What should I do ?

[boomerlv28]

Hello everyone !!! Im new to registering here but ive been reading this board for a while now.

Anyways here is how it goes, I live here in the Philippines, Ive always been a fish fanatic, Ive finally decided to start a setup.

My setup consists of a 250 gallon aquarium and a 100 gallon subtank.

About a block from where I live is the ocean, this is where I got everything, everything from the liverocks, gravel (boracay), fish, anemonies and corals. The fish practically swim up to you and there are no laws regarding reefs.

What ive done, I took 200 gallons of seawater, 100 lbs of Boracay gravel and 200 lbs of live rocks, I cycled my aquarium for about 2 weeks, figuring that since it all came from the ocean including the water then I wouldnt have to wait as long.

Ive placed several types of fish that I just caught with a net such as : 10 Yellow Tail Damsel, 1 Parrot Wrasse, 4 Chromis, 1 Picasso Trigger, 2 Saddleback Clowns, 1 Clown Trigger, 1 Porcupine Puffer, 1 Copperband Butterfly, 1 Emperor and 1 Regal (Hippo) Tang.

what Ive noticed is that what spotts have started to form on the Puffer and Clown Trigger, ive taken them out and have them in QT, then for the clowns, this is my 5th pair, every pair that i put in starts to develop a white haze over thier bodies then if not treated they die, this pair that i got right now is starting to develop it as we speak.

To name a few Ive got some inverts, corals and a bunch of hermits.

what am i doing wrong and what can I do to stop this outbreak with the clowns ?

I know i am a newbie and im probably learning the hard way but I would greatly appreciate all of your help.

thanks in advance

 

[fishfreek]

Do you have access to water test kits? What you should test for is ammonia and nitrite levels initally to see where your water quality is as far as toxicity.

Thats a TON of fish even for a 200 gal tank IMO. Have you noticed any of the fish being agressive toward any of the others?

Do you collect your sea water from off shore? I use synthetic salt mix as I dont live near an ocean but from what I have read those who do use sea water often quarinteen the sea water for a period of time before use aswell.

 

[boomerlv28]

I did a water test and all seems to within the proper parameters, as for the amount of fish i have, I was told a ratio of 1" for every 5 Gallons so that would come out to "40 inches of total fish, thats what i am just following. I collected the water from off shore, in fact I collected the water right off the reef, the exact place where the fish were swimming. So what do you guys recommend I should do ? should I just wait ? or should I remove all my fish and just let the water cycle for a few weeks ?

 

[Beerman]

IMO that's too many fish. I would cut it down to less then half that. I would also make salt. Too much risk of impurities since it won't dilute like the ocean.

 

[triggers]

How big are your fish (estimate)?

First when fish are caught out of the ocean they are quarantined for a couple of weeks after that time then they are put on the market for purchasing.

If your clown trigger is between 8" or bigger, the problem could be that it just can't adapt. The stress is just to much. If it is a baby clown it may be caused by malnutrition. They need to be fed several times a day to keep up with their high metabolism.

The puffer and the tang are susceptible to ich.

As for the clowns I'm sorry to say I have no idea why that is happening, maybe you don't have the actually mated pair. I have heard that if you split up an adult mated pair of clownfish there could be problems resulting in death.

 

[boomerlv28]

My clown Trigger is approximately 10 inches and the average size of my fish are 4" excluding the damsels and Chromis.

I caught all of the fish directly from the ocean, buying from the market wouldnt be the ideal thing here since they use cyanide for capturing the fish.

should I remove all the fish, do a 20% water change and just cycle it for several weeks ? If i do that do i need to remove the clams, inverts and hermits ?

 

[triggers]

Actually your clams, inverts, and hermits won't last long with 2 triggers and a puffer.

Did you add them all at one time?

Have you treated the fish at all?

The reason why I ask is (if you plan on putting them back in the ocean) here in the U.S. it is agains the law to treat saltwater fish in a home aquarium and release it back to the ocean, its a EPA regulation. It does get done but if caught you get a hefty fine.

 

[triggers]

I forgot to mention the best size to start with a clown trigger is between 2"-5".

 

[boomerlv28]

the clam I have is a giant clam, its about 12 inches wide and and weighs about 10-14 lbs, its pretty big, the hermits hide within the live rocks and no its not illegal to treat salt water fish and release it into the wild over here.

I did add them all at one time and i have treated the puffer with CUPRAZINE. Is that a mistake ?



any other suggestions on what I should do ?

Also by the way, I have a 100 gallon tank with a 12" Blackfin shark and he doesnt seem to have any problems.

 

[moonraker]

before anything else, i'd have to say that i am green with envy! you can have all the fishes and inverts you want for free... especially that blue tang! i hope you can send some to me!

moving on...

imo, the best way to effect a treatment is by proper diagnosis of the problem. try to figure out what you're dealing with before attempting to solve it. here's a great link to help you understand what's going on:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/index.htm

now, judging from your accounts, i believe that what you're dealing with here is an infestation of marine ich or cryptocaryon irritans. the best way to treat it is by dosing with proper amounts of copper in a bare-bottom qt. you can find more detailed instructions in doing this on the above link. i'm just wondering why your tang doesn't have it[ich] already.

as for your clowns, i believe that what they have is clownfish disease or brooklynellosis. it is common among wild-caught clowns and pretty fatal with copper said to be ineffective against this parasite. your best bet would be releasing them back to the sea and hope they survive.

as for your main tank, the best way of getting rid of the cysts left behind is by letting it go fishless for at least four weeks... even longer in cases of high virulence. also, try to quarantine all new additions before putting them in your tank to avoid any recurence.

btw, sharks are said to be resistant to most marine parasitic diseases

 

[boomerlv28]

Okay Ive released most of my fish back to the wild, what I have now are the damsels (they are hard to catch in a 200 gallon tank considering that they tend to hide between the rocks, parrot wrass, picasso trigger and 2 chromis. Now if I put all these guys into a QT, and run my tank fishless for a couple of weeks, what should I do with the starfish, hermit crabs and corals ? can I leave them in the tank ? they all seem to be healthy. Ive also done a partial water change hoping that this would also help. I need all of you guys opinions. thanks in advanced.

 

[steve-s]

As long as you leave the tank fishless for a minimum of 4 weeks (6 is better) you should be fine. All the inverts can stay where they are as they cannot feed the parasite and continue the life cycle.

After about 2ish weeks, I would then start to quarantine the first addition. After that fish is ready to be introduced, the tank should be ready. Every additional fish added in the same fashion will ensure no more parasite problems. It will also allow enough time for the bio filter to catch up to new additions.

Cheers
Steve

 

[boomerlv28]

thank you everyone for all the valuable advice, if you guys are ever in the Philippines let me know and ill take you guys reef diving.

 

[triggers]

Adding all those fish at one time could also add to the stress level the fish are already having due to capture.