Help Me Quick Again, Please!!!

[ntvflgirl]

Well, If you've been reading my posts you know I'm having problems with my tank. I only have one fish in my 55 gallon, a sailfin tang. Today, he is lying on his side on the bottom. I don't know if it's because of the ammonia, which has come down to less than .25, but now I've notice this morning that the temp in my tank has dropped from 74 to 70, overnight. He's on his last leg, and I wonder now if it's the temp or the ammonia. What do you think?

 

[vickilee]

Rory:
Do you have a fish supply store that has hospital tanks that you can take him too.
It does sound like he is on his last leg and doesn't have time for your to figure out what's wrong with his environment.
I have a fish store provider and they take any of my sick fish and treat them or at least get them in a healthy environment until the problem in your tank corrects itself.
You probably need a heater to keep your water temp at a constant.
Sorry your have such problems.

 

[ntvflgirl]

Vicki,
I already asked them and they said no!! You would think they would take him and hold him for me...especially since I've spent about a thousand dollars there lately!!
Thanks for responding.

 

[shoer]

Man seems like you have had some hard times lately. After he dies i would prob do a large water change and let your tank sit for a while with maybe some dams or nothing but add some ammonia to promote bacteria growth. Hope you get it all worked out......

 

[ntvflgirl]

Thanks, me too. I tried to be so careful, adding things very slowly. I hate to lose this fish. When I do a water change, am I supposed to add an ammonia source? It definately won't be damsels, because I hate them. I do have a sally lighfoot, and a conch. Would this be enough of an ammonia source until I get the water stabilized?

 

[dburr]

Where are you getting your water from?
If it is DI or RO/DI, IMO, I would do a 50% water change. Be careful that the temp and salinity are the same as the tank.
Ammonia is at .25? That is high. Did you add anything or more disturb the sand bed? Maybe moving rocks or a powerhead blew it around?
What are the other parameters at?
PH
KH
Temp
Salanity
Nitrite
Nitrate
Is the heater working properly? Is your tank near a heater or window?
I got alot of questions, but lets gets the basics down first.
Good luck.

 

[vickilee]

Rory:
Can you do another water change? I don't really think at this point adding bacteria will help to save your fish only if your trying to establish you tank if the fish dies.
Try another small water change 10% and make sure your PH stays up.
As always, try to do the least amount of chemicals as possible.
I'd find a new fish store in town to. After all the money you spent there they should be more then willing to help you save a fish.
Is the sailfin breathing real heavy or just lying on the bottom?

 

[ntvflgirl]

Vicki,
interesting question. He does not seem to be having diffuculty breathing. He's just resting on the bottom. That's why I wondered if it was the temperature. To answer dburr's questions:
PH 8.2
KH ?
Temp 72
Salanity sg-1.023
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Is the heater working properly? Is your tank near a heater or window?
Told by the lfs (dummies) that I wouldn't need a heater. Yes, the tank is near a window on an outside wall. And it's 55 here today.
I'm on my way out in about 10 minutes...I guess I should get a heater??

 

[dburr]

I just read the other thread.
I think another water change would be good, maybe 20% min.
If you see ick ( wait a couple days to be sure), get a hospital tank and try hyposalanity. Check in the disease forum and you can see alot of info there. Beth is great at answering questions.
BTW, sailfin tangs get big, are you upgrading soon?
HTH

 

[vickilee]

70 is a little cool, but I really wouldn't think it's what causing the major stress on him. The worst thing in the amonia, but although .25 is high it's better then what it was. The poor little guy has been through alot of change and as had been said before too little is better then too much. He needs a stable environment where the chemistry levels, temp, etc stay approximately the same all the time, as will all of your inhabitants.
If I were you I'd get a heater and try to raise the temp up to 72 slowly and then to 74, etc. nothing tooo drastic too fast. and I would definately do another small water change.
Small steps.

 

[ntvflgirl]

My sailfin is only an inch and a half long...a juvenile. I know he will get too big, I just wanted to enjoy him for awhile, and then give him to someone with a larger tank. I don't think he is going to make it through the day. I think I do see some ich on his dorsal fin. If he does die, should I treat my whole tank for ich? I know nothing about ich, but I did lose a whole tank to it about 7 years ago, when I knew absolutely nothing about how to care for a sw tank. Now I'm obsessed with it. So my question is, when he dies, what then?

 

[dburr]

Where do you live?
Yes, get a heater. The window will keep the water colder in winter and hotter in summer.
72 is alittle cold for that fish. I keep my temp at 79. Prolly 150 watt is good.
The world average of reefs is 82.
KH is alkalinity. It should be kept at min 80 PPM/ 120 PPM is norm.
How about water source?

 

[dburr]

If he doesn't make it, keep the tank void of any fish for aleast 4 weeks. The ich will have nothing to feed on and die.

 

[ntvflgirl]

Ro water from walmart. I tested it for ammonia...it was zero. I live in Panama City, Florida, but it is 55 here today. You think 150 heater will heat my 55 gallon?

 

[ntvflgirl]

What about sally and fighting conch? And could I add a cleaner shrimp?

 

[dburr]

Ich does not bother anything but fish.
You can try a cleaner, but it does sound like that will help you today and you will be adding fuel to the fire in regards to the ammonia. I would just do another 20% water change and wait and see for now.
150 watt heater is what I had in my 55.
Or you can do 2-75 watt. (if 1 goes bad it wont over heat your tank before you catch it).
Let us know if he makes it. Good luck.

 

[ntvflgirl]

Thanks, I'm off to buy a heater.

 

[itchy]

Okay Rory....I hope your sailfin is still alive. The best thing I can suggest is to move him to a Hypo hospital tank. The hypo tank will help him as far as ich, if that is what he has and also on oxygen demand . This will help the fish to stabilize if its not to late. The best thing for a heater is to have 2 smaller heaters in the event one goes bad the other will still work. Now....use the water from your display tank or use a portion of it and then use new water...almost as if you were going to do a water change. This will help the fish to adjust. Drop your salinty over a period of 24 hours okay...to help the fish adjust. You need to keep the hypo tank at 1.009 in order to work and leave him there over a period of a few weeks. My yellow tang is in a hypo solution as we speak and she is about 4 inches and is in a 10 gallon hospital so the hospital tank need not be very large as this is only a temp. home for your fish. It may take some time to get rid of the ich but you should be able to tell a difference in the fishes behavior in about 48-72 hours. Well good luck and Please find you another LFS that is more customer friendly. I had a problem here with one that I used , it may not hurt them very much that I don't go in there anymore but I dont recommend them either so 1 mad customer turns to 10 or more. So who has the last laugh?
Robyn

 

[ntvflgirl]

GUESS WHAT!! He's still alive. I hooked the heater up at about noon today. I wanted to get 2 small ones, but I could only find a 50 watt, and a 150 watt. What to do. Anyway, I bought ther 150 watt as it was a slight emergency. I heated up 2 gallons of ro water on the stove, and poured it in the tank slowly. Within about 5 minutes he started to perk up. Now he is alot perkier, but still hiding in the corner, except for one time when he swam across the whole tank, but could hardly get back because of the powerhead flow. I don't see any ich on him. Those spots I saw earlier must have been silt or something because they are gone. And now my sally lightfoot has molted. Is that due to a temp change? Anyway, thanks for all your help guys. WHOOPEE!!

 

[moraymike]

Cool Good Luck!