51 more days to go

jabberwock · Mar 9, 2023

After loosing all four fish to an ich outbreak, I have been fallow for 9 days. Only 51 more to go. I blame it on the Royal Gramma. He was a major cause of stress in my small tank (25 gallon lagoon). I vow to never be tempted by their beauty again.

I am seeking tips and advice at running the tank fallow for 51 more days. How to feed, what to keep an eye on, etc. Tank is 6 months old, but acts more like it is 2 years old because I started with TBS live rock. Current inhabitants are:

6 porcelain crabs
4 cerith snails
4 nerite snails
3 nessarius snails
9 limpets
1 purple spine urchin
1 lonely pistol shrimp
1 lightbulb anemone
5 rock flower anemones
lots of micro brittle stars
a couple larger brittle stars
1 hammer coral
1 richordia
1 duncan
1 toadstool (seems like it is struggling)
a nice zoa colony
3 types of good macro algae

Tank seems to be doing great despite not housing any fish. I have been dropping some veggie pellets which the shrimp goes right after, and cut back to feeding just a small amount of mysis every other day. Thanks for looking!

blaxsun · Mar 9, 2023

ReefEnergy AB+, Reef Roids - all those kind of supplements are great for corals. I still like my royal gramma - first one I've had that swims all over the place instead of hiding in the rocks all the time.

jabberwock · Mar 10, 2023

blaxsun said:
ReefEnergy AB+, Reef Roids - all those kind of supplements are great for corals. I still like my royal gramma - first one I've had that swims all over the place instead of hiding in the rocks all the time.

Glad you got a good RG. This is my second one that was a big jerk and stressed out the whole tank into an ich outbreak.

Tired · Mar 10, 2023

Keep an eye on parameters. If they're good, you're good. Don't do water changes unless you need to, to keep nutrients up.

The pistol shrimp should definitely be fed regularly. The porcelains will filter-feed, but should still be given some food at least every few days to supplement that. Most LPS will enjoy, but don't necessarily need, a feeding of meaty foods once a week or so.