Damsels RIP

[TriggerHappy]

Well, I just started my 50G FOWLR and three of my four damsels bit the dust. The only survivor is a domino damsel which claimed his spot in the tank. I think he stressed the other ones out. Why is this guy alive and the others dead? He was the only one eating, maybe that had something to do with it. :?

 

[cj10488]

First off what are you Ammonia/Nitrite levels in the tank??? My guess is extremely high.. Second How old is the tank.. From what i got from your message is a few days maybe... You might want to check in the articles section about fishless cycling.. My guess is that the fish were poisioned from the tank cycling.. I would take the other one back now before it dies as well..


HTH,
James

 

[TriggerHappy]

Yeah, the tank is new, 3 days. I need a test kit, you are prob right, high nitrite/ammonia. The one that is left looks pretty healthy, which is weird. Can I do fishless cycling if there is one damsel in the tank?

 

[cj10488]

JMHO butI would honestly say that you will be lucky if that fish survives.. You have about a month left of extremely high levels.. check the article about fishless cycling and take the poor lil guy back to the LFS.. My honest opinion is that if he makes it it would be a miracle...

Can I do fishless cycling if there is one damsel in the tank?

He would for surely die doing this.. he best chance would be as I stated above. I do know its hard to wait for a tank to cycle with nothing in it and lost a fish doing the same as you are but i learned and would never go that route again.. In SW Paitence is a major KEYWORD


HTH,
James

 

[roblikesfish]

hey no biggie just fish right ...... sigh

 

[tkos]

Leaving him in the tank will actually slow the cycle down if you try to keep the ammonia levels low enough. Plus when it is cycled it will only be able to handle one fish. Cycling with dead shrimp is the best way to go, then add the live rock, then add the fish and inverts.

Yes, it is boring looking at an empty tank, but cycling with fish in a salty tank just really is too hard compared to a freshwater tank where chaning the water is a breeze.

 

[Guest]

Plus when it is cycled it will only be able to handle one fish.

Hmm, it is a 50 gal tank. that equals 10 inches of fish... surely he could put more than 1 fish in there..

 

[TriggerHappy]

Well after the three out of four damsels died (1 was hurtin when i got him home from the LFS) the guy at the store replaced the fish free. These fish are pretty active but if any of them start to show signs of stress, i'm gonna take em back and do the shrimp cycling. They all seem happy now but I don't wanna sacrifice these lil' guys any more than necessary.

 

[tkos]

From what I hear damsels can also be tank bullies. It may be difficult to put other fish in there after the cycle. Watch carefully when adding new fish. Oh and clown fish are members of the damsel family.

 

[wseaton]

Contrary to urban myth, all Damsels are resistent to the ammonia/nitrite cycle. (Blue) chromis in my experience actually does worse than some bigger, tougher species like triggers, and even not as well as some shrimp like coral banded during tank cycling.

The domino and 3-stripe (same family) are tougher than chromis during tank cycling in my experience. The problem is that both are among the most pugnacious and territorial of marine fish and will not let new fish be added after cycling, unless you are including even tougher fish. A 3 stripe damsel that's learned he's king of his reef during cycling will make you wish you could rent a barracuda for a day to save you the grief of catching the obnoxious thing.

There also isn't a law that says your fish have to endure toxic ammonia levels during cycling. At any point that ammonia levels get really high you have the option of doing a water change to lower it. Having ammonia levels off the charts won't speed up nitrite reduction, nor cycling, so it's not necessary to keep the levels high.

This is a bit more theoretical and not to be tried at your point in a live tank, but I have cycled starter tanks with LR in just over two weeks with a cap (1/2 oz) of ordinary ammonia added over a period of a few days. Might be cleaner than messing with dead shrimp in case you just can't get damsels to live.