Looking for opinions.

[lcstorc]

And know my RS buddies will have some.
OK. I have a 125 reef w/ a 24g seahorse tank that are together and share water. So that is set.
I also set up about 2 months ago what was to be a qt tank which is a 20g. This was for some new fish I bought and really am pretty-maxed on my bio-load (specially w/the new inhabitants mentioned below) so unless I get a new tank I shouldn't need the qt.
Well, last week a friend of my husbands tore down his 125. The guy who got the tank and equipment was supposed to get the livestock as well but long story short, we ended up with it before it died sitting in a trashcan. Fortunately, he did not have much.
The few corals (and huge clam) fit in the reef and are looking good so that is fine, but the fish are in the qt as they should be.
Some I know what to do with, but am having a difficult time on some others.
The Mandarin (who is quite plump) is my husbands favorite fish so I am going to take a huge chance and hope I have and can keep enough pods to keep him happy so he is going into the reef after proper qt.
The yt, serpent star and hermits go to the lfs or anyone who wants them. I really can't keep them since I have a Sailfin in the reef and the yellow just wont work. Plus i already have a serpent star in the reef I am considering getting rid of, so I don't want another.
Now for the 2 questions.
There is a relatively small hippo tang as well. 3-4 inches. I have a Chevron and a Sailfin already in the reef both of which are in the 4-5 inch range so are larger. I know long term my 125 is not big enough for all 3, but what about combining these fish in general? Then I will either upgrade (which I want and am planning) or give them to someone with a bigger system down the road.
Next there is a really fun mated pair of Ocilaris clowns. I have really fallen in love with them but already have a maroon in my reef.
What do you guys thing about either keeping the pair in the 20g or putting them in the reef and moving the maroon to the 20? The maroon is hosting in a bta in the reef so I would probably lean towards keeping him in the reef and the pair in the 20. I am not going to add enough light to it (if I even keep it set up) for an anemone, but I could put some mushrooms, xenia or some other options that they may host in. (I know they don't need it, but I love to watch the behavior so I would give them something at least.)
OK sorry for the long post but I have been debating for a couple of days and just can't decide what I want.
Thanks
Lynn

[Charlie97L]

hey!

wow, you want to send me that clam? hehe.

i would say leave the clowns in the 20... if you want to keep up with another tank... if you're just feeling guilty about getting rid of them, don't. find a local reefer to take them and give them a home, rather than the LFS.

as for the tang, how well established are the other two? i would think if you upped to a 180 they'd probably be ok, but tangs are just hit and miss as far as getting along. you'd have to introduce them all at the same time to the new tank, which could be tricky. other than blind luck, the best successes i've seen were all the same size tangs at the same time.

ultimately, it's up to you, but it really depends on how long you've had the 125 up, how badly you want to upgrade, and if it's not an impulse upgrade just to keep one more fish. if it IS an impulse, i'd just find a new home for the blue guy too. going from a 125 to a 180 will be a major PITA. but i always encourage upgrades! i want a 90!!! (but the roomies said no).

[lcstorc]

Well the upgrade will be down the line a bit and when I do it will be at least gain me acceptance to the 200g club. LOL If you're gonna upgrade go for is is my motto. As far as size/bio-load I do weekely water changes and watch pretty closely so that should be fine for now, the upgrade is really for when these guys get big. The 2 tangs I already have max at either 12 or 16in so even without the hippo the upgread issue is something I know I will have to deal with. The Chevron and Sailfin have only been there less than 2 months but they are established so if I try it I will have to be careful, re-arrange, etc. Since he has a different body shape I think I can combine them with a reasonable chance of success as long as I am careful. The yellow has to go since it is the same body style as the saillfin and I really do not want 4 tangs anyway.
The clowns are not as much a matter of guilt as the fact that I love to watch the pair together. Breeding or not, I just love they way they stay together and seem to be having a great time w/my lr and their new home. A bit crowded at the moment but the 20 was all I had other than the reef and I really wanted to qt these guys specially w/2 tangs in the group. I just had a battle with ich when I added the chevron and sailfin and want to prevent that if at all possible. The fish are small enough that I think I am good for the appropriate qt period and I can get rid of the yt and serpent even sooner to give everyone some breathing room.
As to maintenance of another tank, I am divided. It is on the other side of the house which is good and bad. LOL My 2nd tank takes almost no separate maintenance since it shares filtration and sump. This would be another set of water changes, water tests etc, but they are just so much fun to watch. It just may be worth it.
See how divided I am.
LOL

