A selection of Questions and answers from the
WetWebMedia database.
Daily Q&A replies/input from the WWM crew: Ian Behnk, Sabrina
Fullhart, Benjamin Kratchmer, Adam Jackson, Michelle Lemech, Scott
Fellman, Mike Irving, Merritt Adkins, Mike Maddox, Eileen
Ridgeway/Yunachin, Andrew Nixon, Scott Vallembois, Lynn Zurik, Sara
Mavinkurve, Rich Dietz (Mr. Firemouth), Darrel
Barton, Neale Monks, Marco Lichtenberger,
Brenda Furtak, Chris Perivolidis, Eric Russell, James Gasta (Salty
Dog), Chuck Rambo, Pufferpunk (Jeni Tyrell), Bob Fenner, are posted
here. Moved about, re-organized into individual FAQs files daily or
more often.
Current Crew Bios.,
Not so current Crew Bios
Anemone Vs. Majestic Angel
Hello Crew.
<Lovely morning - Mike here today>
First let me say your web site is wonderful and has no doubt done
more to advance the hobby than the invent of the all-glass aquarium
!
(Remember the steel framed and slate bottom tanks?)
<Thanks! This site has been helping me for almost a decade; and I'm
glad I never had to deal with steel framed aquariums>
That said I have experienced a major set back with my 210 gal.
system and I hope you can help put my mind at ease. The set up is
basically FOWLR with the exception of 2 large rose bubble tips. One
of them is at least 6" in diameter when fully open.
<Pretty>
This morning I found my 6"Majestic Angel on his side and almost
dead directly under one of the bubble tips. The Angel didn't have a
mark on him other than some bleached (stress) marks and died within
30 minutes after I noticed him under the anemone. All other fish in
the tank are healthy and like the Angel, have been in the system for
years. The Angel was eating well last night and showed no signs of
distress. Body weight, color and fins all looked good.
<Was he contracting or contorting in an odd way, or twitching (classic
signs of neurotoxicity)? Rapid breathing? What are the angel's
tankmates?>
I called a couple of friends of mine ( both own aquarium stores )
to ask their opinions on what may have killed my Angel. They both
feel the anemone may have been the culprit. I have checked the water
chemistry and with the exception of some low levels of nitrate
(>10ppm) and phosphate ( about .3 ppm ) everything looks good.
<Yep...>
Is it possible that after all this time being together the anemone
could have killed such a large Angel??
<Yes - only takes one slip, so to speak>
I can find new homes for the anemones but they are beautiful and I
love to watch my Maroon Clown feed and care for them. I would hate
to get rid of them but if my fish are in danger I will remove them.
<Well, there's really no such thing as a large, 'fish-safe' anemone
unless they're clownfish. The risk is always present, and likely it
just wasn't your angels' lucky day. In a tank that size, the
likelihood of your fish being stung to death is low (especially
large fish, to a BTA) so I wouldn't worry too much.>
Thanks in advance for your advise,
<Anytime>
Jeff Jones
<M. Maddox>
Oscar Gill Sticking Out
Hi we have an Oscar fish for almost a year and we just
changed him to a new 55 gallon tank. My question and concern is that
if looking at him his left gill seems to be coming out further than
his right when breathing. He also seems to be opening his mouth more
when he takes a breath. I'm not sure why one gill is pushed out
further than the other, our other fish/ Oscars are fine. Please
help!!! Thank you.
< I think what you mean is that the one gill cover doesn't
completely close and maybe stays out a little more than the other
one. There could be a growth or something within the gill that is
preventing it from closing the whole way. I would remove the fish
and restrain him with a wet towel from the aquarium and hold him
down and gently pry back the suspect gill cover and look quickly
with a flashlight to see if anything was in the way. Without
actually seeing anything then I might suspect gill flukes and treat
with Fluke-Tabs. Flukes could have come in with feeder fish.-Chuck>
Moorish Idol Selection (More
Than Just “Eating”)
Hello crew.
<<Hi Shea>>
I found a Moorish Idol at my LFS last Thursday and have been
monitoring him for days now.
<<Ah! …this fish is my overall fave. You have perused our FAQs on this
fish?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/idolfaqs.htm >>
His colors are great, eyes are clear, he looks well fed, and he is
eating freeze-dried krill and frozen mysis shrimp.
<<Good signs…but likely not good enough. Just “eating” is not enough
with this fish as most will still decline. I think there is
something about their diet/dietary requirements that we don’t yet
understand…although, there has been anecdotal proof that specimens
that will feed on New Life Spectrum pellets may be fulfilling that
unknown requirement>>
He is also eating dried seaweed and is picking at the ground,
eating there as well.
<<Or searching for what it “needs” and is not getting otherwise>>
Would this be a good specimen to purchase given the difficult
feeding?
<<This fish sounds like a good prospect, but as stated earlier just
the fact that it is feeding is no guarantee. There have been many
instances where these fish ate heartily, only to die
“mysteriously”>>
My LFS is also trying to feed him New Life Spectrum Pellets at my
request, and he is starting to show interest.
<<This will probably be key to successfully keeping this fish…along
with housing it in a proper environment>>
I am going to pick him up on Wednesday if he keeps up with this
good eating behavior, and if you think this would be a good
purchase.
<<Is up to you, but I would prefer to see this fish taking the
Spectrum pellets first…though if it is feeding as heartily as it
seems, you may be able to train it on to this food yourself in short
order>>
I would be putting him in a 75 gallon tank
<<Too small in my opinion. This fish needs space to roam (much like a
large Tang species would), along with a good supply of live rock
upon which to browse (at least initially) as in that afforded by a
larger tank>>
to start out but in less than a year will be in a 125 gallon with
a powder blue tang and a possible dog face puffers. Would these
conditions be suitable for a Moorish Idol?
<<The larger/longer tank will be of great benefit, but I’m not so sure
about the chosen tankmates. Idols are very aggressive fish, and this
one, should it survive/thrive, will be “king fish” of this domain.
The Powder Blue may work out fine and is a better choice than a
Zebrasoma species due to the similarity in body profile, but I would
give the puffer a miss in the interest of water quality (messy
feeders/large bio-mass) and keeping the Zanclus’s finnage in prime
condition (that streamer would be very tempting to a puffer, in my
opinion)>>
Look forward to hearing from you,
Shea
<<If you decide to go forward with this fish I think it is very
important you tailor the system to the Moorish Idol for long-term
success. That means basing “all” decisions on the needs of this
fish. Doing anything less will only end in disappointment/tragedy. I
would be very interested to hear how things progress. Regards, Eric
Russell>> |
