ok. we changed the carbon/phosphate filter today on my dads 125g. we had a cyano outbreak in his refug so we figured eliminate a possible food source for cyano (phosphates). oh, he also did a 25g water change.. anyways about 15 minutes later his sailfin tang started swimming around in weird ways we have never seen him swim, and he started doing a backflip several times, so i suggested to my dad to turn off the carbon/phosphate sponge filtering..do we need to be absolutly concerned at this point, or should we continue with the filtering?
urgent info needed quickly as possible please.
- Thread starter c0n
- Start date
Do you have a sick tank? I would isolate him untill you can get your water tested to make sure all your lvls are good . Also turn the lights off , somtimes that will calm a fish down that is spooked for some reason.
Also is he swimming wierd because if his attitude or wierd like he is swimming sideways ?
Also is he swimming wierd because if his attitude or wierd like he is swimming sideways ?
cOn,
The carbon filtering wouldn't be a cause of the tang's behaviour. The cyano is feeding off of excess nutrients in the system, especially if it's a new system. Can you tell us more about your dad's set up? (age, lighting, what skimmer, what other inhabitants, how often and what you are feeding)
As much info as possible would help.
As far as your tang's behaviour problem, is it just scratching against the rocks? You have 3 tangs in that tank. That's fairly stressful and it could be the first signs of an ich outbreak. Again, what else is in that tank?
Mitch
The carbon filtering wouldn't be a cause of the tang's behaviour. The cyano is feeding off of excess nutrients in the system, especially if it's a new system. Can you tell us more about your dad's set up? (age, lighting, what skimmer, what other inhabitants, how often and what you are feeding)
As much info as possible would help.
As far as your tang's behaviour problem, is it just scratching against the rocks? You have 3 tangs in that tank. That's fairly stressful and it could be the first signs of an ich outbreak. Again, what else is in that tank?
Mitch
Chris, a similar thing happened with me about 2 months ago. Immediately after a water change my Sailfin became very aggitated and it was obvious something was bothering him. In my case, it appeared that he contracted some type of virus or parasite as within a few days he has a big puffy eye and you could see through his skin. I could never be sure if that was from him scratching or something else as I was traveling that next week. Either way, I don't know what caused the outbreak since I only did a water change. The only thing I could think of was the water being put back in was significantly colder than the water in the tank. I immediately switched to Spectrum Thera food as I was told that will help his immune system. It seemed to work as about a month later, he's back to normal.
I am by no means an expert and am usually just a lurker on the boards. But after what I went through, I understand the panic. Good luck and hopefully he doesn't have what mine had.
-Peter
I am by no means an expert and am usually just a lurker on the boards. But after what I went through, I understand the panic. Good luck and hopefully he doesn't have what mine had.
-Peter
hes doing fine now =\
carpentersreef:
125G AGA Dual overflow.
rio 4100 for return, 25g sump, some sort of venturi skimmer, ( its huge ) mag 3000 running that i think, rio 3100 inside 125 for flow. about 90lbs of LR, many corals, including stoney and soft, 3" -4" sandbed, kalkwasser reactor, constantly dripping, for lighting, 3 250w PC's, 3 500w MH, he has the lights on a timer system..now fish:
purple tang,
yellow tang,
naso tang,
hippo tang,
sailfin tang,
6 green chromis,
2 fireclowns,
lawnmower blennie,
sgt major damsel
=P i know he has way too many fish in the tank, but theyve been fine so far and the sailfin was the only one to react so oddly to the water change and the filtering..btw he has lots of coral =P many frags, 1 acro, lots of softies..
carpentersreef:
125G AGA Dual overflow.
rio 4100 for return, 25g sump, some sort of venturi skimmer, ( its huge ) mag 3000 running that i think, rio 3100 inside 125 for flow. about 90lbs of LR, many corals, including stoney and soft, 3" -4" sandbed, kalkwasser reactor, constantly dripping, for lighting, 3 250w PC's, 3 500w MH, he has the lights on a timer system..now fish:
purple tang,
yellow tang,
naso tang,
hippo tang,
sailfin tang,
6 green chromis,
2 fireclowns,
lawnmower blennie,
sgt major damsel
=P i know he has way too many fish in the tank, but theyve been fine so far and the sailfin was the only one to react so oddly to the water change and the filtering..btw he has lots of coral =P many frags, 1 acro, lots of softies..
(please God, don't let Naesco see this thread...... 8O )
I'm glad to hear that the one tang is doing better.
Yes, that IS a lot of fish for that size tank, especially for the number of tangs that you've listed.
