The Marine Betta

There are so many fish that are attractive and tempt the aquarist, from small to moderate to large in size. Some are aggressive, some sensitive but are they suitable for the aquarium? The answer of course is mainly ‘yes’, with the addition that they all need to have their preferred environment provided.

One fish that is not as brightly coloured as some others, but is colourful and very attractive nevertheless, is the marine betta, as can be seen at the following link. Another common name for the fish is marine comet. The proper name is Calloplesiops altivelis.

http://www.ozanimals.com/Fish/Comet/Calloplesiops/altivelis.html

The beta is covered in dots and has large finnage which is where the common names probably come from. When the fins are extended they look spectacular. These fish are capable of growing to around 6¼” (circa 16cm) so they are not for the small aquarium, if they are to be comfortably housed a 36″ (circa 91.5cm) aquarium or thereabouts is recommended. Normally only one beta should be kept. Their tank mates should be selected carefully as they are fairly shy and not at their best when housed with bold, high action and/or aggressive fish, the companions should be of a similar size or smaller. It is also best not to overcrowd the fish, which is good practice in any aquarium anyway – a lower fish population is advantageous.

Having said companions should be smaller, care is again needed as the beta could predate on much smaller fish. It tends to ambush them from whatever area it has decided to hide in. Care also needs to be taken with smaller crustaceans as these will sometimes be eaten.

Once the fish has settled in feeding is not normally a problem, good quality frozen food is usually accepted and often so is freeze dried food. There will no doubt always be exceptions, but flake food is not particularly attractive to them. The aquarist needs to observe the fish in the aquarium at feeding time, as is the practice anyway, as the beta could lose out to faster and greedier fish it is necessary to ensure it has fed sufficiently.

For the fish to settle well the aquarium must be furnished with rockwork, be this live rock or otherwise. The rockwork needs to be arranged so that there are one or two caves, preferably several, that are large enough for the fish to hide in and watch the outside world from.

A very bright halide lit reef aquarium is not ideal for the beta as it prefers moderate light – a reef that houses soft corals and is lit by fluorescents would be better, as would the lesser lit fish only system. The fish could become accustomed more or less to brighter light but in this circumstance is likely to hide away for longer periods. The natural habit of the fish is to hide away during the day, but in the lower lit aquarium the fish should be seen more often for longer periods.

When the fish is first introduced to the aquarium it is likely to hideaway for quite a period, most fish hideaway at first but the beta’s period could be longer. The fish should start to appear when ‘dusk’ occurs (that is, main lights off and actinics only on before lights out) or maybe it could be ‘dawn’. Whatever, it should settle provided it feels secure and the environment is of high quality and then be seen more.

The only defence the fish has (to my knowledge) is that when it feels threatened it will put its head into the rocks and leave only the tail and rear body showing. The markings on the rear end seem to be similar to a moray eel, and any potential aggressor will consider twice before mixing with those.

This lovely and interesting fish will be excellent for the aquarium provided its tank mates are suitable, the lighting isn’t too bright, there are suitable hiding places and the seawater is of high quality. The aquarist could need to search a little before a fish is located.

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Food For Thought

Food is required by all life for energy and general health. Lots of food of the wrong type may provide some energy but the contents will not supply the general needs of the life form. So it is important to feed the life in the marine aquarium the correct type of foods and at the same time not overfeed.

On the wild reef different life forms have different niches for food. There are predators, some general, some very specialized. There is life that eats a particular item, such as herbivores eating algae. There are also omnivores that will eat almost anything they come across, thus taking advantage of a wide range of food sources. The needs of these different types stay with them in the aquarium.

Again on the wild reef with its abundance of different life forms hardly anything goes to waste, there is something in the food chain that will clear it up. In addition, the huge volume of seawater over the wild reefs can ‘absorb’ any small amounts of food created pollution. This is not the case in the aquarium. Though modern systems attempt to replicate the wild reef as near as possible there isn’t a way that all the life variations can be represented. The very limited gallonage in an aquarium, even one considered to be very large, is subject to food pollution.

The aquarist can deal with algae by having herbivorous fish, crabs and snails present. Detritus can be dealt with to an extent in the same way. In a fish only system with live rock (FOWLR) and particularly in a reef system there should be a considerable number of minute creatures living among the rocks which no doubt will make use of excess food. Where does this excess food come from? In a FOWLR the aquarist is more than likely to stock the aquarium to its fish capacity. This is also usual in a reef system, though the fish stock is, or should be, lower. All of these fish, and any other creatures, need to receive supplemental feeding. The food that might be available in the aquarium is insufficient.

