Bad water?

cfritz8770

Member
I need some major help....
Last week I had a major die-off in my 29gal tank. I got some great help, tested all my parameters - it has been 4 days and a major (7gal) water change later. all parameters are testing fine -
I got 2 damsels to start over and lost 1 in 3 hours!!!! the other is in major distress, laying and heavy breathing.
I still have a choc chip starfish & 1 snail that seem okay - what in the world is wrong with my water and how do I fix it?
Do I need to start all over - tear down tank totally?
 

karajay

Active Member
Do you know what caused your major die-off? It may be something you are not testing for.
 

nas19320

Active Member
It would also help to tell us what you tested for and what the values are. Also what salt are you using?
 

cfritz8770

Member
no. I had a lot of red slime algea and had pretty much gotten rid of it using Chemclean.
I suspect that I created this problem by using a rubbermaid 10gal bucket to "age" my tap water... I think perhaps something 'leached' off the bucket into the water I used for my water changes in the beginning of October - the die off happened in a 2 week period. I'm really depressed and ready to quit!
 

cfritz8770

Member
my ph is 8.3
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 0
tank is 4 months old
I use instant ocean as the salt mix, prime and ph 8.3 to stabilize the water. I mixed all but the salt in the bucket & used that for top off then added salt to a smaller container when I did water changes.
 

karajay

Active Member

Originally posted by cfritz8770
I got 2 damsels to start over and lost 1 in 3 hours!!!! the other is in major distress, laying and heavy breathing.

Maybe this could have been due to acclimation stress.
IMO, run some carbon and leave your tank fishless for a few weeks.
I've used a rubbermaid to mix water. Was there anything else your bucket was used for besides saltwater?
 

cfritz8770

Member
no, I bought it brand new to use specifically for the tank...
(fyi - the lfs I got them from had trouble catching them - could this have stressed them out so bad that even doing a correct acclimation wouldn't destress?)
 

karajay

Active Member

Originally posted by cfritz8770
could this have stressed them out so bad that even doing a correct acclimation wouldn't destress?

Yup! This same thing happened to two damsels I bought once. LFS chased 'em all over, knocked over rocks and decorations, hit 'em with their net trying to catch 'em. Doomed.
Sorry for your losses. :(
 

cfritz8770

Member
well -- I've decided to try to salvage what I have -- I'm putting my starfish & snail in my qt tank & draining & starting over....
??? can the starfish survive in a 5 gal tank for 4-6 weeks???
thanks
 
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