Tangs are extremely high energy fish, and need a lot of room to move and some are VERY territorial. The purple tang especially.
Keeping that many tangs in a relatively small tank like that can be compared to trying to raise a half dozen springer spaniels in an apartment. Their high energy is going to manifest itself into problems. Either the stress level is going to cause the fish to more easily succumb to diseases like ich, territorial arguments are going to result in fish death or some of those tangs are going to go carpet surfing.
You said that the fish are fine so far - how old is the tank, and how long have those tangs been together?
Mitch
I'm glad to hear that the one tang is doing better.
Yes, that IS a lot of fish for that size tank, especially for the number of tangs that you've listed.
Tangs are extremely high energy fish, and need a lot of room to move and some are VERY territorial. The purple tang especially.
Keeping that many tangs in a relatively small tank like that can be compared to trying to raise a half dozen springer spaniels in an apartment. Their high energy is going to manifest itself into problems. Either the stress level is going to cause the fish to more easily succumb to diseases like ich, territorial arguments are going to result in fish death or some of those tangs are going to go carpet surfing.
You said that the fish are fine so far - how old is the tank, and how long have those tangs been together?
Mitch
Ah, never mind....I see you've been down this road before....:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=242539&highlight=#242539
Next step....cOn, what do you have for reference material? Cyano and other nusiance algae happens frequently in aquariums. Please check out the FAQ's at the top of the General Discussion list of topics. there's a list of good books there and advice for beginners.
Mitch
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=242539&highlight=#242539
Next step....cOn, what do you have for reference material? Cyano and other nusiance algae happens frequently in aquariums. Please check out the FAQ's at the top of the General Discussion list of topics. there's a list of good books there and advice for beginners.
Mitch
i think i am having a problem with cyno too, is there anything i can do to help solve this, and what is the big deal? :? ??? i cant understand how it is bad, or how to get rid of it. my snails have not touched it, nor my hermits, the clown and the damsels seem fine as well. how can it be bad besides being unsightly? i am planning on getting a newer cleanup crew to fight it cuz it is ugly and this tank is not yet a reef. any suggestions on that? my birthday is on thursday and that is when im going to get "the crew" so i guess i will watch this topic and maybe start a new one for you guys to help me out with. i have a large portion, about the size of a standard mouse pad for your computer and i can get rid of it.
ammonia .01
nitrite .5
nitrate 0
PH 8.2
copper 0
temp 78
need more lighting but thats coming soon (MHalide)
its a 75 gallon tank and the damsels are out of here in a few weeks when i can get a couple new fish, i think that cycling is over also. all paramteres appear normal
-Herb
ammonia .01
nitrite .5
nitrate 0
PH 8.2
copper 0
temp 78
need more lighting but thats coming soon (MHalide)
its a 75 gallon tank and the damsels are out of here in a few weeks when i can get a couple new fish, i think that cycling is over also. all paramteres appear normal
-Herb
read here for your cyano problem:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29804
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthr ... adid=11652
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29804
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthr ... adid=11652
if you remove everything from the tank but the tangs, you could probably keep them together a little longer but still down the road you will probably need to remove the a tang or 2 i would keep the purple and yellow, or blue or whatever you like the most, but get rid of the naso, they need atleast 180 gallons for a cramped style of living, they get to 18" long and thats not including the tail. so do your fish a favor, get some out of there, and add a few corals
-Herb
-Herb
try convincing my dad of this. i wanted to pick up a 180g clear view, but he says no..i should buy it just to spite him =P but back to the point, he doesnt like it when i tell him what to do with his tank..and in the end i think he might lose some fish and coral due to this fact. ive told him many times he has too much in his tank but when it goes good he says, "what did you say about too much in my tank?" so im llike OK yer problem is gunna be later on. heh i love the stubborn old man..but he needs to learn to listen sometimes.
why dont ya just have em read what we all posted and then let him decide for himself whos right and who is wrong. that will get em to listen. sometimes i wish my dad knew what i was doing. cuz he is like ok Herb lets go to the aquarium center and buy you a school of yellow tangs for your 75 and im like "dad, thats to many fish for a marine tank, and yellows wont get along unless i have a bigger tank" and then he says, something like i thought it was and inch of fish per gallon, they i say dad you are wrong that is for FW saltwater is one inch per 5 gallons. now if i only followed my own idea i would have a reason to get rid of that stupid lbue damsel and the 4 stripes !! not very helpful but maybe if your dad reads it he will learn otherwise
good luck
-Herb
good luck
-Herb
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