My first marine tank, and my fish died in 3 weeks. What did i do wrong?

[BabeChorbie]

I joined this site seeking advice. Im very new to this hobby. My yellow tang and clown died within 3 weeks of bringing them home and I don't understand because I did everything by the book. I attached a picture of the tank



My setup is a 10 gallon tank with 10 pounds of live rock and live sand. Fluval canister filter. small Powerhead. and heater I used ro water, let the tank fully cycle before adding any fish. throughout the 3 weeks my fish were alive, my water parameters stayed great. ammonia 0. Nitrites 0. nitrates 20. PH 8. Salinity 1.021. temperature 81F. I used no meds. fed 2 twice daily, being careful no to over feed.

I drip acclimated the fish when I got them. I did not quarantine. they ate fine for first 2 weeks and acted normal. the clown one day had a small cut on his side and was acting strange. no white spots that I could see. eventually he quit eating and one day his cut had a purple band around it then he dead next day. found him wedged under a rock. The tang also started acting weird, not eating, also he looked pale over his whole body. no white spots or fin rot, eyes were clear. he was dead this morning. I also have 2 hermit crabs and a peppermint shrimp. all seem to be doing fine.

any ideas what I did wrong.

 

[alexarmstrong28]

The rock might've cut him


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[PassengerTN]

First thing I see wrong is the tang in a 10 gallon. Most people fuss about them being in 55s, stating they need at least 6 foot tanks. Tang could have easily killed the clown and then died from stress of small confinement IMO

Jesse

 

[bribo12]

Well the yellow tang could of definitely over stressed out and died. A 10g is entirely way to small for that fish. Now the clown I really am not sure. Did you buy them from the same store?


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[alexarmstrong28]

Where did you get your live rock


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[alexarmstrong28]

I used to have a baby yellow tang In a 15 and he couldn't handle it so that could very well be it


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[Sniperhank]

If the tank was cycled, what could have easily happened was a large fish overwhelming the bacteria in the tank. Big fish = big poop = large nitrate levels that rise quickly. Same thing applies if it wasn't cycled but high amounts of ammonia and nitrites, which are poisonous, taking over the system.

Sadly, a 10 gallon can be quite limited when it comes to stocking. Check out the nano fish section on liveaquaria so you can find things that are more appropriate for a 10 gallon tank.

 

[BabeChorbie]

Well the yellow tang could of definitely over stressed out and died. A 10g is entirely way to small for that fish. Now the clown I really am not sure. Did you buy them from the same store?


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I bought both from petco, about a week apart from eachother

 

[BabeChorbie]

Where did you get your live rock


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I bought the live rock from Large aquarium speciality store in houston called Aquarium World.

 

[alexarmstrong28]

Is the rock sharp?


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[BabeChorbie]

some of it is

 

[Sniperhank]

We haven't had the opportunity to discuss if the system was cycled. Was there an ammonia source, like a cocktail shrimp or pure ammonia, put in the system for several weeks until the ammonia and nitrite levels went to 0? Do you have a test kit of your own?