Please help?

[Iceman72]

Is it possible that something on the cleanup crew killed the clowns? I mean my water seems fine by my lfs view. I mean they both were like .... Dude your water is great. So I'm lost.

Another idea.... Is it possible that something on the live rock killed the clowns. Because that live rock I just got and really is the only one with that algae problem. It came from petco tank. Was in mine for maybe a week and a few days. Seems odd but after all this, it's still the only rock with the algae on it. You would think that it would have spread to the other live rock but it hasn't. Those are still pretty purples. I don't normally buy live rock from petco but I could not resist a 14 pound huge nice piece for $19!

 

[TheTodd]

How is the clean up crew doing? Are most still alive?

I agree that it is probably not a cycle issue, especially if you are still getting zeros after a few days. If it was that, there should have been an uptick in ammonia or nitrites at some point. I think the Dr Tim's did it's thing.

As for the bug being the culprit...no idea if they have anything in them to poison a tank. Is there any possibility that your daughter put anything else in the tank or that there is contamination from sprays, lotions, cleaners, etc?

It could just be that you got two bad clowns did they have any visible signs of disease prior to passing?

 

[Iceman72]

How is the clean up crew doing? Are most still alive? I agree that it is probably not a cycle issue, especially if you are still getting zeros after a few days. If it was that, there should have been an uptick in ammonia or nitrites at some point. I think the Dr Tim's did it's thing. As for the bug being the culprit...no idea if they have anything in them to poison a tank. Is there any possibility that your daughter put anything else in the tank or that there is contamination from sprays, lotions, cleaners, etc? It could just be that you got two bad clowns did they have any visible signs of disease prior to passing?

She swears she did not put her hand in. I always clear my hands and arm with warm water if I'm going to move the rocks or something. The clowns did both start swimming odd and color fading. That could be possible. The damsel is 100% fine. The clean up crew is like 90% alive. I guess they are all nocturnal. Half of that algae on that rock is gone. Oddly enough I turned my heater **** near off and my tank is at about 76degrees. So maybe it was those heat spikes?

Next thurs I am getting a couple sea urchins. Maybe get one fish if all is well. Also ordering my protein skimmer and single power head. Also I decided to get two glass tops. Don't want anything falling in my tank.

 

[baron1282]

Just a thought! Damsels are the punks of the aquarium. That little guy could have been tormenting your Clowns and stressing them out so much, they died. A lot of people get Damsels just because they are hardy and cheap. A very inexpensive fish to start out with, but they quickly find out they do a lot of damage to any other tank mates.

Swimming odd is just what the Clown Fish does. That's why they call them Clowns. The color fading is due to stress.

The heater could be broken! My heater kept the water at 80 degrees and when I called the manufacture they said it was what the heater would do if it broke.

I would take the Damsel back and get new fish.

 

[huma-huma]

+1. One of my clowns just randomly started to host the back right corner of the tank... Literally lays in the sand. Also if you want to know if its the damsels, simply watch them as much as possible. Sooner or later, if they are bullying, youll see them go after another fish. I also agree in that damsels usually dont show aggression early on, but as they age they can get fairly mean

 

[Iceman72]

I'm starting to think it was just something on the live rock. The clean up crew has eaten like 90% of the algae. It still hasn't spread. My tank is getting back to normal looking. Water parms looking good as usual.

 

[Iceman72]

My water looks not to bad. My nitrite is a tad higher from 0ppm. I'm going to do a small water change. The clean up crew is amazing.

 

[Iceman72]

Life in tank is looking good. Rock looking good I found something growing out of the bottom of one. Looks like a feather duster of some sort. Anyone know what it is?

 

[bribo12]

If your nitrites aren't 0 you have not finished the cycle. Ammonia and nitrite should always remain at 0 once a tank has completely cycled. They are both toxic to animals. Also, Condyactlis nems are one of the hardiest variety from what I have seen but they should still have a more mature tank. Damsels survive anything lol. How long was it between adding the clowns and them dying? And how long has the tank been running for?

 

[huma-huma]

Idk. It looks like theres a lil bit of both ammonia and trites.. Atleast to me

 

[Iceman72]

Its been running since around Aug. I have decided that Im not adding anymore fish for a bit. This week when I get paid Im getting a new single powerhead and a protein skimmer. Also thinking about some glass tops.

THe clowns had been in the tank for about a month. They were looking fine then out of the blue seems like when I added the clean up crew they started looking stressed. I didnt put any of that nasty water in my tank that the clean up crew came in. So I dont know why anything could have happened there? I dont know. This is the first time in a long time Im seeing any nitrite of any amount. Even both fish stores did not register any in my tank. But anyway Im getting the protein skimmer and maybe even one of those reactors with the little beads in them. Going to spend some cash this week. We shall see.

 

[bribo12]

Hm yeah that's weird if it just spiked a little. The clowns sound like they were messed up from the star IMO. They tend to be one of the hardier fish for saltwater. A skimmer should definitely help but you probably don't need the phosphate reactor unless your algae problem doesn't go away.