Fish die but inverts do fine

Eyeballeater

Eyeballeater

New Member
Hi all, First post here....wish it was better circumstances!

Wondering if I can get some guidance. For some reason I can't seem to keep fish alive in my tank no matter what, yet inverts like featherdusters, blue leg crabs, astrea snails, copepods and amphipods all do good.

Everything is drip acclimated (3-4 drops per second) and have bought fish from separate stores.

I've tried 3 fish. Yellow tail damsel, Purple dottyback and a Orange marked goby. Dottyback lived the longest, about 3 weeks.

Tank was cycled and has been up for a couple months.

Ammonia, Nitrites at 0 and Nitrates are at 5 (API test kit). pH is at 8.4 (API test and digital) and sg is at 1.022-1.023. (3 different hydrometers, Refractometer coming this week.) Water changes every week. Have my own RO/DI unit and TDS is at 0. Running some carbon, Purigen and PhosGuard, so that should eliminate silicates and phosphates.

My tank is a 75 Gal and I have 100lbs of live rock (nicely cured, covered in coralline) Filter is a fluval C4 (running media) Remora skimmer with the maxijet 1200 and 2 850GPH Aqueon powerheads. Lighting is a quad T5 fixture.

Appreciate any help!
TIA
 
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Eyeballeater

Eyeballeater

New Member
I know, that's what really making this hard for me to troubleshoot. I've always thought too that if the water is off (toxins, meds, acclimation), Inverts are the first to die!

I have my temp set at 80
 
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flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Did you get all of your fish from the same place? If so, you might want to try purchasing your fish from another source. Saltwaterfish.com sells fish, and they have a 14 day guarantee... That guarantee is worth it's weight in gold. Also, putting any new fish in quarantine for 4 weeks will allow you to determine if the problem is your display or the fish themselves...
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
How much time between each fish addition?

It is possible the first fish had a disease and infected the tank now each additional fish is infected once it gets into the tank.

Since they were purchased at different stores it is unlikely they all had the same pre purchase issues unless the distributor is the same

Another possible would be that they had velvet but the store had a low dose of copper in the water holding it at bay until it got to your tank where there was no copper.

It is all speculation. I agree with flower that you should QT for a month or so. That way problems won't affect the rest of your tank and it may be easier to trouble shoot. I also agree the guarantee that comes with on line fish is worth it's weight in gold.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
See iam a lfs guy. I like to see the exact fish I'am buying. But most wont guarantee sw fish
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
I have been buying a lot from DD for that reason. I do have one fish store that I do buy fish from but their selection is not great.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I'am a lfs stalker lol. I watch fish I like for about a week. If they still look good for him then I buy. I've had my eye on a pair of blue throat triggers for a month now. Sold every fish w them , but them lol
 
Eyeballeater

Eyeballeater

New Member
The fish came from different stores. After the first death, I let my tank sit empty for a couple months just in case it infected the tank. I now have a QT tank. I have a 1 1/2 drive to the closest fish store....
 
T

Tatertot

New Member
Your pH seems a bit high; I would try to fix that. A pH of 8.1 can be pretty high for some fish. Are any of the inverts being aggressive to the fish? Are there enough hiding places? Make sure there are more hiding spots than creatures in the tank.
 
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