yellowfin attacking clown & sick chromis

[lReef lKeeper]

what kind of tank are we talking about, reef or FOWLR ?? if FOWLR i would think that as long as you test the water weekly, there should not be a big impact with such a small fish. IMO, i would lose the bird wrasse (unless you want to rearrange the LR every time a fish dies), and add some crabs.

IMO, testing for calcium and alk. is not much more expensive and could help alot.

[Reef_Angel]

I hope that I can help you a bit on all your questions. Thank you Bobby for all your help as well.

Let's start with your Chromis. Chromis are the type of fish that are great alerters to other fish in the tank when danger is afront. Did your Chromis hide a lot? If they had to hide all the time, they may not have gotten the requirements they needed to survive. I'm thinking that your ammonia levels may have been an issue, or some kind of parasite. When Chromis grace our tank with their presence, they feel there is no threat to them, and the other fish in the tank will often take their cue from this behavior. I love my chromis because it is awesome to see this behavior in action. Just a note, my husband bought me a dozen blue/green chromis for Valentine's Day about 2 years ago, so I am a little partial to them.
As far as your bird wrasse is concerned, if he's not bothering anything in your tank, he may just be one of those fish that gets along with things for one reason or another. Bobby said they re-arrange your tank, but maybe yours won't. I suggest you keep an eye on him and see what happens. The clown you purchase is always a fun fish to have in the tank. Get another one so they can be a pair. Right now your clown is a female, but depending on the size of your next clown, one will become a male and one a female. Get them a nice anenome to cuddle in and you'll really enjoy that. I truly believe that clowns are unhappy without a mate, and a lovey (meaning something they can cuddle into together). It's really a necessity.

What you have are Domino Damsels, and also a yellow tailed damsel. Very aggressive and nasty fish. Many people use them to cycle a tank, but IMO I'd rather go with a raw shrimp. I don't want to be stuck with a fish that's not a welcome inhabitant with my newcomers. I won't say that damsels are all bad, but give them their own tank dominated by them to form the "schooling" appearance. It is beautiful! Then they only have themselves to argue with. If people think they have to have a fish to cycle a tank with, the Chromis is a hardly fish that can withstand the cycle. Your sweet natured Chromis' never had a chance in the tank with all the damsels you have. I think when stocking a tank with fish, it's highly important that you choose which type of fish you want to raise, whether it be aggressive fish, semi-aggressives, or the peaceful ones. Mixing is generally not the best idea, although it has been done in some instances...just not with damsels!! Get them out of your tank by watching for them at night. They'll be on the prowl looking to kill and feed. Introduce some food and good luck! Don't turn on your lights, use a flashlight with a piece of red plastic, or just buy one that comes with it. It may be the best chance you have without tearing the tank apart, which I don't recommend if at all possible. Put them in a refuge if you have one once you catch them, or a small tank with a maxi jet, just long enough for you to find them new homes. Please don't flush them. In their proper environment, the really are quite beautiful, and we are trying to save our reef & it's inhabitants! That's what Captive Reefing is all about!

You need to beef up your cleaning crew. I would suggest you get as many as possible...maybe start with 25 for now...even 1 would help a little, but plan on increasing that amount right away to about 60-70 for your size tank. Ebay has many people that sell them in large quantities for much less than you'd pay at an LFS. They are imperitive to your tanks wellbeing as they do eat quite a bit of detrius, and will take care of any dead fish very quickly, eliminating the polution & ammonia spikes in your tank. For a tank your size, I'd recommend at least 50-75 blue legged hermits. We don't care for the red legged ones. They always were at war with the blues and killed many. Other reefers like the red leggers, but we've personally had no luck.

Your tests sound pretty good, but you need to keep an eye on the ammonia. As we all know, testing is very important, and alkalinity & calcium are important tests as well. READ, READ, READ! Look at all you have in your reef, and see what each animal needs. Sounds like a water change is needed. I'd suggest taking off 25-30 gallons, and replace it with fresh salt water. That will bring your levels down. Test weekly, and if the ammonia spikes again, take off 20 gallons each week until you get it under control once your clean up crew has been working hard for you. The addition of the hermit crabs is going to help this greatly, and in time with a great cleanup crew, you'll notice that ammonia may become less and less of a problem. Right now you are sporting more fish than cleanup crew, so there's nothing helping to eliminate the problem before it starts. Great choice with your cucumbers in the tank. They are wonderful detrius cleaners!! Another thing you should do is add some snails like the: Cerith, Nassarius, Turbo's, Abalone or Trochus Snails. You can always mix and match for variety and interest in your tank. Read up on them and make some choices. I really like my Ceriths. Another fun cleaner is a Serpent Star. It's fun at night to see all these critters come out at night and do their work. Don't forget to buy yourself a good flashlight that has a red lense, lots of batteries on hand, and tell anyone that tries to borrow it from the aquarium area that they will be shot if it's removed! The red light doesn't interrupt the night activity, and you can really watch some fascinating shows of your reef at it's finest!

I think I've answered all the questions you have listed here to the best of my reef experience. If you need more help, just hollar! That's what everyone is here for!!

Best of luck to you, and again...I'm sorry for the losses you've experienced! ...Angel