Completely Baffled (Long read, but need help)

[brandons]

Ok this story goes back to a bit over a week ago when I purchased two false percs. I put them in the tank and all was well the first night. The next day they were fine, but I left and came back in the evening to find the one sucked up against my overflow box. I took him off and he fell to the bottom and kept swimming around all topsie-turbie w/out using his tail fin and breathing really fast. He died shortly after. I checked the water and the LFS I purchased them at did as well. We both got the same readings:
PH 8.1
Amm: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
SG: 1.024
So I went two days ago and purchased 3 blue chromis damsels, because I heard they were pretty hardy. I put them in the tank and w/in a few minutes they were swimming around in their small school all over the tank. The next day I came home and one was on the bottom of the tank on his side breathing really heavy. I took him out and disposed of him. Then again today I saw the one was hanging out down in the rock work not moving. I later found him on his side breathing heavy as well. I took him out.
I took my readings today and they are the same as above.
Before all the fish I purchased a Cleaner Shrimp and I have 7 Mexican Turbos. They are all fine. The two living fish are fine and swimming around. I have around 55lbs of LR 40lbs of LS, a protein skimmer, and I'm putting 600gph through the tank. The tank water stays steady at 80.xx all the time. I can't for the life of me figure out what is wrong. There are feather dusters growing on the LR and I'm finding new ones every day so it seems they are multiplying.
All in all everything seems good with the tank except for the fish deing. I'm going to set up a quarantine tank for the next fish I buy, but with only the prior fish I didn't quarantine because I didn't have a tank that would have died.
Thanks for any help and sorry it was long.
Oh the Percs were bought at a seperate store from the Chromis. And the tank has been up for 3 weeks.

 

[krazekajin]

How are you acclimating these fish?

 

[20gallon]

What test kit are you using?
3 weeks seems like a quick "cycle" to me

 

[brandons]

I was acclimating them per the fish store. Float the bag for 15 minutes to do even temp. Then add 1/2 cup of my water to their bag every 10 minutes for 45 minutes to an hour. The tank never really cycled for some reason. I saw a small <.25 on the ammonia, but other than that I never saw anything.
I wouldn't blame the cycling because I've been testing the water and haven't seen any ammonia or nitrites. Also do to the fact that I'm having Nitrates now (was zero when first set up) tells me in my mind that all that bacteria that needs to be there is there.
When I added the LR and LS both were fully cured and the fish store was only 20 minutes away. I'm thinking that I had very minimal die off on the rock therefor the bacteria stayed on it fine.
Maybe it's the way they are having me acclimate, but both stores the directions were the same for acclimation and I can't imagine they'd want people to acclimate fish in a manner they'd die. Noone would buy fish if they kept deing all the time.
I'm just baffled and really have no clue.

 

[20gallon]

You answered your problem & also contradicted yourself in the same paragraph honestly when you said it never really cycled then saying you wouldn't blame the cycle. You need to see the ammonia & nitrites spike to go through your cycle. I think you jumped the gun adding livestock. Patience is the key.
Originally Posted by BrandonS
I was acclimating them per the fish store. Float the bag for 15 minutes to do even temp. Then add 1/2 cup of my water to their bag every 10 minutes for 45 minutes to an hour. The tank never really cycled for some reason. I saw a small <.25 on the ammonia, but other than that I never saw anything.
I wouldn't blame the cycling because I've been testing the water and haven't seen any ammonia or nitrites. Also do to the fact that I'm having Nitrates now (was zero when first set up) tells me in my mind that all that bacteria that needs to be there is there.
When I added the LR and LS both were fully cured and the fish store was only 20 minutes away. I'm thinking that I had very minimal die off on the rock therefor the bacteria stayed on it fine.
Maybe it's the way they are having me acclimate, but both stores the directions were the same for acclimation and I can't imagine they'd want people to acclimate fish in a manner they'd die. Noone would buy fish if they kept deing all the time.
I'm just baffled and really have no clue.

 

[krazekajin]

I agree. With my tanks my cycle sometimes lasted almost two months. Three weeks for an unnoticable cycle is not enough time. I think that you can jump start a cycle by adding a raw shrimp, because as it decomposes, it gives off ammonia which cycles a tank. If you did not have any type of raw shrimp and was just cycling an empty tank, then when you began to add livestock after three weeks, you were adding waste which actually started the cycle then.

 

[rslinger]

Yeah but if the rock was cured then you should not have a cycle. the same if you cure it in a garbage can at home you would not expect a cycle. IMO you have cycled. You did not have any die off so, no high levels. something else is wrong. What kinda of water are you using? What kinda of filter? IMO the cycle is the process of growing bacteria to turn amm into nitrate, and if you started with no nitrate and now have it, it must be done.