Adopted fish as a favor, now overstocked

[StehleH]

I have a 75gallon tank that been running for six years now, but has been mostly empty for the past three. There has always been a fish or two in there, but I returned to school in 2011 and have been extremely busy/poor. There's a huge amount of live rock in the tank, and a wet/dry filter in my sump. I have a compact fluorescent bulbs and a pretty decent skimmer (I forget the brand). I was very into the hobby before, but I must admit that I'm practically back to a beginner level at this point since school has kept me so busy. As far as the actual specs of my setup, I honestly don't even remember what the wattage is of my bulbs. I just graduated summa cum laude, and must admit, the tank has been completely neglected due to my crazy school/work schedule.

I made a sudden return to the hobby last week when a friend told me about a coworker that tragically just lost her husband. He had a 60 gallon tank with a clown, yellow tang, hippo tang, chromis, and a purple tipped anemone. The family is going through a lot, obviously, and the fish needed a new home immediately. In spite of the fact that my tank is now overstocked and too small for their long term housing, I brought all the fish home with me on Saturday. Everyone has acclimated well and is eating, but I am looking at an overstocked tank with high nitrates (I haven't done water changes at all in about two years) and messy inhabitants. The anemone looks surprisingly happy considering the fact that my water is all two years old and nitrates are off the charts.

The stock list is as follows:
Snowflake Eel -mine
2 small damsels -mine
Brittle star -mine

blue hippo tang -new
yellow tang -new
chromis -new
Clownfish (looks like a misbar ocellaris)-new
purple tipped anemone -new

I know that the tank is overstocked, and am working on finding new homes for some of the inhabitants. I also know that my lighting isn't adequate for the anemone. I'm heading to the LFS tomorrow, but I don't necessarily trust them for advice. They usually just want to make a sale. Is there a CF lighting option for the anemone that will keep it happy until I find it a new home? Someone recommended Seachem Purigen be added to my filtration to help with the high nitrates. Does anyone have experience with that? I also have a house with no central air in the summer, just window units. My water usually gets WAY too hot (80+) for pretty much everything in my tank, which is why I just have damsels and the eel, who don't seem to mind the high temps. Is there a chiller option out there that won't destroy me financially? I'm a broke student working 40 hours in a restaurant and another 20 as an unpaid intern.

Clearly I have some reading to do! I plan to spend today going through these forums, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to post here and introduce myself and the situation.

[scooter31707]

Well, let me say you are a good friend. IMO when he took the Hippo and Yellow Tang out, they should have went back to the fish store. Both of them tanks are way too small for those tangs. Honestly I would try and catch them and get them to the fish store or get a bigger tank. Eventually it's going to be trouble in your tank. Call them and see if they will give you credit for the Tangs towards a new light.

[e048]

Keep the yellow ditch the hippo

Ditch the eel it will eat your clown and chromis

Ditch the nem give it to your lfs for store credit

[StehleH]

I don't really trust the LFS. The last time I was in there, I watched them recommend an orange shoulder tang to a guy with a thirty gallon tank. I would bring both tangs to them in a heartbeat if I thought it was in their best interest, but I'm afraid they would only end up in tanks that are even smaller than mine. The people in my area tend to just take home whatever is prettiest without concern for their long term needs. The Baltimore aquarium used to take in fish, but when I called them they said that they had changed their policy and didn't do that anymore. They're both quite small, and I'm confident that they'll be alright with me on a temporary basis. At least I know that with me they'll be taken proper care of. With that being said, if anyone in Maryland has a more appropriate setup, feel free to PM me about adopting these guys!

I've had the snowflake for years and he has never touched a fish. He's been with me for so long, I could never part with him!

[lifeoffaith]

It's a wonder that your original fish are still ok without water changes. I imagine you probably have some heavy algae in there too which might have helped with the ammonia created by your old stock list. Adding as many as you have, things could get ugly quick. I would definitely get rid of the tangs as soon as possible. You likely have introduced ich to your system if it wasn't already there, which will likely cause problems with your two now stressed tangs. I would imagine your new Chromis may get taken out by the damsels you have in there, but now that you've added it, that's probably going to be the only way you get rid of it without tearing down your entire system. Of course you already know that you need a new light as soon as you can, although the nem may be able to scrape by if you are feeding him regularly.

[StehleH]

I don't recall asking for advice on ich or compatibility. Now I remember why I haven't been on a fish forum in so many years. It was nice while it lasted, reef central.

[chimmike]

I don't recall asking for advice on ich or compatibility. Now I remember why I haven't been on a fish forum in so many years. It was nice while it lasted, reef central.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/b4/c7/95b4c78d99baed82097a0ee1d17d3056.jpg

[Clownfish Chris]

I don't recall asking for advice on ich or compatibility. Now I remember why I haven't been on a fish forum in so many years. It was nice while it lasted, reef central.:thumbdown

I would disagree with that statement. You said you are practically at beginner level again and did not ask any specific questions. The posters above are simply trying to help you. Any advice should be considered. Do what you truly think is best.:hmm2: We don't know you and we don't know what you do and do not know. We only know what you tell us. Please post actual parameters: nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and Specific Gravity are most important. Also, different people would do different things. That being said, Here is what I would do::wavehand:

NOW-
-Do not feed anyone anything if all inhabitants appear healthy. If unhealthy, post specific questions as to how to address the situation.
-Test for ammonia, if present at any level, dose prime. You have a 75gal system. The amount of prime to dose according to the label is 7.5ml. If you know your actual water volume accounting for displacement of live rock and the sump volume, adjust accordingly.
-Test your salinity. You should shoot for SG of 1.024-1.026. Lower is okay. Higher, not so much. If it is higher drop the salinity SLOWLY by removing salt water and adding RODI water. Do not change SG more than .001 per hour. I may be off on this, so you may want to ask about this separately.
-Prepare for a water change of 50%. If you have to use salt mix, use RODI water. If you have an RODI unit, that is the best option. If not, get it from your LFS. If that is not an option, you can get RO water or distilled water from the grocery store. Mix the water keeping in mind the salinity as I mentioned above and let it sit with a power head and heater over night. Do the water change tomorrow. You will want to do a second water change of 25% the next day. Again, insure a match of salinity and temperature.
-Test ammonia frequently and watch for signs of ammonia poisoning- gasping for breath- research this.
-After the nitrates are down to around 60ppm or at around the one week point, begin feeding VERY sparingly. This can change depending on the situation so please keep us updated.

ASAP
-Get rid of the tangs. you may be okay for a day; you may be okay for a month.They produce a tone of waste and need lots of swimming room. If they are stressed and ich is present in your system, it will likely express itself causing further stress. If all of the fish are otherwise happy, they can (but not always) fight it off. This subject has many ins and outs and is much more complicated than i explained so further research is recommended.
-Either get rid of the nem or upgrade the lights. Look for t5, MH, or LED lighting designed for reefs.
-Get a chiller if the water will exceed 82deg Fahrenheit.

Maintenance
Maintain salinity by replacing evaporated water with fresh RODI water daily. Do regular water changes. I do 20% every two weeks.

If you can get a larger tank you could potentially keep the tangs. For all of them, I would recommend at least a 6 foot tank and many will tell you that even that is too small for the Hippo.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!
:beachbum:

[Sk8r]

When you post in the NTTH forum, it is assumed you need basic advice. Sometimes it will be an 'of course' that you already know, but it has to be covered to establish an understanding on both sides.

It is a requirement of all RC forums that members treat each other with courtesy, whether or not the answers are what you want.

Thread locked.