This supplemental food provided by the aquarist is usually either frozen or in flake form. There are variations but it is these two that are the main foods used. It is here that the potential danger lies. Novice aquarists more often than not do it – overfeed. Experienced aquarists, though more careful, ‘overfeed’ as it is usually impossible to ensure that all food is eaten and some inevitably end up in the rockwork. It is to be hoped that the tiny creatures in the rockwork will make use of it.

We should not be too hard on the novice aquarist who overfeeds. There are two reasons for this bad practice, the first is that the aquarist is concerned that enough food is available for the livestock, and the second is that feeding is a very pleasurable experience. So the error is made for the correct reasons.

A comment has been made about the restricted seawater capacity of an aquarium. One gram of flake food (say a teaspoon full) with a protein content of about 50% can convert to 336ppm (parts per million) nitrate*. In a reef aquarium the guideline for this type of aquarium is 10ppm or lower, and in a FOWLR as low as possible, preferably about the same. Though varying seawater gallonages should have some effect it is clear that pollution is a threat.

So what’s to be done? How can the pollution threat be reduced?

The aquarist should be providing a reasonably wide spectrum of supplementary food. As said, this is usually frozen and flake. It is obvious that to prevent pollution the amount of food of either type needs to be restricted, but how? How can the aquarist be happy that the livestock have eaten enough?

It is said quite often that fish and other marine life should be fed little and often, feeding only enough as can be completely consumed in two or three minutes. This is quite correct, first because reef life usually feeds continuously in the wild and second because the life will be hungry and more likely to chase down all the food.

Unfortunately, modern lifestyles do not allow ‘little and often’ feeding in many cases, as jobs call the aquarist away.

The first consideration is an auto-feeder. These feeders can be programmed to release a small amount of food into the aquarium at set intervals. Some are quite good, others not. The top of the aquarium must be open, and there needs to be an adequate area where the feeder can be securely fixed. Some aquarists see these auto feeders in the same way as, for example, automatic water top-up devices, in other words automate the aquarium system in all ways possible. All automation is good, correct? This is, in my opinion, wrong, some automation is good. Auto feeders though should be viewed as a potential way to feed little and often, nothing more.

These devices distribute flake food. For flake to be released it has to be completely dry, and the device is over the top of the aquarium in a damp area. This means that some of these devices fail from the start as the food becomes damp. At least there should be some kind of food drying mechanism – some feeders have a small fan that moves air through the food chambers.

Another problem with feeders is that they drop flake into the aquarium, and dry flake will float. If there are any weirs, overflows etc the food may go over these before being consumed.

Personally I don’t use them, preferring to feed direct twice daily. This means that the livestock will receive more food but with longer intervals between feedings. This doesn’t matter provided feeding is done carefully, and of course it fits in with the lifestyles of most aquarists.

The amount of food that will be consumed by the livestock will vary aquarium to aquarium as obviously the amount of livestock will vary. The aquarist needs to discover the quantity of each type of food, frozen and flake, which is required. This is easy to do.

Take frozen first. Frozen foods, such as brine or mysis shrimp, are usually supplied in blister packs made up of many blocks. The aquarist needs a very small container – an egg cup is ideal. Take one frozen food square from the pack and chop into four parts. One of these portions should be placed in the egg cup, and some aquarium seawater or RO (reverse osmosis) water added, enough to cover the food. Allow the portion to de-frost completely, so that the shrimps float free. Do not accelerate the process by using a heat source or a microwave, as it has been reported that this reduces the nutritional value of the food.

When fully de-frosted, pour off the liquid as far as possible. Then allow one half of the food to enter the aquarium. The food will be caught by the seawater currents and will move around the aquarium which should attract the fish. Once the food has gone the fish will probably continue swimming around eagerly looking for more. If so, repeat the process de-frosting more food if necessary, and continue to do so until the fish indicate they have had nearly enough. This is shown when the eagerness displayed has reduced.

The aquarist now has an indication of the amount that will be required for each feed. However, this doesn’t mean that the one or two or whatever blocks of food can be de-frosted and put in the aquarium all at once, this would present too much food to the fish and some would inevitably be missed. The aquarist can de-frost the full amount, but the food should still go into the aquarium in portions. This helps to ensure that it will all be eaten. Also, each feeding should be seen as an individual exercise, as sometimes fish can be less interested in food than at other times. It is better to underfeed than overfeed – if a little underfed the fish will probably be a little hungrier the next time. Any de-frosted food left over should not be re-frozen but discarded.

