Help

[jzensky]

You may have noticed that I have posted here before, specifically in the Diseaase and Treatment page. I am getting very close to going back to fresh. I started my tank roughly two months ago. I startes with two damsels and one clown, they were doing great. I then added a tang, got ick and everyone died, see ick on d & t post. I used greenex to rid the tank of ick and I let it run for three weeks with no fish. I figures that everything would be fine, I bought two damsels on Monday night and by monday they were dead. My levels are perfect. I monitor them daily, I mean perfect conditions. Yes, I do add the fish correctly reducing all stress and they still died. What is oging on with my tank? I need help or else I may be going back to fresh. As you can tell I am getting very frustrated!!! Thanks for all your help.

 

[harris]

Please give us some more info and I am sure these people will be happy to help. Did the fish look rotted, beat up, any physical signs of trauma(ick, parasits, etc)? How were they acting before they died? Where you bought them did they look healty? Ammonia and nitrate levels are all fine? Help us help you.

 

[kris]

Did you dose the greenex properly?? It is VERY hard to kill damsels, which would lead me to believe that they have been poisoned. Here is what I would do, (hopefully one of the jumbo's will back me up) Start over. Replace all filter media(All OF IT) replace substrata, clean out anything that may have traces of the ick or medication in it. Yes this means you will have to recycle your tank but obviously you don't many other options. When your ready again, nake sure you're buying from a reputable dealer, who quarintines at least 7 days before selling. And ask if they do because alot of them don't. I hope you will continue as it really is rewarding. Good Luck

 

[chrisd]

I had the same problem whe i started my tank . the best way to solve it i think, especiallly if you are still cycleing the tank is just to drain it and start over. that will totaly get ride of the ick and yo will have fresh salt water in there

 

[jzensky]

thanks everyone, tried another damsel last night and it was dead this morning. now, i will goahead and drain my tank, questions is, should i even remove my ug filter and all crushed coral. if you think this will work i will certainly try it, it just seems like quite a hassle, or will just draining all my water be sevice and cleaning out all filters. i am of course hoping that just draining and cleaning will help, but if you suggest to even do the live rock out and crused coral i will. once ahead thatnk you and i will let you all know how the process goes.

 

[kris]

Ditch the coral keep the rock and Good Luck. Let us know how things go.

 

[kris]

One other thing, make sure you clean all of your stuff( ug, decorations, everythig exept the live rock of course) with a bleach solution. 50/50 plain bleach and then soak in fresh water to make sure all the bleach is rinsed away. This should insure all the ick and medication is gone.

 

[the rock]

the rock says...
imagine this i agree with RR again. jzensky first of all you need to get yourself a larger tank IMHO, but if not, you should definately clean out your tank, remove the substrate completely if you want to, but in a 20g it is gonna mighty ugly without it, replace it with live sand or just a very small amount of substrate. if you remove the substrate you definately need to have some live rock, which will be extremely beneficial since you don't have a filter that is useful. live sand and live rock will provide you with the beneficial bacteria you need to keep your tankmates happy and provide a natural life source to such a small enviroment. use distilled water, for a 20g it might not be economical to buy a RO unit, but 20g of distilled will be well worth the price. get your salinity to 1.023-1.025 get your ammonia to zero, nitrites to zero, nitrates less than 10, add a bio booster, bacteria to the tank (very inexpensive), then use a different source to buy your fish from. forget damsels, try a clownfish. keep an eye on your levels and make sure they stay stable before adding additional fish. the only other thing i can think of that has happened is that your tank has been poisoned, did you ever clean it? did you ever use any glues? don't use bleach to clean anything you put in your tank! buy live rock for your tank and some tufa rock. your tank has likely some sort of toxin in it because of a previous owner or how you initially cleaned it. also have you done any house work near the tank recently? just some thoughts

 

[s121n85]

Had the same problem with my 100 gal.
I was told to move all my live rock from my 45 gal. first and put some damsels "only" for 4-6 weeks. Make sure the levels are constant for a minimum of two weeks. Then try to add 1 fish a week.
It worked for me.
Definitely new Substrate and minimal lighting. I did two hours for a few days then progressively up from there.
Good Luck. Never Give UP!

