[2manypets]

eclipse 3 (>30g?)
replaced power filter (orig. power filter broke)
one powerhead hooked up to an UG filter
one two way air pump (only one tube of bubbles running to the tank)
two inches of live sand
approx. 30-40 lbs. of fuji live rock w/ small and large most green a few white invert. type growths.
temp. 78 degrees
salt 1.023
lights ? one white one black/blue?
i've been running this tank for two and a half years. this was my first tank. i had some ups and downs with this hobby, but i'm still here. for the past year and a half i have had:

one maroon clown w/ gold stripes. she is in great shape and likes to protect her end of the tank/sleep in and feed the big bubble.

my bubble split twice, the orig. is thriving, one of the others is much smaller and moves around a lot.

one green damsel. has been beat up and come back. he tends to keep a low profile. never been aggressive.

one eel type fish? (as you can tell i'm not good with names) this one went from approx. 3 in. to 6in. in one yr.
he hides out and digs tunnels in the sand under the rocks. i have never seen him act aggressive. i have never see another fish like him at the LFS.

4 months ago i added a small v.lion. looked/acted fine for 3 days, but didn't eat. died on the fourth day.
then added a small wrasse type (purple&yellow) fish. again, sorry about the names. three days later found him dead in a chunck of live rock.
a month ago i decided to give it another try. i added a coral beauty, a very cool fish. all of the green hair algae is gone now. it added color and life to my tank. was going great for 3 weeks, then had half a front fin missing and a big gash behind the missing fin. has been acting normal (eating, swimming around, finding a spot under the live rock to sleep/hide). it has been one week and the injuries seem to be healing.
on sunday i added a small blue tang. likes to sleep and chill on the opposite side of the tank of all the others. gets mouthed? or pushed away by the clown. fins/tail are fine, but body looks kind of weird (on the blue blue parts).
added 3lbs. fuji live rock

finally my questions.
i think i need direction.
what should i do with my current situation?
i like my orig. fish, but want more activity. i want to stay FO. my new fish are alive, but having issues. please advise.

also have

one 10g cube tank
built in filter with white filter, bio balls, & black filter
replaced power head for the filter (the orig. broke)
replaced heater (the orig. broke)
orig. light broke, the LFS fixed/replaced it for free and it broke about six months later. so right now no light, loud fan.
2 inches of live sand
5 lbs. of live rock
salt 1.020
temp 76 degrees
running for over one yr. stuff broke, stuff died.
now running for 2 months w/ one blue damsel.

this site is sweet. thanks in advance for any of your help and suggestions.

[the_blue_tuna]

What is your water quality like ? Angels will tolerate non pristine water but will do much better in high quality H2O. Running a UGF tends to generate lots of nitrates as do many power filters . Sounds also like you are getting aggression out of the fish (hence the missing fins and beat up looks) from over crowding . I think your best bet may be to decrease your population . Then improve water . Then you MAY be able to SLOWLY add a fish depending on how the system reacts. Probably not what you want to hear .

[2manypets]

Originally Posted by the_blue_tuna

What is your water quality like ? Angels will tolerate non pristine water but will do much better in high quality H2O. Running a UGF tends to generate lots of nitrates as do many power filters . Sounds also like you are getting aggression out of the fish (hence the missing fins and beat up looks) from over crowding . I think your best bet may be to decrease your population . Then improve water . Then you MAY be able to SLOWLY add a fish depending on how the system reacts. Probably not what you want to hear .

when i test my water it checks out ok. as i said, my orig. 3 fish and bubbles have been doing great. maybe i did overstock. i guess i need a bigger tank if i want more activity.
should i get rid of my UGF?
should i put my new small blue tang into my 10g?
should i get rid of the damsels in both tanks? if so, do i just bag them and take them to the LFS?
how often can i add more live rock to my eclipse 3?(i think that if the angel had more places to hide it would be ok). do you thinik the angel could have injured himself trying to dig a place to hide?
these guys at the LFS all give you a different story. i have switched to different stores in the area several times.

thanks for your help tuna.

[the_blue_tuna]

" should i get rid of my UGF? " I would , but thats my personal preference.

" should i get rid of the damsels in both tanks? if so, do i just bag them and take them to the LFS? " Do you like them? If so keep them. If you decide to get rid of them then call your LFS and see if they will take them back . If so then yes bag them up , although it wont be quite that easy . They are slippery little devils.

" should i put my new small blue tang into my 10g? " If it were me I would take him back also and not get a new one until you have a setup that is of the proper size to keep such a fish.

These are just my opinions 2 , but from my experience this way will make you most happy in the long run.

[Poseidon]

Yup I would also get rid og the UGF and the Damsels... I have 1 in my tank, but he is cool with the other tank mates, and he is a different species from the standard "blue devil".

And as Blue has said you have way too many fish in there... I go by a rule of 1 fish per 10 gallons. That way everyone can find there own space!!