So I'm very frustrated with my 187 gallon saltwater tank. I've been fighting it for years to get my animals to live and when everything starts to go right something bad happens and most the animals die. It currently has 250 lbs. of live rock, a G200 protein skimmer, and a 30 gallon refugium containing Caulerpa racemosa and 10 lbs. of live rock. My nitrate is 2.5, and my ammonia and nitrite are 0. PH is at 8.3, temp is 78 degrees F, and there are 2 of the giant Koralia pumps on the wall. The tank currently contains the following organisms:
1 Heniochus acuminatus (eats great and looks good for about a month now)
1 Chaetodon madagaskariensis (same as previous)
1 Centropyge bicolor (had for about a year and it's very hardy; eats flake)
4 Chromis viridis (got 6 of them 3 days ago, 2 died the first night, the others now have ich:-()
2 Amphiprion percula (Healthy for over a year now)
1 Sphaeramia nematoptera (healthy for 2 years now; toughest fish I've ever owned)
1 Gramma loreto (Bought with the chromis, but looks healthy)
1 Pterosynchiropus splendidus (Bought with the chromis, but looks good so far; eats blackworms!:-D)
1 Diadema setosum (a nitrate spike made him lose his spines, so the butterflies picked at him. Now he's in a floating container with some grape caulerpa so they can't get to him until his spines grow back)
Caulerpa prolifera (I have large patches of it growing on my 200 lbs. of live sand and on an area of the Live rock.
3 days ago I bought the chromis, the mandarin, and the gramma, along with 2 cleaner shrimp. The shrimp died in hours. I found ine dead, and the other I found being carried across the basement by a 2 inch zebra striped crab. The shrimp was ripped in half. I've never seen the crab before, but I figure it was probably in the Live rock. I stepped in him and fed him to my FW stingray as revenge, but the $44 I spent on the shrimp was gone within hours. Set a bottle trap and caught some baby brittle stars and bristle worms, but thats about it.
So I know this is getting long but I want in the tank eventually (it includes what I already have). I know anthias are more difficult fish to keep, especially the purple queen, but I think I'm up to the challenge and the store by me has some that are feeding greedily for sale.
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Centropyge bicolor)*
3 Purple Queen Anthias (Pseudanthias tuka)
3 Dispar Anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
3 Bartlett’s Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum)
1 Borbonius Anthias (Odontanthias borbonius)
1 Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)*
1 Pearl Scale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)*
1 Heniochus (Heniochus acuminatus)*
1 PJ Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)*
9 Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)****
2 Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion percula)**
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)*
1 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
1 Hippo Tang (Paracanthus hepatus)
1 Long Spined Urchin (Diadema setosum)*
5 Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius)
N.A. Common Caulerpa (Caulerpa prolifera)*
70 Astraea Snail (Astraea tectum)
1 Fighting Conch (Strombus spp.)
1 Heniochus acuminatus (eats great and looks good for about a month now)
1 Chaetodon madagaskariensis (same as previous)
1 Centropyge bicolor (had for about a year and it's very hardy; eats flake)
4 Chromis viridis (got 6 of them 3 days ago, 2 died the first night, the others now have ich:-()
2 Amphiprion percula (Healthy for over a year now)
1 Sphaeramia nematoptera (healthy for 2 years now; toughest fish I've ever owned)
1 Gramma loreto (Bought with the chromis, but looks healthy)
1 Pterosynchiropus splendidus (Bought with the chromis, but looks good so far; eats blackworms!:-D)
1 Diadema setosum (a nitrate spike made him lose his spines, so the butterflies picked at him. Now he's in a floating container with some grape caulerpa so they can't get to him until his spines grow back)
Caulerpa prolifera (I have large patches of it growing on my 200 lbs. of live sand and on an area of the Live rock.
3 days ago I bought the chromis, the mandarin, and the gramma, along with 2 cleaner shrimp. The shrimp died in hours. I found ine dead, and the other I found being carried across the basement by a 2 inch zebra striped crab. The shrimp was ripped in half. I've never seen the crab before, but I figure it was probably in the Live rock. I stepped in him and fed him to my FW stingray as revenge, but the $44 I spent on the shrimp was gone within hours. Set a bottle trap and caught some baby brittle stars and bristle worms, but thats about it.
So I know this is getting long but I want in the tank eventually (it includes what I already have). I know anthias are more difficult fish to keep, especially the purple queen, but I think I'm up to the challenge and the store by me has some that are feeding greedily for sale.
1 Bicolor Angelfish (Centropyge bicolor)*
3 Purple Queen Anthias (Pseudanthias tuka)
3 Dispar Anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
3 Bartlett’s Anthias (Pseudanthias bartlettorum)
1 Borbonius Anthias (Odontanthias borbonius)
1 Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)*
1 Pearl Scale Butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthurus)*
1 Heniochus (Heniochus acuminatus)*
1 PJ Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)*
9 Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)****
2 Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion percula)**
1 Diamond Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea puellaris)
1 Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)*
1 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
1 Hippo Tang (Paracanthus hepatus)
1 Long Spined Urchin (Diadema setosum)*
5 Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius)
N.A. Common Caulerpa (Caulerpa prolifera)*
70 Astraea Snail (Astraea tectum)
1 Fighting Conch (Strombus spp.)