I almost just killed my fish

I'm afraid I'm going to have to toss my name in the "Keep out of your tank" hat, as well. I've only been back on the forums for a couple weeks and have noticed you post a lot about doing this and that to your tank.

Make no doubt, I used to be just like you. I had my hands in the tank every day. Hell I think I even put a post here on 3reef about it.

Less is more. Just sayin'.

 

No kidding!

 

I reaquascaped before and couldn't find my sixline, it ends up he was stuck to the bottom of a rock and fell onto my carpet when I took that rock out, he was ok. I would make sure your flasher wrasse is ok as falls to the ground can be very stressful. I've seen a flasher wrasse fall at the lfs when an employee was taking one out for me. He was extremely healthy before hand and was only on the ground for a few seconds, but when he was put back in he wasn't right, so just keep an eye on him. And not to gang up on you, but I've noticed the same things that have already been mentioned. Your doing really well in this hobby so far and your tank shows for it, but you still need to learn when to sit back and let your tank go.

 

glad hes ok!!!

 

Pretend you are the girl singing, and the guy trying to work is your fish. Well, this is how they feel when you monkey with your rocks all the time.;D STFU | Flash Videos ;D

 

Its hard to not have my hands in my tank daily. But I do constantly think of the negative affects. Lotion, deodarant, skin oil....everythings been in my tank. I keep telling myself to just sit back and let it do its thing but snails constantly need to be rescued, sand needs to be blown off corals, etc. There is always something to do. I just have to ignore that urge too and let it do its thing.

haha...I just re-aquascaped last night!...nothing died though lol.

 

keep re-arranging the tank and aquascaping will always put stress on the fish.... Just leave it alone and let it settle. Your wrasse is so beautiful and it would be a shame to loose him.
I am just a believer in patience in this hobby and I've left my tank since I started the cycle 8 weeks ago and it's doing great.
Just take the advice of the others and be patient!

 

Tracy, please don't take any offense to any of the above. We are just trying to help you out!! Please, please, please take the advice above into consideration. Matthew had an excellent point with the lotion/deodorant comment. Removing your rocks and scrubbing them is only going to remove the "surface of the problem" so to speak. You have to figure out what is causing the algae in the first place, get it under control, and than sit back and watch your tank! When you removed your rocks, you could have upset your sand bed releasing some seriously nasty stuff(amcarrig said hydrogen sulfide i think???don't remember but maybe she can remind us ;D). Seriously, only bad things will happen when you are constantly in and out of your tank. Not to mention you have sensitive skin. Depending on how allergic you are, there are many different types of hydrozoans, zoanthids, protozoans, and others that can have a nasty sting if you mess with them. Palytoxin comes to mind, but is often used as a scapegoat when poeple are just careless with fragging animals. So please take this advice and the above mentioned to heart. Don't be ofended either. We are just trying to help you keep your beautiful tank without you pulling your hair out

And most importantly take care of yourself while working around your tank! Your water column can harbor deadly bacteria, enzymes and all sorts of stuff!

Tracy, I wish you the best with your tank. It's a beautiful piece of the reef any person would be lucky to own, so kudos to you

EDIT- Also, these people have A TON of experience, so it is much better to learn from others mistakes than your own. But than again, some people will only learn from their mistakes, so take this as a learning experience and move on!

 

I know I repeat myself on this site... but PLEASE wear gloves····· and don't take offense... like NeighborTomita said... we are all here to help each other....

 

My hands were in/out quite a bit when I first got going..This past fall I was out of town working all semester and had someone come by and do basic maintenance. When I got back right before Christmas my tank looked amazing..and I'm positive it was because it was just left alone. A lot of the above posts do sound kind of harsh..but remember that they all know these things because chances are they were each guilty of it in the past! I know I am!

Ivan