Lost a fish...thinking of redoing some stuff, thoughts?

nwin · 06/21/2012, 05:33 PM

14g BioCube owner here
Current stocking is this:

b/w occ. clown
tailspot blenny
pom pom crab
cleaner shrimp
pep shrimp
misc. snails and 3 hermit crabs.

It's got about 4" of sand and 18 pounds of LR.

Anyways, the main reason I set this tank up was because I wanted a pearly jawfish. After 3 months of having the tank up and stocking it, my LFS finally got one in, and I had the jawfish for 2 awesome months watching it burrow and do everything else that they do.

Unfortunately, a trochus snail fell in it's burrow and landed on top of the jawfish, bringing some gravel in with it. The jawfish was trapped underneath the snail and the rocks, so we went in and took the snail out, which caused more gravel to land on the fish. Stupid? Probably...but she was trapped and we were panicking. Anyways, she got out with some tattered fins and was doing fine and eating for a few days, even made a new burrow. Today something must have nipped at her because her side fin was tattered and she wasn't swimming correctly. We did what we could, but she ended up passing just as we were getting ready to euthanize her. It sucks, but I already went through the grief a few days ago when I was thinking we would lose her, so we'll deal with it.

ANYWAYS, this isn't getting me out of the hobby. I thought about it over the past week, and my wife and I are on a very strict budget, but I've spent too much time and money getting this tank to where I want to give up. So here's my options.

1) Get another jawfish. Prior to doing this, I plan on taking all the LR out and putting fresh sand in. Reason being is that I think most of the rocks were on the bottom of the tank, but I'm not entirely sure because I put the rocks in after the sand. This time I can get rid of all the sand, put the LR in the tank, then dump new sand in, and then put the fish/inverts in the tank, guaranteeing the rocks are on the bottom for my new jawfish. I really do like them.

2) Go for another fish. If I do this, I'm still getting rid of the sand and instead only laying down about 1" of substrate. 4" traps way too much detritus and doesn't help algae problems down the road. Question is, what kind of fish?

So, ideas? I want something lively and the jawfish was definitely that while she was making her burrow. The clown is alright, just a bit weird and you never know what he's going to do, but that's a clown for you. The tailspot isn't as fun as I originally had hoped, but he's still cool to look at.

Thanks!

06/21/2012, 05:33 PM	#1
nwin Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1	Lost a fish...thinking of redoing some stuff, thoughts? 14g BioCube owner here Current stocking is this: b/w occ. clown tailspot blenny pom pom crab cleaner shrimp pep shrimp misc. snails and 3 hermit crabs. It's got about 4" of sand and 18 pounds of LR. Anyways, the main reason I set this tank up was because I wanted a pearly jawfish. After 3 months of having the tank up and stocking it, my LFS finally got one in, and I had the jawfish for 2 awesome months watching it burrow and do everything else that they do. Unfortunately, a trochus snail fell in it's burrow and landed on top of the jawfish, bringing some gravel in with it. The jawfish was trapped underneath the snail and the rocks, so we went in and took the snail out, which caused more gravel to land on the fish. Stupid? Probably...but she was trapped and we were panicking. Anyways, she got out with some tattered fins and was doing fine and eating for a few days, even made a new burrow. Today something must have nipped at her because her side fin was tattered and she wasn't swimming correctly. We did what we could, but she ended up passing just as we were getting ready to euthanize her. It sucks, but I already went through the grief a few days ago when I was thinking we would lose her, so we'll deal with it. ANYWAYS, this isn't getting me out of the hobby. I thought about it over the past week, and my wife and I are on a very strict budget, but I've spent too much time and money getting this tank to where I want to give up. So here's my options. 1) Get another jawfish. Prior to doing this, I plan on taking all the LR out and putting fresh sand in. Reason being is that I think most of the rocks were on the bottom of the tank, but I'm not entirely sure because I put the rocks in after the sand. This time I can get rid of all the sand, put the LR in the tank, then dump new sand in, and then put the fish/inverts in the tank, guaranteeing the rocks are on the bottom for my new jawfish. I really do like them. 2) Go for another fish. If I do this, I'm still getting rid of the sand and instead only laying down about 1" of substrate. 4" traps way too much detritus and doesn't help algae problems down the road. Question is, what kind of fish? So, ideas? I want something lively and the jawfish was definitely that while she was making her burrow. The clown is alright, just a bit weird and you never know what he's going to do, but that's a clown for you. The tailspot isn't as fun as I originally had hoped, but he's still cool to look at. Thanks!