I NEED HELP! + pics of my new tank and livestock.

[proverbs]

i got my fish, crabs and snails today. my crabs and snails seem to be doing fine and made their new homes on my live rocks and branches. my fish on the other hand have been acting weird! the male maroon yellowstripe clownfish just stays at the top and goes around in circles. the female just stays at the bottom corner. i checked the salt - good, the nitrate levels - good, the ammonia was the only thing that didn't come out perfect - it came out white instead of light green.

is it normal for the fish to act like this for the first couple days since its getting used to the tank? for the first half an hour the fish were swimming around pretty energetically. it's been about 6-7 hours since i put them in the tank. i put some pictures of the fish also. thanks for your help!

 

[AquaReefer]

Ok How long has the tank been running? When did you put the LR in? My clown fish behave like that sometimes. They will do laps around the top and they will lay on the sand bed or live rock they simulate laying with an anemone i have one so the clowns will lay in there

 

[proverbs]

i wish i had an anenome for them.

well, the tank has been cycled for about 3 weeks and the live rock was put in on the second week.

the female seems to snap at the male too. when the male tries to go and say 'hey baby' to the female, the female snaps at the male and the male swims to the top again.

but the situation with the laps and the one at the bottom seems normal for now, right? i'm getting scared that when i wake up in the morning the fish will be dead.

 

[proverbs]

now the male just stays in one place at the top and doesn't move at all.

 

[tripper]

How did you acclimate the fish? Also, you probably should do a water change ASAP if you are getting some ammonia readings. This is toxic to the fish and could explain the behavior you are seeing.

tripper

 

[lando]

I am almost certain that NH3 is to blame. Any detectable NH3 is a very bad thing. I recommend doing frequent PWC using well-aged SW until NH3 is back down to zero.

 

[afilter]

Sounds like you tank was not completely cycled. What method did you use?

Did you follow the advice in your other post foe acclimation?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=65377&highlight=

 

[Brenden]

Definite water change. You should go ahead and make more water for your next one also. You just threw a decent size bio-load in the tank. If it was not fully cycled then regular WC is the only thing you can do. You have to get the NH3 to ZERO What kind of filter media are you using? Try a polyfilter or DURA filter. It will help.

 

[proverbs]

well, i waited the whole day and the fish seemed to be swimming around pretty energetically so i guess everything is ok. but towards the end of the day, both of them just swim up to the top and keep going in circles - but i guess its normal from aquareefs comment.

i'm going to test the water again on thursday since i read that the water test should be done once a week for the 1st month. about how long do i have to wait until i get plants and coral, or other fishes?

and how much do you guys feed the fish? i got the small brown pebbles and the flakes. i just throw in about 8 - 10 small pebbles and break up a big flake and throw it in. do they go to the sand and eat the brown pebbles? because they just sink to the sand.

 

[afilter]

Suggest you do not feed anything right now as it may only add the the amonia issue.

I also suggest you follow the advice given above and peform a number of pwc. If you have amonia present and your tank is only 3 weeks old it most likely has not completed the cycle and is not ready for fish.

You need to test daily to verify where your parameters are at and if you need to do a pwc. If you wait until Thursday you fish could be dead by then.

Also, please describe your tank i.e. size, filtration, skimmer or not, lighting etc.

As for other livestock it may be some time. You need to first verify everything is ok with what you have.

 

[seaham358]

Like afilter says, You need to test the water ASAP if you were showing any ammonia. You really need to test if these are your first fish, you need to see how the tank is dealing with the new bioload. Testing weekly is fine in an established tank, which you don't have at this time.
Feeding small amount may be helpful to new fish, no telling when they were fed last. Feed small amount ever couple of days to start.

 

[AquaReefer]

I waited about a month to put any fish in and about 3 months for coral. Its all about letting your tank and biological filters establish themselves also wait for your rock to mature its only been in there a week or 2