help!!

[erinf911]

hello everyone... i am a new marine aquarist who is in need of some help...
here is what i have:
25 gallon tank
top mounted wet/dry
2 50/50 55w lights
18 led moon light
50 pounds live sand
15 pounds live rock
cretures:
2 dozen snails
1 dozen hermitt crabs
(one serpent star)
(one mandarin fish)
(one florida pink tipped anamone)
1 electric flame scallop
2 elegance slugs
1 peperment shrimp
yellow polip coral
i set up the tank and purcahsed two damsles to speed up the process. about 3 weeks later and alot of water testing i was told by the local aquarium store i was ready to go. i purchased the anemone, the snails, the shrimp (to help with the aptasia's). 10 days later i purchased the star, the scallop, and the mandarin.. a few days later i purchased the coral and the slugs... i purchased all these fish going under the stores word, that they would do fine in the tank. 3 times a week i add the part a/b... feed the fish the recomended amount, and all was well....till about a week ago. fisrt the anemone dies... so i check the water for copper and no copper found. then 2 days later i notice the star fish has been chewed apart. for the past 3 nights i stay up with the lights off looking for a mantis shrimp (thinking that it could be the cause...didnt find anything). then today my mandarin starts to loose its color and is now dead. plus on top of that the polips on my coral are starting to not come out, and some of them have un-attached from the rock...
the water permateres are still good, the temp is at a constant 82 degrees, i have the lights on for 10 hours a day. i have done one water change since adding the fish and have gotten rid of the damsels... but everything is taking a turn for the worst, and now im thinking of giving up, instead of throwing money out the window... like i said, im new at this, any suggestions, or things i should check for would be appriciated. also any suggestions on what i should put in such a newly established tank would also be helpful, due to the fact the the aquarium store doesnt seem to be a great source of sound advice. thanks

 

[airforceb2]

Well, first of all, what are your definitions of "good" water parameters? They may not be good if you are taking your LFS's word. Also, you would need much more hardier fish for such an immature tank. You should think about a clown or chromis. You also need about 15 more lbs of LR and more lights if you want to keep anemones IMO. What kind of water circulation do you have?

 

[dmc888]

I agree , your tank is not mature enough for an anemone.
They recommend to add an anemone after 3 months of being setup.
Mandarins need alot of lr and a 25 probably won't hold enough to supply it for food.
They feed on live pods mostly.
Very hard to keep.
A couple false percula clowns will work.
They are just as hardy as damsels without the bad attitude.
Local fish stores are good for helping you waste your money mostly.

 

[puffer32]

Yep, they will sell you anything! Your lighting will not support anenomies, nothing less then MH I believe, and PC lighting for soft corals, and mandarins need large tanks with plenty of pods to survive. I would take the coral back and insist on money back! i would even put up enough fuss in front of customers to get all my money back. I don't usually recommend that, but he steered you wrong and had to know better!

 

[maeistero]

take that mandarin and coral back immediately!!!! :scared:
the anen i can't say. i've had a pink in a regular 55gal for over a year under dual marine-glo flourescents and it's doubled in size. this is in kansas, so it may've been in bad shape for awhile getting here but it's nice and big now at about 8". it was 4" when i bought it fully extended.
regardless, i've spent alot of time in melbourne and the fish stores down there throw what others see as valuable. expect loss in a tank as small as yours and blame them. if you think you really can do it then check water parameters every other day or so.
GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[puffer32]

maestro, I got the idea that NO anenomies will live with less then MH, except afew of the colorless ones that can live with strong PC? Its intresting yours did so well under reg lighting.

 

[erinf911]

I have heard three people ask me now what I think are good water parameters. I have a test kit and when I say good water parameters I mean the water parameters are at the levels suggested in the manual that came with the book. Is there something more I should know? Like do specific fish and inverts require certain parameters? I am confused about this. I have read alot about this and I am still concerned I am not doing something right. Please guide in the right direction. Thanks.

 

[airforceb2]

Can you post what your water readings are? A lot of people here can help steer you in the right direction after we know the starting point.

 

[itchy]

okay Erin lets start here. Test for the following and list the results, maybe by then a mod will be on and be able to suggest or see something that you don't. This is what you will need to test for and list so that many of us can help you...1. ammonia 2. nitrites 3. nitrates 4. PH 5. Calcium and that is since you have some corals in your tank (if you have a home test for this one). If you don't then you should invest in one since you plan to keep corals.
The mandarin needs a well established tank as they eat on pods. Some of them will eat brine or black worms but usually not enough to supplement their diet to survive. Unfortunately LFS don't tell any one these important factors. You will see if you do a research on the boards that most people who have mandarins have 125 gallons with lots of LR that has been up and running for at least a year or others that have smaller tanks have a refuge to produce pods faster than the mandarin can eat them all.
When anemones die they are very toxic to a tank so you will probabally have to do a large water change. But first things first....retest your parameters and list those. BTW what kind of test kit are you using?

 

[scotts]

I agree with what Itchy is saying, here is my opinion, like it or not I have your best interest at heart. First of all stop and do not add anything to that tank, second you need to get some knowledge in your head so you can tell the lfs what you need not the other way around. (I know I sound heavy handed but think of me as Simon Cowell) Do a search on this site for cycle or cycling. You may learn answers to questions that you did not even know to ask. This board is a wealth of information. I started my tank by listeneing to the lfs, 6 months later I found this site, I learned more in the first month on this site than in the 6 months listening to the lfs. Right now there is no one that can help you without specific numbers. As long as I am on my soap box, research EVERYTHING before you buy it. I bought a beautiful 2" fish, then found out that it grew to about 18" long.
You said you are adding an A/B thing to your tank. What sepcifically is that?
You can curse me now.
Scott