Nobby's S-650

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I think they basically just murder each other, slowly

In the S650 I’ve got just 2 left

On the aiptasia (alerts don’t seem to be working) that’s what happened to me, it’s amazing how life forms adapt. I got a knife and just scrapped them off with no issues

I’ve got a few in the display hidden in corals, but they don’t seem to be harming anything so I’ve just left them alone
The same thing happened with the Chromis. The one surviving Chromis seems happy on it's own. Like the Anthias, the survivor was the smallest in the group. What is noticable is the rate of acceleration of deaths. Say you start with six. It takes quite a long time, say one year, before the first one dies. Then the next will die after another six months. Now down to four. The next will die after another three months. Down to three. The next two die within the next two months. As the numbers decrease, the interval between deaths also decreases. Another observation is that the male of the group is never the last survivor, so the murderer is never the male.
Another observation is that I never seem to witness any aggression.
Next time I stock Anthias I will not attempt to mix them. I think I will go with just the Bimaculatus and get around eight of them, instead of four Bimaculatus and four Lyretails. I will not bother with Chromis again.

Is this gradual decimation of the stock something we have to live with?
 
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SPR

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The same thing happened with the Chromis. The one surviving Chromis seems happy on it's own. Like the Anthias, the survivor was the smallest in the group. What is noticable is the rate of acceleration of deaths. Say you start with six. It takes quite a long time, say one year, before the first one dies. Then the next will die after another six months. Now down to four. The next will die after another three months. Down to three. The next two die within the next two months. As the numbers decrease, the interval between deaths also decreases. Another observation is that the male of the group is never the last survivor, so the murderer is never the male.
Another observation is that I never seem to witness any aggression.
Next time I stock Anthias I will not attempt to mix them. I think I will go with just the Bimaculatus and get around eight of them, instead of four Bimaculatus and four Lyretails. I will not bother with Chromis again.

Is this gradual decimation of the stock something we have to live with?
Probably yes, they probably like murdering each other because of food issues despite being fed regularly

I quiet like the chromis when they get big, there a nice ‘blue’ colour. I’ve got 5 left in both tanks, well maybe 4 in the’ big house’ because of murder but...
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Probably yes, they probably like murdering each other because of food issues despite being fed regularly

I quiet like the chromis when they get big, there a nice ‘blue’ colour. I’ve got 5 left in both tanks, well maybe 4 in the’ big house’ because of murder but...
I can't believe it's food issues. I defrost six cubes a day including Mysis, Plankton, Krill and some other stuff! That is feed to them over a period of say five or six times a day. Little and often. They also get Nori sheets at least twice a week, and live baby brine shrimps three times a week ! I tend to be a heavy feeder :)
 
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Nobbygas

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Looks like some of the latest posts have not made it through the upgrade. Oh well, never mind.

Onwards and upwards eh.
 
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Nobbygas

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Bloody fish !!!! I've had two Yellow Tangs in the tank for probably about two years now. They stayed together most of the time with no problems. This morning I was alerted by a shout from my Son that one of them was dead ! I raced downstairs to find one of them prone on the sand, and the other one was attacking it mercilessly. The poor thing looked badly beaten up, with red marks all over it's body and breathing heavily. I managed to just reach in and pick him up, and then transferred him to the floating fish trap/swimming school. At least it will stop the attacks, but I don't know if he will survive. What on earth triggered this assault? The healthy one is fully pumped up, flashing it's fins. Even with the poorly one in the trap it is still trying to get to him. Bloody fish !
 

SPR

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Bloody fish !!!! I've had two Yellow Tangs in the tank for probably about two years now. They stayed together most of the time with no problems. This morning I was alerted by a shout from my Son that one of them was dead ! I raced downstairs to find one of them prone on the sand, and the other one was attacking it mercilessly. The poor thing looked badly beaten up, with red marks all over it's body and breathing heavily. I managed to just reach in and pick him up, and then transferred him to the floating fish trap/swimming school. At least it will stop the attacks, but I don't know if he will survive. What on earth triggered this assault? The healthy one is fully pumped up, flashing it's fins. Even with the poorly one in the trap it is still trying to get to him. Bloody fish !
I’ve heard about it before, Ive read it’s better sometimes to keep them in 3’s or groups to spread the aggression whenever possible.

