All My Fish Die

[brendac]

I really need some help... I seem to loss all my fish that I put in my 30g aquarium... all at different times. I have a 125g coming tomorrow but I dont have any luck keeping anything alive in my 30. My tank has went through its cycle and has been up and running for about 6 weeks now. Could it just be because its just not muture enough?? I have listed all my readings. I have lost Clown Fish... Raccoon Butterfly... Coral Beauty all at different times... My Raccoon was already dead before I got my Coral Beauty. What is going on?? I gotta figure it out before I even think about sitting my 125 up. I dont have chlorine in my water... I have a drilled well. I did fill the 30 up with tap water... but I dont have chlorine in my water. One thing is my pet store never told me to put a conditioner in the aquarium after I filled it with tap water so I just did that tonight after 6 weeks of not knowing to add a conditioner. Could it be cause there was not a conditionier in it before?? Please help me get on the right track here. Oh I run a over the wall filter that is for 30 to 60 gallons. Like I said I added the conditioner tonight and now tomorrow I want to add just one fish and see if I got to the bottom of my problem with adding the conditioner. Oh ya we put a power head in there... But it was too strong... It was like a big fog in there with the water coming back in steering everything up and made a mess... So We took that out the same day we bought it... Fish would not go near it. We could not cut the air down on it and it was way too strong.
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Temp 82
Salt Level 1.023

 

[ray28576]

After six weeks you wouldn't have to add a conditioner. Chlorine would have burned out of the water after 24 hours anyways. Your water parameters seem to be fine. I'm not sure, but I think a a 30gl is too small for a Butterfly and the Coral Beauty. Do you have a skimmer? Also, have you done any water changes? How are you acclimating your fish? Have you gotten them all from the same place? We'll get to the bottom of this.

 

[ryan]

I agree with Ray that a conditioner isnt going to do anything at this point. When I first set my tank up I used tap water also and lost so many fish. I switched to RO water and my losses practically disappeared. A Raccoon Butterfly is to big of a fish for a 30 gallon, but the Coral Beauty and clownfish should be fine in a 30 gallon. A lot of it might have been acclimating. Did you just dump the fish in, or float the bag for a couple minutes? I dont know if you have researched the hobby much, but from your posting it kinda sounds like you just jumped into it. I would just hold off on buying anymore fish, keep your tank running, and do your water changes like you would if fish were present. Go out and buy a book on the hobby and keep reading the boards for a little while, and I bet a lot of things will clear up on why your fish are dying. Then you can start adding the fish again and not become on of the statistics of dumping so much money on things that have died that you get frustrated and give up on the hobby.

 

[brendac]

I do not have a protein skimmer... I will need it for my 125g I think. I do let them float in the bag for about 15 minutes before adding then in. I have got all my fish from the same place. I wonder if a protein skimmer and a power head would help?? Water changes have been done

 

[ray28576]

Yes, a protein skimmer and PH would help.

I'm not sure, but it may be a lack of oxygen in the tank. What do you have puting air in the water? Are you using a pump, or just the filter?

 

[mcsd22]

Brenda you need to read the acclimation link on the left of your screen. 15 minutes floating in the bag and then dumping them in is enough to kill any fish and probably were your trouble is.

 

[ray28576]

I'm not saying it is the right way, but I have never had a problem acclimating my fish that way. You should probably drip acclimate them though. I don't see the percs dieing from that. They are usually a pretty hardy fish. My friend across the alley from me also acclimates his fish the same way and has had no problems. IMO, I think it is something else, I don't see all four fish dieing from the acclimation process. But then again, I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.LOL

 

[drewsta]

What is water temp also check your phosphates and copper

Copper was my major problem

 

[brendac]

All I have is the over the wall filter. I believe I need a protein skimmer and maybe a powerhead. What is some good protein skimmers and powerheads?? I will even as much as try that. There is so many powerheads and protein skimmers out there... I dont know whats best. I believe myself its the oxygen

 

[saltwater8]

A great skimmer is a Coralife Super Skimmer, one of the best for the money.
A good powerhead is Aquaclear, try and get a less powerful one, I think some of the problem may be not enough oxygen in the water - the powerhead should take care of that.
I would try to use RO water if you can. There are many things in well water that are ok for human consumption, but very bad for fish. If you use tap water and not RO water, you should use a conditioner like Seachem Prime.
Were the fish eating ok?
Good Luck!
:happyfish

 

[brendac]

No they never really seemed to eat that well. I was giving them frozen food. I kinda think too that I need a powerhead.

 

[brendac]

I forgot to mention one thing... I have a star fish and one shrimp in there and have for a while now and they are doing fine... But the star fish stays at the very top of the water line just about... enough where he is in the water but at the top. Could be Oxygen huh???

 

[brendac]

I can stop the air on the powerhead that I had cause its too strong for a 30g... Would it still help with oxygen if I were to do that??

 

[promisetbg]

You need two powerheads,just get small ones. Like 2 X Maxi-jet 600 or 900. Put them at adjacent corners and cross the streams towards each other. Get alot of surface agitation going. As long as you do a water change every week and feed easy, you should be fine without a skimmer for now. The superskimmer won't work in the tank, you would need a sump. There are hang-on skimmers like the Aqua-C remora available. Regardless of it's size, your tank was too immature for an angel or a butterfly. And your acclimation method needs improvement. Float the bag, then open it and begin to add 1/2 cup of your tank water to the bag every fifteen minutes for at least an hour or more.{dump bag and resume if it gets too full}. Never put the water from the LFS in your tank, and test the SG. and PH of the water in the bag, this will give you an idea how much more you may need to acclimate and match the PH. Just a little squirt of amquel in the bag can also help to reduce stress and diminish any ammonia . Getting them home from the store in a timely manner is also important. And with it being summer, it's always a good idea to carry a small cooler with you to keep the temp even in the bags til you get home. Your SG. is a bit low for inverts, I suggest bumping it up to 1.025- 1.026 .Slowly. RO or RO/DI water is very important for success with marine tanks. This can be purchased at your LFS,at Walmart there are macines, or purchase your own unit. You do understand that the tank needs to be topped off daily to maintain the SG.? You should also know your phosphate and alkalinity level.

 

[kpptn]

I agree with promisetbg. Also, do you have cc or sand? How about LR? I would bring your temp down to the upper 70's. Is your hang on filter your only means of Bio filtration? Try starting with damsels, if they die then there is a 90% chance you have something in your water that you are unaware of. No matter what, the drip method is really effective. Just my opinions.