Oh and the clam story is most amusing. 2 months ago I didn't have any clams. (Of course 3 months ago I had PC lighting only). Now I have 3. First a Crocea about 4 inches across, then I fell in love with a baby maxima (only about an inch so he is getting lots of love and attention) and now I find myself with a crocea about 7 inches or so. Talk about learning quickly. LOL. Well the new one is still too new to tell much but the other 2 are doing great and I see new growth on both so hopefully I can keep them all happy.
Thanks

[boozeman]

psst....a 125 would make a nice sump for a 300gal. tank

[Charlie97L]

cool. sounds like you have everything under control... as far as the tang... if you really are going to upgrade, go for it, but i think you'll have problems putting him in now. better to find him a good home and get another when you upgrade, in my opinion.

heck, keep the clowns in their own tank! i want to do an anemone/clown tank at some point in the future.

[meandean45]

Hi Lynn,
IMO I think that if you do a little rearranging, feed the fish heavily, and dim the lights that you could add the hippo tank without too much difficulty. IME hippos aren't terribly territorial or aggressive, and he shouldn't be a threat to your Chevron or Sailfin. I'd expect SOME display/mock fighting, but don't really think adding him will result in a battle to the death.
If you want to keep the Ocelaris in the 20, they should be fine there, maybe you could do a major water change and move the tank over to the other side of the house? Mated Clown pairs (mine are Pink Skunks, A. Periderion) are really cool to watch, and of course there's always that niggling idea that you might be able to raise the fry (have tried, and FAILED, 4 times now, but will keep trying until I have a 40 breeder full of 1/2" clowns someday). JMO, but try the Hippo in your reef, send the YT and the Serpent Star to the LFS, and have some fun with the Clowns for a while at least in the 20. If you decide down the road that the extra tank is too much work, you can always find them a new home ( Heck, I might have room for them!).
Regards, and good luck with the new acquisitions!
Dean

[meandean45]

Hi Lynn,
IMO I think that if you do a little rearranging, feed the fish heavily, and dim the lights that you could add the hippo tank without too much difficulty. IME hippos aren't terribly territorial or aggressive, and he shouldn't be a threat to your Chevron or Sailfin. I'd expect SOME display/mock fighting, but don't really think adding him will result in a battle to the death.
If you want to keep the Ocelaris in the 20, they should be fine there, maybe you could do a major water change and move the tank over to the other side of the house? Mated Clown pairs (mine are Pink Skunks, A. Periderion) are really cool to watch, and of course there's always that niggling idea that you might be able to raise the fry (have tried, and FAILED, 4 times now, but will keep trying until I have a 40 breeder full of 1/2" clowns someday). JMO, but try the Hippo in your reef, send the YT and the Serpent Star to the LFS, and have some fun with the Clowns for a while at least in the 20. If you decide down the road that the extra tank is too much work, you can always find them a new home ( Heck, I might have room for them!).
Regards, and good luck with the new acquisitions!
Dean

[billyr98]

well if need an opinion on the tangs... I have one
it is very tough adding a mix of tangs, but I have done it.. I have a powder blue, purple, yellow, and blue hippo all living together... Its not a happy family - the yellow gets picked on from the purple and PB... But my blue hippo just gets around the tank fine... But if u can rearrange some rock for their territories to get renewed in your tank.. also if you put the hippo in the tank in the dark it will help a lot... this is what i have been doing for adding fish to my largely populated tank... good luck lynn..

[sasquatch]

Hey Lynn, dont fight it, just get the new tank now and leave the 125 alone. You know you want to

[lcstorc]

While that is certainly true, the dollars are just not there ATM.
Regardless this thread just kind of died. The guy who was supposed to get the livestock re-appeared and just called. He wants it all so It will be going to a new home. I am desperately trying to convince him to leave the mandarin not because I want it (though I do), but because I feel it has almost no chance in a brand new setup even with established water and rock that he is adding. Somebody told him they are very easy fish. Geez.
Just in case there is a doubt he will be shown RS before he leaves here with anything live. LOL Perhaps we'll get a new member out of this mess.
Anyway, thanks all for your help and suggestions.

