help me please!!!

[tunafish]

Let me start by explaining the situation.I have a 38 gallon reef tank with plenty of live rock and four fish. Yesterday i bought a fire reef angel and it was doing well. Tonight i check on him and he's dead. My nitrate, nitrite, pH, amonia, and salinity are perfect, The tank was doing great until now. The angel had ripped fins and appeared sam sidewtas while he was dying. If anyone has any thoughst on what may have happened please let me know, If you need more info, just let me know. please help!!!

 

[alyssia]

How old is your tank? What are your exact water parameters?
Do you mean a flame angel? How many other fish are in the tank?

 

[blitz99]

how did you acclimate him?

 

[granny]

Also - What else is in your tank?? Did you have another angel in there already? or any aggressive fish-like some mean damsels that survived cycling?

 

[tunafish]

my tank is 6 months old, i have 3 other fish in the tank, none of them aggressive. my nitrate is 10, my nirtrite is 0, my amonia is 0, and my salinity is perfect.i aclimated him for an hour or so in the bag before putting him in the tank

 

[beth]

Sounds to me like someone in your tank become aggressive with the new fish and he died of the shock of transfer + fish attack.
That tank is too small for angels, especially if you already have a lot of other fish in the tank.

 

[alyssia]

I agree with Beth. Also, what is your ph? What is your salinity? How are you measuring salinity, hydro or refractometer?

 

[tunafish]

I am using a hydrometer, my pH is 8.3. my other fish are a pixy hawk and a checkerboard wrasse

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by tunafish
I am using a hydrometer, my pH is 8.3. my other fish are a pixy hawk and a checkerboard wrasse
Can you be more specific about your 1 hour bag acclimation and what is the number of your perfect specific gravity.

 

[tunafish]

my salinity is 1.021 and maybe i aclimated him incorrectly, can you guys tell me how i should acclimate him?

 

[alyssia]

You should drip acclimate for 2 (or more) hours. I'm not sure about your salinity, I keep mine at 1.026 but I have inverts.

 

[anonome]

I always check the salinity in the bag that the specimen is in. You would be surprised at the difference. Your LFS can tell you one thing, but when you check, more than likely they are way off. I acclimate according to the reading of the water in the bag. Has always worked for me.

 

[blitz99]

if you want to bag acclimate you should float the bag for 15 minutes or so to adjust temp. then add in a cup or so of your tank water.. repeat this process in another 10 minutes and every 10 minutes after for an hour... then scoop the fish out with the net and let him free... you dont want to dump transfer water back in your tank.
thats an oversimplified version of acclimating fish, but thats how i am.. forget teh drip, too much for me.