HELP!!!!!!!

[k1972]

I have a 15 gallon tank and everything was fine, water quality at the norms for a 4 month old tank.
I hand a yellow tang, one small clown, one snail, and one hermit crab.
It was set up four months ago with live rock and live sand. I check my water at the LFS, and bought a few small pieces of coral.
I added the coral and raised the salinity from 1.023 to 1.025 to add the coral. I did this with a 10% water change. inside of 5 minutes the clown and tang were dead, I cannot find the snail and I am panicked! What happened. I mixed the water like normal, no changes and no contamimation. Just boom dead fish!!!
I hope someone can help!

 

[flower]

Hi,
A yellow tang in a 15g tank, seriously???? They need a 6 foot tank. You should have your own test kits, not run to the LFS for it to be checked.
A 10% water change in a 15g tank, and then you raised the SG instead of matching it...many corals release toxins as a means of defense, what type did you bring and put in the tank?
How do you know it wasn't contaminated? Soap on your hands could destroy a tank that tiny. Hermits kill snails and eats them, and then takes their shell.
Your very next purchase should be a lab type test kit, and a good beginners saltwater aquarium book.
This book will help you make better choices on what fish get along and what size tank they can live in.

A page so you can see the info it offers.

 

[k1972]

Thanks for the response. I did not know about the toxins.
I check my water twice a week with a kit, but always double check it.
What about the clown? Toxins?
I just bought the book you suggested.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by k1972 http:///t/396232/help#post_3529741
Thanks for the response. I did not know about the toxins.
I check my water twice a week with a kit, but always double check it.
What about the clown? Toxins?
I just bought the book you suggested.
Hi,
Some stuff we put in our tank can be toxic if it is stressed, the Sea apple for example. That's why I asked what you purchased. LOL, when I was beginner, anything non-fish was a coral to me, even an anemone. So when someone is new to the hobby, I have to assume they don't really know much, it isn't necessarily true, but better safe to go that route then to assume you know. Most corals only affect other corals with their toxins, and running carbon will greatly help to prevent chemical warfare.
A 15g tank is very tiny for saltwater, you have absolutely no wiggle room for error. Soap or other substance on your hands or in the bucket could spell disaster, and since everything went down hill in 5 minutes, that is probably the reason. Running carbon would help if that's the case.
I'm glad to hear you got that book, just to be able to know the adult size fish and the tank size it needs, is the most helpful thing I have ever found. Then the food info and if it's reef safe, I love that book.
Always post the exact numbers of your test results, that way we know what's going on and can help you more. Knowing the name of the coral you purchased will also help us to help you. It's just like if you said two fish died, we have no idea what fish.....

 

[k1972]

Here are my tank specs:
ammonia 0 to .15 depends on the color the LFS test read 0
Nitrate 15
Nitirite 0
Akalinity 180
Ph 8.5
Water temp 79
Salinity 1.024 (as of this morning)
Here are the corals I purchased, and one did sting me when I put it in.
NOW I have another big question do I add more fish back? (after I read the new book, gotta love Amazon, it will be here tomorrow!)
Thank you guys for the help!!!!!

 

[k1972]

One more question: What do I use for a clean up crew since the crab like snails apparently? Reef safe of course. I can't even find the snail in the tank, it is like he is gone.
I don't like the crab, but I need an alternative.......

 

[flower]

Hi,
Ditch the hermit. Best CUC critters...a brittle (not the green) or serpent sea star, 2 nassarius snails, peppermint shrimp (will eat aptasia as well) or cleaner shrimp, any type of shrimp will eat leftover food that settles deep in the rocks, they are meat eaters, not algae eaters. A variety of snails is best, a trochus, nerite, and cerith are good algae eaters. If you want to keep the hermit, get sea stars and an algae eating fish, all snails are doomed.
In a 15g you don't need too many. 2 of each snail nassarius, cerith and nerite and 1 trochus = 7 (ONLY if you have enough algae, you can build slow, you don't need them all at once) or 1 of each snail and a shrimp. or get a serpent or brittle (not the green) star and 1 of each snail listed. Each critter eats different stuff to keep the tank clean. Remember also that with live rock you should have sea slugs, copepods, amphipods, isopods and bristle worms, which also help to clean your tank.
My little list is just as an example, you can mix and match. The astrea snails are great algae eaters, but they get stuck on their backs and die because they can't upright themselves. Bumblebee snails are like the nassarius (meat eaters), they can be pesty if they don't have enough to eat, and start feeding on stuff they shouldn't.
If you just want 1 algae eater, and it has to be a good one because you have lots of algae...the sea urchin, but it need lots of algae to feed on or it dies. They also knock over unstable rock and unglued corals.
So it all comes down to what you have that needs cleaning up, and how much of it there is. Knowing what each critter does is really helpful:
LOL...another book

And another page for seeing the type of info

 

[btldreef]

Did you mix the salt and then immediately add it to the tank or did you let the water stand/mix for a bit before doing the water change? Even though you only went from 1.023 - 1.025, that is still a big jump to do quickly in such a small space.
That tang did not belong in that tank, as Flower mentioned.

 

[k1972]

Thank you to everyone for the advice/information. I did a quick mix when I changed the water. I did not realize that there needed to be a waiting period from the time you mixed salt and added it. I have never had a problem as long as the salt was disolved and it tested ok, but now I know.
The tank is doing good, but the one of the corals is not opening, I am attaching a picture... I would appreciate any ideas about this issue as well.

 

[flower]

Hi,
Green star polyps...they are pretty hardy, just leave it alone...they are just upset about everything, and should be able to bounce back.

 

[btldreef]

Yeah, not letting newly mixed saltwater sit (it's recommended that it mix for 24 hours) before it is added to the tank is usually not a good idea. It really needs to mix for 24 hours before it will read the correct salinity, before that and you might not be getting the right reading. The minerals might also not be fully dissolved. My guess is that you shocked the tank/fish and raised the salinity to quickly.
Give the GSP some time, they're really hardy and should make a come back.

 

[k1972]

The gsp still has its color, but I haven't seen them come out yet... how will I know if they are dead? The other corals and fish are fine.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by k1972 http:///t/396232/help#post_3530013
The gsp still has its color, but I haven't seen them come out yet... how will I know if they are dead? The other corals and fish are fine.
Most dead corals turn white, which is what is left of the skeleton... Look at it this way, if it's dead, don't remove it, the pretty blue bumps are as pretty as coralline algae. I have had GSP close up for weeks on end, and still bloom when it's good and ready, so leave it alone and don't touch it. Unless a coral is going to pollute the tank, leave it in there. For example, fleshy corals that have brown slim rot disease. I don't bother to remove the skeleton, the rocks of the coral reefs are actually corals that have died and became part of the rock.

 

[k1972]

Thank YOU! This morning when I turned on the lights it had a few polyps extended! I hope it does well, because it will be the centerpiece of my small tank!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by k1972 http:///t/396232/help#post_3530035
Thank YOU! This morning when I turned on the lights it had a few polyps extended! I hope it does well, because it will be the centerpiece of my small tank!
LOL...All new coral is the centerpiece of the tank. It will continue to open up, as long as the little flowers remain undisturbed, so don't bother it.