When I first added all mine, they were at each other. One called ‘Satan tang’ was so nasty I took him back to the shop!
 

Blue Space

Well-Known Member
The demise of my Anthias continues. It's strange, but I don't think it's a parasite nor disease problem. There has been no mass deaths, just one by one, in a steady drip, over a long period of time. The latest Bimaculatus to perish did the usual, starting to hide away, not eating. They eventually just disappear, however last night just before lights out I saw the latest casualty swimming very slowly. I managed to get a quick look at her and I was shocked! There were huge chunks bitten out of her back, and I mean HUGE chunks. I was amazed she was still alive .I would guess that something like 25% of her body had been eaten ! I really am at a loss as to why this is happening. I am now down to just the one Lyretail and the one Bimaculatus.
The other strange thing is that both of the surviving fish were the smallest in their groups !
"there were huge chunks bitten out of her back..." Is it possible you have a predatory worm in your system?
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Well, I have given up on one experiment. It was my intention that whenever possible when buying new fish to try and always have at least two, hopefully one male and one female. The only 'pairs' that have lasted are the obvious ones, the Clowns, Mandarins and the Royal Grammas.
 

Pancho75

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Sorry to hear about the tangs fights and the anthias problems. I would also point towards a predatory worm, I wander if there are traps for those.
 
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Nobbygas

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Sorry to hear about the tangs fights and the anthias problems. I would also point towards a predatory worm, I wander if there are traps for those.
Hiya Pancho ! Hope you and your family are keeping well.
I don't think it's a predatory worm as the deaths didn't appear to be sudden in that the fish didn't just suddenly disappear. There was a pattern where the individual fish would start to hide during the day and just come out to feed, but the amount of time hiding would grow and they would come out to feed less and less, Eventually they appeared to starve to death! This was especially true of the Anthias and Chromis.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
How have the failures worked out? Death of the weak one?
Generally when attempting to add two to the tank, one of them didn't make it through the process. This happened a few times. I have also tried adding two of the same type of Wrasse at the same time only to have them disappear into the sand never to be seen again !
But I tried, and it didn't work.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
So, I've put the first batch of 'Shaun's Alk Elixir' into the dosing box. I shall test it on a daily basis for a week or so to see if there are any differences and then adjust the dosage accordingly. If it all goes well I will buy Shaun a pint of his finest home-made beer. If it doesn't I will turn up on his doorstep with boiling tar, feathers and a pitchfork..........and I'll drink all his home-made beer.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
So, I've put the first batch of 'Shaun's Alk Elixir' into the dosing box. I shall test it on a daily basis for a week or so to see if there are any differences and then adjust the dosage accordingly. If it all goes well I will buy Shaun a pint of his finest home-made beer. If it doesn't I will turn up on his doorstep with boiling tar, feathers and a pitchfork..........and I'll drink all his home-made beer.
I haven’t noticed any difference other than originally I thought my alkalinity mix was 1/3 stronger, but now after a month or so it’s the same as I was dosing before with the RS version, probably because it’s the same chemical.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
This lockdown is having an effect on the fish. I am mainly working from home, so I defrost their normal daily supply of food, and I feed them a little but often during the day. When I am normally working in the office they get bigger meals, but less of them. This little and often method has made them fat ! My Coral Beauty has been named "Fat Boy" by my son! Being polite I can only describe my Wrasse as "chunky".
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
So, I've put the first batch of 'Shaun's Alk Elixir' into the dosing box. I shall test it on a daily basis for a week or so to see if there are any differences and then adjust the dosage accordingly. If it all goes well I will buy Shaun a pint of his finest home-made beer. If it doesn't I will turn up on his doorstep with boiling tar, feathers and a pitchfork..........and I'll drink all his home-made beer.
Well?
 
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