[lcstorc]

Well, a bit of good news on this one I think. Apparently he did some research after speaking with me and now wants to let us keep the mandarin in return for our trouble. Really, he now agrees it has a better chance in our established system than in his brand new system. Personally, I am nervous about him here but do think he has a better chance anyway. Fortunately he is quite plump now so at least he is starting from a good place.
Best of all we talked for quite a while about RS so hopefully he will join us and have a much better reef because of it.

[meandean45]

Wow, your'e pretty generous Lynn!
So after he left this livestock a day or two (or more?) ago he suddenly decides he wants it,after you and your' husband went to all the trouble to set up for it and save it!????!!!! I might not be so eager to give live animals to someone that must have known this livestock would either be dead(trashcan) or for sale (LFS), and decided not to take it in the first place. I hope that this is someone that you know well, and are sure will take proper care of it.
Too bad that you didn't get to keep the Clowns etc. that you actually wanted.
I suppose that you and your' husband should get the "Good Sport Award" for saving all that livestock and then being willing to part with it. Have you filed with the ASPCA for a grant to start the first "Rescue Shelter" for fish and inverts yet !!!
Regards,
Dean

[lcstorc]

LOL
Actually the whole thing has been a bit of a mess and is continuing. This all came from a tank that belonged to a friend, but everything was to go to someone who we don't even know. Well, somehow everything got messed up and there was nowhere for the livestock to go and we got the call. It seems the problem was actually the guy who was tearing down the tank and not the new owner. Being the animal lover I am, I had to do something regardless.
Met the family taking the livestock yesterday and they seem very nice but really know almost nothing about reefs. Of course they were forced to listen to me babble about RS and reef tanks extensively so hopefully we will see them around.
We ended up making a trade with them. We gave them our original PC lights since they don't want to run MH and in return I am keeping the mandarin, the corals, and the clam. Not sure this was a great deal for me but the light was just sitting in the garage so oh well. Also I am continuing to babysit the fish until their new tank is up and cycled. That one was a tough decision. I hate to have that much crammed into my 20g qt but at least it is cycled and stable. They ended up trading the 125 in for a 55 yesterday so they have to start from scratch and I just couldn't send the fish into a brand new system. Hopefully they will be ok in the 20g for the time it takes their tank to cycle.
BTW many people call my house the zoo. I just can't turn away a helpless animal. Particularly one that just needs basic care that I can easily provide. Fortunately I live in a rural area so I have some room for impulses that cannot be housed in a tank. I did once rescue a blue and gold macaw that was perched in a tree in my yard. LOL Found out he had escaped from a couple of blocks away so fortunately he went back to his owner. I already have one macaw and really did not want another.
I am such a sucker for animals.

[Gina]

If anyone can keep these fish happy and healthy till their new home is ready, it's you. Your doing a good thing!
Karma for that!
And who knows, you may have just made some new friends!
Hopefully, they'll join RS and go on to have a beautiful reef of their own.

[meandean45]

Hi Lynn !

You too!! We have a small collection of animals ourselves. Only a few are "rescues" though !
Lets see, there's Sadie (our Eclectus) and Sugar (Cinnamon Cockatiel) Ginger and Junior (Zebra finches) and Lovey (Gouldian Finch). We "rescued" Toby (Goffins Cockatoo), Chester (Cockatiel) and Thumper (Rabbit, of course). Then there is the 90 gal. Reef and the 125 gal. Discus tank. Does it sound like we have enough??
Since we live in the middle of town, we haven't replaced the three dogs and cat, (old Age) as there really isn't any room for them to get out of the house (1/8 of an acre).
I like to tease my wife that she grew up on a farm, and still has one, just that the "livestock's" now indoors.
Good to hear that you (with some experience ) got to keep the corals/clam!
And you actually got them for your' old PC lights?!!! We just took our old 55 gal., stand, PCs etc. and gave them to my nephew because they were taking up space in our garage (now if I can just get our daughter to come get her three 20 gal. longs.....)
Good luck with the new clam/corals, and hope the 55 cycles soon so that you can send the fish to their new home soon.
Regards,
Dean