question for a friend

[freshwatergal]

Hi,

My friend just called me and said that he added a few starfish to his tank tonight. They were doing fine at first, he left to go get some dinner and when he came back they were laying at the bottom of his tank starting to curl. He took them out, washed them off, and has them in a tuperware bowl right now.

He said that everything was fine until he did his first water change of 25%, then his fish started dieing. Said all his levels are where they should be. When he did his water change though he said he added AmQuel plus for ammonia. I told him that might be what it is. Told him the only way to really get rid of ammonia is to do waterchanges. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks.

Tiff

ps they are chocolate chip starfish

[dralarms]

washed them off, and has them in a tuperware bowl right now.

I hope in some tank water. 8O

He said that everything was fine until he did his first water change of 25%

Dumb question, but how is he changing water? What type of water is he using? Sounds like the mistake I made when I first got started, I forgot to declorinate the water . It does sound like something in the water.

Oh and BTW, When are YOU gonna make your way over to the dark side?

[freshwatergal]

I know that he has a python and that he used stress coat. I told him to do a 50% change tonight and then a 50% change tomorrow before he puts the starfish back in. Does that sound like good advice?

make my way over to the darkside?

[gump3842k]

I'd say 50 % now and 50 % tomorrow would be a little to much, I woudn't do more then a 25 % and 25 % especially on consecutive days

[freshwatergal]

But it would be better then tearing the whole thing apart which is what he wanted to do originally. I told him not to do that cause then he would be starting over again.

[lando]

How did he acclimate them? Acclimation in inverts is very important. If he is having trouble with ammonia, he needs to address that before he adds anything else to the tank. Products like AmQuel Plus are useless for treating ammonia in a marine tank. You are correct about the water changes. that is the best way to combat ammonia. We really need a lot more infor on your friend's tank. Any chance you can send him in this direction? Sounds like he could benift from joining AA!

[RMPD109]

I agree with lando about the acclimation being very important. most inverts are very sensitive. How old is the tank and what are the other tank inhabitants

[freshwatergal]

ammoia: .25-.50
nitrite: 0
hi range pH: 7.8

float for 20 mins and let them go

He did say something about his SG being a little on the lower side last week, but he fixed that. He had about 4 fish in his tank and they have all passed. (46 gal bowfront). I do believe that he has an anemone (sp) that is still doing well.

[ZoozFishMaster]

Ammonia is high and pH is low. What is the salinity? Filtration? Nitrates? How long has the tank been set up? It looks to me as if the tank has just began to cycle.

[RMPD109]

the 20 min float will only acclimate for temp not anything else.

after floating a closed bag for 15 min or so he should start adding tank water very slowly until the bag water and tank water match(pH, salinity) then add the new inhabitants to the tank and dump all the bag water down the drain.

I add 1/2 cup of tank water to the bag every 4 or 5 min until it is right. usually have to dump half the bag out during this time. Normal acclimation takes about an hour for me

[fualku]

Alot of us will drip acclimate new additions. Tie a knot in some air hose and start a syphon. Make the knot tight enough for a slow drip. wait an hour or two...or even more. This way there is no shock from salinity and ph change.

[quarryshark]

Many problems here. Inverts will not tolerate low PH, it needs to be above 8.0
Ammonia needs to be zero, most marine livestock cannot tolerate even small amounts of ammonia for very long, especially inverts.
Stars must be drip acclimated for several hours. Way longer than fish. That alone can cause their demise. CC stars are very sensative to changes in water parameter and poor water quality. They also should never be exposed to air or be touched by our hands.
I would suggest that your take them back (now that they are out of the system) until the tank cycles properly. If fish can't survive in this tank, it is definately not ready for delicate inverts such as CC stars.
Send you friend here, we can help them get set up properly.

[dralarms]

make my way over to the darkside?

You know, switch over to salt water.

[freshwatergal]

o0o--have been really really thinking about it! I have recently began planning my own aquarium store. I hope to be up and running by fall, so then I will be able to dive into everything I've ever wanted to do.

[dralarms]

Cool