Flake food is dispensed in a similar manner. The flake should always be that which is described as suitable for marine life. The egg cup or similar is again required. Also, it is helpful to have some tweezers available, plastic if possible. Most fish, once they have seen other fish eat flake and have recognized it as food, will be attracted to it.

Take a good pinch of flake and place it in the egg cup. Try and ensure that the food is in flakes and avoid any very small bits as the fish will usually go for the larger flakes and the bits could be caught in the rock work. Put some seawater or RO water in the eggcup so that the flake goes soggy. Now take a very small pinch of flake with the tweezers – it will look awful and will cling to the tweezers. Release the wet flake into the aquarium where it will open up. The fish should chase it down and quickly consume it. They will no doubt swim around eager for more, so do the same thing again. As soon as this eagerness diminishes, stop feeding. Again, the aquarist has an indication of how much food is required. It may be that when using flake the fish lose their eagerness more quickly – this could be because the flakes can be quite large and the food is very nutritious. The aquarist should remember that flakes are very nutritious and less will usually be enough. Again, each feeding should be treated individually and a reduction in eagerness watched for. Any excess flakes should of course be thrown away.

With some fish, such as surgeons, there is a requirement for algae to keep them in good health. Though flake containing algae could be used, if there isn’t much algae of the correct type available in the aquarium the aquarist could put some in, in fact, this is a good practice. This algae is of the dried variety which is supplied in sheets, such as Nori. Health food stores often have this as well as pet retailers.

The algae sheet can be reduced in size according to the number of surgeon fish present, and then held in place against one of the viewing glasses with an algae magnet. It will move with the seawater currents and the fish will spend much time grazing on it, much to their benefit. It is a good idea to ensure there is algae present for such fish every other day – some aquarists keep it present every day. The aquarist needs to remove anything that is unused and likely to float off round the aquarium. It also needs to be remembered that feeding algae will reduce the appetite at feeding times of the fish that have eaten the algae.

Some fish, despite others eating well and giving a good example, do not overcome their shyness and natural instincts and remain in a part of the aquarium where food doesn’t reach. In this case, once the other fish have eaten, they need to be individually fed.

Feeding will produce some level of nitrate and phosphate even if done carefully. This increase in pollutants is dealt with by routine seawater changes. The changes offer advantages in addition to the dilution of pollutants and should be done in all aquariums. Some bio-filtration methods will generally deal with nitrate, such as live rock. Nevertheless, routine seawater changes should be completed.

Feeding carefully reduces pollution increases that can only be good for the live stock, which in turn are properly and sufficiently fed. Also, that most important aspect of feeding is still present – the aquarist’s enjoyment.

(*Reference: Baensch ‘Marine Atlas.’ Helmut Debelius & Hans A. Baensch)

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I’ve Heard Of The Cleaner Shrimp But What Is The Cleaner Fish?

I would imagine that all marine aquarists have heard of, and probably seen, the cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis). This colourful shrimp is very popular, becoming used to the aquarist very quickly and even walking around on the hand if the opportunity presents itself – a large and strangely shaped fish to be cleaned perhaps.

There is another creature known for the natural cleaning activities it undertakes. This is the cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus). The fish is commonly known as the cleaner wrasse or blue streak wrasse. There are other reef fish that undertake cleaning duties particularly when juvenile, but this wrasse does it as a full time job.

The wrasse likes to go into a small hole or crevice for security when night arrives. During the day, it seldom moves far from the area, as it is a cleaning station. In other words, the little wrasse, usually in a group, wait for other fish to come so that they can be cleared of parasites and other irritants. The wrasse goes busily about the fish being cleaned, as this is the food source. They will even enter the mouths and gills of bigger fish, including predators – the larger fish normally hang still, fins spread when being cleaned, and keep their mouths open to allow easy access. The cleaner wrasse are protected from predation during this activity possibly by their swimming motion, colours, shape, or all three. The cleaner stations are well known to other reef inhabitants, and it is known for fish to wait and queue patiently for attention. There are always enough fish for cleaning, and thus food for the wrasse.

As with many wrasse, the cleaner is hardy in a good aquarium environment. It needs plenty of swimming space and places to hide. The normal caution should be exercised with regard to health when purchasing one.

