beginner's mistakes.
20lbs0fcheese
we,as reef hobbyists, were a hazard to natural reefs because of the
various methods used to collect rock, fish, etc. i believe most of you
are familiar with the cnn story as it was discussed at length on this
board. i'm not interested in debating,once again,the good and bad
about this particular report. it did, however, cause me to think over
my responsibilities as an aquariast and examine my track record in
regards to the well being of the inhabitants in my tank and the
environment from which they've been removed for our mutual hobby.
it is my experience that most people that take the time to set up
and maintain a marine aquarium are hyper sensitive to the well being of
natural reefs and the fish and invertebrates associated with them. i
consider myself among these people. there is, however, something to
which i must admit a guilty consciense. i am thinking of my first salt
water tank and it's doomed occupants.
i, unfortunately, can think of three seperate occassions where my
ineptitude as a host led to the demise of three beautiful fish. it is
my hope that by posting a litany of beginners mistakes we can prevent a
few from occurring in the future. i will get the ball rolling with the
story of how i killed a flame angel.
upon reading that a fish in a quarantine tank(10 gl.)would
appreciate a place to hide, i provided a plastic beer cup with the
bottom cut out as a sanctuary for the fish to rest. to anchor the cup
i placed 1/2 of my algae magnet inside the cup at the bottom of the
tank... needless to say my flame angel had no cares at sun up.
anybody else...
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Jack
"20lbs0fcheese" <UfoXofU...@aol.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:02562dce...@usw-ex0103-023.remarq.com...
-snip-
> it is my experience that most people that take the time to set up
> and maintain a marine aquarium are hyper sensitive to the well being of
> natural reefs and the fish and invertebrates associated with them. i
> consider myself among these people. there is, however, something to
> which i must admit a guilty consciense. i am thinking of my first salt
> water tank and it's doomed occupants.
I'm not sure as many people are considerate of natural reefs as you would
believe. Many care only for the appearance of their aquarium. In time, reef
aquarists develop this consideration through personal research. Aquarists
new to saltwater aquariums have usually started off as freshwater keepers.
With animals costing not much more than $1, thousands of these die every
month to neglect. The saltwater fish costs many ten times this. With that
comes a greater value of the animal. To some it is still considered just a
fish and its monetary value is the only thing that governs its care.
Everyday at my LFS we see these careless people.
I can't say I'm one of the people I've mentioned above, but as the CNN
article outlined, aquarists do play a part in reef destruction. Even if we
were only to damage 1 % of 1% (0.01% ?) of our world's reefs that is still a
portion that may have survived. Many justify it by claiming it educates us
and helps us to understand the reef ecosystem. If that makes the keeper
happy, then by all means believe it. I put no thought into why other reef
keepers do it. They must have a good enough reason. I do it because I like
them. I like each individual animal that goes into my aquarium. I think
about where it came from and I grieve for every wild animal I may put in my
aquarium. I feel the guilt but I still do it - sometimes feeling ashamed. I
take my part in selecting captive raised animals when they are available and
I can say, with all honesty, I've never taken a wild one when captives were
available. I don't think of the reefs and their inhabitants collectively,
though. This is not to say that I wouldn't fight to save our reefs but I
think about it like I think about the rainforests. I'm still not conviced as
many reefers care as much as we want to believe.
>
> i, unfortunately, can think of three seperate occassions where my
> ineptitude as a host led to the demise of three beautiful fish. it is
> my hope that by posting a litany of beginners mistakes we can prevent a
> few from occurring in the future. i will get the ball rolling with the
> story of how i killed a flame angel.
Experience is usually the only way new aquarists learn. It is a sad fact but
true. Many (myself included) started the hobby with little money. Although
the cost to produce an attractive, small aquarium and then to maintain it
might not be too expensive, budget keepers have to spread their money thin,
often sacrificing the animals' welfare for it. My belief is that an aquaist
shouldn't keep a saltwater aquarium unless he is able to devote at least
$100 a month to it - whether he uses it all or not - because even minor
errors can cause expensive losses. If the budget is $20, that isn't going to
get the newbie far after a crash. Few people spend even close to that about
monthly on a small tank but if the tank splits, it's nice to know we can
pick up a new one the next moring.
