Reef tank question!!

[KMyers18]

I have a 20high and every time i put a fish in it it ends up dying. Why? I have a 125gal and have never in 1.5 years had a fish die so i know it is not my skills so...But i put a blue linka in and it died 2 days later, so i put a orange one in and it died 4 days later, then i put a sail fin tang in and it died a week later, so i put a sebea clown in and it died 2 weeks later, what could i be doing? Is a tank that small juust too unstable? I am not putting anything back in there again but i would still like to know what the deal is. My corals and inverts look good and the water all test good but everything still dies???

 

[ellisz]

Linkias are tough to keep anyway and a tang in a 20 gal would be pretty cramped. Water quality in the 20 would be tougher to keep stable but I am sure you have checked all that out. Maybe have the LFS hold your next fish for a couple of weeks to make sure it is healthy.

I have had real bad luck with one LFS so I don't buy fish from them anymore. Maybe try a differnt LFS?

I guess you could throw a damsel in there and see if that makes it

Very puzzleing.

 

[KMyers18]

Im done putting any fish in that tank The sail fin tang was only about 1.5 to 2 inches long at most and if he out grew that tank i have a 125 FO that he could have went to Im just lost for ideas when it comes to that tank and fish dying

 

[AR15 guy]

Hows your water?

I have a 10 gallon and my inverts and clownfish are doing great.

 

[douggiestyle]

it could be bad luck. ive never had a linkia last more than a week. and as far as fish, two additions in succession didnt last more than a day or two. so using your logic i would suppose its me, but it is not. for i have added a different star with no problems. as well as two other fish since then.

also you should be using a qt tank. but ive broken that rule myself (sometimes with dire consequences). i just like keeping us on the wagon as much as possible.

remember to qt your corals also. i brought in vermitted snails by not qt-ing a coral, and it is not cool and there is nothing i can do about it, less getting rid of everything (literally) and starting all over.

 

[IfoundNemo]

What can vermitted snails do to reef system, and what does it look like?

 

[douggiestyle]

they are ugly but otherwise cause no harm. sorry i spelled it wrong vermetid. heres a link http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rs/index.htm. imagine those little prongs sticking up everywhere. covering intakes let your imagination run wild. along with vermetid you could bring in a bad bubble algae. some bubbles are not to bad a big bubble or two and slow to reproduce. others are like roaches, one day there are a couple. the next thing you know there are thousands.

 

[stusclan]

What are the parameters in the tank? I have a red linkia in my 55gal for 6 weeks now, looks great. My parameters are perfect except for a small phosphate problem. They require extensive (long) acclimation and perfect water conditions. Do not touch them, or let them get exposed to air. Make sure that your problems doesn't lie in the nitrates or ammonia. That would be my only thought.
Sorry for the losses!