Another one bites the dust

I'll have a dead foxface by morning. I'm always battling something or another it seems and I'm pretty much over it and this will be the last straw.

He's been acting strange the past two days. Hasn't come out behind rocks and won't eat. I can see him enough to tell that there doesn't seem to be any signs of ich, velvet, or any other type of parasite or disease. His breathing isn't fast or labored either. He is just sitting on the bottom of the tank behind the rock work, not moving. In the year I have had him, I've never seen this behavior. Maybe he'll snap out of it, but probably not. He's acting the same way my tang did shortly before dying.

I am pretty sure I know what happened to my favorite fish. A few months back I purchased my first apex system (including an AFS). Excitedly I set everything up and had everything fine tuned that first week. I kept an eye on how much pellet food the AFS dispensed the first couple days to make sure it wasn't just dumping into the tank. I supplemented feedings once a week with either nori, flake, or frozen to add variety and keep everything happy. Unfortunately I don't think the foxface was getting enough food for long term health as he was my only large fish in the tank. I feel that by setting up my apex system, my tank almost became TOO automated and I did not watch my tank as much as I used to prior to the apex. I will be removing my AFS tonight.

I retract my first sentence. He will most likely be dead by the end of this post.

Ultimately the tank is no longer worth the hassles and frustrations it's been causing. After the holidays, I will most likely be looking to sell everything off, which is a good amount of stuff/livestock. So, if anyone is interested in a 90 gallon complete set up, shoot me a message and I can fire off some details. It's nothing that I'm looking to do right this second as holidays are pretty busy for me. But if anyone is thinking about upgrading, keep me in mind, as I have everything you'd need.

-Frustrated Reefer.

 

I actually started off with a 55 for the first year and was very unhappy with the size of tank the entire time. The things I wanted to do / purchase, I couldn't. So on year two I upgraded to my current 90 and as far as size, I've been very happy. If I were to downsize, I think I would still be unhappy and frustrated, just for different reasons.

As far as stripping the apex down to basics, it's pretty much already there. The only "controlling" I have it set up to do, is with the AFS and then ATO (aside from the basic controls - lights, heater/chiller, powerheads, etc etc). I will be removing the AFS tonight and go back to hand feeding the tank as I am confident that was what lead the demise of the foxface, which is now dead.

I haven't 100% made the call to quit, but the thought has crossed my mind numerous times the past two months. I'm going to give it through the holidays and go from there. There just isn't that joy and feeling proud of my tank anymore.

 

Yeah, it sucks. He was the most active member of the tank too. All the other fish are fat and healthy. No issues that I can tell.

I honestly feel all the automation was a bad move in my case. Not saying it's bad for everyone, just for me. I went from looking at the tank numerous times daily, feeding and watching all the fish eat - to just passing it by while walking from room to room. Yes the apex has made certain tasks and monitoring stupid simple, but it also made me too comfortable with being "lazy".




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