>
> upon reading that a fish in a quarantine tank(10 gl.)would
> appreciate a place to hide, i provided a plastic beer cup with the
> bottom cut out as a sanctuary for the fish to rest. to anchor the cup
> i placed 1/2 of my algae magnet inside the cup at the bottom of the
> tank... needless to say my flame angel had no cares at sun up.
I don't understand why the fish died :(
But I have a story. I had a snowflake moray and he didn't look like he was
doing to well so I put him in a quaratine tank. To make him happy I put in
an old protein skimmer tube to hide in. The tube was clear acrylic so I had
to think of what to cover the tube with. Well, stupid me figured that since
aluminum could be used in the hood, I could use aluminum in the tank. I
covered the tube in aluminum foil. YIKES! Big mistake. By the time I
realised I had created a deathtrap (hours later) the eel was on death's door
with no hope of recovery and the salt water had munched holes in the
aluminum. I was never as sad about the death of a marine fish as I was for
this eel.
Remove zzz to get real email id
So:
What's the deal with the magnet being left in the tank?????
Russ
20lbs0fcheese wrote:
> i was reading an article about a cnn report that suggested that
> we,as reef hobbyists, were a hazard to natural reefs because of the
> various methods used to collect rock, fish, etc. i believe most of you
> are familiar with the cnn story as it was discussed at length on this
> board. i'm not interested in debating,once again,the good and bad
> about this particular report. it did, however, cause me to think over
> my responsibilities as an aquariast and examine my track record in
> regards to the well being of the inhabitants in my tank and the
> environment from which they've been removed for our mutual hobby.
>
> it is my experience that most people that take the time to set up
> and maintain a marine aquarium are hyper sensitive to the well being of
> natural reefs and the fish and invertebrates associated with them. i
> consider myself among these people. there is, however, something to
> which i must admit a guilty consciense. i am thinking of my first salt
> water tank and it's doomed occupants.
>
> i, unfortunately, can think of three seperate occassions where my
> ineptitude as a host led to the demise of three beautiful fish. it is
> my hope that by posting a litany of beginners mistakes we can prevent a
> few from occurring in the future. i will get the ball rolling with the
> story of how i killed a flame angel.
>
> upon reading that a fish in a quarantine tank(10 gl.)would
> appreciate a place to hide, i provided a plastic beer cup with the
> bottom cut out as a sanctuary for the fish to rest. to anchor the cup
> i placed 1/2 of my algae magnet inside the cup at the bottom of the
> tank... needless to say my flame angel had no cares at sun up.
>
Michael McCarthy
please explain why this caused the death of your fish? I have an idea
but would like to hear the acknowledged reason.
Just a point to this potential thread: If you are going to point out
your learning experiences, please for the benefit of those who can
also learn from them, tell us the why in addition to the what.
Thanks.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
On 1/15/00, 1:59:22 AM, 20lbs0fcheese <UfoXofU...@aol.com.invalid>
wrote regarding beginner's mistakes.:
sbowles
1. Putting one piece of questionably cured live rock into a tank which lead
to an outbreak of oodinium which killed the tank inhabitants ( three fish )
in two days.
2. Did a water change with water that was too cool / cold which
instantaneously killed a yellow tang.
3. Did not quarantine new fish leading to an outbreak of ich. I lost a
palate tang but all others recovered with freshwater bath and MarinOomed
treatments.
And yes, I felt terrible when any of these fish died and have adopted ways
to prevent these things from reoccurring.
J.B.
<((((><
Rachel
Remove zzz to get real email id wrote in message
<3880B8A4...@cris.com>...
>Ok. I admit it. I'm a beginner. Big time.
>
>So:
>
>What's the deal with the magnet being left in the tank?????
>
>Russ
>
>
>
>20lbs0fcheese wrote:
>
Stan
Neal
The magnet probably didn't effect the fish anymore than the beer cup or the
table the tank was sitting on.
It probably just died because of classic reasons (i.e water quality,
temperature, starvation, sick, etc..)
If the magnet was the cause, I would be stunned.
Neal
20lbs0fcheese <UfoXofU...@aol.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:02562dce...@usw-ex0103-023.remarq.com...
Rodgdav
If you truly feel grief and shame why do you continue to put animals in a
tank? I would not do anything I had to be ashamed of. Maybe I dont
understand?
Rodger
Id...@testing.com
>
>The saltwater fish costs ** many ten times this **.
How about ** a fewty times this ?? **
Like to introduce a new word it's self explanatory.
Larry