Huge problem

[amazo]

Last wed. I added a coral cleaner shrimp that brought me up to 2 yellow tailed damsels,1 blue damsel,4 green cromis,2 red seabae clowns(1med.1small)1camel 1 peppermint shrimp,2 brittle stars (1 big,1small),a dotty back,a spider decorator crab,and my clean up crew some blue leg hermits and some nassarius snails and 1 emerald crab.Now that i type it out it seems out of hand for a 55 gal and that is probably the problem but everything was going great .It is a newer tank (5 months or so)and i was excited to be able to add new things but i did it slowly and everything had its place with plenty of places that weren't even claimed (some fish swam mid tank,some low,some hid).I tried to do research and balance things out and it was going swimmingly(lol).I have some live rock , micro algae, filter and skimmer all my water parameters are good(ph,cal.,nitrate,salt,temp.,ect.).On monday I didnt see much of the dottyback but he hid alot so i didn't think much of it.Yesterday I got home from work and turned on the light and noticed a yellow tail (they were kinda aggressive so I thought someone got tired of them)dead on ground in the corner the larger brittle star,camel and coral shrimp stayed near.Then i saw the large brittle his arms looked strange and i said it looks like the arm was broken just as a piece fell off and i noticed small white slits on his arms and as i took the dead fish out i saw small pieces of brittle arm.The star crawled into some algae and throughout the night as he crawled he lost his arms.Then I realized no dotty no 2nd yellow tail(1dead,1 injuried,2 M.I.A.).Everything was ok this morning brittle still alive hurt but alive.My wife called noonish both clowns good (my favorites)I got home from work my son said brittle was fine he had been watching them on and off but the big seabae was M.I.A. and yellow-black strip damsel (1 of my 1st)was dead and it looked like it had been attacked and my wife and him saw the coral shrimp get all aggresive with a fish(ive seen him chase the camel shrimp a little the crabs have been in a month or two and take no intreste in the fish) so he was the last in the tank sooo maybe so i took him out went to LPS talked to them had them hold it for me .He tested my water said it was good asked all kinds of questions to see if I had a hot,dirty or bad tank of some kind.Then i went to dinner(wanted to stay with tank but wife made me go) and we got home just in time for me to watch my cute little seabae die he had a chewed on right fin and could hardly swim(he may have been hurt before i went to LPS but didnt think so).Now I have 4 fish 3 green cromis 1 blue damsel they have been clicked up from the time I put in cromis Blue used to hang with Yellow tail till they got more aggressive(they killed my other yellow tail)they haven't been so bad after bigger clown came around (figured they weren't alpha fish anymore) Did my cromis go nuts only one is kinda big 1 1/2 - 2 inches bigger seabae was this size or slightly bigger other 3 -1 inch around the size of the blue damsel or do they swim out of whatevers reach.Sorry so long winded,was about to give up but just writting this helped so Thanks for reading and advise would be great or ideas on what i might want to add now that i got a blank slate

 

[calbert0]

Break that thing up into some organized paragraphs and sentences....
I gurantee it will increase the amount of response to your post.

 

[xcali1985]

Originally Posted by amazo
http:///forum/post/3273186
Last wed. I added a coral cleaner shrimp.
That brought me up to:
2 - yellow tailed damsels
1 - blue damsel
4 - green cromis
2 - red seabae clowns(1med.1small)
1 - camel & 1 - peppermint shrimp
2 - brittle stars (1 big,1small)
a dotty back
a spider decorator crab
and my clean up crew some blue leg hermits and some nassarius snails and 1 emerald crab.
Now that i type it out it seems out of hand for a 55 gal and that is probably the problem but everything was going great. It is a newer tank (5 months or so) and i was excited to be able to add new things, but i did it slowly and everything had its place with plenty of places that weren't even claimed (some fish swam mid tank,some low,some hid).
I tried to do research and balance things out and it was going swimmingly(lol). I have some live rock, micro algae, filter, and skimmer. All my water parameters are good ( ph, cal., nitrate, salt, temp., ect.).
On monday I didn't see much of the dottyback, but he hid alot so i didn't think much of it. Yesterday I got home from work and turned on the light and noticed a yellow tail (they were kinda aggressive so I thought someone got tired of them) dead on ground in the corner the larger brittle star, camel and coral shrimp stayed near. Then i saw the large brittle his arms looked strange and i said it looks like the arm was broken just as a piece fell off and i noticed small white slits on his arms and as i took the dead fish out i saw small pieces of brittle arm.
The star crawled into some algae and throughout the night as he crawled he lost his arms.Then I realized no dotty no 2nd yellow tail (1dead,1 injuried,2 M.I.A.).
Everything was ok this morning brittle still alive hurt but alive. My wife called noonish both clowns good (my favorites) I got home from work & my son said brittle was fine he had been watching them on and off but the big seabae was M.I.A. and yellow-black strip damsel (1 of my 1st) was dead. It looked like it had been attacked and my wife and him saw the coral shrimp get all aggresive with a fish (ive seen him chase the camel shrimp a little the crabs have been in a month or two and take no intreste in the fish) so he was the last in the tank. So i took him out, & went to LFS talked to them & had them hold it for me.
He tested my water said it was good. I asked all kinds of questions to see if I had a hot, dirty or bad tank of some kind. Then i went to dinner (wanted to stay with tank but wife made me go). We got home just in time for me to watch my cute little seabae die he had a chewed on right fin and could hardly swim (he may have been hurt before i went to LFS but didnt think so).
Now I have 4 fish:
3 - green cromis
1 - blue damsel
They have been checked up from the time I put in cromis Blue used to hang with Yellow tail till they got more aggressive (they killed my other yellow tail) they haven't been so bad after bigger clown came around (figured they weren't alpha fish anymore). Did my cromis go nuts only one is kinda big 1 1/2 - 2 inches bigger. Seabae was this size or slightly bigger other 3 - 1 inch around the size of the blue damsel or do they swim out of whatevers reach.
Sorry so long winded, was about to give up but just writting this helped so Thanks for reading and advise would be great or ideas on what i might want to add now that i got a blank slate
Broke it up a lot better now ill read and advise.

 

[xcali1985]

First off, you need to post actual values for whatever you test. Saying things are good is always bad and your value of good may be misinformed to begin with.
Second, you should research Damsels more along with Coral Branded Shrimp. They are all aggressive and will often fight amounst each other. Most are best kept in odd numbers. And nearly all will fight if they aren't of the same kind. Even clowns.
Dottybacks are also very territoral.
Overall you have an aggressive tank, not in the sense of Triggers and Lions etc. but all your fish are territoral and fight with new additions. If you are to add a damsel to a tank it is suggested be it done last and as small as possible.
Coral Branded Shimp have been problems for many people and they will often attack whatever they can get their hands on, especially if hungry.
My suggestions for fixing this would be to remove all the fish and the CBS and start over with more pieceful fish. i know you don't want to hear it but plenty of post on here about damsels and CBS. Your best bet is to remove all fish see if store will credit you and purchase some more peaceful fish.

 

[btldreef]

I agree with the poster above.
I also think you stocked your tank way too quickly with aggressive fish.
I highly recommend you do far more research before restocking your tank.
The problem with damsels and CBS is they're colorful and cheap so it draws people to them when they're new to the hobby.
FYI, if you plan on keeping corals, the camel shrimp has to go.