Help Please

[rcmcg]

Last week I wrote saying my coral beauty had died with all tank peramaters (nitrates, nitrites, ph, ammonia) stable and normal. Salinity was a little high 1.025 I think. Today Salinity is at 1.024. Saturday morning the lawnmower blennie had died and this morning the yellow tang has died. The lawnmower blennie had appeared healthy until we found him dead. The tang stresses easily, even a water change upsets him for a day, and was looking better the day before the lawnmower died.
Obviously we are missing something. There are no obvious sign of disease, what should I be checking or looking for? We only have hermit crabs and a percula clown left. We are leaving on vacation Wednesday, so if we don't get this fixed fast, the clown does not have a chance.

 

[alyssia]

You salinity is fine. I keep all three of my tanks at 1.026.
We need to know your exact water parameters and how old is the tank?

 

[rcmcg]

Clown needs an EMT. It is still in same spot in the tank, does not seem able to swim. I went to LFS and his only guess is a bacterial infection and recommended we treat with tetracycline, which the fish must eat. It won't. I am tempted to do a fresh water dip, on the off chance it is something that would help, but I don't see him lasting much longer unless I know what to do for him. Dip? Wait? Something else?

 

[sinner's girl]

We need to know your exact water parameters and how old is the tank?
what and when was the last fish you added.
if wc stress the tang, try doing them a different way, or smaller ones, I add the fresh over over a period of time, not all at once. mix the water, airate it for 24, make sure sg and temp are the same as main tank.

 

[rcmcg]

The tank has been up since the first of the year.
Nitrates 30 up a little since Friday
Nitrites 0
ph 8.0

 

[rcmcg]

Sorry,
I added the last fish almost 3 weeks ago, the lawnmower and the clown

 

[sinner's girl]

1. do a water change, nitrates are a little high.
what size tank? adding two fish to a new tank, that's small may cause problems, have you checked ammonia?
also, tangs like established tanks, not new ones (under 6months is new).
how did you acclimate teh clown snd blenny and did you qt them? how was teh coral beauty before you added the two new fish? wondering if the two new fish were sick.

 

[gmbrown234]

Something my Aunt didn't realize when she first got her tank that...
1) Hand cream can wipe out your entire tank (use gloves to do water changes)
2) Never use a cleaner on the outside of the tank (ex: Windex... only use a water dampened cloth to wipe down the outside)
Sorry for going to the basics, but just something to think about!

 

[rcmcg]

I am warming/aerating water for a change now.
Ammonia is at 0
Coral Beauty was fine when other fish were added.
Did not QT lawnmower and clown. I floated them for an hour and then added water to bag over the next 4 hours until amount of water doubled.
The clown is "sitting" in one spot in the tank, like he is treading water. Do you have any suggestions on what might help him now?

 

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by rcmcg
I am warming/aerating water for a change now.
Ammonia is at 0
Coral Beauty was fine when other fish were added.
Did not QT lawnmower and clown. I floated them for an hour and then added water to bag over the next 4 hours until amount of water doubled.
The clown is "sitting" in one spot in the tank, like he is treading water. Do you have any suggestions on what might help him now?
If you have a gallon of water that is 100 deg...and add a gallon of 50 deg water...
You get 75 deg water....ish..
So meerly doubling the water volume is not going to get the waters the same...

 

[rcmcg]

GM
I am trying to think of everything. We always wash hands and arms before and after working in the tank.
Thanks

 

[rcmcg]

Sorry Galma, I don't quite follow what you are saying.
I am getting water ready for a water change. It will be at the right temp when I add it.

 

[sethspst]

If your using a hydrometer, have your salinty checked by someone else to see if they get the same reading.

 

[sinner's girl]

your method of acclimation is off, that's what Galma was trying to say....
read acclimation on the left....
but that wouldn't kill the cb and clown/blenny should have had problems before now.
what size tank? Tang could be stress if it's a small tank with too many other fish.
always qt

 

[rcmcg]

40 Gallon Tank
Didn't know of sites like this when I started my aquarium. The LFS said tang and coral beauty were good starter fish, and I accepted his word.
The clown died this afternoon. We have only hermit crabs left.
We are leaving on vacation soon. I had someone to feed the fish...will the crabs be ok feeding by themselves for a week?
How do we proceed from here? Since we have no idea what caused this crash should we empty the tank and start over?
Thanks for your help.

 

[phishface]

40 gallons?! the tang police are on their way....cancle the vacation, your going to jail.
Sorry 4 that, your tank is too small for tangs. Sorry 4 all of your losses also. Id do a water change, if you havent already. Id also goto the book store and do some reading while your on vacation. Id also never goto that lfs again, wow. Id say the crabs are ok, but thats just me. I also would not start over, id let everything "age". Do some research on everything, like filteration, water flow, skimming, the basics. Take it slow, check your water, have someone double check it with different test kit. And finally, only add 1 fish at a time, and a least a week in between, to let your bio load adjust. But of course IMO. Good luck. :happyfish