Great. More Death ...

[erikharrison]

Well it would appear that my spotted boxfish wedged himself inbetween a rock and a hard place (glass) and decided to nuke my tank. Here is a list of my losses :(
1 Spiny Boxfish
1 Spotted Boxfish
2 Mandarins
1 Midas Blenny
1 Bi-color Blenny
1 True Clown
1 Devil Damsel

My favorite fish is dead. Nothing like flushing 150 dollars down the toilet in the morning.....

[oceancube]

darn that must suck, but hey there's more to life than losing fish, you can just go out and replace them easily, but still sorry about your losses!!

[Ram_Puppy]

dude, I am soooooo sorry. :(

any survivors?

[erikharrison]

yeah my lawnmower, and maroon clown. They may not make it, but they're in the nano for now.

[Ram_Puppy]

sheesh...

do burrfish excrete Tetrodotoxin? if so... be careful about sticking your hands in that tank.

[seamonkey2]

sorry to hear that it happen to you Erick

Jose

[Bill S]

Let me know if you want to try the Hiatt... 663.8079

[hobogato]

sorry erick - if i can help with anything, let me know.

[erikharrison]

All of my crabs and anemones are fine. Go figure... :) There are still a few dead fish in there, I was just getting up when I saw my striped burrfish puffed up and floating. I thought my midas was swimming around, but he was just floating around with the current. One of my two trained mandies was stuck to the overflow box. My first thought was to call it quits. I have always prided myself on getting my rocks stacked tall in the tank without them falling over. Since we are moving soon and the rocks were a tad unstable one day, I rearranged them, alot of them were stacked against the back glass, which is how I think the fish got wedged. I was hesitant to stick my hand in the water thinking I was gonna get a good jolt, but nothing.... Poor little fish. Woe is me :( This is a hobby for a phoenix, and I will, at some point, rise again. All the time and effort!!!!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGJWEROGJKWEOGEOPTOHJERHOP
I'll miss my little spitter! My spotted boxfish was covered in a white substance, which I am assuming was it's toxin. I hate the whole "what if" garbage going through my mind right now, even though I am really not to blame. I just wish I had put my rocks back like they were instead of being lazy. So frustrated.

[Ram_Puppy]

Erik you wont be the first person to play the whatif game in the wake of losing a beloved pet, and I won't belittle your loss by telling you to get another one. It's tough. I have lost everything before as well, and man, it is like a kick to the gut.

so heres my thought.

Get the tank cleaned up, running brand new fresh Tri-base carbon is probably the best thing to do right now. I doubt your going to suffer an amonia spike since you lost most of your bioload, i am betting your current system can keep up. So removing your losses and getting some fresh carbon on there should be a priority.

Now, your down to two fish and I think maybe you should take a step back, not quit, just take a step back for a bit and think about how you want your 'pheonix' of a tank to work out. as much as it sucks here, you have been afforded an opportunity to take a little more time getting your new system up and running, and getting things worked out how you want them just perfectly. maybe go so far as to get yoruself a big rubbermaid tub and keep your remaining livestock in there until the move is over and the new tank is setup.

[erikharrison]

yeah, that was kind of my thought too. I now have less to worry about, although moving the fish was not really of major concern as is moving the tank. The good thing is that I can put my crabs and snails into a 20g, drain the water out, and drill it for my superfuge. The funny thing was that I have been thinking about the big what to do's about setting up all of the new stuff. now I don't have to worry about, move this fish here, that fish there etc. I just had some fish that were getting big, and I really wanted to get them a new home, and now that I have one, no fish to put in! I do have a few already though that are being babysat, my old lion is being held by Thelma, and my two tangs and eel are being held by Barry, thanks to both of them btw. This hobby is facinating, and frustrating. I do feel like I got kicked in the gut, twice. I have some carbon at home in my filstar, and I will be replacing it today. It just shows you that even if you can care for a tank, an ill fated choice at the pet store could cost you more money and heartbreak than if you would just spend some time doing research. The good thing is that nothing in my tank can nuke it anymore, except for the anemones!!!!! Maybe they will split again.....

[Ram_Puppy]

i dont think your burrfish was an illfated choice erik, it was adorable, interacted w/ you and brought you and your family joy! that is what this hobby is truly about in the long run!

you just stepped on a landmine, that's all. we all have them, from anemones to something as a common dwarf angel that may develop a taste for your most expensive colony of coral... a landmine is a landmine, and they exist in every tank. you do your best to minimize and prepaer for them, but its just your best.

I would be somewhat dissapointed if you didn't get another one as it's a pretty darned cool fish.

what you need right now, is to go change your 2142 name to burrfish, and then go on a dogtag hunting spree. it'll make you feel better, I gurantee. :)

[thud]

I hear plastic floaty fish are really hardy.

[hobogato]

nice first post... ya'know, a sense of humor is great, but a little tact is better ;)

[erikharrison]

I don't think it was the burr, rather the yellow spotted box that did it. I will be pwning nubs to make myself feel better later.... :) Maybe I will make a burrfish character, we will see. I would love to get another one, it just sucks because he was a fantastic specimen. His coloration was so striking, not dull at all. Another day, another dollar! If I could cry over a fish it would be over him and my mandies. The mandies seemed to be so in love!!!! The funny thing is that the pesky fish are alive, my lawnmower is CONSTANTLY prying off superglued items, and then he sits right where they were, and I could be wrong about this, but I swear he grins at me. The maroon clown always messed with my true clown, which I cannot find in the tank, and it almost looks like the striped burr ate him. I will post if I find the clown. If so, maybe he died trying to eat it and he could have nuked the tank. Either way, I will have another burr, he was a really, really personable fish.

[erikharrison]

Went home at lunch, the lights were still off, but I could see the kenya was fully entended, and the xenia looked ok. I haven't tested my levels yet, but usually they would be all closed up if anything was wrong. Maybe a comet was passing by and the burrfish talked them into a mass suicide? Thank you all for the moral support, I am getting my humor back. Ram, thanks man, you're an outstanding individual.

[apedroza]

Yeah I feel your pain. I have lost 3 fish within the last 3 weeks. My yellow Coris took a nose dive out of my tank, and my favorite starfish has become predatory. I caught him munching one ay on my Fairy wrasse, and I thought maybe he died and he's just cleaning it up, but then my secretive wrasse which was swimming long doing fin one minute was in the clutches of the the starfish the next day. Thank goodness my clean up crew is large. BTW anybody need a serpent starr???

[BioCube14]

sorry about your loss.. like i say stuff happens

The word censors are there for a reason. Please dont try to get around them. -edited by Greenmako

[erikharrison]

yeah, that's why I couldn't come pick up some zombie eyes...