OK guys, I majorly goofed...

[boojumsnark25]

Since I can't get into the classifieds section, I'll post this here.

Here is the whole sad tale...
My tank cycled. At least I thought it did. Ammonia passed 6, Nitrite passed 10, nitrate past 40...for a long long time it was 0, 0, 10, and everything was good...bought two clowns, it was good...bought a choco chip starfish, it was good...bought a clean up crew, and then here is my cardinal sin, and i feel like an idiot for it.

I bought a copperband butterflyfish.

I know, I know, stupid thing to do. But it looked beautiful and LFS guy said that a beginner could work with it.

Well it's been 5 days, and he's only nibbled on stuff. My ammonia is at .5 and nitrates are at 10-15.

I have a topic going about it, and people don't seem to think my tank cycled.

I can sell the clowns back to my LFS, but there is no policy on the butterfly.

I understand now that my tank is probably not in any shape for the clownfish, and DEFINITELY not in any shape for the butterflyfish. If I cannot get the ammonia back down in the next day, is there anyone out there who would be willing to buy the butterflyfish off of me? I don't want this guy to die in a tank because i'm an idiot and don't know the first thing about saltwater aquariums.

If anyone lives near or around Erie, PA and would be willing to buy him off of me, let me know...he's real healthy and ate at the LFS (I demanded to see him eat before I would buy him).

[loyalrogue]

Aw man, don't be so hard on yourself.
Your tank can be straightened out with relatively little effort.
We all made our mistakes in this hobby... you're definitely not alone.

First thing is to start some partial water changes on a regular (daily) basis to get down the ammonia and nitrates.
Your bacteria will eventually catch up.

As for your fish, even if you can't sell them back, your LFS should be willing to hold them for you for a week or two untill your tank is ready.
It can't hurt to ask them.

[roka64]

I agree, we all make mistakes. Like loyal said, do some PWCs to get the ammonia down. I think, if you added them all at the same time or at least within a week or so, your tank couldn't keep up with the bioload. Your nitrAtes are not bad at all. 0 is best, of course, but anything under 20ppm is ok.
Can you update "my info" with your tank size/equipment and critters? Just go to the home page and unuder your name there is a like to update you profile.

[loganj]

Possibly you waited too long before adding fish? The bacteria that cycled the tank has to eat or it fades away. Do the water changes and give it time. Copperbands are more resilient than you might think and your tank should rebound quickly.

[Kohan Bros.]

first off i live in the erie area but sry i dont want a coperband. secondly theres more then one store so id try trading it in to a store other then the one u bought it probly wont make back what you paid for it but atleast get something out of it besides a dead fish. hopfully it was just a mini cycle with the addtion of the clowns and butterfly. good luck with the fish and id ask again for the store to take the fish back at trade-in price if they wont give full which is stupid if they give full of clown fish.

edit: try the erie reef club at www.eriereefclub.com thats the local sw club i think u were looking for, will probly have bettwer luck finding someone there.

[flanque]

I remember when I first cycled my tank everything died in the tank.. worms, snails, etc and the tank stunk like rotten fish for about three weeks.. the whole house was full of this sweet tangish smell that got up your nose and stayed there. Even out of the house you could smell it.. it was THAT bad..

Whenever someone came over it was the same script.. "Hello... eewwww (the face winces like they've sucked on a lemon) what is that SMELL???". Hahahaha.. I'm laughing just thinking about it. It was horrid, but the tank eventually cycled and I've never had an amonia, nitrite or nitrate problem since (three years ago). They're always rock solid 0ppm.

I wouldn't beat yourself up. Just take it as experience and move from there. Remember, you're not the only one who's made mistakes. We've all made them, especially learners in marine aquariums.. and I think we're all never stop learning.

[mnestroy]

Cpperbands in my experience are extremely hard to care for, I heard countless stories about how picky of an eater they are, or that they just die.

My local petshop said he wont order them for normal stock because half the time they are dead on arrival.