On the wild reef there are plenty of fish to be cleaned, but not so in the aquarium. Even in a fish only system where there are normally more fish per gallon, there is insufficient natural food. It follows that this will be the same in a reef system. Also of course, the last thing the aquarist wants is parasites in the aquarium. Talking of parasites, it might be thought that the wrasse could be of use in a fight against marine white spot or velvet. Unfortunately, this is reportedly not the case and the wrasse is vulnerable to the parasites as well.

When considering introducing a cleaner wrasse to the aquarium, the usual compatibility question applies, though this is not usually a problem from the wrasse‘s point of view. When the wrasse is in the aquarium, natural instincts continue. It may ‘think’ that the fish in the area are waiting for cleaning and attempt to carry out this task. These attempts can continue over and over again, day after day, and other fish can be highly irritated by the attention. The wrasse may be repeatedly warned off, though it is unlikely to be attacked, though if the system is a fish only with predators there could be a problem. Some predators, such as lionfish, may not have very good manners! It is said that if the wrasse ‘learns’ when food is available and responds to it with the other fish, the cleaning drive could diminish, as the driving force, hunger, is reduced.

As with other fish it is a good idea to ask a retailer to put a little food in the aquarium and watch the response of the wrasse. Many wrasse are easy to feed, generally being gluttons, and the cleaner type is reported to feed well too. There have been reports of starved cleaners that perished, but this does not appear to be the norm.

The food fed needs to have a little resemblance to that in the wild. Fortunately, most other fish will take it as well. Try frozen foods that are prepared for marines, such as mysis shrimp, artemia, shellfish, squid, lobster eggs and the like. Some may need to be chopped so that the cleaner can handle them. It is reported that the fish will often take flake food. A diet with plenty of variety, plus flake if possible, should be successful. Fed carefully, the seawater conditions should not deteriorate as other fish present will eat the same diet.

On the wild reef mimicry is not unknown, and so it is with the cleaner wrasse. Other fish trust the wrasse and do not hesitate to present themselves for cleaning. Taking advantage of this is a fish which is closely coloured and patterned. This is the false cleaner (Aspidontus taeniatus), which in fact is a blenny. What it does is present itself to a fish which is ready for cleaning, but instead of being useful it quickly bites a bit of fin or scale and dashes off. Not the way to win fishy friends! It is unlikely to be obtained in mistake for a proper cleaner, but the two are easily identifiable, the proper cleaner has a mouth at the front of the fish, the false one has an underslung mouth.

There are other cleaner wrasse, but none are reported to take to aquarium food as readily (I’d better avoid the word ‘easily‘) as the one discussed.

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If A Fish Dies Should You Remove It From The Aquarium?

The loss of a fish is a very sad occasion and often, whether the cause is known or not, the aquarist will wonder if it was his/her fault. Most (all?) aquarists lose a fish occasionally when the rest are perfectly healthy.

Despite the sadness, the aquarist needs to take action to maintain the quality conditions inside the aquarium, which will protect other livestock from further problems. A rotting fish may cause a rise in the load on the bio-filter, and the bio-filter may not be able to cope.

The answer is yes, the fish should be removed if possible. Easy enough maybe, unless there are many rocks in the aquarium. Fish often have a tendency, probably a defence mechanism, to hide in rocks when there is a problem.

In a fish only system using an external filter and not a lot of rock, or even one which uses a good quantity of live rock, as there aren’t any corals it should be practical to move rocks about until the corpse is discovered. This will stress the remaining fish and therefore the rock movement should be minimised as far as possible by moving rocks and replacing them in a methodical manner until the corpse is found.. This should also preserve the layout of the rocks. On the other hand, the ‘fish only with live rock’ aquarist if necessary could leave the fish in the rocks and proceed as in the reef system below.

In a reef system it is more difficult. The reef is constructed of many rocks and is usually covered in may corals of various types. The aquarist is not going to be particularly keen on dismantling the reef, even if it can be done methodically. The disruption is greater, and the stress to the living fish would probably be more severe. So what is the procedure?

It is the water quality that is being watched. As said, the presence of a rotting corpse can stretch or overload a bio-filter. The reef aquarist could make the decision to ignore the dead fish and monitor the water quality. This is an option because in the reef system there are normally less fish, again to protect water quality (though the bio filtration mechanism will still have adapted to the load it has to deal with). What is being daily tested for is any presence of ammonia. At the same time, the actions of the fish should be watched to ensure they are not showing any sign of discomfort, such as increased breathing rates and/or erratic and unusual swimming. The corals too should remain as normal. If any problem does appear then the action is a water change to dilute the toxin, the amount depending on the severity of the problem.

