2 fish die, don't know why

bbb

bbb

Member
We started my Dad's 29 gallon a couple weeks ago and got 3 damsels to go in it. Within about a week two them had died.
The first one died the day after we put it in. The other died about a week later. The last appears to be doing fine though. We tested the water and nothing was wrong. We think they were just weak fish being that the store only had them for a day at the most. :notsure: :help:
 
bandaid

bandaid

Member
Is the tank cycled yet. It takes about 4 to 6 weeks to cycle a tank. I think they died cause the tank was not ready yet.
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
Bottom line is you're cycleing the tank with them, that's why they're dieing. Are you aware of what cycleing is? I'm just trying to help.

Almost forgot ... WELCOME TO THE FORUM!
 
newfishguy

newfishguy

Member
I thought damsels could handle the ammonia. Isn't that why some people cycle with them?
Originally Posted by bigarn
Bottom line is you're cycleing the tank with them, that's why they're dieing. Are you aware of what cycleing is? I'm just trying to help.

Almost forgot ... WELCOME TO THE FORUM!
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
People cycle with them because ... 1. they don't know better.
2. they're hardy fish.
3. they're inexpensive.
Depending on the severity of the cycle, some will live and some won't, but they go through hell. Regardless, there's no need to cycle with them these days.
 
jhebi

jhebi

Member
Agree with Bigarn...
Damsels are hardy fish, they may survive, but even though later when you want to add another fishes, they will be very agressive and also territorial.....
Let it cycle..................................cycle........... :jumping:
 
monalisa

monalisa

Active Member
Cycle your tank with a raw shrimp from the grocery store, not cooked, raw. That will do the trick without subjecting a live fish to what cycling does to fishes. Besides, it's even cheaper than damsels in the long run, and you can enjoy a nice meal with the rest of the shrimp...OK, at least I did...

As far as your surviving fish, bring it back to the store... at least until the cycle is done. They should have asked you where you were with your cycle and advised to research...
Good luck to you, and keep us posted on your progress.
Welcome to SWF.com.
Lisa :happyfish
 
airforceb2

airforceb2

Active Member
Welcome to the boards!!
When you say you tested the water and it was fine...what were your results? The parameters aren't fine if the tank is that young and you are losing fish. Sorry about your loss...hopefully you learn something so it doesn't happen again.
 
C

civileng68

Guest
Another thing about damsels. REmember, many people (for some reason ) do what you do with them. Generally they have no intentions on keeping them, so if they live, they take them back to the store after the cycle, and then they sell them to someone like you, not knowing they have already been used for the same thing before and are already on their last fin.
Basically though, what you are doing to them, without seeing it, is torturing them a slow and hard death.
Imagine being on fire and that is what they feel like as you basically are burning the gills right out of their body.
I know you dont know any better but the fish stores are in it for money and dont really care about your tank or the fish in many cases. Just let the tank cycle in a more natural/humane way.
 
danedodger

danedodger

Member
Damsels ARE very hardy fish but they go through hell to reach the stores then before they had a chance to de-stress you took them home and then they probably went through a spike in ammonia... Any of that could be why they died really. Just chalk it up to a learning experience now that what's done is done ::pat on the back::
Plus... Hey not all stores that sell fish are the same, yanno? :mad: #1 I spend a lot of time talking to any customer that wants to buy any fish to try and estimate if the fish will be ok in their system. If I really don't think it will I tell them flat out. We don't carry a guarantee on our salt fish but on our fresh fish if I even think they're taking a chance I warn them that if they insist I will void out their guarantee because it's against my advice. If I REALLY think the fish will be in danger I refuse to sell them.
#2 I rarely let people bring their fish in to me at all and doubly so for saltwater since some of these are more delicate than most fresh. IF I do though those fish are not for sale at all. I will only adopt them out FREE after finding out if the fish will be ok with the adopter. Just the other day I got in a largish three stripe damsel and small lunar wrasse that will be adopted out to the right person and I only did it because these fish had been treated very well. The owners could hardly leave them and were very sad about the whole thing. Two days later and they're still both wonderfully fat and sassy so those two will get a great home in the end and some lucky people will get some delightful fish that need a good home.
Some of us care A LOT.
 
