Why do I keep losing fish?

[obscurereef]

It's called a hydrometer and some can be really inaccurate..I saw bad reviews on the Instant Ocean one.

[54seaweed]

I got a whole case of cora-life deep 6 hydrometers
found them in dumpster behind the pet store lol
find lots of nice stuff in there best time is after there delivery's

so far I got 2 20 long tanks case hydrometers and few cans of dog food

[Shaker]

Originally Posted by 54seaweed

I got a whole case of cora-life deep 6 hydrometers
found them in dumpster behind the pet store lol
find lots of nice stuff in there best time is after there delivery's

so far I got 2 20 long tanks case hydrometers and few cans of dog food

Lmfao!!!!! That's so funny. I'm gonna start doing that now lol.. Good finds.

[obscurereef]

Whoa...dumbster fish diving...I like it, has a nice ring to it Man I wish I had that luck!

[sammo2001]

Ok so I bought a small PC fan today and mounted it about an inch above the water of my main tank under the hood and have it blowing down across the surface of the water. I've been home all day today and have had the air conditioning running so its not really a fair test but the water temperature in my main tank has gone from 32C down to 29.5C. Fingers crossed the fan is doing the trick and not the AC.

[Beengirl]

Well, at least it's headed in the right direction!! How's the fish doin?

[sammo2001]

Haha well he slowed down a little bit while the temp was dropping but now he's fine. I have to head out of town again tomorrow night but when I get back on Saturday if the temperature seems to be pretty stable I think I'll buy another clown fish and try again.

[Beengirl]

That's the spirit!! Don't give up!! have a great trip!

[sammo2001]

Thanks heaps. Not the best hobby or pets to have when you're always away but hopefully everything will be fine.

[Beengirl]

So how was the temp when you got back? How was the fish? Did you get anything new for the tank? Want news, pics, to live vicariously through your tank!!

[sammo2001]

Haha well I didn't have to do an overnighter this time which was awesome so on Saturday I went and bought another fan and a heater. The water now sits between 28 and 29C so I'm really happy. I do have to top up 3-4L every day though. On Sunday I bought the Tomato Clown I'm talking about in my new post you commented on and that's where all the new problems started. My new hobby isn't off to a great start lol.

[nikki_kaiser]

Originally Posted by sammo2001

Hi everyone,
I'm after some advice as to why my new fish keep dying.
A couple of months ago I bought a small clown fish, acclimatised him and added him to my cycled main aquarium. He ended up getting ich and dying within 3 days. The water parameters in the main tank were Ammonia - 0, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 0, pH - 8.2 salinity - 1.023SG and temperature - 30 to 31C.
I then went out and bought a 21L QT and added some filter material from my main tank to the QT filter. I then went out and bought a brackish water sail fin molly. I acclimatised him to the salt water over several hours and added him to the QT. once he was happy enough and eating well I added Melafix and Methylene Blue. After a few days in the QT I added him to the main tank and he has been doing fine for about 3 weeks now.
Last weekend I went out and bought a blue and gold damsel and added him to the cleaned QT. He spent most of his time hiding in one of the ornaments in the tank but would come out to eat. I used Melafix and Methylene Blue again but he live for another 3 days. The water parameters of the QT are the same as the main tank except a bit cooler at only 29C.
Has anybody got any ideas as to why these fish keep dying? I'm starting to think its to do with the temperature so I'm considering buying a chiller but I want to be sure it's that before I go out and spend $400 on one.

While you can use different medications together, just know that they can deplete oxygen levels within your QT so make sure you have adequate surface agitation. Also, check levels of ammonia because some medications that are used to treat bacterial infections also kill the good bacteria.

[Beengirl]

Well, there are bumps in the road when starting anything new, right? Just gotta keep on goin. so are you going to take the clown back then or you keeping him?

[nikki_kaiser]

Originally Posted by Beengirl

Well, there are bumps in the road when starting anything new, right? Just gotta keep on goin. so are you going to take the clown back then or you keeping him?

+ 1 Don't get too discouraged about losing fish. It's an ongoing learning experience each time you get a fish you've never had! You can have years of experience but with each new addition we all have to learn about them. Also, sometimes an LFS will get fish in and the stress of being transported and then acclimation is more than they can handle in a short amount of time. Just for grins, you might want to try buying from someone else if you can and I would take a water sample to make sure your home kit is reading what theirs says to eliminate any doubts on water quality. Hang in there! It will work out!

[Beengirl]

Originally Posted by nikki_kaiser

+ 1 Don't get too discouraged about losing fish. It's an ongoing learning experience each time you get a fish you've never had! You can have years of experience but with each new addition we all have to learn about them. Also, sometimes an LFS will get fish in and the stress of being transported and then acclimation is more than they can handle in a short amount of time. Just for grins, you might want to try buying from someone else if you can and I would take a water sample to make sure your home kit is reading what theirs says to eliminate any doubts on water quality. Hang in there! It will work out!

If I remember right, he's a ways out in Australia with access to only 1 fish store, so that cuts down on the shopping around option. I suggested that a little bit back.

[Danyboy]

I think it's definitely the temperature it's too hot where you are so try invest a chiller hopefully that should work temp should be about 25 to 28