help needed please

[stacey+tony]

well hello everyone i wonder if anyone could tell me if i have a serious problem in my tank or am i just paranoid? i have several fish in a 5ft tank and just lately ive noticed my regal tang itching up against the rock and what looks like to me a sort of rash around it's fascial area,there's no whitespot's on him so i done some research on the net and in fish shops and some of there regals look like they have the same markings around the face.but what about the itching up against the rocks he's not lost no appetite.help

 

[Ziggy953]

Fish will rub up against things from time to time. It is sometimes a sign of parasites. The dark blue spots you see around the face are just the markings the fish has. Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Blue Tang

 

[stacey+tony]

cheers can you also tell me if this is also what they do,he's been bolting around in the tank like a mad man sometimes and going to the top quite alot is this part of there behaviour to.thanks.

 

[Ziggy953]

How large is the tank? What else do you have in the tank? What are your water parameters? Tangs usually swim around all the time but if he is darting around like that he could be stressed. How long have you had the tang in the tank and how long has the tank been set up?

 

[ryshark]

Is that cyano in the background of the first picture? Getting the water parameters would definitely be the first step. What are your "several" other fish. Is one of them picking on the Tang.
I have a blue tang also, they all have those freckle spots on the face. In my past experience, rubbing up against the rocks usually ends up in a parasite outbreak.

 

[melosu58]

Just keep an eye out for ich. It does not always mean ich but more times than not it does. If it does let us know and we will post you some links on ick.

 

[Innovator]

Looks to be pitting from facial erosion, hlle. Nutrition is always suspect with tangs and surgeonfishes; however, stress is always an underlying factor. Algae outbreaks don't necessarily mean there is a water quality problem.

 

[stacey+tony]

hello i had the water tested today and the ammonia is 3.0,and this is probaly the cause hoprfully,the guy at the shop suggested doing frequent water changes is this the quickest way to get the ammonia down,and thanks everyone.by the way i have a powder blue tang,lipstick tang and regal tang, 2 damsels, butterfly 3 clowns, 1 humbug and 1 wrasse.

 

[Ziggy953]

If you have ammonia showing up in your tank either it is not cycled or you had something die. How long has this tank been set up?

Ammonia is converted to NitrIte via bacteria and then to Nitrate.

 

[stacey+tony]

yeah we had a star fish die in the tank about 2 weeks ago the tank has been set up for bout 5 weeks,prior to that it had been set up for 8years.the live rock that i have is turning a crapy red colour to,gona get some more pics p.s the regal is looking little worse today.

 

[cmor1701d]

Did you cycle this tank before adding all those fish. How about a timeline. The tank was up for 8 years, then taken down.
How long was the tank down?
What was in the tank before it was taken down?
What did you re-use when you set it up again?

An ammonia level that high leads me to believe that the tank is going through a cycle. You need to remove all the fish and get them somewhere safe until the tank is cycled. If that is not an option you need to start preparing water to do 30% - 50% water changes every day until that ammonia is ZERO.

please post the following info:
SG:
Temp:
pH:
Ammonia:
Nitrate:
Nitrite:
Calcium:
Alkalinity:
Tank Size:
Fish:
Inverts:
Other Corals:
Lighting:
Filtration:
What kind of Salt Mix do you use? Do you let it sit for 24hrs with a powerhead and heater to airate and mix fully?
Do you use RO/DI water? How do you Top Off evaporated water?

Sorry it's under these circumstances but...

 

[stacey+tony]

ive just noticed on the tang and my clown little bits of there fins missing could it be finn rot?

 

[CaptainAhab]

Your fish are bathing in excessively high amounts ammonia and soon to be even more fatal nitrite. Fin rot, which I doubt, is the least of your concerns at this point. Listen 2 cmors advice. Massive water changes and/or rehosting are the best options.

The color of that rock makes it look more like base rock rather than 8 yo live rock. Cyano also points to a new tank. Star fish dies 2 weeks ago in a 5 week old tank?
I'm guessing you took the tank down sometime ago, possibly cleaned it or stored it, then put it back up?


5ft tank.. is it a 90 long?

 

[stacey+tony]

i have only had this tank for about 8 weeks i brought it from a bloke with the fish and rock we took the mans water and set the tank back up with hes water in the same day so the tank was empty for about 5 hours may be 6, everything has been fine untill now the red stuff has only just started it wasnt there when we brought the tank we have added new fish to the tank may be that could be the problem but when we had a water test today the only problem was the amonia and hgh salt but other than that everythink was fine im not a expert at this infact this is my first tank so any help without being rude would be great

 

[CaptainAhab]

Enjoy your day

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

... so any help without being rude would be great

That should also apply to you.

Hope it works out for you.

 

[stacey+tony]

i wasnt being rude but ithink the reply i got was rude im not a liar i have no reason to lie and dont like ppl assuming that i am i didnt start being rude but take offence to being spoken to like that

 

[ccCapt]

This is not a very good reply to someone who is trying to help you.

Anyway, did you also transfer the substrate? And if so, is it sand or crushed coral, and did you WASH it before you put it back in the tank? I think if you used the same substrate and didn't clean it, that caused the ammonia spike.

 

[stacey+tony]

i wouldnt have been rude if i didnt think he was rude by saying that im lieing i only wanted help and advise not to be insulted, it is live sand that weve got,we didnt wash it through as we thought this would harm it, coral and live rock and mushrooms where transferd in buckets with the tank water ammonia is 3.0
ph 8.2
nitrite 0.2
nitrate 0.0
phosphate 0.4
like i said this is our first tank so we are still learning and i am really thank full for your help cheers stacey

 

[roka64]

It is hard to take thing to heart especially on a forum, like tone. I don't think he was calling you a liar. CaptianAhab is one of the newer members to the site, but I have seen him give nothing but great and consistent advice. Don't sweat it, I know you are trying to help your fish, but we really need to know exactly what happened so we can help and get you up and running.
Ok, now onto the issue.

From the numbers you are posting, it looks like you are going through a cycle.
1. Ammonia spike
2. Decrease in ammonia with an increase of nitrItes
3. Decrease in nitrAtes with an increase of nitrAtes
4. 0 reading of ammonia and nitrItes and a (possibly) high reading in nitrAtes.
So that is the basics of a cycle.
If you added more fish, there is a possibility that the increased bio-load may have caused another cycle.
Remember, the beneficial bacteria (that is in your tank) can only process so much waste (fish waste and such), if you add more waste, the beneficial bacteria can not convert the ammonia to nitrItes to nitrAtes fast enough, causing a cycle. The same thing can happen if one of your critters die, the decomposing corpse will give off ammonia and the cycle happens (or can happen) all over again.
I hope that helps you understand a little more on what is possibly going on with your tank.
PWCs or QT or rehousing the fish to another established tank are about your only options at this point.