55+ Gallon Acrylic Tank in Oakland Chinatown

[ReyDeFarts]

That statement right there is why being a member pays for itself. All you gotta do is ask for help from the group. We have members that have been thru it all. I mean all. We have been in this hobby for decades. Cuz poop happens and sometimes you gotta figure it out. It’s nice when your with people that have been thru it and can guide you. Ask away.

Could not agree more! There's so much to learn and having access to all the wisdom here is amazing. Being a newbie myself, it's hard to decipher whether to ask a question or figure it out. Or being embarrassed, etc.

I think one of the most important things to remember @Mohan Kanungo , myself included, is you never know when the question you ask, gets an answer that another person needed too!

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Hi there folks,

I wanted to ask for your input and potential support. My partner is having a major surgery on Tuesday next week and will be recovering in the hospital through Friday. Fortunately I'm able to stay at the hospital with her but then that means I don't have anyone to look after my tank.

I bought an automatic feeder, but my clownfish don't do a great job of eating the pellets before they fall to the ground. I have a square for them to fall into and float at the top instead of getting sucked into the overflow, but the fish still haven't really got used to eating from the surface. I also have a mandarin goby that I believe prefer to eat brine shrimp, which I dispense into the tank once at night.

So I'm wondering if folks have any feeding recommendations because I will need to be away for a few days. Otherwise I'll have to drive back to Oakland where I live from the hospital in Burlingame everyday and my partner really would like me there.

Will it be okay if I'm away for a few days as long as there's some pellets dropping in? Like if they really get hungry they'll find a way to eat something in the tank? Curious to get your thoughts. Also, one of my clowns is pretty small so he has a hard time eating the pellets as is and seems to prefer the brine shrimp.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Fish don’t need to eat everyday. Once every 3 days is fine. Biota mandarin will eat pellets. If it’s wild caught then usually those only eat pods.
They probably can go longer than 3 days but I don’t like to push it.
Set your auto feeder 3 days prior then don’t make any adjustments to your aquarium 3 days before you leave.

 

[Darkxerox]

You can get a bottle of Tigger pods from the LFS and dump it in for the Mandarin then have the auto feeder. Spectrum pellets sink well too. They'll be fine!

 

[Turkeysammich]

Don’t forget to make sure you have enough auto top off.

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Good Evening - Just wanted to thank everyone who provided input on how to care for my fish last week while my partner was in the hospital. Her surgery went well and the tank is doing great too! Definitely seems like the clowns, goby and shrimp were okay for the couple days with some pellets from the automatic feeder. Gives me some courage to take a vacation. Also want to say thanks to @Twisted for offering up a free saltwater test. I was able to pick it up on the penninsula last week and look forward to seeing how the results compare with my test strips!

 

[ReyDeFarts]

Glad to hear she's doing well! I hope she is healing up and resting.

Oh...and glad that your tank is doing good! I definitely need to get automatic feeders setup on mine.

 

[Invictus]

You can get a bottle of Tigger pods from the LFS and dump it in for the Mandarin then have the auto feeder. Spectrum pellets sink well too. They'll be fine!

Dump it at night or your clowns will eat the majority of them.

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Hi everyone - I'm hoping that this next update isn't something to worry too much about.

I've noticed that my larger storm clown hasn't been eating much the past few days or anything really since yesterday.

I took a picture this morning soon and can see that she is hanging out right at the top and swims somewhat on her side, which I have noticed after the light turns on each day. She is also gasping quite a bit in comparison to my smaller clown.

I usually feed them small pellets and frozen brine shrimp.

Any insights?

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Also, I completed a water change yesterday and have been running a air stone the last couple days. All parameters including temp, salinity, ammonia, and PH appear to be in normal ranges although I still get different readings from my test strips and meter.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Read the thread about PE Mysis and what people feed their fish
I would not trust test strips

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Thank you for pointing me to that thread and sharing your take on test strips.

I used an API salt water and reef test kit yesterday. Parameters are all look good, although I'm worried my salinity might be a little low.

She is still not eating and is continuing to swim at the surface near the corner. I've continued to run an air stone and tried even putting in some nori, but there hasn't been any change in behavior. I am going to go into LFS High Tide Aquatics to get some additional food.

I've also noticed that there's been a newish growth near the first coral I got. It's green and bubbly. Does anybody know what this is? My corals been on the struggle bus for a while so I don't know if this is killing it or if it's just on its last days.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

I recommend you find a book or 2 to help guide you in your reefing journey
They don’t need food or good husbandry
Will give you pictures and teach you something

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

I actually consulted several books I checked out at the SF and Oakland library and a few (Marine Fish, Marine Invertebrates Conscientious Aquarist) for my own library recently. They have been a good resource to consult overall.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Find
Reef invertebrates by calfo
And the 3 volumes of the Sprung and Delbeek books

 

[Darkxerox]

Since you're seeing that behavior right after the light turns on, it could be just the fish waking up. Mine sleep sideways sometimes.

Also how much are you feeding the fish? I don't usually think nori is an appropriate food for clean (someone can correct me on this) but I've kept them alive and breeding on high quality pellets and some mixed carnivore frozen food. Mine typically consume 3-5 pellets each feeding or a couple large PE mysis.

 

[Coral reefer]

Looks like a sponge to me

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Find
Reef invertebrates by calfo
And the 3 volumes of the Sprung and Delbeek books

Thanks for the recc!

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Looks like a sponge to me

Thanks for the insight. Nothing to be concerned about then it seems? Will read up more on sponges.

 

[Mohan Kanungo]

Since you're seeing that behavior right after the light turns on, it could be just the fish waking up. Mine sleep sideways sometimes.

Also how much are you feeding the fish? I don't usually think nori is an appropriate food for clean (someone can correct me on this) but I've kept them alive and breeding on high quality pellets and some mixed carnivore frozen food. Mine typically consume 3-5 pellets each feeding or a couple large PE mysis.

I only tried Nori recently because she didn't eat anything else. Normally I give pellets (about 10 for the tank) in the morning and one pipet of brine shrimp/water mixture at night.

From what you detailed, I probably have been giving too much so I'll I'll actually scale it back. I've been getting some algae growing at the bottom so I'm sure that's a contributing factor.

Thanks for sharing that your fish also has some odd swimming behavior as it wakes up. That reassures me a bit more, but I'm definitely going to go get some of mysis this weekend.