Deanos

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After losing that much livestock, I would "bite the bullet" and break down the tank. Your clown and coral beauty will be just fine as you remove the rocks looking for the culprit. If no mantis, then you need to determine cause of death for the other fish. If it is a mantis, contact jawwad...he said he'll take it.
 

Dmitry

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Well...I did it today. After the disappearance of Buffy (the Clown) on Sunday night I figured there was nothing else to do. But as I feared, I found nothing. I took out every rock in the tank, dipped it in super-salty water, looked from every angle, poked a tweezer into every hole, left the rocks lying in the air for 10-30mins while I worked on the rest of the rocks, and found nothing. No mantis. No other unexplained creatures. So...with just the Coral Beauty (Willow...Evil Willow?) as a survivor I don't know what else to do and think. Why did they die? I just assume the Skunk Shrimp and Nassirius/Turbo Snails and Hermits ate the bodies... My thinking is that the first two fish died from the stress of the transfer. And the rest of the deaths were caused by unhealthy Chromises. Though why it would take the last Clown so long to perish, while showing no signs of duress, I don't know.... Any other thoughts??

I'm going to be getting the Kole Tang from House on, probably, Thursday. My concerns are for the health of that fish and for the fish that would be added after it. Tangs are pretty territorial, right? If I add Clowns after the Tang, would be ok or would the Tang take issue with new neighbors??

Grrrr!!!! Arggghhhhh!!!
 

Deanos

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After doing some more reading on Mantis shrimp, I learned it is unlikely your hermits would remain untouched. If you believe 2 fish died from stress, your tank may have had an ammonia spike which stressed the other fish beyond saving. Even if toxic levels abated by the time you tested the water, the damage had been done. The clown may have taken longer to die since it may be hardier/healthier than the other fish.

And why saltier water and not fresh water or club soda? Did you read any of the links I provided to catch a mantis?
 

Dmitry

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A lot of articles I read on driving mantis shrimp - and other pests - off of live rocks mention dipping them into super salty water. (Virtually all directions for cleaning your rocks before curing them mention this.) Fresh water probably would kill off good bacteria from the rock - and since I was dipping all the rocks that seemed like a bad idea. I have read about club soda too, but just figured super-salty water would be just as good.

I agree with you about the hermits and the snails, and the Skunk Shrimp. A Mantis would probably have gone for them first. So, we'll see what happens from now on.... Hopefully I've seen the last of the disappearances! And maybe I should name my fish after some other show, where nobody dies. Like "Cosby."
 

Deanos

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Since it seems you may not have a mantis, I'd be concerned about putting ANY tang in that tank until you determine what went wrong and if it has been corrected.
 

Dmitry

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If finding out what went wrong was easy I'd have done it! :-( I wonder if I ever will know for certain; hopefully the deaths will stop.

The other clue to this being a water quality problem is that I haven't had a skimmer going since the transfer because it'll be in my fuge and that hasn't been activated yet. I'll be activating the sump any day now and with the skimmer and a filter (w/carbon) on it that should help the water improve.

I'm afraid the Tang doesn't have a home. House has broken down the tank he was holding it in (and he's been holding it for me for quite some time already!) and it needs to be moved. Unless someone has room in their tank.... *wink wink nudge nudge* we have no choice but to risk it. In fact, I'd rather not risk its life and if anyone is interested in taking it (even permanently) let's work something out!
 

House of Laughter

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D,

I may be able to put it into my fuge temporarily. It's a little small, but don't think this guy would mind. I hate to risk keeping him in the rubbermaid with water quality degrading over time. AT least the fuge is plumbed into my main tank and the tang can eat away.

Also, I could see if we could resell it to someone else and get your $$ back?

LMK - I was planning on Thursday.

House
 

Dmitry

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As much as I'd love to have Anya (already named her!) until I can be sure that the system has stabilized I'd feel awful to lose her! The fuge is a solution, but not a great one for the fish. So...let's see if we can find someone else to take her.... I'm sorry about the hassle! :-(
 

Dmitry

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Did you catch yours?? I took out all my rocks and found no signs of a Mantis. And I've never seen it in my tank either. Could I have the world's stealthiest Mantis Shrimp? My Skunk molted and the molt is just lying around today. I'd have imagined the Mantis would have jumped on it!
 

Dmitry

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Congrats! That was fast...perhaps it wouldn't hurt if I just put the trap in there...just in case. I'd love to borrow it!

Did my water tests today and all is normal:

Temp: 85
Spec. Grav.: 1.025
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 25
Ph. 8.5
 

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