Nobby's S-650

[Nobbygas]

Over the last six weeks or so, I've been dumping various bags of Copepods, live Brine Shrimp etc either directly into the tank, or in the sump. It's all part of my attempt to feed the fish a healthier diet to boost their immune systems. I will once again attempt to grow my own pod cultures soon, but that will have to wait until after the Xmas madness.
Sometimes I just add them to the tank when the lights are on. Other times I've waited until lights out and added them via a turkey baster directly into the rocks. Other times they've just been dumped into the sump.
I haven't added any live food for over a week now, and last night I noticed the dead body of a largish Copepod drifting around the tank. This tells me that not all the Copepods I've added to the tank were eaten straight away by the fish, and in fact somewhere they are breeding. The body was far larger than the ones I put into the tank. I'm quite happy if they are breeding as they provide a constant supply of fresh food. As a bonus, Copepods are actually good clean-up crew !
Have a look in your LFS. They usually have a refrigerator for food, and there you will find the packets of live food. Just buy a small packet of Copepods, add it to your tank, and just see the reaction of the fish You'll get a feeding frenzy the likes of which you've never seen before !

PS - She Who Casts No Shadow thought that I had 'lost it' when she found me fist-pumping by the tank, and smiling as I said, "Yippee, I've just seen a large dead Copepod!".........to which she replied, "oh no, what fish was that then?!".

 

[Pat24601]

Definitely sounds like your copepods are doing well, which is a great sign!

 

[SPR]

Over the last six weeks or so, I've been dumping various bags of Copepods, live Brine Shrimp etc either directly into the tank, or in the sump. It's all part of my attempt to feed the fish a healthier diet to boost their immune systems. I will once again attempt to grow my own pod cultures soon, but that will have to wait until after the Xmas madness.
Sometimes I just add them to the tank when the lights are on. Other times I've waited until lights out and added them via a turkey baster directly into the rocks. Other times they've just been dumped into the sump.
I haven't added any live food for over a week now, and last night I noticed the dead body of a largish Copepod drifting around the tank. This tells me that not all the Copepods I've added to the tank were eaten straight away by the fish, and in fact somewhere they are breeding. The body was far larger than the ones I put into the tank. I'm quite happy if they are breeding as they provide a constant supply of fresh food. As a bonus, Copepods are actually good clean-up crew !
Have a look in your LFS. They usually have a refrigerator for food, and there you will find the packets of live food. Just buy a small packet of Copepods, add it to your tank, and just see the reaction of the fish You'll get a feeding frenzy the likes of which you've never seen before !

PS - She Who Casts No Shadow thought that I had 'lost it' when she found me fist-pumping by the tank, and smiling as I said, "Yippee, I've just seen a large dead Copepod!".........to which she replied, "oh no, what fish was that then?!".

That’s very interesting. I’ve had loads of the little white things (1000’s) in the past all over but since you posted about them I’ve noticed I don’t have anywhere near as many, probably because they have been eaten without me noticing. I’ve never added them they just appeared over time.

I might order one of these:

https://reefphyto.co.uk/products/copepod-culture-pack

Seems very straight forward to have around somewhere growing your own.

 

[Nobbygas]

Sad news, but my new Emperor Angelfish is no longer with us. I am a bit stunned by this. After going into the tank on Saturday, it did appear to be a bit lethargic, was not eating, and hid away a bit, but this is quite normal with new fish as we've all seen. That sort of behaviour usually passes after a couple of days as the fish becomes more confident in it's surroundings.
Obviously being new I watched it more closely than the other fish. No aggression was evident in the tank at all. There were no marks or blemishes on the fish.
I came home from work yesterday and I couldn't see it anywhere. I even moved a few rocks to see if I could find it. Eventually, I found it halfway under a rock. From the picture below you can see a large white patch on it's side. I don't know how long it was dead, so I don't know how long the CUC had been chomping on him. but the last time I saw him (Wednesday evening) he looked perfectly healthy.

