About had it with this.

booya

booya

Member
I left town for a total of 18 hours yesterday and my tank crashed. I walked in the door when I got home and could not find my only fish. I looked closer and it was stuck in the powerhead:mad: How do you keep this from happening? I pulled it out and when to bed. When I woke up this morrning I found my cleaner shrimp died:mad: So now again I do not have any fish in my tank. The water is fine every thing is at 0. Sal= 1.023.
I have about had it with this hobby because I can't keep my tank looking like I like it. Now all I have in my tank is a over growth of hair algae and a few crabs. I am about to give up.:mad:
 
wingit

wingit

New Member
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert about this - I'm only a beginner. But, first, we have tried to keep two of those cleaner shrimps alive, and they seem to be VERY sensitive - I wouldn't worry too much about yours dying. Both have died within a week of being introduced into the tank, even though everything seems perfect. We had an algae problem, and the problem was that the lights were on too long. We cut the light hours down by about 40%, added a few snails, and the algae went away lickity split. As for your fish getting stuck in the power head, that's one hell of a way to go out - any pics??? Obviously he was dead before getting into the powerhead, but maybe everything is messed up because of the algae problem.
I feel your frustration, though - sucks when stuff dies.
___________________________
My tank (actually my roommate's): http://www.fishregistry.net/registryitem.asp?ID=151
 
booya

booya

Member
I don't know if it was died first because i have read stories about fish getting stuck in powerheads. I think that there are things that you can put on them so they will not get stuck.
 
wrassecal

wrassecal

Active Member
They make sponges and screens to put on your powerheads so the fish can't get stuck. What kind of powerheads do you have? don't lose faith, I had a screen fall off a ph and came home to find my one year old beloved mandarin stuck and dead in the intake:(
 
wingit

wingit

New Member
Thanks!! This is my dream tank - http://www.fishregistry.net/registryitem.asp?ID=158.
Wow, I never heard of fish getting stuck in powerheads. That just sucks if that happened. What kind of fish was he? Have you tried any of the really hardy fish, like a damsel> I think they're pretty much impossible to kill! Plus they're only like three bucks, so even if you lose one, you it won't be as aggravating.
 
booya

booya

Member
They are aquaclear (i know don't say anything). I am trying not to get to mad with this I am just sick of watching things die. I am also bored with my tank because algae is not the interesting.
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Bummer. But a lot of us have been as frustrated as you.
Don't give up. It will start to groove for you at some point...and then you will LOVE every part of the hobby.
Take a deep breath....from what you write, it doesn't sound like your tank crashed...sounds like you just had a bad day!
As for the algae...algae is frequently caused by: bad lighting, high nitrates...check your nitrates, replace your bulbs...reduce your lighting by a handful of hours for the next couple of weeks.
Think about getting some calupera in the tank--it consumes nitrates. Also, there is a nitrate abosorbing filter medium you can buy at most LFS...AND GET SOME TURBO SNAILS and an algae blenny....THEY ARE ALGAE EATING MONSTERS!
As for the fish on the powerhead...slide a filter sponge over the intake--rubberband it, so the fish won't get stuck
Cleaner shrimp...SUCK--because they really do need good water quality...maybe your tank needs some calcium (shrimps need calcium to molt)...THINK ABOUT GETTING A PEPPERMINT OR CORAL BANDED SHRIMP INSTEAD. They are much hardier.
NOW, how long has your tank been set up?
 
booya

booya

Member
It was a Perc clown
I think that I am winning against the algae problem. I fill my tank with tap water when I started. I started to use RO now I think that it is working.
I think stress killed the shrimp because he followed the fish around the tank like a dog and when I came home it would not eat or move. I added top off water and it freaked out. It was being very strange.
I have a PEPPERMINT
are CORAL BANDED SHRIMP mean? I thought that I heard somewere that they would kill other shrimp if you get them latter. I heard that they do not like cleaners.
The tank is about 3 months
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Well, your tank is very young. Are you new to the hobby? You may have experienced what they called "new tank syndrome"...it's a very frustrating time at the beginning of the hobby. Everything seems to go haywire. Some people say it's because your nitrogen cycle hasn't fully engaged...some say it's because of inexperience...whatever it is, it really sucks.
I don't know if you can keep both a coral banded and a peppermint together...I only keep a coral banded...and it's a pretty pugnacious shrimp!
CBS would be fine in a 55g.
Just curious:
How much LR do you have?
Do you have a skimmer?
What's the filtration on your tank?
 
booya

booya

Member
I am new to this hobby. I do not have any one that can give me advice except for here. LFS is no help.
How much LR do you have? 90lb
Do you have a skimmer? Yes red sea
What's the filtration on your tank? I have 2 powerheads (395 gph) I have a Power filter that is rated for a 60g tank. 2 inches a sand in the bottom of tank.
I have 1 pep shrimp right now, so you don't think that I should get a CBS?
 
booya

booya

Member
The thing that makes me so mad is that the fish that died was very, very healthy, and doing great.
 
tiencvu

tiencvu

Member
How do you know the fish was healthy, just because it swam around and ate didn't mean it was healthy... I had a blue hippo tang, swam around the tank like crazy, ate normal, the next day, it was gone...There are so many diseases in fish that we still don't know about. IF the fish died all of the sudden, then there might be something wrong in the water. I would double check the water again and also take it to the LFS just to make sure your result and LFS result are the same, then might be do some water changes.....
Good luck, but keep it up, because when your tank is going very well, at the end of the day it is well worth it.....
You are almost there.....
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
red sea
I had one of those for a while...I hated the thing. But anyway...
You are just new to this...so let me agree with Tiencvu...YOU'LL BE OK!
Just hang in there...let your tank get a little more established...don't put anything expensive in there for another couple of months...
If it makes you feel better, all 4 of my fish died in the first month when I first got into the hobby...I couldn't believe it...I thought I just sucked at it. But no one told me anything about establishing a tank first, etc, etc. So I feel your pain! At least you have this board to find answers!
 
booya

booya

Member
My crabs are doing fine should I just stick with them for a little while until I get a more stable tank? I don't like the red sea.
 
karajay

karajay

Active Member
The last time I left town for a day, one of my peppermint shrimp disappeared. No shrimp, no corpse, no trace. Just gone.
IMO, skip the CBS. You might get a mellow one, but you might get a holy terror...why risk it?
 
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