C

civileng68

Guest
Originally Posted by DaneDodger
Damsels ARE very hardy fish but they go through hell to reach the stores then before they had a chance to de-stress you took them home and then they probably went through a spike in ammonia... Any of that could be why they died really. Just chalk it up to a learning experience now that what's done is done ::pat on the back::
Plus... Hey not all stores that sell fish are the same, yanno? :mad: #1 I spend a lot of time talking to any customer that wants to buy any fish to try and estimate if the fish will be ok in their system. If I really don't think it will I tell them flat out. We don't carry a guarantee on our salt fish but on our fresh fish if I even think they're taking a chance I warn them that if they insist I will void out their guarantee because it's against my advice. If I REALLY think the fish will be in danger I refuse to sell them.
#2 I rarely let people bring their fish in to me at all and doubly so for saltwater since some of these are more delicate than most fresh. IF I do though those fish are not for sale at all. I will only adopt them out FREE after finding out if the fish will be ok with the adopter. Just the other day I got in a largish three stripe damsel and small lunar wrasse that will be adopted out to the right person and I only did it because these fish had been treated very well. The owners could hardly leave them and were very sad about the whole thing. Two days later and they're still both wonderfully fat and sassy so those two will get a great home in the end and some lucky people will get some delightful fish that need a good home.
Some of us care A LOT.

I think you are the type of Fish store that we all need in our towns.
Unfortunately so many in the business know that many of their customers are new to the hobby and in great need of advice but they refuse to give morale advice. Their advice lies in $$$$$.
It's really sad that so many get jabbed. Hey, that's why I'm here. You get real answers here and without this forum, I'd never have such a thriving tank.
Thanks for your honesty!!!!!!!!!!!!
However to others, i think a warning about their local fish stores is justified.
 
danedodger

danedodger

Member
Nah, I run customers off of buying quite a few things actually that they came in specifically to buy LOL!! I do that especially with a lot of the chemicals and stuff like ammonia detoxifiers. I try to get them to properly cycle the tank and let Mother Nature take care of that ammonia.
And yes, I totally agree that to warn people to REALLY get to know who they're buying from is totally justified because there really are way too many of the "profit is the bottom line" type stores out there. And if you're a newbie, how the heck do you know if the advice you're getting is good or not? Just to let everyone know that not ALL stores are bad :)
 
bbb

bbb

Member
Thanks for all of the advice and the warm welcome.
The third damsel seems to be doing fine still.
My dad had set up aquariums in the past, so we didn't do much research. He was also the one to test the water so I don't know what the results were.
I quess the fish really are being tortured in the tank since we found one of them with it's head stuck in one of the corals.
Do some fish get paler at night and then darken up over the course of the day because our last damsel is really pale in the mourning and has a blue line under it's eye but when I get home from school it's back to it's normal blue color. One of the other ones was also doing this.
 
airforceb2

airforceb2

Active Member
You have corals in there too?? What kind of corals?
I think there is a lot of reading you and your dad need to do before getting any more fish. There is a lot to learn before adding fish, let alone corals, to a new tank.
 
bbb

bbb

Member
I'm not exactly sure what type they are. They have been in a five gallon bucket for a while and I don't think they're living any more. We just put them in the tank so the fish can swim around them. We cleaned them off good before we put them in.
 
airforceb2

airforceb2

Active Member
I think you mean live rock and not coral. Coral is colorful and you don't clean it off. They must have intense light in order to live.
 
bbb

bbb

Member
I guess. Does anyone know if some fish turn a paler color at night or why our fish does this? :notsure:
 
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