dmgoodey

Hi guys

Its my first time on this site, I think its great, but I need some help. I have had my tank for a few months now. Red Sea max. All the water parameters are fine. I have got two clowns (ocellaris) and have just added a dragonet. I have also just added in the last week a haitian anenome.

I realize that there is little chance for the clowns to bond with it, but one of the little blighters has just gone AWOL today (missing). I have looked all round the tank and around the live rock as much as I can, but I think the anenome may have taken her? Has anyone heard of this before?

If this is the case do you think I should take the anenome back out?

I will monitor my water readings over the next few days just in case she has died and is stuck between two rocks. Should I dismantle my rocks now or take the risk? How soon would the ammonia rise if this is the case. She was off her food yesterday but seemed ok this morning. Im gutted!!

Any suggestions?

thanks in advance for any help

Dave

nemo addict

hi welcome to fishlore ,, you say you have a dragonet(manderine ) as your tank is only a few months old i would seriously consider returning to the LFS as these are very hard to feed and being a new tank you wont have the food it requires (pods) also you shouldnt add a anemone to a tank under 6-8 months old ,, as for your clown fish if you dont see in a day or so then i would find it if you have a spike in your water parameters then its most proberbly died and if you dont have a few hermits then you will have to find and remove

dmgoodey

Many thanks for the reply. I will monitor the water over the next few days. Thanks for your concern for mandarine, although she appears to be feeding ok, as I have got lots of live rock which is absolutely teeming with life.

As you can Imagine being new to this game is very difficult, made even harder by the conflicting information received by books and dealers etc. I was unaware about the requirements for the anemone. Do you know the reason for this?

Once again thanks for your reply

Dave

Ps have got Hermits x5 so should I trust nature to take its course of action

thanks

Hypnox

As I was told by the owner/operator of the store where I go for SW that deals only in SW tanks, the wait 6 months advice before getting an anemone or dragonet is meant for tanks that are started with uncured live rock. However if the tank is started with fully cured live rock and there is not any significant die off then it is possible to get away with adding an anemone or dragonet after the tank is 3 months old.

He also pointed out both would still require supplemental feeding, regardless of tanks age.

sirdarksol

I wouldn't trust that advice. It's not just that it's got to get through a die-off, but it's got to wait until many of the critters have grown and are reproducing a lot. Even with cured live rock, most of the stuff actually living in it is still growing. It takes a bit for the rock to be fully re-colonized.

nemo addict

manderines have problems in mature tanks ,, a young tank is to unstable ,,i would agree with sirdarksol as not to trust that advice (they just wont ya money) even in cured live rock you still have a cycle from transporting the rock and you get a certain amount of die off from the rock and 6 months is recomended due to everything sustaining its self enough to feed a manderine as they rarely eat anything else and tend to starve there self and die ,

sirdarksol

I presume, NemoAddict, that you mean mandarins have problems in immature tanks.

Hypnox

From researching i've done today, they apparently even have problems in mature ones as well. Which is why the guy that just wants my money originally drove my fiance away from them.

nemo addict

i ment they are hard to keep in any tank as if they dont eat or you cant sustain food for them then they will die and many do die within the first 2 months these are fish that should be kept by someone with very good understanding of the fish or not at all ,, they are better of left in the sea where they will survive ,, i do have a manderine my self but this was past to me from a tank shut down , mine eats various things which is very hard to get them to do ,, this is the only reason i took this on as i dont like to make fish suffer ,,,

it also shows again that research is ultimate for a new reefer(and older ones too) as the lfs just want s your money ,, stocking can be very hard this is why people end up with to many tanks as they want to keep certain species that dont mix with either corals or other fish .. when i first started my sw tank i asked several people and took the majority and i still do this sometimes and never just a lfs ,, i have been to a few other the years i have kept s/w and i have had to find out the names of some speciemens my self as not to cause conflict in my tank or loose my corals ,,, so read read read ask ask ask if you dont then hey its your money you are throwing away ,,,,

dmgoodey

Once again for all replys, I share your concerns for my mandarine, but I feel that I m coming across as an irresponsible newbie. I have purchased seven books in the last months and have virtually read them all from back to back. Unfortunately not one mentions about the need to ensure a mature tank for a madarine. The nearest I can get to that quote, is that it needs a copious amount of Pods and it is always on the lookout for food.

(He has got 20 kg of live rock all to himself?)


I think that it is feeding fine and is also taking brine shrimp (de-thawed) fed with a turkey baster.

I guess we all live and learn and thats why web sites like this one is good for everyone to share the knowledge.

Now back to my original question? Has any one heard of a condy eneno taking a clown fish as it has disappeared? I have looked all round and cant find the body.

nemo addict

the hermits proberbly cleared it up

where in the uk are you as there not many here nice to see more here

dmgoodey

Down near wickham in Hampshire. Thanks for all your info, but must go back to work now. Where are you ?

Regards Dave

nemo addict

near dartford tunnel

NanoAddict

do you have a brittle star? those eat whatever die in your tank, and they come in on live rock occasionally, but dont worry they are very good animals.

dmgoodey

thanks tyler, I do nt know if I have have or not. How big are they and what do they look like??

NanoAddict

their body is a little circle with long skinny arms, they are usually black, they only come out at night and they are covered in little rubbery spines.

once in a while they will shed or lose arms(they will regenerate them) if you find those its a good sign that you have one. Mine was black but they come in a few different colors

Attached Images

brittlestar3A.jpg (138.5 KB, 5 views)

dmgoodey

ok thanks for the pic

I have nt seen any of those yet

cheers

Dave

NanoAddict

ok, well if you do see one, leave it in there because they are a real joy to have, they ONLY come out if its PITCH BLACK though.

so at night sneak into the room without making any noise, and cup a flashlight with your hands so its very dim, and you might find it scavenging or crawling around.