Damsel Died

paige

New Member
My tank has been set up for 16 days now, with 3 damsels (for 13 days) and a tomato clown (for a week). The smallest/weakest looking damsel died this morning. It did not look very healthy to me from the beginning. The nitrites seem to be on the rise. It appears to be between .5 and 1.0 (using the dip strips). The ph is running a little on the low side around 7.8. I had the water tested Saturday at the the lfs and they told me not to add anything for the ph, it was probably because of the cycle but it's been about 7.8 since the day I first tested it. I figured that I would come here for advice. Seems to me, people here are more informitive. Should I do anything?
 

birdy

Active Member
There is really not much you can do during the cycle, but let nature take its course, I would have recommended not using fish to cycle your tank with, but it is too late now. Don't worry about pH until your cycle is over, then you can do water changes to get things back to normal. You may want to consider getting a better test kit, I have heard that those test strips are not very accurate. I like the sea test kits for the basic stuff, and saliferts tests for the more complicated stuff.
 

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
i would stop all feeding until the nitrItes came down.
with new fish and a ph drop, I suspect carbon dioxide has built up. I would add plant life to consume the carbon dioxide as well at phosphates, nitrates and ammonia.
 

birdy

Active Member
Many tanks take a lot longer than 2wks to cycle, and she just had another thing die in there which will cause another small spike, She may loose more fish.
 

doodle1800

Active Member

Originally posted by Birdy
Many tanks take a lot longer than 2wks to cycle, and she just had another thing die in there which will cause another small spike, She may loose more fish.

right - I didn't think her tank cycled completely, but I thought sometimes in the middle of the cycle it didn't hurt to take some of the stress off the fish by doing a small change. Maybe not though - best thing might be to leave it alone. Not to be a bummer but a Tomato clown in there this quick is kinda bad. Cycling with any fish is stressful on the fish. I would have used LR to do it. Just My O.
 

paige

New Member
I know adding the tomato was bad... now! I did not find this forum until later on the day I added it. :nervous: But he's in there now, and I'd like to find a way to keep him from dieing if at all possible.
 

doodle1800

Active Member
Tell us more about your tank - what kind of filter, water circulation (powerheads), lights, bottom (sand or crushed coral) Live Rock?
 

paige

New Member
Be patient with me on this one. I am still new to saltwater. I have had a freshwater tank all of my life. I decided it was time for something new so I went to saltwater.
I have crushed coral, Regent Aqua-Tech 20-40 Power Filter (I used when the tank was freshwater), and a 20w fluorescent bulb. I don't have any live rock yet. I was also told at the lfs that I needed a skilter so I have one of those running. Supreme Skilter 250.
 

doodle1800

Active Member
Ok - you're doing ok so far. The first thing here is you want to keep these fish alive so lets try to do that for now. In the mean time do a lot of reading on this board and get a few books and try to learn as much as you can. After awhile you'll decide on changing your substrate maybe to sand, or get a better skimmer, and lighting and some LR (live rock). Back to the fish though. I would go and get some powerheads ($17) that hang on your tank and circulate the water. Next thing I'd do is get some LR in there, but wait a few weeks so your cycle is complete. Putting LR in there now will cause another mini cycle - an ammonia spike from the die off of the rock. Even cured LR has some die off. Try to buy a few lbs so the fish have a place to hide. But the best thing to do right now is not do too much, don't try to correct things yourself with chemicals and such (PH adjuster). Let the tank settle down and complete its cycle. Top the water off with purified water from the supermarket - <$1 per gallon. Topping off with tap water will cause high algae growth. So for now stay away from tap water. After the cycle do a water change of about 3-5 gals. Mix your salt the day before in another container that is clean - never used before would be best. Let the water settle for a day to the right temperature and measure the salinty to match your tank.
So - get at least 1 power head in there for now, top off with purified water, wait for cycle to complete in 2 weeks I would think, do a partial water change. Then add some LR.
Hope this helps. Lot of info - sorry..
 

birdy

Active Member
Doodle you are right, she could do water changes to bring those levels down a bit. I usually recommend no water changes during a cycle (but I also usually recommend using shrimp). But you can change water during the entire cycle. I believe one of the sharks wamp cycles a tank doing water changes the entire time so that he doesn't kill any of the life on is rock and sand. It is one of those things, I think it take quite a bit longer to cycle this way an obviously there is the expense of new saltwater all the time. But that choice is available.
 

doodle1800

Active Member
What I don't like about cycling with shrimp is most beginners do not know how to do this. Questions like where do I get the shrimp - frozen, not, how long do I let it sit in the tank? How much shrimp do I use, etc, etc... It seems dirty to me too. I like the idea of cycling with LR personally.
Anyways......
paige - test your water again and let us know the results.
 

reefnoob

Member
just a thought here, but what about a QT tank for the fish? At least the clown? mix up some fresh water, get a small tank with bare necessities and put him in his hotel room until the cycle is over. Budget could be a concern, but I just got a whole 10g QT setup for less than 50 bucks..
I'm new at this two,, just surprised nobody brought that up yet..
 

doodle1800

Active Member

Originally posted by Reefnoob
I'm new at this two,, just surprised nobody brought that up yet..

I did think of this but I thought she had enough to handle for now. She'd have to aclimate it again, etc... her water params aren't that bad I didn't think.
 

paige

New Member
I had another sample of water tested at the lfs today. They said it looks ok to them. I guess I am a little cautious since I lost that Damsel this morning. She said there wasn't really any levels that were too bad off.
Thanks for all of the help. I feel silly with some of the things I ask about, but I was always taught that the only stupid question is the one not asked. :notsure:
 
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