 

[SPR]

Sad news, but my new Emperor Angelfish is no longer with us. I am a bit stunned by this. After going into the tank on Saturday, it did appear to be a bit lethargic, was not eating, and hid away a bit, but this is quite normal with new fish as we've all seen. That sort of behaviour usually passes after a couple of days as the fish becomes more confident in it's surroundings.
Obviously being new I watched it more closely than the other fish. No aggression was evident in the tank at all. There were no marks or blemishes on the fish.
I came home from work yesterday and I couldn't see it anywhere. I even moved a few rocks to see if I could find it. Eventually, I found it halfway under a rock. From the picture below you can see a large white patch on it's side. I don't know how long it was dead, so I don't know how long the CUC had been chomping on him. but the last time I saw him (Wednesday evening) he looked perfectly healthy.

View attachment 47924

Sorry to hear this it’s very sad indeed..

I think some fish just don’t make it, we have all had them, but it’s always very sad to loose such a beautiful specimen for no apparent reason.

 

[Pat24601]

Fish often go through a lot before they make it in our tank. It may have been in serious trouble before you bought it. Those first few weeks with a new fish are always a gamble.

I know my new butterfly has lymph. I’m not sure what else, if anything, it might have. I’m feeding it well and crossing my fingers, which is all you can really do.

 

[emvanburen]

Sorry Nobby. Looked like a nice fish.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Oxylebius]

Fish often go through a lot before they make it in our tank. It may have been in serious trouble before you bought it. Those first few weeks with a new fish are always a gamble.

I know my new butterfly has lymph. I’m not sure what else, if anything, it might have. I’m feeding it well and crossing my fingers, which is all you can really do.

Agree with Pat's comments above. The Pomacanthids are among the most sensitive species of fish to stress. The rigors associated with capture (often with cyanide), being held with little or no food, then being shipped halfway around the world in a bag is taxing to even the most robust species. Cyanide fishing still occurs in areas of Indonesia and Philippines. Best to avoid fish from these areas, if possible to know where your fish was caught at. The death may not have been your fault, we try our best for these little guys and sometimes there isn't anything we can do to keep them alive.

 

[Nobbygas]

I've just returned from a weeks skiing in Austria, only to find trouble. I lost the Regal Angelfish and the Kole Tang. This time I can clearly see what the problem is. It's Velvet.
I've started dosing the Polyplab Medic and increased the feeding. The Yellow Tang is the only fish showing any signs of infection.

 

[SPR]

I've just returned from a weeks skiing in Austria, only to find trouble. I lost the Regal Angelfish and the Kole Tang. This time I can clearly see what the problem is. It's Velvet.
I've started dosing the Polyplab Medic and increased the feeding. The Yellow Tang is the only fish showing any signs of infection.

Sorry to here this, but it’s good to here you’ve identified the problem. Let us know how you get on with the Polylab Medic.

Are you running a UV-C 24/7?

 

[Nobbygas]

Sorry to here this, but it’s good to here you’ve identified the problem. Let us know how you get on with the Polylab Medic.

Are you running a UV-C 24/7?

Yep, the UV-C is running 24/7.

 

[SPR]

Yep, the UV-C is running 24/7.

I’m just wondering if you have measured the flow rate your putting through it ?

I have just in the last few days changed from the Rocket Launcher of death (JBL) because the light stopped working. It might have been the bulb, but the price of a bulb and possible broken anyway I have thrown it away. It’s one of the only pieces of kit I got from LFS rather than online. It’s got a 2 year warranty but of course I’ve lost the paper receipt. Anyway, having read up on them I’ve got the DD 20w UVC. The difference in size and easy of use is incomparable and I’ll due an update on this. Oh and it’s also the right way up! Lol

Basically without making you glaze over, you need to get to around 72000 milliwatts per second ‘burn time’ for the water flow through it to kill certain parasites (like ich for example).

I always ran the JBL 36w at half power of the Eheim 1000 pump so just a steady flow, and I’ve actually measured the flow from the new DD and instead of 1000 lph recommendation (to deliver 33000 milliwatts/sec,), I’m at about 400 lph. The maths on this means is delivering in theory around 76-80000 milliwatts/sec although it’s not an exact science.

I’ve got some the above from the DD web site which is quiet useful when I was researching it if it’s any use to you to check your flow rate etc. This may help keep some of the ‘nasties’ away for you.

 

[Nobbygas]

Yeah, my flow rate is quite low. I calculate it's about 400lph.

