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Saltwater Aquarium/Questions Answered by Expert Elise
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Setup questions | 1/5/2008 |
| Q: my name is Aaron, and I was thinking of setting up one of my aquariums as a saltwater aquarium. ... A: 20Gal is big enough to start a salt water aquarium. The smaller it is, however, the more maintenance ... | |
| Leather coral | 1/1/2008 |
| Q: My question is about my leather coral, I have a 24G Nano Cube, iv had it set up for about 8 months ... A: In my experience those Hermits do climb all over things and sometimes the coral (or in my case ... | |
| Clownfish | 2/4/2007 |
| Q: I have a 29 gallon set up with 2 clownfish and one mandarin. I also have several other little ... A: My clownfish tend to "host" odd things for example in one tank I had them in they made like a well ... | |
| saltwater aquarium set up | 2/3/2007 |
| Q: What about filter type? Does it have to be a canister type filter? I 'm pretty sure it requires ... A: I use a spray bar with a power head on most of my tanks, we also have one tank with a hang on ... | |
| saltwater aquarium set up | 1/30/2007 |
| Q: I was just wondering what I would need to get started with a small saltwater tank? It is 26 gallons. ... A: You can definitely use fake corals and white gravel, I prefer the fine white gravel. As long as the ... | |
| shrimp? | 1/28/2007 |
| Q: i was hoping you could help me, i bought a cleaner shrimp about a month ago, the first 2 weeks he ... A: He should be fine if he is acting normally other than cleaning the fish. His missing bit should grow ... | |
| Brown matter(not hair algea) on glass | 1/7/2007 |
| Q: I have a reef tank and I continue to have a problem with some form of brown algea or something that ... A: I have not experienced this myself, the only thing I can suggest is to keep the lights on for ... | |
| Are my clownfish pregnant? | 1/5/2007 |
| Q: I am a relatively new saltwater aquarium owner. I am coming up on my first month and after numerous ... A: That is certainly alot of fish for not even having the tank up a month.. I never recommend adding ... | |
| snowflake eels and gobies | 1/4/2007 |
| Q: I have a 38gallon tank and in it I have a snowflake eel, my question is I really want a gobie, some ... A: I personally wouldn't risk it. I have a Snowflake Eel and he is housed with a Lionfish and Niger ... | |
| Black Parasite on Tangs (Looks like tics) | 1/4/2007 |
| Q: Can you let me know how I can kill the parasite without killing my vertabrates. I have reduced my ... A: Sorry I am unable to recommend something that *definitely* wont harm them. I had white spot and used ... | |
| clown fish lying down | 12/12/2006 |
| Q: The guy at the local fish store asked me if I mixed up my water before hand and let it sit before I ... A: Aha, this could be exactly what happened. You need to leave that salt water for about 2 weeks ... | |
| clown fish lying down | 12/11/2006 |
| Q: After I wrote our initial message our Damsel fish that we just added died. Could this have brought ... A: Its possible, but I don't think a fish can bring in a disease that wipes itself and others out that ... | |
| feather duster | 12/11/2006 |
| Q: i have a 1.5 month old tank. i have had my feather duster for about 1 month. just yesturday its top ... A: Probably a bit over stocked on the Hermit crab side. I have often read that it should be 1 crab per ... | |
| salt h2o going hay wire | 12/11/2006 |
| Q: I have had this salt tank for two yrs, and the same people who set it up they have always cleaned ... A: Do you check the levels? Algae feeds off excess nutrients (ie nitrates) If you weren't keeping a ... | |
| clown fish lying down | 12/10/2006 |
| Q: Our 12 gal. tank is 4 weeks old w/ 2 ocellaris clowns. Introduced a small damsel yesterday and did a ... A: It doesn't sound good but its possible he will be ok. Hard to say what has caused it. The tank ... | |
| white spots all over! | 12/9/2006 |
| Q: I'm a new saltwater hobbyist. I just discovered that my tomato clown fish has died. It's been dead ... A: The dead fish can contribute to ammonia and nitrite levels which are toxic to fish. Dead fish should ... | |
| Dwarf Seahorses | 12/8/2006 |
| Q: I have several freshwater tanks and I am looking to get started with a marine tank. Why? Because I ... A: I would definitely not recommend Dwarf seahorses to a beginner with seahorses let alone marine ... | |
| White bugs | 12/7/2006 |
| Q: I have been reading up on the white bugs that can be present in saltwater tanks, so i know what they ... A: I am not familiar with any bugs that eat fish, I have not come across them yet. Here is a site where ... | |
| yellow algea | 12/3/2006 |
| Q: i just went from a 10 gal to a 20 i doubled my live rock and added a Valencia puffer, 3 scarlet ... A: I think it was a bit soon to thrown everything in. Even if you used the same water and filter media ... | |
| water for saltwater aquarium | 11/30/2006 |
| Q: Would it be okay to use distilled water from my local grocery store for my marine aquarium? A: I have never tried this, I usually just use tap water when initially setting up a tank and adding ... | |
| White Spots (Blisters) | 11/28/2006 |
| Q: We have a 12 gallons tank that has been cycling for 3 weeks. All the levels are good. We only have ... A: You should never cycle a tank with fish in it, I am surprised they are still alive. My only advise ... | |
| blueline triggerfish | 11/28/2006 |
| Q: How do I tell the sex of a blueline triggerfish? Also, how would I go about mating these kinds of ... A: I cannot find any information on determining the sex of a trigger fish. I believe there is no known ... | |
| air bubbles | 11/27/2006 |
| Q: my 55 gallon saltwater tank has started forming little air bubbles on the glass and on my live rock. ... A: I have had this sort of thing in the past usually from the airstone I run. I am not sure what causes ... | |
