red slime and ick

[alicappello]

I keep loseing all my fish. I have a bad red slime problem and I can't seem to get rid of it and I notice that all my fish get ick then die. In one day I lost 2 clowns and a blue tang, the next day I lost my emperor angel. What can I do??

 

[TCTFish]

First thing is to answer the following questions:

How many gallons is the tank?
How long has it been up and running with fish in it?
What type of filtration do you have?
What kind of fish do you have in the tank?

You should test the water immediately for the following:
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, calcium, alkalinity, and salinity.

Let me know what the results are. I'll try to help you Hang in there.

 

[alicappello]

25 gallons

started with damsels about 6 months ago

I have the via aqua multi use protien skimmer and filter, a power head and a aqua clear dual filter

the only fish living right now are: a yellow tang, red snapper (i am trying to get aout of the tank), and a shrimp

nitrate = 20
nitrite = 0
alkalinity = 300
ph = 8.4
salinity = 1.025

thank you for helping me I hope this will help!

 

[stusclan]

how long has the tank been running? how did you cycle it? how did you acclimate your livestock? And yellow tangs are way too big for a 25.

 

[TCTFish]

It appears as though you had too many fish too soon and the wrong fish as well for the size tank. The only thing you have left that's ok in that size tank is the shrimp and what you had in there that's ok was the clown. There's a lot of stress going on or was going on. The population has dwindled to what it can handle. You didn't mention the ammonia levels and that can change that last sentence.

You have good filtration and if you have live rock, it's even better. A 25 gallon tank for marine animals is small so you need to keep the population down and the limit the species of fish that can be housed. Stick with fish that reach no more than 5 inches adult size.

At this point in time, you need to make a decision about the remaining occupants. Both snappers and tangs get WAY too big for a 25 gallon. Bringing them to a LFS would be the best thing to do. Do not get any more fish or inverts for at least a week or two weeks and tend to the tank.

Nitrate levels are not bad, but should come down, especially if this tank is going to hold coral. Time and the protein skimmer will help you with that. Do a 5% water change every other day for a week. Then maintain a routine of 10 to 15% once every two weeks. Don't worry about feeding the shrimp much. Offer a tiny bit of flake once or twice a week until you are situated with the tank again.

In the mean time while waiting for the tank to settle, think about the things you want in there and always keep the adult size in mind when populating the tank.

Do you have live rock?
What are the ammonia levels?

BTW, to treat red slime algae which is actually a cyanobacteria harmful to coral, use ChemiClean or Red Slime Remover and use as directed.

 

[RMPD109]

You might want to check your water for phosphates as this is the main cause of cyano. You can also increase flow which will help it from getting established. The chemi-clean is great but if you dont eliminate the cause it will come back. I find the high phosphates is usually from overfeeding. What type of water are you using for changes/topoffs? Some tap water have a high phosphate level.

As for the ick after you lost your fish did you QT all the fish for 6 weeks or so to let the parasites in the tank die off. They have an approx 6 week life cycle to kill them off. You must keep the main tank fishless for that time. If you dont the parasites will just host on the other fish or new ones just added.

 

[alicappello]

my ammonia = 0

my tang is very small and my LFS knows my tank size and they said it was ok to have those fish. Also I just learned about QT today from this site I knew nothing about that, so when I buy a fish I shout QT it for 6 weeks? What does that do? Also do I add the fish store water to my tank? I have been told to let the bag sit in the tank for 15 min. then empy the bag with the water into my tank.

What do you think about buying sand from my LFS that was in there tank? Sometimes I buy like 2 pounds and they take it from one of there tanks. Is that ok?

The water I do the changes from is salt water from the fish store.

 

[RMPD109]

Initial QT for a new fish is suggested at 4 weeks. This is to observe and make sure you dont add any nasties to your main tank. The 6 weeks is to clear up your tank of the ick parasites.

A 15 minute acclimation such as you are talking about would be for temp only. The problem is the pH should also be matched as well as salinity. To do it properly you should float a closed bag for 15 min then open the bag and add 1/2 cup of tank water every 5 min or so. You should do this for an hour or more. Longer for inverts. There is also a drip acclimation method that I have never used but is actually a better method.

Sand from the LFS is OK but I would take it from a tank that is fishless since it seems as they are having some problems of there own.

 

[steve-s]

my tang is very small and my LFS knows my tank size and they said it was ok to have those fish..

Your LFS would be very wrong. The advise TCTFish gave you above is quite correct. Neither of these fish should be housed in such a small tank no matter their current size.

Cheers
Steve

 

[melosu58]

I agree with these guys. those two fish should not be in a tank that small.Too much of a load. Your LFS just wants to make a sale. Your best bet would be at least a 55 gallon tank. This website gives a lot of good advice. Good Luck