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View Full Version : Dead goby -> small ammonia spike, questions.


El Langostino
04/17/2006, 08:12 PM
A few weeks ago I had posted about having a neon goby living in my overflow and not being able to get him out. Well, I'm assuming he died last night and the consequent slight ammonia spike caused my cleaner shrimp to die off earlier this afternoon. I had my water tested a few minutes ago and everything is pretty much fine; ph 8.2, nitrates 10 ppm, but the ammonia is at 5 or so.

All of my fish and other motile inverts seem to be just fine. Should I be worried? If so, what exactly should I do to assuage this wound?

E-A-G-L-E-S
04/17/2006, 08:15 PM
water changes......i'd say 15-25% every 2-3 days, to get ammonia to "zero"

El Langostino
04/19/2006, 05:31 AM
5, yikes...I'm pretty sure that would have decimated the entire tank, heh. I meant to type .5 ppm.

The good news is that the ammonia readings are now back down to zero. The Unfortunate news is that in addition to claiming the cleaner shrimp, my Kole Tang succumbed to the ammonia as well =(

You know, at the moment I'm really not a huge fan of the neon goby =)

The first time I noticed it was gone after 5 or 6 days it must have taken a ride down the durso so on identifying it, I fished it out of the sponge filter in my sump and put it back in the main display thinking perhaps this little disappearing act was just an aberation.

2 days later a nasty chromis was constantly harassing the goby and it must have again taken refuge in the overflow. 3 or 4 weeks later I saw it in there for a fleeting moment and decided the next morning I would try and fish it out. Well after that night, I never saw it again.

Anyway, I lost 20 dollars on the goby itself and in addition to that, 28 and 38 on the cleaner and kole that were both killed by the ammonia spike.

That ended up being an 86 dollar goby...not to mention one that I didn't even get to keep =)

AdidaKev
04/19/2006, 06:45 AM
Sorry to hear that. I hope your next purchase fares better!

El Langostino
04/19/2006, 04:54 PM
Yeah, while losing the cash invested in the creatures I lost was slightly annoying, I'm more so vexed by the loss of life than the money.

I'd like to have another tang to complement my Yellow Tang but am afraid that he might not take to a new acanthurid so kindly. He's very small, no larger than 2 inches.

I've done plenty of research and know surgeonfish fairly well, but I always like to ask people of their opinions and personal experiences so if anyone has anything to add or suggest please do so as I appreciate the comments.

Kevinnap
04/19/2006, 05:07 PM
I have a red sea sailfin in a 135, he is about 5 inches and he has gone after any other tang I have tried to put in there, no matter what size they were, I have tried much smaller, and much bigger, but always have had to "rescue" the new addition after 2 or 3 days.

El Langostino
04/19/2006, 06:53 PM
The three I'm considering are either the regal, atlantic blue, or purple.

My reasoning is, since the first two are from the paracanthurus and acanthurus genera and since they are colored differently and have a much different body shape from zebrasoma tangs; especially the regal, the yellow will simply ignore either one. They are both also not typically so aggressive so the yellow might not feel threatened and thus behave peacefully.

You might think it a bit strange to consider the purple since it is very aggressive and also a zebrasoma. You do however see it done quite a bit and the logic is that since they are both fairly aggressive they'll both be able to defend themselves against each other and other time perhaps (hopefully) the turf wars die down a bit. Either that or you have two beat up tangs and one eventually wins the final battle. It's always beneficial to add any tangs simultaneously, but if I were to mix a purple and yellow, I'd especially wish I had added them at the same time, Oh well, tis not the case.

I'm definitely leaning more towards one of the Blue tangs; Atlantic or Pacfic. Either way, I'm going to have to rely on a bit of luck so we shall see what happens.