Neep help. I put my first fish in about 3 weeks ago which was a purple dotty back. I have a 65 gallon sw tank. 50 pounds dry rock, 20 pounds live rock. After about ten days i went to lfs and wanted 2 orange clowns and my wife chimed in and said to get more so i got a 6 line wrasse and coral angel. I definitely thought it was toomuch at once but the lfs assured me it was ok because its a big tank and they were all small fish. Low and behold, 1 week later the purple dotty back and then 2 days later(today) the coral angel and one clown died. The water levels are ok. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all undetectable. I am getting some brown residue on top of some of the live rocks and on the powerheads(is that normal?). I cut my lightsdown to about 3-4 hours a day(currently have regular flourescent lights. Im hoping it was just the stress of adding all 4 at once with i now regret. Am i missing anything? Salinity is also good 1.021 in that range. Im running protein skimmer 24/7 and getting some good gunk in there every 3-4 days.
New tank fish dying
- Thread starter one800nak
- Start date
bjohanson1234
.........
Unfortunately, you were right in not wanting to add more fish. In a tank, a new one especially, adding too much at once will cause a spike of ammonia from the added bioload. Even though this went down quickly, you say it is undetectable, it can be enough to kill your fish. A general rule of thumb is to wait 2-3 weeks between adding fish, and only add one at a time. This allows the bacteria to grow and accommodate the larger number of tank inhabitants.
My wife doesn't like going to the LFS with me because 9 out of 10 fish she wants me to get either eat corals, get too big, or are not compatible with the other fish.
You also learned a valuable lesson about LFS. They are in it for the money. They saw your girl fauning over some fish and gave poor advice to make a sale.
The brown residue could be diatoms or the start of cyano. Does it brush away like dust when you blow water current on it? if so, it is diatoms and they are a sign of a new tank. Once they run their course, they will go away. If it is cyano, increase water movement in the areas that you see it. ALso keep up on water changes.
My wife doesn't like going to the LFS with me because 9 out of 10 fish she wants me to get either eat corals, get too big, or are not compatible with the other fish.
You also learned a valuable lesson about LFS. They are in it for the money. They saw your girl fauning over some fish and gave poor advice to make a sale.
The brown residue could be diatoms or the start of cyano. Does it brush away like dust when you blow water current on it? if so, it is diatoms and they are a sign of a new tank. Once they run their course, they will go away. If it is cyano, increase water movement in the areas that you see it. ALso keep up on water changes.
Laz
Reefing newb
Did your tank go through a cycle? What's the pH and temperature of your tank?
You should go back to the LFS and bring them up on the advice they gave you and say this happened.
You should go back to the LFS and bring them up on the advice they gave you and say this happened.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
FIND A DIFFERENT LFS! Do NOT go back to that store. They sell you fish knowing its a mistake and that some fish will probably die and they expect you to come back? YES, they do expect you to come back. Many LFS owners are that greedy. I had an LFS owner tell me that a 12 inch wide anemone would do just fine under 70 watts of CPL in my 29G --a complete bold-faced lie.
I am suspect of your tests. Its doesn't take much nitrites or ammonia to kill fish. And the brown algae or "residue" you mention tells me your nitrates are not undetectable.
I am suspect of your tests. Its doesn't take much nitrites or ammonia to kill fish. And the brown algae or "residue" you mention tells me your nitrates are not undetectable.
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
Did you cycle your tank before you added the fish?
Read my old post from 2 weeks ago
grozier
something smells fishy
Little white spots could of been ich, might have stressed them out with the move. How did you acclamate them?
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
The white spots on the fish are definitely ich.
As per Beej's question, did you try to fan the algae off the rocks?
What do you have for water movement in your tank? Do you have a glass lid?
I read every post on this site. I cannot be expected to remember every single one.
As per Beej's question, did you try to fan the algae off the rocks?
What do you have for water movement in your tank? Do you have a glass lid?
I read every post on this site. I cannot be expected to remember every single one.
grozier
something smells fishy
they might have been sick in the first place the fish in the stores are only there a couple days before someone normally buys them. the fact that the 1 had white spot shows that it's immune system was probably already weak? I've never seen how Fish are added in the stores but I cant see them drip acclimateing all of them.
Kelz88
Got Reef?
Ditch the glass top, they are not very good for saltwater tanks. You need oxygen exchange and the glass top prevents that from happening. I think there is a sticky in the DIY section for a mesh top.
fastrd400
It wasn't me!
Your salinity is way too low. Bring it up to between 1.024 - 1.026.
