I don't know the specific toxin yet (that will be something to track down later), but it is similar to a bee sting. I assume it is some kind of peptide as the treatment is to run the affected area under water that is as hot as you can stand. My guess is that this denatures whatever protein is injected.

I've been told that I can exchange any salt water critter for store credit at the LFS (local fish store). I don't want to make that decision until I have had the system for a while and I see how everything interacts. I may end up really liking him...who knows...but I don't want to make any changes in the short term.

What kind of bulbs do you have by the way. And do you think they will provide enought light even though the coral have gotten most of their light from the window previously?

One key thing: make sure you get wild guppies not the fancy ones..the fancy ones are no where as hardy and the parents tend to eat the young.
the number of guppies you will need depends on how many your feed your lion every day. I've been raising feeder guppies to feed turtles and stuff. I just have a 20 gal setup with lots of plants and I don't even separate the babies from parents, they reproduce like mad. But you 'll need to build up a large population if you feed your lion fish several times a day.



think of it like this if you had 5 people each weighing 250 pounds standing in the area of your fish tank, that is where the legs touch or whatever, would they fall through the floor?

Anyone have any good links to sites that show off aquariums and how to setup a SW and FW aquariums?

Wow that's great. I wish I had the time and money to get into this hobby. I visited Shedd's Aquarium in Chicago over the weekend and it really sparked my interest in getting my own aquarium. I took a bunch of pics there, here's one of them:



I also took some video.

Really good article on breeding feeder guppies:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/guppies.shtml

here are some links

http://www.aquahobby.com/

http://saltaquarium.about.com/

You've embarked on a hobby that will give you pleasure for years to come (SCUBA diving). I've been certified for about 10 years and recently got my wife and I set up with our own equiptment. Talk about a money pit! There is nothing more serene than swimming at 90 feet with white tip reef sharks and Moray eels.

Back on topic. I wanted a salt water reef aquarium but the budget for it just wasn't there. Decided to go with a 5 gallon freshwater and 1 fantail Goldfish. His name is Buddy and he is doing well despite an ammonia spike that left hiim with black fins and lips. Poor guy. It's a sign of healing (blackness) so hopefully he will be better in 1-2 weeks. Good luck on your aquarium - looks awesome!

Just bought it this weekend. One cool app!

Innocent? I consider that the "I'm still hungry" look!

They have the most discriminating diet: "If it moves and I can fit most of it in my mouth, it must be food."

They're cool tho, have a tiger, a red, and an albino tiger.

IIRC, the bacteria not only don't need light, but they cannot survive with light present. That's why the plenum part of the tank is often covered in electrical tape and recessed within a tank stand.



Haha - I had those two books out for about 6 months. I kept reading through them and dreaming about awesome tanks I couldn't afford. The uni librarian eventually rang up and asked for them back. Racked up about $50 in fines, too. Should have just bought them

Yeah - I spent another day in the pool today. Two more open dives tomorrow. The amount of life down there is unbelievable. The humpback whales are running along the coast at the moment, so you get to listen to whalesong while checking out the scenery.

As far as tanks go, I think a clam is on the top of my list (saw two nice ones yesterday). But the lighting is so expensive. And it's too hot in Brisbane in summer to not have a water cooler, so you have to add an air-conditioner to the cost of the tank.

One day . I suppose for the moment I'll have to be content with the real thing

Hey! I got enough travel fever already! Only 45 days until I'm down there!

In addition to the sites linked by someone above, the book "Natural Reef Aquariums" (Tullock) is really good as an intro book. Check it out from your local library or buy a copy a your LFS. It is basic enough for beginners but technical and detailed enough to bring you up to speed on a lot of the issues. From there, anything by Julian Sprung will be worth reading. I recommend holding off on "Reef Notes." It's more of a diary and will be hard to follow until you have some experience. (At least that's how I feel...I've tried flipping through and it isn't helpful yet.)

Liveaquaria.com is also a good site with lots of helpful articles.

There is a set of 4' florescent in back and a four ballast power compact in front. Currently he has one white and one actinic...and the other two ballasts are empty. The tank wasn't "mostly" natural light, just for part of the day and the temp didn't fluctuate too much. I'm going to hold off on putting the other two bulbs in the ballast until I see how the critters are doing. I'm told that changing the lighting in drastic ways can be really bad. Your supposed to lower all the specimens when you increase the lighting, then slowly bring them back up. We'll see how they do. If they aren't thriving in a week or so, I'll add the additional bulbs.

You've piqued my interest... what's involved in getting a scuba license? I have a mild phobia of deep water, probably because I almost drowned at the age of 7. I believe I can get over that fear if I can learn to scuba dive.

It's actually pretty easy. Look in your local phone book for SCUBA Instruction and take a couse. It only takes 3-4 days depending on the class. You will do course work, pool work (with and without gear), and then 4 Open Water Dives. After that, you are certified and can buy or rent equiptment and go diving wherever you travel. Don't worry, you don't go too deep, only 40-60 feet for the open water dives. It's actually a very safe sport/hobby. Go to http://www.padi.com for more info.

Yeah - It's a blast. I had two more open water dives today. The weather couldn't have been better (less than 0.5m swell, no clouds, not too much current, 20m visibility). Saw whales, turtles, rays and what may have been an octopus

PADI is easily the biggest (and most widely recognised) organisation, so it's probably easiest to go through them. The way I did it was:
Day 1 - Watch some videos, do some quizzes, practice basic skills in the pool
Day 2 - 2 open water dives
Day 3 - More videos and skills
Day 4 - 2 more open water dives

I did 4 days straight, but they probably also do it over 2 weekends.

This qualifies you as a PADI open water diver (allowed to buy gear, fill air tanks and go diving without supervision)

I really enjoyed it. The guy who took us was great. Took everything nice and slow if there were any problems (I've had a cold, and blocked sinuses make things a bit of a pain in the a$$)

Definitely worth checking out

</shameless scuba diving promotion>

Got my open water on holiday in Zanzibar. Much more fun that way! Not recommended at all to dive with a cold or blocked sinuses though!

I too almost drowned at a young age. My parents made me take swimming lessons, but I'm hardly Mark Spitz...Firt of all, diving is very little like swimming. The most difficult aspect, in my opinion, is the clearing the pressure in your ears. Some have no problems, others have a real hard time. If you tend to have problems in airplanes, you may have trouble.

Coral gardens are really a site to behold - an of course I'd love to have my own miniature version chez moi. Personally I'd love to have some sea urchins - wonder if those are at all do-able in a tank environment...