 

[Nobbygas]

Just a little update:
Since the holiday I've been laid low by some form of alien virus. This has hampered work on the tank. I'm feeling better today, so it was a tank maintenance day, including water change.
To re-cap, during the holiday I lost a Kole Tang (who knows where) and the Regal Angelfish. The Yellow Tang was showing signs of infection, but worst off was the Orchid Dottyback. He really did look bad.
The first dose of Polyplab Medic went in on Wednesday night. Three scoopfuls, and it has been repeated every morning and again every night as per the instructions. Is the Medic working? The only thing I can report is that there hasn't been any further deaths in the last five days, and no other fish look infected. The Yellow Tang has improved and the Orchid Dottyback has significantly improved. Usually, death by Velvet occurs within two or three days of infection. Both fish are swimming and eating normally.
It's too early to form a solid opinion, but at the moment it is looking good.
I've also increased the feeding to include Frozen food every day. The fish must think it's Xmas !

 

[Nobbygas]

It's now a full week since I started with the Polyplab Medic. No further deaths have occurred. The Yellow Tang now looks nearly completely free of anything, just a few faint spots/marks on his side fins (or whatever they are called). This could just be normal sand/clutter though. More importantly, there are no spots or dusty covering on his body.
The Orchid Dottyback is still the worst affected, although it is looking better than it was.
As is usual, I've been reading a few forums etc, and yesterday I mixed some Ginger Root Powder into the thawed frozen food. Apparently, some people claim that this helps. It's low-cost and reef safe, so I didn't see any harm in giving it a go. I had to steal it from She Who Casts No Shadow's spice rack though. She probably won't even notice.
Is Medic reef safe? So far, it appears to be so, although I do have a Goniopora that hasn't opened for the last couple of days? Is this due to the Medic? I don't know to be honest.

 

[Nobbygas]

Another little experiment.
I'm getting fed-up of continually cleaning the filter socks. It seems I have to wash them out every two or three days.
So, a few days ago, She Who Casts No Shadow came home with some fruit in these large tall plastic cups. While I was chomping down the mixture of Apple/Banana/Pineapple/Melon/Strawberries and some other fruity stuff, I couldn't help but notice that the cups looked a pretty good size/fit to replace the socks! The three cups were then washed, and I tested one to see if it was a good fit.......and it is perfect ! I'm thinking now that I just put some holes in the bottom, fill the last third with filter floss, and pop one in and then see how it does. The cups themselves are made of pretty thin plastic and will probably not last that long, but if it works then I will source some stronger ones.

 

[SPR]

Another little experiment.
I'm getting fed-up of continually cleaning the filter socks. It seems I have to wash them out every two or three days.
So, a few days ago, She Who Casts No Shadow came home with some fruit in these large tall plastic cups. While I was chomping down the mixture of Apple/Banana/Pineapple/Melon/Strawberries and some other fruity stuff, I couldn't help but notice that the cups looked a pretty good size/fit to replace the socks! The three cups were then washed, and I tested one to see if it was a good fit.......and it is perfect ! I'm thinking now that I just put some holes in the bottom, fill the last third with filter floss, and pop one in and then see how it does. The cups themselves are made of pretty thin plastic and will probably not last that long, but if it works then I will source some stronger ones.

Ive been thinking of things as well as I'm fed up washing them out to. If i could get throw away ones for £1 ish, i would use them, but short of making them myself, and there is a good thread on this, there doesn't seem to be any throw away ones to buy. The Red Sea are about £7 and cheap ones about £5, so to much to throw away even by my 'extravagant' standards !

I run filter floss just in chunks in the left hand side of the sump to help catch stuff and then just throw it away each week.

I think for the reefers you can buy holders which you could just fill with filter floss and I'm sure ive seen these somewhere but don't know if they will fit the Max S, short of major engineering which I'm not going to attempt.

Can we have some photo's when you get chance and you've tested them ?

 

[Nobbygas]

Aye, will do.

 

[Pat24601]

So, it sounds like basically you feel like Polylab Medic worked well for you? Or at least, could have worked well? I've read people that love it and others that feel like it didn't get it done.

I think it may basically be a hydrogen peroxide treatment. There are people that really love those and others that feel it didn't get it done.

There are so many variables in these types of things I think people can blame stuff that really isn't the primary driver.

So, you basically like it?

 

[Nobbygas]

I am still undecided. The deaths have stopped. No more fish look infected....these are big plus points.
Has it cured the problem?.....not sure.