puffers?

[reneeanneb]

when i decided to set up my tank the first fish i knew i wanted was a puffer .the first one i bought after my tank was up for 3 months died within a week (totally my fault ammonia,nitrate and nitrite were way out of whack my husband was getting up every morning feeding the sw fish fw food,alot of it) so i got everything balanced finally and bought a basslet(i think thats what he was) he is still alive and kicking along with one damsel who has been in there from the begining (he survived all)the only thing i added was a piece of rock every now and then.so after several months of adding nothing i bought some more rock and a puffer.the day after i got the rock the basslet went to the pet store,(he had a good meal the night before)3 days later the puffer was dragging around,checked my water and the sg had dropped to 1.020 and nitrate was at 80ppm. so i added salt got the sg back up to 1.022 and added prime (good or bad idea?)he perked up almost immediately but the next morning he was dead.so i went back to the pet store and got a yellow tang and a dottyback (ithink thats what he is)and they are getting along fine .does anyone know what might have happened,would the drop in sg have killed him?i'm getting ready to change my 55 gal fw to fish only saltwater but i'm scared to buy another puffer.i should add that they guy at the pet store when he gets fish in puts the bags in the water until the temp. adjusts then dumps the bag in his tanks water and all.i usually try and catch the fish as soon as they get there so he doesnt have time to dump them.or wait a few days to see if they live but he ordered him for me and i was late getting there so he already dumped him in there.before i put him in my tank i let the water adjust then gradually add my water to the bag every 30 min for about 2 hrs then i get him out with the dip net and add him to my tank and turn off the lights for 24 hrs. so maybe he was just too stressed from all the changes? any ideas? thanx

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
Wow, looks like you have a lot going on. Do not take this the wrong way but...they very worst thing you can do when you have a tank death is go out and buy another fish. You really need to identify and correct the troubling water parameters first. As far as the puffer goes, I think he may have died because of the rapid increase in SG. When ever you need to boost SG you should premix the SW (never add salt directly to a tank with livestock in it). A SG of 1.020 is not our of line for marine fish. They will actually do fine down to 1.017 or less. If you decide you need to increase SG do it very slowly. The best method is to do top-offs with SW instead of FW. You do need to get your nitrates down. I actually suggest removing all livestock until the water parameters are back in order. WC with a good quality RO/DI water will help. Very light feedings as well. Small amounts every other day will be fine. Overfeeding is one of the major causes of high nitrates. Was the LR you added cured? Avoid using any products like Prime or Bio-Spira. Not worth the money. Take the $25 bucks they cost and get some more LR. What are your current parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Ph, SG and Temp? Good luck...This is a fixable problem.

 

[reneeanneb]

oh no i didnt add the salt directly to the tank i mixed a gallon of saltwater and added extra salt.
the live rock from what the pet store says was strait from the ocean no idea if it was cured.there are pictures of some in my gallery.
ammonia is 0
nitrate is 80ppm
nitrite is 0ppm
akalinity is 300ppm
ph is 8.4
sg is 1.022
temp is 79-80
i did a partial water change last nite only 10 gal though everyone else in the tank seems to be happy.even the tunicate that has been growing on one of my rocks for several months.(from what i've read they are supposed to be hard to keep alive)
as far as the live rock i have had the pet store order 10 lbs for 2 weeks in a row,the first week i got 4 lbs this week i got 3.far from the 20lbs i asked for.i did go look online ,the cost of the rock was 34$ but the cost to ship it would have been nearly 50$kinda hard to pay more to ship than you do for the rock,so hopefully this week more will come in(haha)i guess i should mention i live in nowhereville.
as far as getting new fish the pet store traded me the tang and the dottyback for the basslet.
i'm not going to put anymore fish in the 75 gal until i get all my rock in there,but i do want to get my 55 gal set up as soon as i unload the fw fish in it,and that is where i want a puffer to go.is 55gal to small for a puffer? all i plan to put in it fish wise is a puffer a lionfish,and maybe one more not sure yet.of course that will be at least 6 mos down the road.
ok i think thats everything,anything else?
thanx again

 

[reneeanneb]

oh one more thing...tank cleaners.as of right now i only have 2 snails and two crabs.not having good luck everytime i buy 1 out of 2 die.in my new rock i have found a bunch of bristle worms,at least 5 brittle starfish,and a baby snail,do i need more,and how many ?

 

[lando]

Actually, things look pretty good with the exception of the NO3. That does need to come down. Your two best options are frequent water changes and very light feedings. I would do 10-15% water changes every three to four days until you notice a dramatic decrease in NO3. Make sure you are using a good quaility RO/DI water.

 

[lando]

the LR you got looks great. Looks like some type of Aqua-cultured from florida. What is happening to the snails and crabs that are dying? Is there something in the tank eating them? How do you acclimate them?

 

[reneeanneb]

i know water is my problem i've been using tap water,and i'm surprised anything is alive.going to buy distilled water today and hop on e-bay to look for the water filter (what are they called?)can i gradually change the water out and keep what i have alive?

 

[lando]

Sounds great, you are on the right track. Search for RO/DI filters. Check out www.captivereefs.com as well. Darin is a member and sponsor of this fine site and can help you with the RO/DI fitlers. You can start using the distilled or RO/DI water right away with no ill-effects n the tank. Use it to make SW for your changes and for FW top-offs.

 

[reneeanneb]

i have no idea only thing i can figure is they are sick when i buy them,because it seems as soon as i put them in the tank they never move.like i said i'm not too fond of buying anything out of the tank at the pet store,his tanks just dont look healthy.i usually give them 2 hrs before i put them in adding my water every 30 min. to the bag

 

[reneeanneb]

yay my nitrate dropped to 40 ppm this morning (sunday) should i do another water change to try and get it lower or leave it and see if it drops on its own?

 

[ellisz]

Using tap water won't make a fish sick. Some cities have really good tap water. I kept a FO tank for 7 years using tap water. Algae problems can be an issue though. I think RO units are great and I use one on my reef tank but some local people here use tap water with good success. Depends on your water.

I think getting the fish from the store before they acclimate or having them hold the fish for a week would be a good precaution. If you have invertebrates or other fish in your tank, you should QT the new fish in a separate tank. You could introduce parasites from the LFS water if not.

Some types of puffers are more susceptible to some parasites. I love puffers and I have good success with dog puffers and porcupine puffers. Awesome fish

HTH

 

[reneeanneb]

the first puffer i had was a dogface he died because ammonia spiking and everything that follows (warning when you set up a new tank ban everyone in the house from touching it lol)
i waited a year before i was brave enough to buy another one.maybe he was sick from the get go i dont know he liked to hang around the filter and the powerhead,with his mouth,looked like he was kissing it.i didnt notice anything on him,i think he got too stressed.when i get my 55 gal ready i will be waiting at the door before the owner gets there to snatch him.lol
as far as the water quality the only problem i have noticed from tap is brown algae.my snails are doing a decent job of cleaning it though.but i'm scared to use it in my 55gal i plan on buying more expensive fish,hate to see em croak after a week kwim?
thanx for all your help you guys are great!i learn something new everyday