The Struggle is Real

[KHow]

Well it seems that this hobby is more challenging than I ever expected. I posted a few days or a couple of weeks ago that my Lyre Tail Anthias was sick. He died yesterday while I was at work. My wife performed the services. Feeling frustrated.
Here is a recap on my setup,
36 Bowfront, HOB skimmer, HOB filter, heater, two powerheads for flow. Running an older LED light with white and blue. Plenty of live rock and live sand substrate.
My params have been almost perfect with nil ammonia and good ph.
I have lost recently, my anthias and a foxface and two clowns, over a several month timeframe. I have no idea why. Right now my royal gramma and a firefish seem fine. I have a small CUC, but I am getting a lot of hair algae. Currently getting ahead of the red slime problem, but it looks like I have some green coralline. Which would be just fine, except I a spot that is bleaching...My corals seem ok. I have three small zoa frags and medium hammer.

I need to understand why I am losing fish.

 

[flower]

Hi,

You wouldn't have hair algae or cyano (AKA: Red slime) if your phosphates weren't high. There is more than PH and ammonia to concern yourself with. The old lighting will also contribute to the bad stuff growing out of control. So the illusion of perfect parameters is a bust. A 36g tank is too small for a Foxface (it needs a 55g to a 70g tank), the Anthias are hard to keep alive under really good conditions. It can also be where you purchase your fish, ***** has a horrible reputation, as does Walmart (freshwater fish) for bad sickly stock...so sometimes it's the fish store. Also you have to have good water circulation, there is less oxygen in SW than freshwater, try aiming a power head at the surface.

Having a quarantine will also help you to know if the fish you just purchased has issues. For now, try working on getting the tank parameters really on the right track, and get some new bulbs. Right now struggle with getting rid of the hair algae and cyano. THEN have ONE new fish in quarantine for at least 4 weeks before you acclimate it to the display. Doing that should stop the deaths of all new critters.

 

[KHow]

All of my fish that have died, have been in the tank for months. My LFS is an upscale high end stand alone store with a good reputation. I frequently test my ammonia, nitrate, nitrites and ph. I will replace the lighting after thanksgiving. And purchase test kits for phosphate.... Anything else?

 

[flower]

All of my fish that have died, have been in the tank for months. My LFS is an upscale high end stand alone store with a good reputation. I frequently test my ammonia, nitrate, nitrites and ph. I will replace the lighting after thanksgiving. And purchase test kits for phosphate.... Anything else?

I scratch my head on the clowns, they are supper hardy, in the damsel family. The Foxface would be stressed in a small tank, and like I said, Anthias are difficult fish to keep. Just doing your water changes, and getting the PO4 under control should take care of the hair algae issues... if you are using tap water, stop and switch to RO from a grocery store, and purchase your own RO/DI unit. Setting up a quarantine will help considerably, and protect your tank from disease and parasites.

QTs are super easy to set up. Just a 10g to 20g tank, a piece of PVC or plastic décor, an air line and regular fish lights. No substrate, no rock... Use an old sponge from an established system, and ammonia dip sticks to keep an eye on things. Any hint of ammonia, do a water change.

By using a 10g to 20g tank, you know exactly how much to dose if need be, should the fish be sick. Considering how much money it will save you in lost fish, it's a good investment. I used to set my QT on my dresser on a towel, because my house is small.