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SALTWATER FISHM

Question.......I have a 40 gal. saltwater setup. Occupying it is a yellow tailed bluetang and a maroon clownfish (I've had them for about a year). Lately the tail fins on both fish have looked frayed and split and recently the tang has lost a little color in his tail. My tang still seems normal but the clownfish has become shy and hides all day. They used to get together fine. I thought an anemone may help give the clownfish some company, but it's a fish only tank and there is about 1-1/2" of crushed coral on the bottom. Is this environment ok for an anemone, and with my tang do all right? I also have a slight algae problem (I think). All of the rocks and coral have developed a thick layer of brown algae with a few spots of green (which I though the tang may eat but doesn't). I thought this might be normal but it seems to just get thicker. I have cut down the amount of light I give in a day and it hasn't changed much. Also my nitrate levels always check out good. Should I clean the coral and rock or should I just leave it alone? I know I have asked a lot of questions but I would really appreciate the responses! Thank you, MEMBER, STEVE BULLERI Answer....There is much information you did not provide, like the type of equipment being used. First I would say try to culture a good healthy green algae growth as these algae use nitrates as a fertilizer and they help greatly in reducing nitrate levels. The brown algae is a product of to much phosphates. A protein skimmer may help in reducing phosphates as they often are trapped in proteins. The 25% water changes are a good thing and should be adhered to, but maybe try cutting back on feeding levels for a while. A protein skimmer would definitely help your situation. The nitrifying cycle can be compared to a conveyor belt. The waste products move down the chemical cycle at a rate that food is introduced at the beginning of the analogous "chemical breakdown conveyor belt." Nitrate test kit readings are often the least dependable, because Nitrate gases are most often stratified, in other words the readings are the highest at the deeper levels of the tank and often are highest after a tank is churned up. If you want to get a more accurate nitrate reading, take your water sample from the bottom of your tank. If you continue to envision the nitrifying cycle as a conveyor belt, you can see the start of the cycle is food. Almost an immediate by product of the food is protein. These proteins are concentrated at the very surface and take form as a thin oil like slick at the surface. This slick can act as a seal and greatly reduce the ability of gases to be absorbed by the water as well as released into the atmosphere, thus slowing the "conveyor belt" action. No oxygen for the nitrifying bacteria equals no breakdown. Therefore a protein skimmer will start at the begging of the Conveyor belt and almost immediately lighten the load going down this imaginary belt. With easier absorption of oxygen the nitrosomonas bacteria can do their job more effectively, thus passing by products down the conveyor belt more quickly. Once the Nitrosomonas breakdown ammonia this produces nitrites. These Nitrites are then broken down by bacteria called Nitrobacters. These bacteria can work equally as fast, but only if the conditions are favorable. Once these bacteria complete their task, they have produced Nitrates the end result. Nitrates are very slowly assimilated by algae and other less than active bacteria. If the Nitrates accumulate to too high a level 25 ppm or above it is time to "ship" those nitrates out by doing a partial water change. Thus removing the finished product from this "conveyor belt." Nitrates are a reasonably harmless substance where many fish are concerned, but a good overall indicator of general water quality and one that should be kept extremely low if invertebrates are to thrive. Constant high nitrate levels indicate high fish populations or infrequent water changes. The other two gases (Ammonia & nitrites) at the beginning of the conveyor belt should be at levels of zero for optimum water quality. Sometimes however some of the workers along the conveyor belt go on strike or don't work near as efficiently. In these cases your tank may experience little spikes in ammonia and nitrite levels, but if nitrate levels are not in excess they will quickly pile up as more nitrates usually not stressing fish like long term exposure of these gases can do. A single overfeeding is often the reason for these spikes, thus stressing the importance of a very consistent routine when feeding fish. The same amount at the same interval can make the conveyor belt operate more smoothly. I hope my little analogy helped clarify your question. I can just see those little bacteria dressed in company uniform trying to make rate for that week. Only problem is these bacteria don't get any time off for good behavior. I would not suggest an anemone at this time. I would clean the brown algae off, when the green takes over then I would get some turbo snails and hermit crabs to keep it in check. "The Aquarium Doctor" Question.......Dear Sir; I am a school teacher and am setting up a salt water tank as well as a fresh water tank in my classroom. I would like to have a graph of the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite cycles. I have had a saltwater tank for the past 10 years and understand the cycles, but I need graphs and charts for my kids in school. My students are 9-12 graders. If you can help me find some graphs or charts, I would greatly appreciate it.   Thanks again!, Pamela Answer....Hi Pam!!!! It is great that you are setting up aquariums in your classroom! There is so much that can be learned by maintaining an aquarium. I don't have any graphs or charts for you but, I know you can find some online. I will attempt to find one and send you the URL. Good luck with your projects and please write again!!!! "The Aquarium Doctor" Pam Hi again!!!! I have a URL for you to look up. I picked it for it"s content and use of graphs and charts. There are terms your students will need to become familiar with. Here is the URL let me know if this is a help, "The Aquarium Doctor" Members may ask questions on any aquarium related subject and look for information returned on their own personal email faster than most can look it up. If you are really serious about this hobby, check out Andre's Aquarium Club's SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP Click Here

