please help me

B

bluewhale9

Reefing newb
Hi i set up a tank and have finished cycling it once the all the lvls including nitrite nitrate and amonia were 0 I bought fish. I added 3 clownfish and 1 scoot blenny. The temperature is 76 degrees and the ph is between 8.2 and 8.4. The fish seem to be gasping for air for thwe past 48 hours so i bought an air pump and added it but however using both air stones seems to stress them out more because the clown fish are small and when there are two air stones working with the air pump it seems they can't swim toward the spot they like. they like to stay at the top half of the aquarium in the left back corner and seem to be gasping for air the oxgen with the air pump are working and to be on the same side i added amquel plus. They are eatin I have been feeding them frozen mysis shrimp and flakes. What do you suggest I do to get them to calm down. I have also bought tigger pods for my scooter blenny and am going to add them tonight. the salinity is also good when i tested it out a few times with the hydrometer and yes i rinsed the hydrometer BEFORE using it with normal tap water. what do you guys think could be wrong? do you think its just them gettin used the tank? the scooter blenny seems fine and isnt gasping very much although he does ope nand close his mouth somewhat but he also tends to keep eating watever is on the gravel and spitting out gravel. PLEASE HELP ME ><
 
Do you have any powerheads producing flow in your tank? You need flow across the top of your tank to help with gas exchange for the fish. Also, It's uncommon to keep 3 clowns. 1 or more will more than likely die fighting for dominance.
 
well i bought 3 and plan to get one more since they are all young and i have the flow across the top of my tank from what i can tell
 
+1 Adept. Plenty of flow. The water flow is what adds oxygen to your tank for the fish to breathe. Most of us use powerheads and not air stones to do the gas exchange. I doubt they would be harmed by the airstones though. They may just be wary of them.

The blenny will most likely starve from lack of live food since your tank is so new.
 
I have never owned a blenny or a better called a Dragonet. They require a very mature tank that is producing lots of live food for them. I always seem to get stuck with when my tank gets old enough for one I have to move. Good luck with keeping him though. Maybe you can produce enough pods for him.
 
I would remove the lid completely if you can... regardless of hole size... I had two pices of glass on mine like a half lid and i noticed after about a week the fish were at the top gasping for air.. The only other tihng i can think of is new tank syndrom. How long did you wait until you placed the fish in your tank?
 
Your clowns may just be a bit stressed from the move..If your water is moving and your parameters are good there isn't too much you can do..continually messing with the tank is just going to cause them to stress more...Blenny's eat out of the sand, if your fish are eating all you can do is keep feeding them..

Probably not a good idea to have more than 2 clowns...You're going to have murders. remove 1 and take him back to the store.

Don't worry about them being able to swim..They'll figure it out, they'll be surfing the current in no time..

P.S.- Clowns are weird ass fish.
 
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You could be experiencing a mini cycle. Are you sure your Ammonia is 0.
How long ago was it when you added the fish? Have you had ANYTHING die in the tank at all?
 
well i am going to get another clwon ad i got three in case one died ^^''''''''''' but none are fighting surprisingly they seem t oget along well and i aclimated them over a span of an hour i also opened the lid so now they should be getting more air but its wierd they hang out in one speicifc corner, also the fish were added 48 hours ago. adn what woudl you guys suggest i add to the tank that is fairly hardy
 
+1 Dcan...adding 4 fish at one time right after your cycle ending probably kick started another spike, raising amm and nitrite.
 
Clowns sitting in one corner is normal. They find a place they like and tend to host it.

As for the flow and oxygen exchange, what are you using for pumps in the tank?

It is also not a good idea to have more than 2 clowns in your tank. They are young now, but when they get older, they will start fighting for dominance. One will become female and one will stay male. The others will probably get the crap beat out of them.

Also, airstones in a saltwater tank just make a huge mess. The bubbles popping will creat a TON of salt creep.
 
bjohanson1234 said:
Clowns sitting in one corner is normal. They find a place they like and tend to host it.

As for the flow and oxygen exchange, what are you using for pumps in the tank?

It is also not a good idea to have more than 2 clowns in your tank. They are young now, but when they get older, they will start fighting for dominance. One will become female and one will stay male. The others will probably get the crap beat out of them.

Also, airstones in a saltwater tank just make a huge mess. The bubbles popping will creat a TON of salt creep.
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but they seem to be gasping for air or opening and closing their mouths alot but why a corner and what if i get another clownfish will that even things out? and are air stones that bad. also nothing has died in the tank. also i turned off the airpump and i hope the clownfish are alright and can anyone suggest any fish or invert to add to my tank and when i should add them i have tiggerpods in the tank and a decent amoutn of algae so i think i may need something soon to help eat or rather control the algae
 
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Two clown are the max otherwise you are risking that they will fight till only two are left if you are lucky. I like wrasse fish, I was told to add one fish every two to three weeks till you reach cap. this will allow your filter to adjust to the bio-load. When my algae got bad I added a sand shifting star fish and nass snails. They seem to clean out waste from sand and that is what is feeding the algae. I'm sure most will agree add slowly and be very patient.
 
bluewhale9 said:
well i am going to get another clwon ad i got three in case one died ^^''''''''''' but none are fighting surprisingly
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Read through your thread again, and take the advice of the people on this site, otherwise, you're going to have dead fish, a crashed tank, and a bad start into a great hobby. Clowns only look cute, they can be very aggressive toward one another.

We're trying to help you and your fish..Take one of your clowns back to the store, it's going to be killed..If you think you're going to defy animal instinct in your tank you're not.

Here's what you do, look at the 3 clowns you have, whichever is the biggest of the 3 let it stay in the tank..(it will eventually become female) remove one of the others and take it back to the store for credit...Otherwise, you're going to have a dead clown.

If you add another clown to make it 4 clowns, you're still going to end up with 2 clowns. If you add 8 clowns, you're going to end up with 2 clowns..are you starting to get the picture?:D
 
+1 everyone. Take the airstones out, get a couple of powerheads and run 1 across the surface of your tank and the other one for flow within the tank. You need to move 10 times your water volume per hour.
 

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