Did a Feather Duster push me over the top?

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
I've got a 12-gallon nano that's been up and running for about 2 months. I have a clean up crew, peppermint shrimp, a false perc and a scooter blenny. All were doing great until Friday. Thursday night I had purchased a feather duster and when I got home Friday night my clown was hanging around the top of the tank with a filmy/glazed look over his eyes and the blenny was looking pale and breathing hard on the bottom. I immediately started doing a water change and watched closely as the night went on - the clown started looking better, but in the morning he was hermit crab food and I couldn't find the blenny so I assumed he buried himself and died. WHY? I know I can't have much in a 12-gallon tank but would the addition of one feather duster push the eco-balance so far out of whack that I would lose two fish in 24 hours?!?!? I went into this with the intention of making this my experimental/learning tank and I guess I'm learning, the hard way. I figured I could keep pushing until I started seeing a danger zone and then I'd know to back off but I didn't get any warning - they were gone so fast. I guess this is part of why everyone says tiny tanks are SO hard to keep. Even the slightest fluctuation can kill fish that fast? Or did I have something else going on and the FD was coincidence? Seems hard to believe - all was fine until I added the FD. And yes, the water parameters the night they died were bad but I didn't think they were horrible enough to kill them that fast:
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: .15
Nitrate: 30
SG: .024
Temp: 78
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated. I have since "started all over again". I wanted to find the blenny's body and get it out of there so that meant removing all the live rock and then sifting through the live sand. By then I figured I may as well stir it up good, do a big water change, and start all over. Through all this stress the feather duster hasn't tossed his crown - I'm shocked. He doesn't look great but he's out there trying.
Sue
 
dse

dse

Member
ammonia is well to high.
and trites too
how long has your tank been running?
sorry to hear about you clown and possibly your blenny too
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by SrgVigil
http:///forum/post/2764148
Was the ammonia and nitrite reading caused because of the die off?
Those water readings were taken from the water that I found the ailing clown and blenny in. As I was siphoning some out to do a water change I grabbed a cup of it to do a test on after I got some new water in there. I guess those levels might be what killed the fish but they were FINE Friday morning and dead Friday night. (I guess they weren't "fine" Friday morning but they looked healthy). I can't imagine why things went bad so fast after the addition of the FD. Maybe there's a dead snail around somewhere, but is that enough to do it that quickly?? I'm all for learning from my mistakes but it's hard when I'm not sure what I did wrong.
Sue
 
jaymz

jaymz

Member
I think i was the poor water that did them in, it was only a matter of time like a ticking time bomb. Adding the worm did not kill them with extra bioload but it could of started the stress out. anytime you have your hands in the tank moving, adding, taking stuff it stress out the fish.
Just do a large water change and re-cycle the tank. Then just keep up on water changes. Those small tanks are very unforgiving to not keeping up on water changes.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by It's Chuck
http:///forum/post/2764393
when was the last time last time you check your water previously, have you added any new rock lately?
I had checked the water during lunch on Thursday to be sure it was OK to go get a feather duster after work. I used the dip sticks and everything was either in "ideal" or "acceptable" range. No, no new rock added.
Originally Posted by SrgVigil
http:///forum/post/2764481
How long had the tank been set up?
The Tank is about 7 weeks old.
Originally Posted by Jaymz
http:///forum/post/2764517
I think i was the poor water that did them in, it was only a matter of time like a ticking time bomb. Adding the worm did not kill them with extra bioload but it could of started the stress out. anytime you have your hands in the tank moving, adding, taking stuff it stress out the fish.
Very good point. They may have been slowly dying and the stress of me adding something to the tank may have stressed them to failure. D*mn it all.
Just do a large water change and re-cycle the tank. Then just keep up on water changes. Those small tanks are very unforgiving to not keeping up on water changes.
Did about a 40% water change yesterday after stirring up all the sand and rearranging all the stone. I'm now seeing a spike in the ammonia and nitrites, I imagine from stirring the stone. Hopefully the water will be in good shape in a week or so? I don't imagine I'm going to see too much of a cycle and if I do it should complete quickly, right?
Sue
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
Originally Posted by Rotarymagic
http:///forum/post/2764791
get a protein skimmer too....
A protein skimmer isn't needed. Just do regular water changes, and I saw your other thread, I would definitely ditch the strips and start testing with the vials. Good luck Sue.
 
luca brasi

luca brasi

Member

Originally Posted by SueAndHerZoo
http:///forum/post/2764745
I had checked the water during lunch on Thursday to be sure it was OK to go get a feather duster after work. I used the dip sticks and everything was either in "ideal" or "acceptable" range. No, no new rock added.
The Tank is about 7 weeks old.
Did about a 40% water change yesterday after stirring up all the sand and rearranging all the stone. I'm now seeing a spike in the ammonia and nitrites, I imagine from stirring the stone. Hopefully the water will be in good shape in a week or so? I don't imagine I'm going to see too much of a cycle and if I do it should complete quickly, right?
Sue
Stirring the sand will definitely increase your nitrate reading. I usually try to do as little as possible.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by subielover
http:///forum/post/2765024
A protein skimmer isn't needed. Just do regular water changes, and I saw your other thread, I would definitely ditch the strips and start testing with the vials. Good luck Sue.
Thanks - I really don't want to get involved with a skimmer for this tank because the plan is to go bigger and better in December or January and use this as a quarantine tank. THEN I will get a skimmer.
I'll continue using the test vials when the readings are really critical - like before adding a fish, after some sort of change, etc. Maybe I'll just save the strips for times when I just need a quick, routine overview.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Sue
 
keebler

keebler

Member
Your allowed three mistakes in this hobby, just kidding. I like to think of a tank as a two year project. It is better to do things over the course of several months especially when you are a beginner. Good luck and keep on keeping on.
 
srgvigil

srgvigil

Member
Originally Posted by SueAndHerZoo
http:///forum/post/2764745
I had checked the water during lunch on Thursday to be sure it was OK to go get a feather duster after work. I used the dip sticks and everything was either in "ideal" or "acceptable" range. No, no new rock added.
Sue
Stick tests can be very inaccurate
 
cedarreef

cedarreef

Member
that's the thing I hate about small tanks... something dies n crashes the tank... all you can really do is just wait n take things VERY slowly... a skimmer wouldnt hurt... I've seen nano skimmers
 
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