That said, it is possible that the reef aquarist will not note any detrimental changes in water quality, particularly in a mature reef. This is because the many tiny occupants of the reef are always ready for a meal, and are perfectly able to dispose of a corpse. I have, over the years, lost fish and removed them from fish only systems, and left them alone in a reef. The reef life dealt with the problem and removal of the fish in the fish only system prevented any problem arising.

The loss of a fish calls for water quality checks, unless the aquarist is sure of the cause.
If the fish can be removed, it is best to remove it. If not, monitoring the water quality for say at least a week should provide an adequate safeguard.

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Consider Tank Raised Marine Fish

There are a lot of people who decide to start a marine aquarium due to seeing a natural coral reef in person, on televsion, in pictures etc.

Of course there are lots of other reasons as to why people start saltwater aquariums.

But that’s not the purpose of this post.

The majority of aquarists have a passion for life in the wild as well as the life which they keep in their home aquarium.

And rightly so – life in nature is wonderful.

This does however bring an issue to ‘us aquarists’

We love the life in the ocean yet we need to remove some of this life so that it can exist in our [tag-tec]home aquarium[/tag-tec].

Granted a lot of the fish, corals etc on the reef are monitored and protected so that the reef is not drained empty of life yet we as the responsible aquarists we are need to at least try to do our bit.

By that I mean considering purchasing [tag-tec]tank raised marine fish[/tag-tec].

For those who are not sure what a tank raised fish is let me enlighten you. Basically they are marine fish which are bred in an aquarium and allowed to grow until they are old enough to be made for sale.

So what’s the beneift.

Two fold really. The first is that with them being tank raised they have not been removed from the wild, therefore the populations in the wild are not reduced. Secondly they are generally hardier than wild fish so are more accustomed to life confined to the aquarium.

To me that is two good reasons to at least consider it.

A while ago we were very limited to what we could purchase in this area however nowadays the selection is much greater.

You can purchase fish such as :

• Clownfish
• Dottyback
• Banggai Cardinal
• Gobies
• and more…

Don’t worry if your local fish shop do not have any in stock. Just ask and I am sure that they will be able to acquire some for you.

Maybe you will not fill your entire aquarium with tank raised marine fish but if you at least have a couple then you have helped to reduce the impact on the wild reef.

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Excitement With A Sad End

Many years ago, when I was fairly new at the marine hobby, I was really overcome with excitement. I had a fish only system at the time, the move to a captive reef was yet to come.

So what was all the excitement about? I had seen and ordered to be kept for me a juvenile emperor angel (Pomacanthus imperator). This 3″ or so beauty was cruising up and down the dealer’s show tank, looked in full health, and could not be resisted. I did some research in the dealer’s shop using a book that he provided. It was fully compatible with my aquarium stock and the aquarium was quite large enough.

The juvenile emperor has a blue body with a series of white rings and is most definitely beautiful. This colouring is lost as the fish ages and it turns into beautiful nearly horizontal narrow yellow stripes interspaced with blue. The top of the fish’s body is yellow and the bottom dark blue, with a yellow tail. Perhaps the most striking is the white mouth area, with the eyes covered in dark blue – this gives the fish a very ’cool dude’ appearance. The full adult size is about 12”. Why there is this colour difference between juvenile and adult is open to speculation. It has been said that perhaps the juvenile colouring protects the fish from the attention of the territorial adults.

Anyway, an aquarium that had contained two clowns was prepared so it could act as a quarantine tank. The fish was carefully introduced to this temporary accommodation and the lights left off. In a day it was noticed to be eating some red algae that was growing on the rocks. A small amount of flake was offered which the fish took without problem. The fish fed from day two without problem, on any fishy food offered, including blanched lettuce.

After two weeks the fish was transferred to the main display aquarium. There wasn’t any problem at all, the fish swam out of the bowl it had been transferred in and cruised regally up and down its new home. All areas of the aquarium were checked by the fish and it was completely settled. The other fish had no real interest in the newcomer apart from a little caution, probably because of the newcomer’s size (the other inhabitants were smaller).

The fish lived for many months quite happily. It fed well, rising with the other fish to the fingers. Dietary needs were met.

