2012 Was a Crappy Year for Fishkeeping

Well, in all my years of fish keeping I've been quite successful with rearing some impressive and beautiful specimens. Unfortunately I've ran on hard times in 2012, and each incident was seemingly unrelated to the last. I'll give you a run down.


Last year I lost:

-6 year old Starry Blenny

-Hand size (traded away) Yellow Belly Blue Hippo Tang

-6 year old Melenarus Wrasse

-Blue Throat Trigger


The Blenny, apparently sat inside a sized Tunze and then took trauma to the back of the head from the propeller.


The hippo tang was just getting to big, but now her absence makes the tank seem empty


The Melenarus came down with an apparent virus or parasite and wasted away slowly. Became suceptible to monogeans and eventually died after a 2 month battle.


The Trigger disappeared never to be seen again. I ripped all my rock out searching for a body less than 24 hours since I had seen him last. No body ever recovered. Jumped out? couldn't find a body back behind the tank either.


I'm pretty dishartend by the whole thing. I just don't know what to do, or when to try next. My tank is BORING. It doesn't look like I have any fish in there. There's a mystery wrasse, a pair of clowns, a purple tang, one orange anthia, one chromis, and two talbot damsels (i'm going to get rid of). I have a new melenarus that I'm fattening up in a separate tank to later join my main tank. I know I want to keep: purple tang, clowns, mystery and melenarus wrasse. But I want a couple others to fill the tank out.


Here's what I'm thinking:


Flameback angel or Lamark angel

new group of chromis

a red dragonnette blenny


Any other ideas. Anybody else having a rough go of it out there? Anybody else had similar episodes? How did you carry on, and turn it around?

 

What about getting a few more anthias? They'll do the schooling thing like chromis, but they're prettier.

 

Andy, I am sorry to hear about all of your losses. I remember when I was at your place a little while back we spent a few minutes looking for your trigger, that must have been the day that he disappeared? I do hope restocking a little bit will help you find joy, and liven your tank up! I like the fish list you are thinking of getting.
Good luck!
Jordan

 

Don't get me started....haven't even been able to even keep a SPS frag alive for more than a month in my tank for 6+ months.

 

I've always found that anthias do better WITH chromis. The chromis are dither fish for the more dominant anthia in the bunch, and thier presence in the mid water makes the anthias feel more comfortable about coming out of the rocks and into the open. (I guess you shouldn't take my word for it I'm terrible at keeping fish! lol)

 

Sorry about your luck Jeremy. I won't try to pick it apart and "diagnose" anything right now. But if you want help I'm always a good sounding board, especially when it comes to SPS (kind of my thing).

Thanks Jordan I'll try to keep trying. Yah that was the day. I had seen him not 24 hours before then and that very evening I had rocks and corals out on the floor, water everywhere and I was poking and proding all over the figure out where the hell he got to. I thought he had gotten himself stuck with his anal and dorsal spines since they like to use those to prop themselves into hiding spots while sleeping. But no dice.....

 

I had a tank "crash" last summer lost 90% of my coral, a LT nem i had for a long time and was almost 2 feet across a scooter and a diamond goby. So I decided to tear my tank down and redo the aquascaping I housed my fish in a 90 gallon I had downstairs. well the powerhear quit and I did not know it for about a day and a half. Lost ALL my old big fish about 8 of em my biggest loss were my Blue hippo who was a little bigger than my hand, my little yellow tang that I have had from the beginning and my Snowflake eel who decided to escape, also had him from my first tank. I almost felt like giving up. But I took the 3-4 little fish I had left and started over. I am now in the process of statrtin to add coral and him happy with the results I have a couple "new" favorite fish now. A dragon wrasse and a falco hawk. I also have added a niger trigger, a couple clowns, a blu atlantic tang, another scooter, a coral beayuty and a red squirell.

 

Waverz you have to pour a little beer in there. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/crazy.gif that's what I do. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

The bad think about anthia are the are short on life for me I had 8 die in 4 months. You have to feed them like crazy . And Andy keep that head up bud you'll do fine !

 

I had a big fish buy, lost 4 Anthias, and an Atlantic blue, and a couple other fish lost, even brought home the wrong fish. Did not do much with tank for 2-3 months, then got the bug again and everything has been doing great for last couple months.

 

I am a huuuuge angelfish fan. If you only have SPS, get a couple small queens or similar, otherwise there are some awesome pygmys out there

 

Sorry for your losses andy I was there when your trigger went missing. I feel bad cuz triggers are like dogs, eat out of our hands and greet us at the glass. I like blennys as well, I've had bi-color, two midas, and currently a black sailfin blenny. The bi-color was a dick, the midas were very cool to look at but they jump, and the sailfin has been the most benificial to my tank. He is always grazeing for algae and coral mucous so he helps keep things clean.

I have a flame angel and while he looks very nice swimming around i've watched him nip a couple times. I knew this would be a chance before I bought him but they are one of my favorite so I took my chance. He hasn't done any damage to my coral but he surely isn't benefiting them at all either.

I have a mexican rock wrasse and he is by far my most active fish. Non stop swimming and at a good pace. his coloring really pops since he has matured (blue, red, yellow). Good luck to you in 2013 and I must say you are the SPS whisper, the frags I got from you are the healthiest specimens I've laid my eyes on.

 

I really like angels too, although I don't know that a queen will fit in my 120, at least not for very long. I have BIG dreams, but not until I move out of this house, and a lot of things have got to happen before then, so I won't hold my breath. Let me know if you find any Lamarks angels or swallowtails available anytime soon Craig!


I would go for some other type of pygmy but I've had bad luck in the past with them nipping. I probably have enough corals now that it wouldn't make much of a difference. Like I said I might also entertain the idea of a couple of Flameback's.


Posted By Brandon9400 on 1/12/2013 3:23:39 PM

Sorry for your losses andy I was there when your trigger went missing. I feel bad cuz triggers are like

dogs, eat out of our hands and greet us at the glass. I like blennys as well, I've had bi-color, two midas,

and currently a black sailfin blenny. The bi-color was a dick, the midas were very cool to look at but they

jump, and the sailfin has been the most benificial to my tank. He is always grazeing for algae and coral mucous

so he helps keep things clean.


Yup, that was a sad day. Plus I had only had him since last spring and I was really getting to know him finally, and he was warming up to me quite well.

 

Damn! I need to proof read before I post./DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/crazy.gif I guess I think faster than I can type. LOL I forgot to add I have a coral beauty and a bicolor blenny, which I love 'em both but they hide 23-7! And my coral beauty chases my blue atlantic tang non-stop (i added the tang 2 days ago). So....

 

I've lost 2 tangs and a clown. For some reason all my sps went to crap too.