Things are clipping right along in the tank, dontcha think? Maybe not. The coral beauty has developed a taste for, well, my corals. In keeping a reef tank, fish really are secondary. The bulk of the money and the fascination are in the corals and critters. This all equaled a decision that the coral beauty has got to go. 
So blue, so innocent--don't be fooled!
Two of Mama’s fishy friends came over yesterday evening. One willing to give the coral beauty a good home, the other willing to catch her. ”Don’t worry, twenty minutes.”
Yeah. Not exactly. It appeared that it would be easy enough. Unlike many other “reefers,” Mama doesn’t care for the wall o’rock look, so there’s only about 50 lbs of live rock in the display tank. Plenty of room for swimming and interesting rock structures. Mama designed her “rockscape” keeping the comfort and happiness of the critters in mind. Plenty of dart holes, hiding places, pass-throughs. Getting a feel for problem #1?
Now comes problem #2. Gloria. Remember Gloria, the glorious yellow tang?
Observe carefully
See that thin little white line towards the back of her? There’s one on either side, and it’s because of those pretty little dashes that these fish are sometimes known as scalpel fish. Those little lines are her defense, and are literally as sharp and dangerous as scalpels. Shouldn’t be an issue, we’re not interested in Gloria. Wrong again. Gloria didn’t care for the nets invading her territory. By the time we were twenty minutes into this, there were three nets trying to corral and catch the coral beauty. Fishy friend conducting this capture is a professional violinist. Keeping hands in perfect working order = an absolute must. It quickly became more about evading the tang than capturing the coral beauty.
Reef tanks are very sensitive. Corals can begin chemical warfare, melt away, and crash the whole tank if you stick your hands into the tank without washing them first. Mama kept imagining fresh blood marbling through the water, running through all products and remedies she’s heard of wondering if there’s a reef-safe “antidote” to human blood.
Guess who’s still in Mama’s tank this morning? 
Not to mention the tank is now a “mess,” coral frags knocked over in the melee, and all critters looking quite annoyed this morning. Reefing can be fun, beautiful, and peaceful, but I think I’ll wait until they all calm down before sticking my hands back into the tank to fix things up. 
How many grown ups does it take to catch a fish? I don’t know. We had three, and it wasn’t enough.
Happy, happy Friday Night Madness everyone–enjoy the holiday weekend!
Thanks for reading,
Mama
