A Couple of Questions

[Mr_Cool]

I'm going to be looking for another Gold Stripe Maroon clown because I lost my female today. I'm not really sure what happened, but my salinity was pretty low. Anyway, here are the questions.....

First: I've been skimming a little wetter than usual lately. Will this tend to take salt out of the water? Of course, when I topped off, I haven't been using saltwater. So, if the skimmer DOES take salt out of the water when skimming wet, I've naturally been lowering my salinity without even knowing it. (I'm asking because, after thinking about it for a bit, I might have heard this before.)

Second: If I'm going to try to replace my GSM, would I be better off getting a bigger one that is most likely a female already? Or, should I get one that is smaller than the male I already have, and let mine switch to a female? Or, does it really not matter because I'm going to have trouble getting a new one to pair up w/ the old one anyway?
(My thought would be to get one that is bigger than the one than I already have. Even if it's not a female, that fact that it's bigger will probably help to offset the territorial aggression that the current one will have toward the newcomer.)

Any help here would be appreciated. And, if you have a GSM you want/need to get rid of, shoot me a PM.

[CoryDude]

Man that sucks. We lost our female (occellaris) a few months back, and I'm in the same boat. Lonestar is a good resource here. He has helped me in the past. May want to pm him.

Speaking of pm's did you get mine a while back?. Was wondering how much you wanted for the tri-based carbon you had left. I need a little extra for my torpedo (sounds like a sexual innuendo).

Cory

[recoiljpr]

I have heard skimming wet will lower your salinity, but I'm not 100% convinced it does. Skimming wet will remove more water from your system, yes. And the water it removes is salt water. But unless you are taking out cups and cups per day, (or have a really small system) that amount should not make a huge difference IMO (unless of course you have gone long periods between doing water changes). The only way to be sure is to test the salinity of your skimmate. If it's much higher then your tank, then that very well may be your culprate.

Per your clown question, i've read that when adding a new clown with an existing one, the new one should always be much smaller then the existing one. But, that is from reading, not personal experience, so milage may vary. :-)

[Mr_Cool]

Cory, I'll PM you.

[Big_Pun]

i have one i would part with, its about 3-4 inches pm if intrested

[CoryDude]

Mike, I had brain flatulence on both parts. Sent you a pm on the first pass. The other is the resident clown guru. Talk to TexReefer (aka Mike). Guess I had beer on the brain.

Cory

[dmweise]

How big is the male? If he's fairly small I'd recommend getting one about the same size. That will at least give him a fighting chance when you add one. You could get one that is slightly bigger but not too much bigger.

Maroons can be pretty vicious. I would keep something around to divide them if needed. It may actually be a good idea to get some sort of hang on basket or hamster ball to keep them separated until they get to know each other a bit.

[mikedelgado]

the new one should be smaller.

[hobogato]

i agree. even in a short time, the male can begin to switch to female if the female dies.

the new one should be smaller.