All my fish are dying, this sucks.

sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
--, hyposalinity is not difficult at all. If newer hobbyists cannot maintain PH and keep nitrates in check during hyposalinity, what makes you think that they would be able to "control" ich? Controlling ich is harder than treating it by far. If ich is being controlled then you have to ensure that the fish are in optimal health. To do that the diet has to be great, the nitrates have to be low and all other parameters on target. If the parameters are all on target and not fluctuating then the tank is mature and cycled. The hobbyist is no longer new. Why not treat the fish properly? It is up to the OP. We can walk him through whatever he or she would like to do.
Nick, everything is not cut and dry in this hobby. Tap water can be used in a FO or FOWLR system as long as it does not contain high amounts of phosphate, and contains no ammonia or nitrate. A water conditioner should be used. It is not the best kind of water to use, but it will not destroy the life in your tank. Minerals can build up over time by using tap and you are likely to get more algae but it is not certain death to your aquarium inhabitants.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
I don't know... I did hypo 3 times successfuly and I found it very difficult and time consuming. One time for my lionfish and twice for new additions. I have to say it was extrememly more difficult than simply maintaining my regular tanks. If I would have attempted to do hypo when I was first starting out, for sure the fish would have died.
For one thing, with my regular tanks, as long as I do my normal water changes, I never have to worry about pH. I also don't have to worry about keeping it at 1.009 and check it at LEAST once a day. If my regular tank is at 1.025 or 024 or 026, no biggie. I can be off a little. My regular tanks also have a lot better filtration with live rock and skimmer than my QT. So nitrates are easier to keep in check. With a QT you have to do a lot of water changes. It's just plain more trouble. I think someone needs to get used to taking care of a regular tank before they worry about a QT and hypo. (or copper)
 
R

rcreations

Guest
This is a picture of my current QT. In it I have some plastic PVC pipes and a plastic coral. This is nowhere near the effectiveness of 100+ lb of LR. I also have a biowheel filter and another regular Aquaclear (I think?). Again, nowhere near the cleaning power of a good protein skimmer. Not to even go into a refugium. This is but a shell of a regular tank and it requires a lot more attention and monitoring. Way too much work for someone starting out, in my opinion.
 
lighteningthes

lighteningthes

Member
We still have a few fishies left, we have had the tank hypo for about 5 days now and the ick is still all over fish! We have an huge algea issue now too. We are cleaning the glass daily of this brown/red algea which is just below the rockline and all over the tank walls. On the other hand the remaining fish do seem quite content, the only one showing any different behaviour is one clown who sits in the corner. I have plenty of flow so I don't think the algea is from dead spots in the water. My readings continue at 0,0,0 the only tests I don't have is calcium and phosphates.
 
litoallie

litoallie

Member
I don't really think you need the calcium test- it's mainly for corals (my opinion). You might want to check on the phosphates, that could be why you have a crazy algae problem.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/2751779
We still have a few fishies left, we have had the tank hypo for about 5 days now and the ick is still all over fish! We have an huge algea issue now too. We are cleaning the glass daily of this brown/red algea which is just below the rockline and all over the tank walls. On the other hand the remaining fish do seem quite content, the only one showing any different behaviour is one clown who sits in the corner. I have plenty of flow so I don't think the algea is from dead spots in the water. My readings continue at 0,0,0 the only tests I don't have is calcium and phosphates.
Does the brown algae wipe right off? If so then it is diatom algae. It is harmless and very common in newer tanks.
 
lighteningthes

lighteningthes

Member
Yes, it does just wipe off. Its crazy how fast it pops up. My one clown still seems tired, sitting at the bottom of the tank. Despite my salinity being 1.009 I still have my hermit crab and emerald crab alive in the tank. Parameters today were still 0,0,0, Eel ate like the hog that he is.
 
