Losing fish and don't know why!

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cmarquette

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
6
I'm very new to saltwater, but these forums have really helped me get started. So, tank it up and established. Rocks look good. My anemone and yellow corris have been doing great. I added a kole tang and a week later added 2 clowns. The tang hid quite a bit so I didn't notice he had ich until it was too late. I watched the clowns like crazy and neither one ever looked sick, but after a week, one just disappeared and the next day, the hermit crabs had the other.

I had my water tested at the local pet store and was told there was nothing wrong with it. They even replaced the clowns for. I had the new ones for 2 days and last night, I noticed one of the clowns was acting funny and had a couple of white dots, so I started treating the main tank with Kordon ich attack. This morning, one was dead and the other was swimming in the upper corner of the tank. On the advice of my saltwater enthusiast friend, I quickly quarantined the remaining and treated it with Focus and tetracycline. Just checked on it and it's dead. Now this one looked like he was covered in some sort of powder. You can really see it on his fins. No noticeable white spots.

At this point, I have no idea what to do. I hope I gave enough information. I have a couple pieces of coral that I just added that's doing fine along with the corris and anemone. Snails and hermit crabs are all moving and eating as well. What am I doing wrong???
 
first of all...welcome to AA...
my questions,
1)did u cycle your tank..???
2)when your LFS test your water for you, did u take noted on it..?? what is the reading..???
3)how long this tank had been build...??

thanx..
 
Great forum! I've read a ton of threads on setups. Ok,

1. Yes, the tank cycled.
2. I didn't get to see the readings. I'm going to purchase my own test kit in the next couple of days so I'll be able to give the results then.
3. The tank has been up for about 2 months now.
 
okay...this is what happened to me before which might happened to u...check your water parameter...go and get your test kits or you will be fooling around by the LFS...sorry, no offence here...there might be ammonia in your tank and your tank might not be fully cycled...check your salinity...might be its to high....salinity should be around 1.024-1.026ppm...
 
i wouldn't treat the display tank with any meds. how are you doing water changes? are you mixing the salt overnight? how are you checking salinity? i think abdhalim might be on to something with the salinity. how are you acclimating these new arrivals?
 
First off, thank you all so much for the replies. I'm going to pick up a test kit today. I do weekly water changes with water from my LFS. I do top offs with RO from my LFS. I have an Instant Ocean hydrometer that I use for salinity tests. I've been relying on my LFS for the other tests which he's told me are "perfect" in his words.

I've relied on my LFS for acclimating advice. He said to put them in a bucket or small tank and add an equal amount of water from my main tank to their container. All the fish I've purchased are tank raised.

I already put meds in the main tank. I assume any test right now won't give good results? Should I do a larger than normal water change then test?
 
all the thing u need to do is test your water....the main thing u need to know:
salinity -
temperature -
ammonia -
nitrite -
nitrate -
i dont know how your LFS do the mix water for you...why dont you just mix it yourself...???
 
Ok, I'll test it this evening. I know the temp it 80 and according to my hydrometer the salinity is 1.023. I'll post the rest of my results when I have them. I don't have an RO system, so it's just been easier to purchase the RO and salt water from my LFS.
 
Invest in a refractometer. The swing arm hydrometers are rarely accurate or consistent. A calibrated refractometer is a friend.

Get an RODI system and make your own water. It's cheaper in the long run than buying water. Any water you buy MUST be tested before use to make sure it meets your desired parameters.

If you have a QT tank, USE IT for all new livestock acquisitions. Right now you should have any and all fish in the QT and treat them with hyposalinity for 6 weeks, while the main tank remains free of fish for 6 weeks. This will make it highly unlikely that you will get another Ich infestation.

Here's my 10 rules for a successful aquarium:
Rule # 1. Nothing Good ever happens Fast in a salt water aquarium
Rule # 2. Don't add anything (supplements/chemicals/minerals)you don't test for first.
Rule # 3. PWC (Partial Water Changes) are your friend, and cure many ills.
Rule # 4. QT EVERYTHING before adding it to your tank (mandarins excepted, corals should be dipped)
Rule # 5. Use only RO or RODI water (either buy it or make it)
Rule # 6. All animal species live longer on a 30% reduced caloric intake. Only feed every other day at most (fish species dependent)
Rule # 7. Hyposalinity is the best, safest, and most effective treatment for marine Ich (IMHO)
Rule # 8. A Refractometer is a MUST HAVE, not a luxury.
Rule # 9. Anemones will never live anywhere near their normal (approx 30 years) lifespan in a home aquarium. Leave them in the ocean.
Rule # 10. The tank size recommendations for fish are there for a reason - HEED THEM!
I have been asked to add
RULE 0 - Don't believe the LFS!
 
I stopped by my other LFS that I've purchased water and hermit crabs from to get my salt and RO water. I still plan to do a 50% water change. I actually watched him test the salinity with a refractometer from each jug of saltwater. I purchased a test strip kit and on his request am taking a sample of water in tomorrow for him to test as well. I ran a test with my strips:

Nitrite and Nitrate were both 0.
pH was between 7.5 and 8.0.
KH was around 80.

I'll post the results from LFS tomorrow. I did confirm that the fish I lost were tank raised.
 
Sorry to take so long replying. The store was out when I bought the other kit. I did a 50% water change and have decided to wait a month before trying more fish. I'll keep testing to make sure everything is good. My corris is still swimming around and eating like crazy.
 
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