robert829
Community Member
So, first off, let me say... I love you guys in this Nem forum... y'all have saved my rear from certain devastation more than once. :cheer2: Here are just a few of the examples:
1) I got two Clarkii's as my first fish in my saltwater aquarium. About a month or so later, had my LFS convince me to get a LTA (Andrew). That was all fine and good except.......... Andrew was like an inch or two in diameter. My Clarkiis were destroying the poor thing. So I put Andrew in an Anemone ICU (praise god for strawberry-baskets :amen
, and per your advice, I got a second, MUCH larger LTA (Angela)... And poof, problem solved. They are both thriving. (Thank you #1)
2) About a week after getting Angela, she was feeling right at home! Really thriving nicely: stretched out beautifully, waving in the current, eating like a champ... I mean, she was loving it. So one night, she decided she needed some better real estate. So, she got herself up, and went for a stroll... AND DISASTER STRUCK. Even though the number one piece of advice in this forum says "COVER YOUR POWERHEADS", I thought that having the little plastic screens over my head was fine... WRONG! Angela got herself caught right in one of the powerheads. Holy cow, you wanna talk about panic?!?! I had only been in the hobby about two months, and nearly lost my mind. So, I got out my surgical instruments (forceps, wire cutters/nippers, trauma sheers, needle nose tweezers, etc) and took her straight to the trauma-bay for emergency surgery. After about 1 1/2 hours of surgery, Angela was free but not without copious amounts of sweating, crying, screaming and swearing). However, she just barely made it through surgery though. She was on death's door. I put her in the Anemone ICU (Thank god again for the baskets :angel. However, with some eencouragementof this forum, she survived and thrived. Within 24 hrs, she was back to normal. (Thank you #2)
Currently all is well, but I do have some questions... I have recently upgraded from a 35 gallon, to a 75 gallon bow. I switched from crushed coral substraight to fine sand and fine crushed coral. This has worked out well... except that the Clarkiis keep digging up the LTAs. They position themselves beside the LTA and then set their caudal fin to rocket-thrust, and blast all the substraight away! Is this normal?! It's causing the LTAs to do A LOT of moving. Even into the caves. Andrew spent so long in a cave he began to bleach. Soooooo.... w/ that in mind, is this normal? I have tried surround the LTAs w/ rocks, but the Clarkiis are strong enough to move the rocks... it's craziness. Should I just let this go... or have the Clarkiis lived out their existence in this tank?!
And a final question about the caves. Even though I know what you're all going to say, I'm going to ask it anyway. Do you recommend leaving the LTAs alone while they're in the caves? I mean, the one was beginning to expel color from being in so long (days). I panicked and moved him out. So what are your experiences with that, too?
As always, thanks guys!!
1) I got two Clarkii's as my first fish in my saltwater aquarium. About a month or so later, had my LFS convince me to get a LTA (Andrew). That was all fine and good except.......... Andrew was like an inch or two in diameter. My Clarkiis were destroying the poor thing. So I put Andrew in an Anemone ICU (praise god for strawberry-baskets :amen
, and per your advice, I got a second, MUCH larger LTA (Angela)... And poof, problem solved. They are both thriving. (Thank you #1)2) About a week after getting Angela, she was feeling right at home! Really thriving nicely: stretched out beautifully, waving in the current, eating like a champ... I mean, she was loving it. So one night, she decided she needed some better real estate. So, she got herself up, and went for a stroll... AND DISASTER STRUCK. Even though the number one piece of advice in this forum says "COVER YOUR POWERHEADS", I thought that having the little plastic screens over my head was fine... WRONG! Angela got herself caught right in one of the powerheads. Holy cow, you wanna talk about panic?!?! I had only been in the hobby about two months, and nearly lost my mind. So, I got out my surgical instruments (forceps, wire cutters/nippers, trauma sheers, needle nose tweezers, etc) and took her straight to the trauma-bay for emergency surgery. After about 1 1/2 hours of surgery, Angela was free but not without copious amounts of sweating, crying, screaming and swearing). However, she just barely made it through surgery though. She was on death's door. I put her in the Anemone ICU (Thank god again for the baskets :angel
. However, with some eencouragementof this forum, she survived and thrived. Within 24 hrs, she was back to normal. (Thank you #2)Currently all is well, but I do have some questions... I have recently upgraded from a 35 gallon, to a 75 gallon bow. I switched from crushed coral substraight to fine sand and fine crushed coral. This has worked out well... except that the Clarkiis keep digging up the LTAs. They position themselves beside the LTA and then set their caudal fin to rocket-thrust, and blast all the substraight away! Is this normal?! It's causing the LTAs to do A LOT of moving. Even into the caves. Andrew spent so long in a cave he began to bleach. Soooooo.... w/ that in mind, is this normal? I have tried surround the LTAs w/ rocks, but the Clarkiis are strong enough to move the rocks... it's craziness. Should I just let this go... or have the Clarkiis lived out their existence in this tank?!
And a final question about the caves. Even though I know what you're all going to say, I'm going to ask it anyway. Do you recommend leaving the LTAs alone while they're in the caves? I mean, the one was beginning to expel color from being in so long (days). I panicked and moved him out. So what are your experiences with that, too?
As always, thanks guys!!
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