lighteningthes

lighteningthes

Member
Like everything else, I use multiple methods, refractometer, swingarm and a little bobber thing. Yes, I know the last two are not as accurate but they are in the tank so we keep them in there!
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/2752033
Yes, it does just wipe off. Its crazy how fast it pops up. My one clown still seems tired, sitting at the bottom of the tank. Despite my salinity being 1.009 I still have my hermit crab and emerald crab alive in the tank. Parameters today were still 0,0,0, Eel ate like the hog that he is.
The crabs won't be able to live for long in there. Do you have a bucket that you can keep them in while you slowly raise the SG? After the SG in the bucket matches the water that the rock is in, the crabs can go in there. Take a week to raise the SG in the bucket.
Remember to check the SG of your tank daily and top off as needed. If you have an automatic top off unit it will make life so much easier. They are not necessary, but they minimize mistakes.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
Originally Posted by YearOfTheNick
http:///forum/post/2750583
There's your problem. Tap water. It may be OK for us to drink, but it's deadly for most fish. There are all kinds of chemicals that you can't easily test for in tap water, mainly chlorine, which is toxic to all fish.
Use RO water which is readily available at any local fish store. This alone will greatly improve the likelihod of your fish surviving.

ARG!!! Dude you kill me with your constant "blanket statements" like this
I used treated tap water for 6 years with no ill effects...As Bob Fenner said in his book "There is an unfortunate trend in the hobby to blame everything bad that happens on source water"
You need to open your mind just a little and realize there is more than one method of keeping SW aquariums, and quit making statements like this
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2752456
ARG!!! Dude you kill me with your constant "blanket statements" like this
I used treated tap water for 6 years with no ill effects...As Bob Fenner said in his book "There is an unfortunate trend in the hobby to blame everything bad that happens on source water"
You need to open your mind just a little and realize there is more than one method of keeping SW aquariums, and quit making statements like this

I couldn't agree more. I can't think of anything easier, faster, cheaper than removing chlorine. I've used tap water for a very long time and have never had a problem that I felt was related to my tap water. Some tap water is unacceptable, some is just fine...it depends on your water source. Over the last 30+ years, I've successfully used tap water from at least 4 different water sources. R.O. is great; but it is NOT always necessary. Fenner puts it much better than I ever could.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
Apologies to YearoftheNick for my post, I blew his comments out of proportion, I get frustrated when people make such decisive statements like "There's your problem. Tap water".....Nick has good intentions and is trying to be helpful, I just feel this was an irresponsible an incorrect statement, nonetheless, sorry for the flaming in my earlier post. Uncalled for.
 
lighteningthes

lighteningthes

Member
So, back to my poor fish!! Everyone is still alive today. The fish are still covered in ick and I moved my crabbies. Is it ok to move the clowns to little breeder tank that sits in the water? They seemed more active when they were in that as opposed to free swimming. When in the little tank the move and are active, when free in the tank the sit in the bottom corner. My sailfin is sitting in the flow of one of my powerheads.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/2752852
So, back to my poor fish!! Everyone is still alive today. The fish are still covered in ick and I moved my crabbies. Is it ok to move the clowns to little breeder tank that sits in the water? They seemed more active when they were in that as opposed to free swimming. When in the little tank the move and are active, when free in the tank the sit in the bottom corner. My sailfin is sitting in the flow of one of my powerheads.
The clowns like a corner, but enclosed in a breeder is not a good idea. Do you have fake decoration in there for the fish to hide? You could rubber-band the breeder to something heavy (non toxic) for the clowns to go into. They have to be able to come and go as the please. How long has it been now? It takes about a week for the parasite to all fall off. Your sailfin is sitting in the flow from the power head? Have you checked your water readings to be certain that there are no spikes going on? How are they eating?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lighteningthes
http:///forum/post/2752410
I can toss them in a bucket sure. Then slowly raise the sg? Then toss em in the rock tank?
Toss is such a mean word LOL. Place them in the bucket then slowly raise the SG in the bucket. You are acclimating them into the tank with the rock. You will need some kind of air source. For crabs, a bubble bar should work, if you have one. If the temp drops then you may need a heater.
 
lighteningthes

lighteningthes

Member
Im checkin my water 2x per day morning and evening. Morning before lights come on and then in the evening about 12hrs after the first check. Everything looks good. I got the last of the crabbies, my emerald came out of hiding this morning and I snatched him up. Everyone seems to be eating ok, however we did cut back a tad in case we were feeding too much. I have several chunks of rock still in the tank, on live rock which the eel is wrapped up in and then 3 lava rocks and a tufa rock. They have hiding places, just don't use them!!
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Be sure to keep an eye on the ammonia. You really shouldn't put live rock through hyposalinity. The bacteria lives, which is good, but any life on the rocks will die. Sometimes that die off outweighs the benefits of the added bacteria. It may be alright, just keep an eye on it.
 
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