Dah-nah's Saltwater Journal

dah-nah

Member
I hope this works...this is my first time posting pics on here! Enjoy!!
Look at that precious face!



"Pearl" is in the back left corner...gives you some idea how tiny she is!


If you look real hard you can see her!

Last one...she's hiding in her tube.
 

dah-nah

Member

"Pearl" passed on today. One minute she was fine (at least she seemed fine) the next minute she was dead.
I tested the water moments after I found her.
Temp: 78.4
Salinity: 1.027 (Could that 1 point have killed her and how could it have gone up?)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2.5 (I'm assuming that this mini spike was due to the pellet food that she was not eating and her own death)
Phosphate: 0
Did I do something wrong? Could the salinity going up that 1 point be what killed her? This is our first fish and I want to make sure that if it really was our fault that we don't repeat the same mistake again! While I did not see her eat any food that I was giving her and I wasn't overfeeding, I did see her eating critters off the glass. Also I only had her for a couple of days so I don't think it is possible that she starved to death. She also did not have a sunken look about her.
I'm at a loss here!!
 

rzande1

Member
What is your ammonia and ph? Maybe it was just too much of a shock for the fish? The salanity shouldnt be a problem. I have had mine go up that high before and it didnt kill anything. Maybe it was just time to drop for the fish.
 

dah-nah

Member
Should I be leaving the QT empty for a while just in case she was killed by a parasite and if so for how long?
 
A

azul1994

Guest
Well if it died in your dt it would take 6 weeks to be fishless to get rid of a parasite. You can't tell for sure did you notice any spots at all?
 

dah-nah

Member
I didn't see any spots on it at all (other than the two black spots under his mouth).
So should I wait 6 weeks before putting a new fish in the QT?
 

dah-nah

Member
It's been a while and I thought I should update my thread!
I've been kind of busy with my new puppy and I've been waiting until I could make the next step with our tanks. I left the QT tank fishless for 6 weeks since Pearl's death and during the wait my daughter ran in to yet some more bad luck. Her 24 gallon Aquapod cracked across the front of the tank one morning and flooded her bedroom. Luckily we noticed it immediately so there was no permanent damage to anything but the tank and the store did replace it but now it has to be set up all over again, beginning the cycle anew.
The parameters on the QT are as of yesterday;
Temp: 80.5
Salinity: 1.027
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
Yesterday I bought my first fish (Carpenters Flasher Wrasse). I'm so paranoid cause our first saltwater fish died so quickly, I keep trying to peek around the corner to make sure he is alive without letting him see me. I don't want to stress him out.
Wish me luck!
 

dah-nah

Member
A bit of good news...this morning I witnessed my new Flasher Wrasse eating the pellet food that I put in the tank. It looks like he won't be a picky eater. If he'll eat a bit of that in the morning and I give him frozen Cyclopeez in the evening that should be good as far as diet?
 

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dah-nah
http:///forum/post/2646812
A bit of good news...this morning I witnessed my new Flasher Wrasse eating the pellet food that I put in the tank. It looks like he won't be a picky eater. If he'll eat a bit of that in the morning and I give him frozen Cyclopeez in the evening that should be good as far as diet?
I would not use pellet food. It will collect on the bottom. I would only use frozen foods and stay away from brine shrimp unless it is Spirulina Enriched. I used to use 5 diffrent types of frozen food to make sure they get a little of everything but just a week ago made my own and they LOVE it and its 10 times cheaper
 

dah-nah

Member
Can you put a small CUC in a QT?
I wouldn't mind having a handful of snails, maybe an emerald crab, to keep the QT clean.
 

fish addict

Member
I don't see any problems with adding a clean up crew now but remember if you ever treat the tank with copper for ich, chemicals, or lower the salinity a lot then they will have to be moved because they can't survive the same things fish can. Also I think it would be a good idea to put a small bowl of sand in the QT if you ever get another jawfish because they do dig in the sand, so that makes it important to have a nice thick sand bed for them in their permanent home too. Your plan sounds good and its fun that your whole family likes saltwater fish (because then they don't think you're crazy!)
Just trying to help!
Fish Addict
 

gatorwpb

Active Member
I have never set up a QT, but from what Ive read, youre not supposed to have live rock or sand in there.
See what you can find using the search function of this website, but I believe that the LR can serve as a place for the parasites to hide (if there are any). I agree about the CUC too, because the idea of a QT is that you can use copper or hyposalinity to kill off the parasites both of which would also kill off the inverts.
Your jawfish could have just been a victim of shock or random bad luck. It doesnt seem like you did anythying to cause his/her death. Keep up the good work though, in time your dedication will result in a nice tank with healthy inhabitants
 
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