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 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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It didn't take long the next morning before I got a glimpse of him. It was a very brief glimpse while I fed the tank and I could not tell if he was eating. Except for the Sohal, all of the Tangs seemed much more agitated, swimming a bit more 'jerky' and hovering near the area I earlier saw the Regal. I'd pretty much expected this though I must say I was surprised Attilla (the Sohal) didn't seem to behave any differently. Later that day, I did see the Regal again. He had a very slight abrasion near his peduncle fin and both the Purple Tang and the Bristletooth (!) were suspects since they seemed the most irritated at his appearance. I never saw any physical contact, but every time the Regal would venture out front, one of them would quickly swim over and 'stand guard' at the spot that the Angel would retreat. It was doubtful he got any food that day either unless he would pick at whatever was swept behind the rockwork, but THIS, contrary to the Anthias story, is an example of why I still believe quarantine is a good thing. Since I knew the fish was eating and saw he was fat n' happy in the fuge, I figured he could take a couple days of this abuse and keep his strength. Had I just put him in the reeftank, it would've been a gamble of major proportions. And had he not been eating to begin with, he'd have had to operate on his diminished reserves. As you might guess, this would begin a downward spiral and the weaker he got, the more the others would've harassed him. |
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| Result: Certainly death for the Regal and possibly the spread of disease throughout the tank. So I do not want it thought that I'm opposed to quarantining across the board now. Just selectively.
Anyway, by day two, the Regal would swim out front more and more. Not for long periods of time, but more often. The two Tangs, especially the Purple, would still hover about him but this didn't seem to bother him quite as much. My main frustration was that I still couldn't quite tell if he was eating yet. It takes me a while to climb back down the stepstool and run around to the viewing area and by that time, much of the food (and the Regal) is usually gone. Luckily, this was one of Ray's maintenance days and I could observe as he fed. He Regal WAS eating. Not yet with the relish he had been in the refugium but it was certainly a load off my mind. I figured it was only going to get better. And another great thing; he still wasn't nipping at my corals!
Day after day, the Regal would come out front more and more and day after day, the harassment from the Tangs would diminish. By the time I had to leave (4/14) I would guesstimate he was out 60% of the time. Since then, Ray tells me that he's almost always out and the Tangs don't bother him at all. Hopefully all will continue to go well with his diet now and he won't start snacking on my 'sticks'; the only real concern I've got left with him. |
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