Can't keep new fish alive - What am I doing wrong???

[jmadden93]

Hi All,
I'm trying to figure out why I have such poor success keeping new fish alive. My knowledge level is decent, but there's plenty I don't know and I'm always trying to learn more. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong!
I have a 125gal FOWLR tank that's been running for about 5 years (only 4 med/small fish the last 2 years so not much bio load). For water changes I use water from my 5 stage RO/DI filter and mix with Instant ocean salt for about a day before using. The LFS says my water is good, and I follow slow acclimation process of replacing a small amount of LFS bag water with water from my tank over the course of 1-1.5hrs.
This last time around I used an 20gal isolation tank (with a big skimmer, live rock, & 50% from my established tank) and still couldn't keep a few fish alive. I had two butterflys (Auriga & Copperband) and two dwarf angels (pygmy & Tibicen). Only the pygmy is still alive. They all ate well except the copperband. The copperband got some disease where he had cotton like growths on him, and the Auriga got open wounds on his body a week later (pics below). I treated the 20gal tank with API Furan-2 with no luck (fish died before full treatment could be applied). The pygmy is alive and well. I have a wide variety of food that i try to coat with Seachem Garlic Guard to get the fish to eat. I usually give them a mix of plankton, bloodworms, mysis, krill, brine, fish eggs then the usual flakes and pellet.
Should I just always use copper in my isolation tank just to kill off any diseases with new fish? My LFS said if I really wanted to I could put copper in my 125g tank but that everything but the fish would die. I'm not sure I want that route just yet (seems like a last resort).
My equipment:
Tons of live rock & crushed coral
Big Sump with bioballs & more live rock in sump
Big Protein Skimmer
UV Sterilizer
3 Hydor Koralia 1 Powerheads
72" Coralive CF Lighting with 12k bulbs
RedSea Merlin 120 Fluidized bio chem filter (got this from a friend recently and haven't used it yet. Not exactly sure what it does)

 

[flower]

Hi, welcome to the site.
You shouldn't have live rock in the quarantine tank. Just a cascade (penguin type) filter and a piece of PVC pipe for the fish to hide. Paint the outside of the QTs bottom black and leave the bottom without substrate. Have the filter run on your 125g for a few weeks to build up some good bacteria on the media...you could even toss a couple of your bioballs...into the QT. You don't need a skimmer on the QT. An air line (without the stone) will add some extra surface movement if you don't have a nano power head for the 20g.
I wouldn't feed the fish flakes or pellets ever, and bloodworms are for freshwater fish. Plankton feeds corals and filter feeding inverts like fan worms...again, not for fish. Try frozen mysis shrimp, take a fish net and put a 1/2 cube of food in it and thaw it under running water...then as a final rinse use the RO water, then invert the net in the tank. That way you rinse the frozen food and not add phosphates to the system. keeping the lights dim will help with stress. The bottled garlic is a waste of money.
It doesn't matter what equipment you have if the fish die in quarantine. You should have your own lab type test kits. Last...get your fish from a different place. This site sells fish with a 14 day guarantee. It really sounds like the fish you are getting is like shopping at *****...that means I think the fish are sick before you bring them home.

 

[jmadden93]

Hi Flower,
So I tested my water today and Amonia & Nitrite are 0 ppm. Nitrate is about 15ppm. SG is 1.016 (I hear a lower SG helps keep sickness away). What affect does a low SG have on fish long term? Don't have a pH kit but I've heard with that much crushed coral and water changes you should be okay (I'll get a pH kit now).
I'll follow your directions for the QT (painting, removing skimmer, live rock, etc). Thanks!
The general consensus for my DT is I have too much algae, and i need to check my water quality more. I have a few ideas I wanted to share.
1) Would something like a "2 little fishes phosban phosphate reactor" do any good for me? I can get one for about $35.
2) The way I have my rock set up is that I put the nicer more decorative/fragile pieces on top of the stronger more solid rock. This means I never really get my siphon hose under that rock when doing water changes. I'm only vacuuming the front half of the tank. Maybe another arrangement that lets me vacuum more floor space is better and worth trying? Is that significant?
Thanks for all your help!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmadden93 http:///t/390799/cant-keep-new-fish-alive-what-am-i-doing-wrong#post_3462602
Hi Flower,
So I tested my water today and Amonia & Nitrite are 0 ppm. Nitrate is about 15ppm. SG is 1.016 (I hear a lower SG helps keep sickness away). What affect does a low SG have on fish long term? Don't have a pH kit but I've heard with that much crushed coral and water changes you should be okay (I'll get a pH kit now).
I'll follow your directions for the QT (painting, removing skimmer, live rock, etc). Thanks!
The general consensus for my DT is I have too much algae, and i need to check my water quality more. I have a few ideas I wanted to share.
1) Would something like a "2 little fishes phosban phosphate reactor" do any good for me? I can get one for about $35.
2) The way I have my rock set up is that I put the nicer more decorative/fragile pieces on top of the stronger more solid rock. This means I never really get my siphon hose under that rock when doing water changes. I'm only vacuuming the front half of the tank. Maybe another arrangement that lets me vacuum more floor space is better and worth trying? Is that significant?
Thanks for all your help!
The reactor is a good one, I have it on my 56g seahorse tank. You need GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) to put in it.
Your rock on the DT is just fine as long as it's stable. I have never in my life vacuumed a saltwater tank. I get snails and hermit crabs to clean my sand and stir it up. It's called a CUC (clean up crew) I also have a few serpent or brittle stars (not the green brittle) to keep the rocks clean.
I love the rock work on your tank, you have some awesome shapes. Fish really don't care much about nitrates, but corals and inverts do. Under 20 is okay...below 10 is better and 0 is perfect.
Regular water changes will keep the nitrates down.
Your best move will be to order your fish online. You want that guarantee. Wait until you have all the test kits. I use a Seachem multi kit, it's cheaper to buy a master kit than each test individually. Once you have your QT all set and cycled...order one fish at a time or two small ones. Quarantine each fish 4 weeks to look for disease or injury. Treat any sickness in the QT, never the DT. You should also acclimate the fish to the DT just like it was new...you should have no trouble keeping your fish alive.
I have never used lower SG, BTLDreef says it eases stress on the fish, not all agree...you can PM her for more info.