Added my first fish...and they died??

[theoneyouenvy]

I have a 34g RedSea tank and have had it up and running for 6 weeks. I have a CUC and a peppermint shrimp in the tank, so I decided to add some fish. I went with a clown fish, 2 actually. I know its best to only add 1 at a time with a new tank, but figured it was best to add them as a pair (1 orange perc and 1 black perc, both tank bred). All of the levels checked out before I added them in, pH 8.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10, 1.24 salt and temperature was at 80.
Within the first 24 hours the orange perc was dead and the crabs were eating him, I took him out and did a quick reading of the water, only change was that nitrates were at 20. So I did a 10% water change and it brought the nitrates back to around 10. The black perc was starting to not swim around as much only staying in 1 corner and going up and down about an 2 inches, and staying low to the sand. This lasted for 3 days then he finally died during the night. When I acclimated them to the tank I set their bags in the water for about 30-40 minutes then added a little bit of water every minutes 3 or 4 times( maybe I rushed this part?), The other part that might have had something to do with it was the water temp dropped from around 80-81 to around 76-77 over a 36 hour period. Had a cold front come through and didn't turn the heater on.
So I am at a loss for what I did wrong,this is my very first tank so it is very possible I forgot to do something. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[saxman]

To be honest, 76-77*F is about the perfect temp to keep most tanks. 80*F is a bit high, and gives you no room for error on the high side.
It sounds like you did everything pretty much by the numbers, except for QT-ing the new fish. I do understand that this is a new setup, and nothing else is in it, but assuming the new fish are sick/infested, your DT will have been exposed to whatever the fish have.
Were the fish shipped to you, or did they come from a LFS?
If they came from the LFS, how long were they bagged for?
If the fish were shipped to you, it's better to get them right out of the shipping water as soon as the bag is opened (built up ammonia becomes toxic once the bag is opened).
Were the fish "gilling" (labored breathing) when you added them?

 

[theoneyouenvy]

I did buy them from a LFS, and they were in the bag for at the very most 1 hour. I honestly don't know about the gilling, they seemed normal when I put them in. I also don't really know if it was off or not, being my first fish.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneYouEnvy http:///t/393367/added-my-first-fish-and-they-died#post_3499050
I did buy them from a LFS, and they were in the bag for at the very most 1 hour. I honestly don't know about the gilling, they seemed normal when I put them in. I also don't really know if it was off or not, being my first fish.
Sorry to hear you lost your first little guys. Staying in one corner is normal for clowns, that's all they do...swim in place....sometimes they will bond with an anemone, but mine always stayed in a corner ....10 years. I had maybe three pairs in that time frame, and they all did the same thing.
May I suggest you purchase your next fish from this site or one like it. They have a 14 day guarantee and they honor any loses like the ones you suffered. When you purchase from the LFS...the moment you walk out the door you are on your own with no guarantee the fish is even healthy, so if it dies you just eat the loss.
Setting up a QT is very easy, and it will protect your main tank from getting infested with disease, and allow you to dose a sick fish and monitor it's health where it will be easy to remove it should it die. If a fish dies in the main tank...the eaters get it before you can even collect on a guarantee.

 

[theoneyouenvy]

This store did offer a 48 hour guarantee, but I realized this after 6 days. I think I'm going to try a new LFS today and try a different fish, any recommendations?
As far at a QT tank, what all does that involve, I don't have a lot of room to work with living in an apartment.

 

[saxman]

QT can be as simple or elaborate as you want. Here's a good primer on different styles of QT's:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/qt/qt.shtml

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOneYouEnvy http:///t/393367/added-my-first-fish-and-they-died#post_3499133
This store did offer a 48 hour guarantee, but I realized this after 6 days. I think I'm going to try a new LFS today and try a different fish, any recommendations?
As far at a QT tank, what all does that involve, I don't have a lot of room to work with living in an apartment.
Check out Saxmans post, and all you need is a 10g tank. I have less room in my house than most apartments...I put the QT on my dresser, with a plastic bag covered with a towel under it so I wouldn't damage the wood.

 

[spongeycrab]

You could try a goby of some sort I like yellow clown gobies.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W6fo_nUxflw

 

[theoneyouenvy]

Thanks for the links and help, went to the LFS today and they said they were getting a shipment of goby's in tomorrow so I'll stop by and see what they have then.

 

[theoneyouenvy]

Just bought 2 new carmel perculas from a different LFS, so far they seem to both be more active than the last ones. The employees seemed to have a better idea of their stock and knowledge of how long they have been acclimated into their tanks.

Thats the best picture I could get without turning the lights on, ill update with more later...if they are still around