallon exchange in 24 hours.

I'm hoping this goes well, I'm a little nervous that I"ll screw up the QT and kill all the fish, but, the I guess it's the best way to learn, and so far I'm following the advice I've received her almost to the T.. So, hopefully things go o.k.

travis32
07/08/2010, 07:15 AM
Well, my QT is down to 1.020 after a 5 gallon exchange. So far the fish are alive. I saw the grama eat last night. I think the blenny has chewed on some nori I have in the tank. I haven't seen the betta come out at all... He's remained in hiding. POed at me for turning his world upside down.

I used white 5 gallon pales to transfer the water. One thing I notice when I got the water from the DT into the QT is that the water was brownish/ greenish in color. The water looked very "dirty" not very clear.

Is that something that happens with the water as it ages in the tank?