Question....We are considering setting up our first reef tank.We purchased a 120 gallon tank, we were wondering what type of lighting and filter-system you would recommed. Also how much live rock would we need? How should we go about getting it started? Mike and Christine Maki Answer....A reef tank more than any other tank is equipment intensive. The organisms that will inhabit a reef tank require conditions that a fish only tanks often can not create. First you must decide what kind of organisms you want to be your main creature. The type of organisms you choose to keep will greatly influence the type of equipment you will need. For instance corals will require a very high intensity lighting. Another example would be if you are mainly interested in anemones, rear filters would be hazardous to their health by threatening to suck them into the intake. The traditional reef tank consists of a variety of mobile and non mobile invertabrete with a relative small population of fish. The fish in a reef tank must be species that have no ill effects towards the types of invertabrete you plan to keep. Remember the Ocean is a vast LANDSCAPE OF ONE CREATURE PREYING ON THE NEXT. You must minimize this natural selection among creatures by researching the behavior and perimeters each creature possesses and select only those creatures that can coexist. This wont be easy, especially if you plan to use large quantities of live rock. Live Rock often contains many different organisms in its many holes and pours, and not all of them are harmonious. For example, Mantis Shrimp are often found in live rock and they can be especially hard on other crustaceans you plan to keep. Bristle worms are also a common problem, they will literally eat some of your sessile invertabre alive, such as clams and tube worms, and even smaller fish can be eaten alive, especially if the fish are of the hiding type and are in close contact to the live rock. The next big consideration is what type of filtration are you going to use. Dry filtration probably creates the best water quality but can have its drawbacks as well. The nitrifying bacteria live in a separate tank than the organisms thus decreasing the chance of out of control bacterial infections. However dry filtration must be monitored closely so that the sump does not overflow or run dry. Some organisms can cause blockage to the flow, especially if they are inadvertently drawn into the prefilter. A fine mesh screen around the prefilter will minimize such an occurrence. A protein skimmer and ozinizer would be other helpful additions to a reef tank. Most Corals especially have a very low tolerance to nitrates, so any equipment that can increase your filtering efficiency would be suggested. a reef tank can be a costly venture, but replacing these creatures can be even more costly, so it is best to get the best equipment you can afford before you start populating. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask me any question. Lighting:...Actinic for corals .......50/50 for anemones and a few corals Filter: Wet dry For a reef tank is best Live Rock: 30-40 lbs of live rock per 50 gallons would be a good starting amount . "The Aquarium Doctor" John and I love your Web site! It's great! We'd like to ask your advise on an on going problem we've been having. The problem is that we can't keep any kind of fish alive other than two damsels. The tank has been set up for 2-3 months. Specifications:, 20 gallon tank crushed seashell substrate, 3 pieces of live rock, 1 Aquamaster 250, 1 Aquamaster 350, 1 Coralife Super Skimmer II Coralife 50/50 light bulb - 18 inch  Chemicals used: Seachem PhosGuard for Algae, Greenex Anti-Protozoan agent for Ich. We do weekly tank tests and partial water changes using distilled water. Our tests always come as 0.25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 20ppm nitrates. The specific gravity is 1.022 and water temp. is 76F. The toxic ammonia level is 0.033. We recently bought a sebae clown and it died within 24 hours of introducing it into the tank. The test results were as stated above. Any Ideas? We have an aquarium specialist coming to look at our tank and set up this week. We are really frustrated at this point and would welcome any advise you may have. Thanks, John and Melonie Ernst Melonie, your tank is still very young. Don't give up!!!! Your nitrifying cycle may not be very stable yet. I definetly would not suggest the use of chemicals and the distilled water provides no added trace elements.  Natural seawater is a "living" substance, containing living organisms with which it interacts. Many commercially available sea-salt preparations will adequately sustain marine life.They also contain trace elements which essential to many biological functions. When a tank has a series of negative events it sometimes takes a while for the cycle to recover and function as a healthy cycle. The best suggestion I can give is to start with some very hardy fish  such as damsels, which you have, and establish the nitrifying cycle with these fish a few may not make it through the abut ,at least they will provide wastes for the bacteria to get a kick start. I would also suggest some live sand from a established tank. To me it sounds like the cycle has not progressed enough. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. "The Aquarium Doctor" Question....My tank has been infested, with some little creatures that I was told was "Copia Pods" , from a live rock in my tank. They resemble tiny grey shrimp that come out at night and love to jump.  I was told to get an arrow crab to eat them because they can be detrimental to the fish because they embed themselves in the fishes gills... Any further info would greatly be appreciated. Jodi Hannahs Answer....Your information is correct, an arrow crab is the best way to get rid of these pest. You have to be careful about which fish you have with the arrow crab. Some fish like arrow crabs for dinner. The Arrow Crab looks like a daddy long legs spider. The Arrow crab is very good at getting rid of Bristol worms, a scourge in some aquariums. This crab has long pointed pinchers, and can reach into small areas to get the pods. You must be careful, this crab will eat any vegetable form that is in the aquarium. They will prowl the aquarium looking for any small crustacean to eat also. "The Aquarium Doctor"

Dale Barger, member

Gulfview Marine     Live Rock ,    We have four classes of Live Rock...   Gorgonians & Sponges,    based on availability...  Gulf Sand , Taken next to natural reefs... Inverts, Crabs & Snails, etc..

Gulfview Wholesale Marine specializes in Aquaculture, Live Rock, Gulf Sand, Gargonian, Coral, Sponges, Snails, and Crabs. Since 1988, Gulfview has been a live rock harvester and established a solid reputation for the quality to which they are committed. "We strive for quality... not quantity." Gulfview is one of the few aquaculturalists permitted by the government to harvest rock specifically grown for the marine aquarium in the Gulf of Mexico.