Beginning to get discouraged

[Hinds04]

Woke up this morning and my canary blenny I have had since valentine's day is belly up and my new royal gramma is in serious distress barely moving kinda floating around. I took them both into my lfs the royal gramma was still under warranty so got credit on him but the blenny was a complete loss.

So I'm back to my clown and chromis... water tested perfect. I cant continue to do this if I'm going to keep pristine water and still lose $20 fish for no reason... persuade me back

 

[Bige]

It could be anything. Dont give up yet. Unfortunatly I believe we are mixing fish that never see each other in the wild. You never know what happened. One could steal from the other or be competing for something you dont know about. I have learned that sometimes trial and error is the only way to have a successful tank. Each tank is different. I have tried to keep gobies for years. Just cant keep them. No reason from literature to say why. Had a chromi that died. Suppose to be an easy fish. Just know now you cant keep them. Also, could be the stock. Who knows. I cant tell you how frustrated I am with my tank right now but I see so many nice tanks, I know it will work out. Hang in there, it happens. At least you found your fish. Most don't.

Also, you say pristine water but maybe post water just for fun.

 

[melosu58]

Are you using tap water or RO/DI?

 

[Hinds04]

RO/DI

 

[mr_X]

how are you mixing water for changes?
how are you acclimating?
are you seeing them eat ahead of time and are they eating in the tank?
temp/ parameter fluctuations day/night?

 

[joy13]

It may not be anything you are doing. A lot of the problem is how the fish are collected. When I get fish I ask how long the store has had them unless I check every week looking at the new shipments. A QT tank is very a good idea so you can see if the fish is eating and if it is eating but still loosing weight. Also always check the LFS water before you start acclimating the the fish. The store where I go their water is 1.020 I keep mine at 1.024 so I take my time to drip acclimate them.

When I see how the fish are shipped then handled at the LFS it makes me wonder how any of them live to get into a home aquarium.

 

[Smitty]

I know that a lot of people will buy or have fish held at my LFS for 1-2 weeks before even taking them home. That way they know they are eating and doing OK. You may want to see if that is possible.

 

[Hinds04]

I know that a lot of people will buy or have fish held at my LFS for 1-2 weeks before even taking them home. That way they know they are eating and doing OK. You may want to see if that is possible.

Yea, I thought about this

 

[Azn_gq]

I know that a lot of people will buy or have fish held at my LFS for 1-2 weeks before even taking them home. That way they know they are eating and doing OK. You may want to see if that is possible.

anytime my LFS gets new things they always know to hold it for a week for me before I buy it. I would maybe even consider switching LFS's? Google reviews of your LFS's in your area...

I was in the same boat as you a year ago. Everything I bought eventually died. I swiched stores to this one across the other end of the city. Only have had success since. Definitely worth the extra commute.

Good Luck!

 

[PrettyFishies]

Have you considered ordering online? More expensive, but in my mind, worth it to know you're getting tank raised, healthy fish.

My closest LFS is crap with dirty tanks. Not an option for me. I may be strictly Saltwaterfish.com or find them from a local hobbyist.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I have been at this for 20 years and I have learned a good lesson. Fish, even ones you may get distressed are very hardy if their environment is right. If they go from a bad to worse tank, they will almost certainly die. The stress reduces their slime coat and that is a fish's immune system. Nothing but good health and environment will restore the slime coat. No chemical I have ever heard of will help over the long haul.

Once my tank was fully cycled, I found that it would still kill certain fish. A few years later, as my coral started to flourish, I realized the fish had become far more robust. Some of them are over 7 years old now. I attribute that to a tank that has "seasoned" and has a very well established cycle. After that is accomplished and simple corals will not only survive but multiply, you will find it hard to kill a fish.

 

[sdergar]

Very well put Greg.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Thank you. One more thing, I do not think you can operate a living reef using chemicals over the long term. Periodic water changes and proper equipment setup is the key to having a stable reef for years to come. It is like a garden, get it set up properly, monitor it and quit messing with it. I am very selective with anything I add to the tank. I use a KH booster and that is it. Then it is just fine tuning as coral is very picky about light levels, water flow and the neighbors.

 

[rush]

When you are acclimating, put the bag in the tank for about 45 min, then start adding water into the bag.

Let them get use to temp, then to the water.

Also there will always be losses in this hobby, stick with it!

I have lost hundreds upon hundreds do to random stuff. Reef lobsters, evil crabs, heaters staying stuck on (bought digital aquatics since), some fish just didnt take. One of my tail spot blennies swam into my HOB skimmer when I had my 46 gallon. So many way to lose, but focus on the ones you have

You are going to lose a lot more than 2 fish in the future. But when you look at your tank, if it makes you happy then continue!

 

[Gregcoyote]

Also, if you are putting a new coral into your new brightly lit tank, shadow it at first and work it up to your light levels.

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Rush, I like how you said that. Grant it I've only had my tank for two weeks and there's practically nothing in it..... It does make me very happy to look at