| Snails | 11/24/2006 |
| Q: One of my sea snails is acting strangely. First it started to spin around a lot, now it sometimes ... A: Snails are very odd creatures. I notice with mine that if something is bothering them (like a hermit ... | |
| algae or parasite or other | 11/24/2006 |
| Q: For the last 5-6 weeks I have had tiny red dots all over the aquarium. I thought it was some type of ... A: Its possible you have some kind of flat worm. Do they look similar to this: ... | |
| Tank | 11/22/2006 |
| Q: We do have a few different types of snails, hermit crabs and a sea urench sp?. We do have several ... A: I would recommend this site: http://www.melevsreef.com/id/ for ID's of hitch hikers in your tank. ... | |
| small pink worms?? | 11/22/2006 |
| Q: I put a new crushed coral in my saltwater tank a few months ago. Tonight I walked into the room it ... A: If you take a torch with red cellophane over it a couple of hours after the lights go out you will ... | |
| cloudy salt water | 11/19/2006 |
| Q: i have 120gal. saltwater tank with fish only. i have two 60 gallon cannister filters and two 60gal. ... A: Sounds like a bacterial bloom which is not harmful to the fish. I have had these in the past on ... | |
| live rock turn BLACK | 11/19/2006 |
| Q: I read the FAQ about live rock problem and I have almost the same problem, but my is worst. I have ... A: I am personally not familiar with black algae. Whenever I get algae of any kind the first thing I do ... | |
| flatworms? | 11/17/2006 |
| Q: I have alot of very small red-orange flat flakes sticking to my front glasss and some of my ... A: Its very possible that what you have is flat worms. Without a picture its hard to identify but here ... | |
| saltwater angel fish | 11/16/2006 |
| Q: We have a saltwater aquarium in our office. I am worried about our Blue stripped angel fish. He ... A: It sounds as though he made need some antibiotics. I would recommend a treatment of triple sulfa if ... | |
| saltwater tank | 11/15/2006 |
| Q: I have a 55 gal.tank with a bad green algae problem. Is there a fish That will eat it? I have a ... A: I believe some herbivores will eat this kind of thing, ask at your local LFS for any herbivores that ... | |
| cloudy salt water tank | 11/13/2006 |
| Q: my salt water tank is very very cloudy and it has never been before. have had it for about 5 months ... A: Usually this is due to an bacteria bloom. I don't know that this would have anything to do with the ... | |
| discolored sand | 11/8/2006 |
| Q: My husband and I just set up our first saltwater tank. After letting it cycle for a few days, we ... A: A tank should be cycled for 4-6 weeks with the live rock in it as well as feeding the tank to build ... | |
| sumps | 11/7/2006 |
| Q: reading all I can I have a 130 tqnk I want to set up a sump for it. Is their some kind of print I ... A: The following site is a good reference to setting up a sump: http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html ... | |
| tank growths and serpent star problem | 11/6/2006 |
| Q: I need to know how to get rid of this long-haired algea hair,and these small, white, coiled things ... A: I can help with the algae... algae can be caused by too much light, or too much natural light and ... | |
| cleaning coral and rocks | 11/5/2006 |
| Q: i was wondering if icould use bleach to clean brown algae off my coral pieces and rock,i thuoght i ... A: I have not personally used bleach for this purpose myself. But I have used bleach for my purigen ... | |
| Turf algea | 11/4/2006 |
| Q: I'm up-grading my tank from a 20 gallon to a 65 gallon. I have turf algea on a piece of live rock ... A: Most algae feed off excess nutrients in the tank so keep a check on the nitrates. Also keep the ... | |
| freshwater or salt for 55-gallon tank | 10/30/2006 |
| Q: After keeping freshwater fish for many years, I have purchased a 55-gallon aquarium and am ... A: Saltwater is definitely more expensive to maintain and run and it does require more maintenance than ... | |
| black algae | 10/30/2006 |
| Q: I have a 55 gal saltwater tank with 2 triggers . 2x i had smoky looking water and alot of black ... A: Nitrates are the main food source of most algae. Have you checked your Nitrates with a test kit? ... | |
| worms | 10/29/2006 |
| Q: I have a nano salt tank. It's about 1yr old. I had a feather duster but it died and i have noticed ... A: Do they look similar to this: http://melevsreef.com/id/bristleworms.jpg If so these are bristleworms ... | |
| green water | 10/25/2006 |
| Q: my tank has thick green water i can't get rid of. what shold i do? A: It sounds as though it could be an "algae bloom" which can be caused by too much light or direct ... | |
Saltwater Aquarium
Answers by Expert:
Elise
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer many different questions about salt water aquariums from the set up to livestock. I have knowledge of illnesses and cures as well as general behavious, feeding etc. I am especially familiar with Seahorses as I have owned seahorses for over 6 months and in this time have done a lot of research and had to deal with many different problems. I have also treated and maintained many other salt water animals.
Experience
I have 5 marine tanks running at home that I look after. I started my first about a year ago. Before I began I did alot of research and during the time of running my own aquariums I have done a great deal more. Any questions I cannot answer I would me more than willing to do a great deal of research in order to obtain the answer if possible. Of course if I dont know or dont find out the answer I will not answer the question rather than give the wrong advice.
Education/Credentials
I went through High School but did no college or university. I plan to study Marine Studies next year and then either into work at an aquarium or I will move on to study Marine Science.
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