what to do with our 120

a82997'swife · #1 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 10:21 AM

Well it's been set up since October and there are 2 true perc clowns and a gold stripe maroon living in it. We've got several hermits and snails...and apparently a fish eating hitch hiker that I can't find. There are minimal corals in this tank and those are mainly mushrooms that have popped out as the tank has cycled. We do have a hair algae problem and to be honest, I'm not very satisfied at all with our rock layout.

My question to you guys is this: If I could take the clowns and put them in another tank, do you think it would be worth it to remove our live rock and basically start over? I don't want to put any more fish in this tank until I figure out what is eating everyone and I have searched and searched with no luck. The hair algae could probably be handled with a sea cucumber or something, but since I'm not satisfied with the aquascaping anyway...I was wondering if it would just be a wise idea to take out the rock and fish and start over. Can you even start over with live rock? What I mean is, can it be cleaned or purified or whatever to get rid of any unwanted living things and then allow it to cycle again?

CritterHeaven · #2 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 04:03 PM

You can start over with live rock.

What fish have been eaten?

IReef · #3 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 04:10 PM

Do I smell a mantis episode here? Have you heard any clicking like sounds from the tank?

CritterHeaven · #4 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 04:11 PM

Or a big ugly crab..

I had one that ate a few small fishes and a few serpant stars.

BeauCajun · #5 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 04:17 PM

Have you lost even more fish since your "Confused" post?

well I'm confused...

Did you ever figure this out this mystery? Is this a continuation from the first episode?

As far as the hair algae, have you checked your phosphates? nitrates?

scubachick · #6 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 04:45 PM

Hmmm I too think you might have a mantis shrimp or crab problem. I have a good size mantis living in my 300g tank, he was hiding in some live rock I put in the tank last year. I tried to get him out, but with such a large amount of live rock in the tank I would have to break the whole thing down to try to get him out. He has a tunnel built underneath a whole pile. I learned real quick that he will take out any small fish he can get to. So now we only have big fish in that tank. Oh and he loves snails

If you hear a clicking noise coming from your tank, you've got one. The hair algae can be taken care of by either scrubbing the rock or get a tang who will eat it.

a82997'swife · #7 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 10:33 PM

This is a continuation from my confused post a month or so ago.

We have lost 2 angels, 2 purple fire fish and the latest casualty: a 4" anthias! I have searched tonight for my peppermints but haven't seen them in a day or so either...they could well have gone the way of the Dodo, ya know?

All the parameters are testing fine...we got this rock from a fellow board member who was breaking down a tank and it came with a little hair algae and has since spread since I don't have anything that will eat it in the tank. And I am wary of putting anything in there because stuff keeps disappearing! I mean, I have a blue hippo and a decent sized yellow tang in our 80 but I finally have that tank EXACTLY how I want it, so I'm loathed to try and snag those guys from there (and I probably couldn't catch them anyway).

Now it's not a ton of rock...but I am honestly at my wits end. I can't really "hear" because the tank is not drilled so there is a LOT of water noise from the plumbing. I cannot justify spending any money on fish to feed whatever is eating my babies and this tank is huge and takes up one end of my dining room.

Suggestions on how to kill the live rock? LOL

JoeCreature · #8 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 10:39 PM

Killing it will require you to re-cycle it. You can pull it out and give it a good scrubbing and that usually helps.

You may need to try hunting at night to see if you have a crab or mantis.

And just to clarify....your fish are disappearing, as in no dead bodies?

a82997'swife · #9 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 11:00 PM

Exactly, Joe. I did see ONE body...but it disappeared in the 10 minutes it took me to go grab our net, and then stop to help my daughter with a math problem. I dug around as much as I dared at the time because I feared a spike from the dead fish. I have seen NOTHING of the bodies since.

I have spent the last 6 weeks with a flashlight, sneak attacking my 120 at times from 2 hours after lights out up to 2 hours before lights on. I feel like if there was something hunting at night, I'd be able to find it out and about seeking more food. Sadly, I never find a thing.

I'm not really worried about causing another cycle...as I said, I have a tank that I can transfer the clowns to and let the 120 start over, but I will definitely try scrubbing the rocks first. Appreciate the suggestions.

JoeCreature · #10 (**permalink**) 02-06-2010, 11:02 PM

Hmmmm. Vanishing bodies points to a culprit. Bodies disappear during the day or at night?