 

[harris]

Alright I like all of the replies. You did say that you thought about going "back to fresh". Did you do a complete water change when you went to saltwater? Also did you ever have Ick in your freshwater tank? This is a thought. I am not sure if the parasite is the same for salt and fresh it may have just stuck around.
2nd you put three fish in a 20g tank together, that would make your ammonia go through the roof. That alone would probably take a damsel. I bet the clown went first and then the dams. Your bio load was definetly not ready to handle the increase.
3rd- what about chlorin? Did you use tap water or a good ro? Chlorine could be your silent killer as well as a low dissolved oxygen content.
Unfortunately you do have to wash everything. But the live rock may be salvagable. This time start with a Chromis- they are really cheap and will be good communicator of your H20.
Take a sample of H2O to your lfs and have them check it out.
A thought- maybe scrap that tank and move up to a 30 gallon+ it is a good excuse to upgrade.

 

[jzensky]

Thank you to everyone for all of your great suggestions and ideas. I went ahead and broke down the entire tank last friday night and cleaned it very well, changed all the base rock and cleaned out all the filters. I went ahead and started it back up again saturday morning, with new rock, water and with clean filters. I let the water cycle for the week and checked all levels, perfect. I wnet ahead and added two yellow blue tail damsels friday and guess what, their dead. I am usually a very patient person, I am starting to lose it. I am at wits end, i really dont know what to do. I have invested a decent amount of money into this and it is something that i dont want to give up on. Any more ideas from anyone out there would be great. I just dont know what to do. Once again thank you to everyone for all those great ideas.

 

[beth]

Well, I just wrote out a whole checklist of do's and don't for you which I think may have helped you, but, once again, I got booted off AOL [America On Line] and lost everything. This, is not the first time that this has happened as I attempt to post a lenghy aid to fellow fish-lovers. If you would like my input, please send me your email address and I will forward you my advise. I spent about 20 mins doing the right up, and don't want to go thru that again and potentially loose everything again. I'll respond to you with a SAVABLE doc in an email, if you're interested. My email is: Leizzabeth@aol.com. My name is Elizabeth.

 

[grahambo]

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WHEN I GOT MY TANK AND SET IT UP MY TANK WAS ONLY TAKEN DOWN 1HOUR BEFORE I RECEIVED IT AND I STILL HAD PROBS. I LET IT CLYCE 4 2WEEKS AND ADDED 2 DAMSELS 2WEEKS LATER I ADDED A TANG WITHIN 10DAYS MY TANG WAS DEAD AS WELL AS THE DAMSELS FROM ICK I TREATED MY TANK FOR ICK I WAS RUNNIN A FUVAL PUMP AT THE TIME I TOOK UOT THE CHARCOAL AND LET IT RUN 4 SIX DAYS THEN I REPLACED CHARCOAL AND ADD 2 MORE DAMSELS AND EVERYTHING WHENT FINE SINCE THEN I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS I NOW HAVE 3 AGGRESSIVE FISH IN MY 55 GAL TANK ITS IT RUNNIN PERFECT I HAVE SINCE SWITCHED 2 A PEGUIN BIOWHEEL FILTER WICH IS PERFECT IF U GET FRUSTRATED EMAIL ME IM MORE THAN HAPPY 2 HELP CJGRAHAMBO@GATEWAY.NET GOOD LUCK LET ME KNOW HOW U TURN OUT
GRAHAMBO

 

[krazzydart]

be cool and taker E-Z...You can't rush it. it takes time.

 

[porkypuffer]

WHAT IS THE SORCE FOR THE WATER IN YOUR TANK? TAP WATER? DID YOUR ORIGINAL PROBLEMS START AFTER A WATER CHANGE? IF SO, YOU MAY HAVE CONTAMINATED WATER.