Hey all
- Thread starter piclife21
- Start date
seasalt101
Active Member
how old is the tank and how new are the fish, and did the lights just go out when the discoloration took place and what are your water parameters
lion_crazz
Active Member
Yeah, we need to know more info to determine that.
seasalt101
Active Member
how are you lion i've been real busy work, workin on house, and getting so close to the 150 now got put off a week honda dropped that transmission then 3 tickets on 2 friday's in a row yikes now back to the thread sorry
prettyfish
New Member
piclife21
New Member
well my tank is about 5 months old. i have a blue hippo tang in there and a clown fish...i used to have a yellow tang but it died a couple days ago. i also only have 3 rocks in there so im not sure if that makes a difference. the tank is 40 gallons. about 3 feet long and a foot and a half wide. everytime i get my water tested at the store they tell me everything is fine...
seasalt101
Active Member
1st invest in your own test kit get a good one, add more lr what kind of filtration do you have? how often do you do water changes and did your tang have ich?
lion_crazz
Active Member
Yep, I agree with SeaSalt. You definitely need your own test kits so that you KNOW that your water quality is at the proper levels. A lot of times, an LFS will test your water and either not know what the right levels are (for instance, alkalinity), just not tell you something is a little off, or not test for something (some LFS' only test for pH and ammonia).
You also need to add a ton more live rock.
Another problem is that tangs do very poorly in small tanks. The hippo and yellow need much larger tanks to be healthy in the long run.
What are you feeding your fish?
You also need to add a ton more live rock.
Another problem is that tangs do very poorly in small tanks. The hippo and yellow need much larger tanks to be healthy in the long run.
What are you feeding your fish?
piclife21
New Member
I am feeding them Frozen Formula two For Algea eating Fish right now. I feed them once day just one little pellet. I will definately get more live rock soon, so thanks for that comment. My filter is a "Fluval 304" I also have a 50 watt heater and a "Rio 90 Powerhead. I bought a basic home testing kit and I tested the water this morning: The nitrite is perfect the Amonia level is a tiny bit too high and the PH level is really low at 7.8. I lost my tester card for the Nitrate so im not sure what color it's supposed to be. When i tested it, it was like a dark redish color. Please tell me this is good. Also my blue hippo is starting to scratch himself on the rock...is that a sign of ich? As far as water changes i have had the tank for about 5 months and have not did one yet. The guy at the fish store said it's not necessary if you have hermit crabs and snails, which I do. Please give me any helpful info. Thanks people!
lion_crazz
Active Member
You have been greatly misinformed. Any level of ammonia is toxic.
A 50 watt heater on a 40 gallon tank is insufficient. In the summer, it may not be too bad, but in the winter, that will not be enough. You need 3-5 watter per gallon of water.
A dark red nitrate reading is a bad thing for sure. Most tests show nitrate as red when it is 100+.
A pH of 7.8 is bad because of your high ammonia and nitrate, and probably a low alk.
Your hippo scratching is most likely a sure sign of ich. Not always, but with those water parameters, it probably is.
The LFS guy lied to you. He does not know what he is talking about. You need to be doing water changes every 1-3 weeks. This is why your water quality is so terrible.
A 50 watt heater on a 40 gallon tank is insufficient. In the summer, it may not be too bad, but in the winter, that will not be enough. You need 3-5 watter per gallon of water.
A dark red nitrate reading is a bad thing for sure. Most tests show nitrate as red when it is 100+.
A pH of 7.8 is bad because of your high ammonia and nitrate, and probably a low alk.
Your hippo scratching is most likely a sure sign of ich. Not always, but with those water parameters, it probably is.
The LFS guy lied to you. He does not know what he is talking about. You need to be doing water changes every 1-3 weeks. This is why your water quality is so terrible.
lion_crazz
Active Member
At this point, he is not worrying about replacing trace elements. He needs to get his pH way up and both the ammonia and nitrate down a lot.
piclife21
New Member
Ill definiatley go out and get a bigger heater and some buckets and hose for the water changes. It may be too late for my hippo cuz he does have those white spots on him already. A couple last questions... How do i fix my Nitrate problem and what color should it be? Also how do I fix my Ph problem?
Thanks again guys for all your help!
Thanks again guys for all your help!
merredeth
Active Member
Originally Posted by Piclife21
Is feeding them once a day fine? And what type of food do you suggest? Keep in mind I have 2 chocolate chip starfish in the tank as well. And I plan on getting an Angel fish.
Thanks again!
I feed mine twice a day, basically splitting the serving in half. I have used Omega One with Garlic, frozen Formula soaked in garlic and had good results.
I'd be adding garlic to frozen food. The tang may not make it as they generally need 65 gallons or better to roam around in. Adding freshly pressed garlic will help the immune system if it hasn't been too weakened already. Soak the food in the pressed garlic and about a tablespoon or two of saltwater for about half an hour before feeding.
At this point anything is worth a shot to keep from having to flush a lifeless body.
Denise M.
Is feeding them once a day fine? And what type of food do you suggest? Keep in mind I have 2 chocolate chip starfish in the tank as well. And I plan on getting an Angel fish.
Thanks again!
I feed mine twice a day, basically splitting the serving in half. I have used Omega One with Garlic, frozen Formula soaked in garlic and had good results.
I'd be adding garlic to frozen food. The tang may not make it as they generally need 65 gallons or better to roam around in. Adding freshly pressed garlic will help the immune system if it hasn't been too weakened already. Soak the food in the pressed garlic and about a tablespoon or two of saltwater for about half an hour before feeding.
At this point anything is worth a shot to keep from having to flush a lifeless body.
Denise M.