One day, oh, I remember it so well, I went to the aquarium to see the fish and in particular my ’special’, and it was very slowly moving along the bottom of the aquarium. The other fish were fine. I put my hand near the glass and the fish did not respond, though the others did. Hoping there wasn’t anything wrong, I waited. I couldn’t see anything wrong with the fish itself.

The fish didn’t improve. Water testing followed, there was nothing wrong. By this time the fish was laying upright against the front corner of the aquarium, not swimming at all. Breathing was quite slow and as it had always been. I looked at the fish closely but could see nothing wrong. There were no torn fins, damaged areas of the body, or cloudy eyes. I got a magnifying glass and looked closely at the fish, but couldn’t see any of those dreaded tell-tale signs of marine velvet or white spot. The fish did not improve.

Clutching at straws, I did a water change with carefully matched SG and temperature. I then dosed the tank very carefully with a copper medication. Though this is effective for some problems, no medications should be given for the sake of it. The copper dose was maintained carefully and none of the fish showed any stress, including the emperor which did not improve. The other fish were eating, but not the emperor.

After a few days (I didn’t record the exact number, it was around 7 to 10) activated carbon was added to clear the copper, followed by another water change. The emperor had moved a little, it was now leaning against the middle of the viewing glass.

I don’t know why, but I had the sinking feeling that the next day the emperor would be gone. I remember that feeling! The next morning I went to the tank and the emperor was still in the same position. It was dead.

I felt guilty for quite a long time, and no-one I spoke to could give me any clue as to why the loss had occurred.

Thinking about it later, and even now, I think that I acted reasonably in the circumstances. As there wasn’t a clue to be seen on the fish of the cause of the problem, I have wondered if it was internal, a parasite perhaps. I will never know.

I cannot keep an emperor now, as first my current aquarium is too small and second the fish is not reef compatible. If I could, I’m sure an emperor would be among my livestock.

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I’ve Lost A Fish!

The fish only aquarium or reef aquarium has been stocked. The aquarium may be fairly newly set up, or may have been running for months or years. Sooner or later, a fish is going to disappear.

How can I be so sure? Well, fish are living organisms and therefore have a timed lifespan. On the wild reef this could be cut short by a predator. In the [tag-tec]home aquarium[/tag-tec] there aren’t any predators capable of taking other livestock, or there shouldn’t be. So how does the fish disappear?

The aquarist quite rightly checks the fish when doing routine maintenance or feeding. It is at this time that the absence is noted. Has the missing fish previously not been quite right – swimming strangely, breathing badly or similar? Are the other fish up for their food as usual, and swimming around as usual at other times with good colours? Are the water parameters normal and up to spec? Definitely no sign of ammonia or nitrite?

If there’s nothing wrong as in the previous paragraph then the fish has either been suffering from some malady that does not affect the others or, simply, its time has arrived. Apart from size, it is difficult to know the age of a wild caught fish. It may be months old, or years. Also, I am not aware of the expected lifespan of fish. It seems reasonable to assume that they might live longer in a well managed aquarium, with the lack of predators, but the potential lifespan, how long is it?

[tag-ice]Reef fish[/tag-ice], when faced with a reduction in health, often swim into the rockwork to find safety. This is their natural response. Of course, it may well be that the fish never comes out again. The aquarist has to assume after a few days that the fish is lost. Is there anything to be done?

There is no need to dismantle the reef in an attempt to locate the fish, and I doubt many aquarists would be tempted to do this. Leave the reef as it is. However, do not go out and purchase a replacement, at least not yet. In a mature reef aquarium the tiny life forms present can dispose of a dead fish very quickly. In a less mature system these life forms may not be present in number so disposal will take longer. The aquarist should not alter the routine [tag-self]aquarium maintenance[/tag-self] schedule, but ensure that water changes continue and the schedule includes regular ammonia/nitrite checks. These checks should be done daily once the fish is known to be lost. After four or five days reduce to every two days. After around a week and a half all should be well. This period is there to allow any consequence of the sudden appearance of a dead fish to appear. If it does not, all is well. If ammonia or nitrite is detected, observe the fish and ensure they are comfortable and not displaying signs of stress. Be prepared to do additional water changes. The bio-filtration is tuned to the normal load, and the additional load may not be successfully fully dealt with.

Once the period of water quality stability testing has passed, then a further fish can be considered and purchased.

The loss of a fish is a sad occasion for the aquarist. Even with excellent water quality and excellent nutrition, and the aquarist carrying out maintenance diligently and correctly, these losses occur. The fish however may have lived longer than it would have done on the wild reef.

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