This hobby is sometimes infuriating

[fish farmer]

Looks like we have no problem with certain corals, and then some do amazing for months, then one day come home and they're died or bailing.

Looks like we're gonna keep track of which do best for us and keep those. So far they include

Toadstools
Gsp
Zoas/polyps
Chalice
Stylophora
Certain encrusting corals (leptos)
Anenomes
Favia


Euphylia have done well for us until we moved to the 125, then we started to have issues. We've lost 2 of our frogs, 3 torches, and a hammer. Just odd how they die out of nowhere.

Just focus on the survivors, maybe expand on different varieties of those species.

The past couple of years my tank was back on track, new zoa's, hammers, brains, cyphastrea all growing well, even a couple of sps doing ok.

I took a couple extended vacations this year, both times with good house sitters, but had some mishaps or shifts in my routine that likely caused some mortality of corals I thought were "bulletproof".

 

[d2mini]

Losing stuff is just part of the experience.
When things are doing great and you are fragging colonies left and right, it makes up for it.

Even with our freshwater tanks we lose stuff all the time. Difference is the lost items are generally much cheaper. lol
But FW is also nowhere near as exciting.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Ive had many ups and downs over the years and even backed away from the hobby for a year. Hang in there and find what corals will do well

 

[Jpconer]

Yep...after 45+ yrs in the hobby, I've been completely frustrated at times....but I keep sticking with it.....currently, I've been too busy w/ work & some travel and my reef parameters slipped and now dealing w/ some hair algae ..but this too will pass

 

[ReefHog10]

I hear and feel your frustration and I’ve had them too.. still find myself staring at my tank every chance I get so I guess the good outweighs the bad and things that once seemed stressful now are just another bump in the road (saying that as a relative newcomer and without a doubt expecting more new stressful experiences to come.. ha)

Where in AR are you? (I’m in Ft Smith and don’t know many local hobbyists)

 

[Aparker2005]

I hear and feel your frustration and I’ve had them too.. still find myself staring at my tank every chance I get so I guess the good outweighs the bad and things that once seemed stressful now are just another bump in the road (saying that as a relative newcomer and without a doubt expecting more new stressful experiences to come.. ha)

Where in AR are you? (I’m in Ft Smith and don’t know many local hobbyists)

We're down in Hampton right above El Dorado. No one around us hardly does reefs and there sure aren't any local stores.

We got 6 new fish in today, so we're back excited if everyone will get along lol. We lost 3 more torches since we got in from vacation. We've just about decided we can't keep them.

We have 2 frogs, 1 hammer, and a torch left of our euphylia and they're all doing well. Fingers crossed!

 

[ReefHog10]

Any chance your remaining Euphyllia can be moved back to your nano tank or a QT until you can stabilize the big tank? I have no scientific article to reference but it seems coral and anemone deaths always lead to others (like some sort of chemical signal or toxin leads to similar issues in neighboring corals). Just my own observation and seems to be true of many posts I’ve seen on this forum.

wishing you luck on the new fish! What did you all choose to get?

 

[Aparker2005]

Any chance your remaining Euphyllia can be moved back to your nano tank or a QT until you can stabilize the big tank? I have no scientific article to reference but it seems coral and anemone deaths always lead to others (like some sort of chemical signal or toxin leads to similar issues in neighboring corals). Just my own observation and seems to be true of many posts I’ve seen on this forum.

wishing you luck on the new fish! What did you all choose to get?

Ended up with another copperband, which is already doing better than our last one we had. Not nearly as timid and doing lots of rock picking.

Went with an orange shoulder tang which may eventually have to be rehomed if it outgrows our 125. The Foxface did not give it a good welcome. Lots of chasing and now a few tail wags, but seems they've settled down. Our pbt we had was best friends with the Foxface, so maybe they'll partner up soon.

Replaced our royal gramma.

Then went with 3 wrasses (Yellow Coris, Lubbocks fairy, and Pintail fairy). We have an established Melanaurus already. It wasn't even phased by the coris, but so far hates the Lubbocks. Haven't seen the pintail since it moved from its hiding spot. We had a Lubbocks before and the Mel never even noticed it. Hopefully it will accept this new one and settle down.

That's it for now! Much happier having more fish back in the tank.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

So frustrating. I feel for you as everyone does. Hey, at least your first big tank didn't blow out on you at 2am like mine did! Lol. Now that sucked! 2 years later, my new tank is doing good. My only complaint now is the dam DINO'S!

 

[Dburr1014]

Let me start this out by saying I'm probably in overdrive from coming off a week of Christmas with the in laws, travel, and being away from home.

Wife and I started our reef journey 2 years ago. We've had freshwater all our lives and finally made the switch to mixed reef.

It's been going well, but lately we wonder if it's worth it anymore. We came home from our 5 day vacation to our gorgeous purple hammer knocked over and basically dead.

We had 2 fish kill 5 within a week.

The amount of time and money spent on this to have things just constantly going wrong is just not fun. I'm more open to it, but my wife is quickly getting over having this tank. I know things happen in all aquariums, and so does she, but I guess we're looking for encouragement.

It's disheartening to spend so much on fish or coral only to have them gone in a day sometimes.

Thanks everyone!

The hammer falling over seems very random. That stuff sometimes happens. Very sad, sorry for the loss.

Fish battling each other seems more like a compatability issue. Perhaps more research is needed picking out suitable fish.

You said you have years of freshwater experience. You most likely know fish compatability in freshwater like the back of your hand.
You just need to bring that to the salt table.

I suggest the two of you think long and hard of what makes you happy in your tank.
Salt is hard and also rewarding when it's done right and you have the amazing colors.
Fresh is the same but more forgiving.
Maybe now is not the time(with a new baby, congrats) but in the near future.
HTH, good luck on whichever way you decide. Hope you stay with salt though.

 

[reely989]

Keep your head up! It's a constant learning process! I'm still new, but I think you just have to reframe the "set backs" as learning opportunities-- and really ultimately it's also just part of these little ecosystems that we try to create. It happens in the wild too-- we're just not paying for it there

 

[AquaticVisualPleasures Al]

Looks like we have no problem with certain corals, and then some do amazing for months, then one day come home and they're died or bailing.

Looks like we're gonna keep track of which do best for us and keep those. So far they include

Toadstools
Gsp
Zoas/polyps
Chalice
Stylophora
Certain encrusting corals (leptos)
Anenomes
Favia


Euphylia have done well for us until we moved to the 125, then we started to have issues. We've lost 2 of our frogs, 3 torches, and a hammer. Just odd how they die out of nowhere.

Worms inside stone base coral skeleton.