I have a 30 gal tank with live rock. The tank was established on Dec 26, and I added two Damsels on Jan 26 and one Green Star Polyp in mid-Feb. I ran tests daily, then reduced them to eventually twice a week. The tests have always been as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0-10 (occasionally fluctuated to 20 for one day, after feeding the Polyp)
Ph - 8.4
SpG - 1.021-1.023
Temp - 78
On March 7 I reduced my lighting from 13 hrs to 8 hrs due to a slight algae overgrowth (affecting my Polyp growth). I also added Seachem Marine Buffer (1.5 tsp) thru the filter, as I am using RO water for my water changes. After adding the buffer, I tested my water as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
Ph - 8.4
I tied my Green Star Polpys to the live rock (with string) as the snails keep knocking them off the rocks.
That night, my one fan (power head) died and I had no spare.
On March 8, I fixed the one fan and added a second fan to the tank to get additional cross-current. I also exchanged one Damsel for a Coral Beauty and a Hawkfish. To add the fish, I let the bags sit in the tank for 15-20 minutes. I then added about one cup of my tank water to their bags and again let them sit for 15-20 minutes. Then I dumped both bags into the tank. The Coral Beauty was immediately spastic - swimming from one end the other other continually. I fed them several hours later (frozen brine shrimp), the Coral Beauty ate some but neither the Damsel or Hawkfish ate hardly anything. I again did water tests with the same results as above.
The next morning, the Coral Beauty was dead. I immediately removed it from the tank. The Damsel and Hawkfish did not look good (sitting at bottom of tank, hardly moving). I ran water tests again, with the same results as above. I then disconnected each electrical device for about 1-2 hours, thinking it was something electrical - no changes. By about 2pm the Hawkfish was dead and the Damsel was swimming at the top of the tank, almost like trying to get air. I did an 25% water change, and tested the water again with no changes. I then moved the Damsel to a make-shift quarantine tank (hind sight, should have done this earlier), but he still died a couple of hours later.
The snails are fine and the Green Star Polyp is doing okay. Any suggestions on what would have killed the fish so fast, especially the Damsel that had been there for six weeks?? I am afraid to get any more fish until I understand what happened. Thank you for any assistance, Rhonda
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0-10 (occasionally fluctuated to 20 for one day, after feeding the Polyp)
Ph - 8.4
SpG - 1.021-1.023
Temp - 78
On March 7 I reduced my lighting from 13 hrs to 8 hrs due to a slight algae overgrowth (affecting my Polyp growth). I also added Seachem Marine Buffer (1.5 tsp) thru the filter, as I am using RO water for my water changes. After adding the buffer, I tested my water as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
Ph - 8.4
I tied my Green Star Polpys to the live rock (with string) as the snails keep knocking them off the rocks.
That night, my one fan (power head) died and I had no spare.
On March 8, I fixed the one fan and added a second fan to the tank to get additional cross-current. I also exchanged one Damsel for a Coral Beauty and a Hawkfish. To add the fish, I let the bags sit in the tank for 15-20 minutes. I then added about one cup of my tank water to their bags and again let them sit for 15-20 minutes. Then I dumped both bags into the tank. The Coral Beauty was immediately spastic - swimming from one end the other other continually. I fed them several hours later (frozen brine shrimp), the Coral Beauty ate some but neither the Damsel or Hawkfish ate hardly anything. I again did water tests with the same results as above.
The next morning, the Coral Beauty was dead. I immediately removed it from the tank. The Damsel and Hawkfish did not look good (sitting at bottom of tank, hardly moving). I ran water tests again, with the same results as above. I then disconnected each electrical device for about 1-2 hours, thinking it was something electrical - no changes. By about 2pm the Hawkfish was dead and the Damsel was swimming at the top of the tank, almost like trying to get air. I did an 25% water change, and tested the water again with no changes. I then moved the Damsel to a make-shift quarantine tank (hind sight, should have done this earlier), but he still died a couple of hours later.
The snails are fine and the Green Star Polyp is doing okay. Any suggestions on what would have killed the fish so fast, especially the Damsel that had been there for six weeks?? I am afraid to get any more fish until I understand what happened. Thank you for any assistance, Rhonda
