[Ixthys]

Now if that isn't just the most conceited title!!! Ha.

But seriously, for about a year in my reef tank the angel always had a brownish tinge to his back, just under the dorsal fin. I'd say it was 2cm long and a few mm high. It didn't look like something "on" the fish, just part of his coloration. Always has been a healthy fish otherwise.

Anyway, about 6 weeks ago I set up a new tank and banned him to my fuge tank (for nipping at clams) along with his parner-in-crime, a majestic angel (I believe he drove the getaway car). The fuge has a DSB, a little bit of LR rubble in one of the baffles. Also, the protein skimmer return is in there (with ozone) as well as the Kalk top-off water and calcium reactor return. I haven't changed his diet. Lighting is significantly less in the fuge.

So now his color looks amazing! He healed the beginnings of HITH (I believe it was stress-induced from a previous period in quarantine a few months ago- didn't have it for the 10 months prior) and got rid of the brown.

I'm not complaining, but I'd like to understand why his color improved. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
-Craig

[leebca]

A trick question! You thought you'd sneak one by me didn't you? :slap:

You DID change the fish's diet. By putting the fish into the refugium it now had access to live foods (algae, pods, etc.) that it probably didn't have in the display tank. It also had access to foods it could feed on throughout the day in between the meals you fed.

It had more food and more appropriate food (marine source) available to it and throughout the day. What a perfect feeding process you put the fish through.

The fish took advantage of what Nature was providing (that you hadn't provided yourself) and healed its 'aching back' and fixed the deficiency it had in the diet you were feeding.

Next challenge?

[Ixthys]

Fair enough, but then why was my pod population not adequate in my display tank (but adequate in the fuge)? Or did my 2 angels just decimate my pods in my fuge?

Thanks again!

[leebca]

Pods in the refugium 'drift' in population that isn't necessarily reflected in the display tank. (I have refugium pods that aren't in my display, vice versa AND different than the pods in my QT). That is, your refugium has a 'different' set of pods, albeit with considerable overlap, than that of the display. The coming and going of pod population would not necessarily be in sync between those two 'containers.' Just a guess, but for instance, the rubble in the refugium can give 'refuge' to those critters that like to hide under/in/around rubble. In a very subtle way, the environment in the refugium is different than the environment in the display.

When a fish is moved/relocated, it can easily change its pattern to suit the new place. The fish, although sensitive, are not as 'inflexible' as we sometimes think. They (or one) probably just saw a new 'territory' and went hunting. The Flame Angel is prone to picking around rocks in the wild for pods and algae.

Thanks for posting!

[Ixthys]

Maybe a little off-topic, but do you ever or have you ever rejuvinated your pod population by adding new/more pods?

By the way, I've found that angel hanging out in the baffle with the rubble on more than one occasion!

[leebca]

Originally Posted by Ixthys

Maybe a little off-topic, but do you ever or have you ever rejuvenated your pod population by adding new/more pods?

Not really. Not of all that much value in doing this.

When I start off a new system I load it with every possible pod I can get my hands on. What happens after that is the course Nature takes. As the tank matures, so does the available nutrients for pods. Some pods can't adjust to the light; some can't find enough shade; some are cannibals and eat the others; etc. What happens in our systems is that pod population shifts, favoring whatever pod or group of pods that fit the nutrient and environment created. Eventually the population settles down to the right amount of each pod that finds a good life in the environment provided.

Now the aquarist that goes and adds more pods at this stage is shifting the balance. The pop population then launches into the above mentioned shifts again and eventually settles into (guess what) a population of pods that finds a good life in the environment provided. The difference between this population of pods and the previous population of pods is that the aquarist's wallet is thinner.

IF (on-the-other-hand) the aquarist didn't start with a diverse group of pods then as the system matures, different nutrients become available and some pods that would find that environment good would not be present. In this case, the addition of pods is not done to 'rejuvenate' the pod population, but to actually seed it with pods that weren't there to begin with!

Unfortunately, the addition of pods to a mature system risks the introduction of disease. Yup! The pods need to be quarantined!