I am beyond discouraged with this tank

[jp0379]

Just a thought here. Did your damsels die soon after you put them in? If they did, I think it has more to do with what the problem is in your tank than "bad advice". How many powerheads do you have? Did you ever get your water tested at the LFS or did you test it at home? If you only have tested at home, get it tested at the LFS just to compare the levels.

 

[fearlessjim]

'river-rock'=bad news

 

[ablincoln01]

By river rock, I mean the white poruous stuff they sell at the LFS. I just didn't know what the proper term was so I called it that. I found out the culprit. My fish have ich. I never noticed the white stuff on the one who died. My other fish did have white spots once I started staring at her and noticed the little pin pricks. I didn't know anything about ich but I did a little research on the board and found about the hyposalinity. We are trying that with the fish as we can't do it in the tank because of the live rock.
I don't know if the other clown is going to live or not we are just trying it to see if it will work. Right now she is okay. I really enjoy the hobby but may have to resume it again after I have a lot more money. As it is now, we have spent close to $900 in the past two months (we had the tank, stand, and substrate given to us) and still have an empty tank. I am starting to think of a lot more things I could be spending that money on instead of dead fish.
Regardless, I really appreciate everyone's input and help. It is nice to know that this incredible resource is out there.

 

[bdhough]

Well here's the deal. Its possible that the ich was from the last batch of fish you had. If they died from ich then the ich could have stayed in your system for several weeks (up to 4 i think) and passed it on to your clowns who are now loosing their battle with it. Ich is very treatable and there are many ways. If your clown makes it you must let the tank sit for a couple weeks to make sure the ich goes away and won't infect anything you put in there after that.

 

[patrickfox4@msn]

u said your tank cycled in 2 weeks thats very fast for a tank to cycle most case its a month to 6 weeks, did you added a clean up crew after the tank cycled? you need a crew in there to keep it clean and all of us had lost fish in the beginning so hang in there and go slow, are you running a protien skimmer, if not get one. also if you had a hard time keeping a dampsel living why did you go to clowns and if you can get them a anenemie for them to feel at home but take your time i know everyone wants the tank to be full of life and in time it will be this is a very good hobbie to be in but it needs alot of attention.

 

[lesleybird]

Originally posted by ablincoln01
No, they loved each other. They would play together, swim by each other. There was never any indication of aggressiveness at all. They recently lost their anenome because we have a FO tank. We have used RO water from the beginning. The tank was originally my parents but there was never any copper based medication used. I just can't figure out what the problem is.
I think that we both agree that if the other clown dies, we are going to have to stop with this hobby as we can't keep throwing money at something that we can't even figure out.
Hey, I really don't know for sure, but anenomes are not easy at all and are not for beginners and even many experts won't have them because they are nearly impossible to keep. I think I read that they will release a toxin in the tank when they die that can harm or kill fish. Could this have been what happened????
Get yourself some good fish books and read up but do not give up. This hobby is not that difficult if you read up on everything and reasearch a species before you put it in the tank. If there is a toxin in the tank you may need to leave the rocks and gravel and replace the water. Maybe carbon would it absorb it in time. Don't know. I would do something and then after a time add one small inexpensive fish to test the water safety. Good luck and don't give up after one mistake!!! You will miss out on all the fun. Lesley

 

[shifty]

don't feel to bad i had my tank up and just got done with my cycle after 31/2 wks then my landlord came by to fix somthing and told me move or get rid of the tank i thought for a while and trust me i was going to pack it in but i decided to move and take my tank's with me so when you think you have it real bad just think there are people going through it also i lost at least 500$ in the move but i'm not going to quite somthing i started good luck in which ever way you go

 

[scottnj]

Shifty, that totally sux!!!!
Ablincoln, yoiu said above that you were given the substrate? What is it and was it in use up till you set the tank up, or had the tank been taken down and it left to sit for awhile?
Also, on the white rock you added to the tank, see if you can find out what exactly it is. I know some of those are made for fresh water tanks but will leach into salt water.
Also good luck with the hypo / ick treatment!
All that and hang in there. I recently moved into a new apartment and have been setting up a new tank, all the work building a stand, doing the plumbing and running wires. My girlfriend just keeps asking me if its not a better idea to just get a dog. And well, yep its a better idea to get a dog, Salt Water fish is an addiction or a passion, and you will spend far more money then ever expected on it. But for those moments in time when its all working as it should and the tank is healthy and the fish are happy, it almost seems worth it. ;-)
-Scott

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by ablincoln01
...
I really enjoy the hobby but may have to resume it again after I have a lot more money. As it is now, we have spent close to $900 in the past two months (we had the tank, stand, and substrate given to us) and still have an empty tank. I am starting to think of a lot more things I could be spending that money on instead of dead fish.
...
I know I know. If you are still running the tank, now would be a good time to estabish thriving plant life. And let the tank run fishless for at least three weeks. that will allow fish born parasites (ICH) to die off from lack of a host fish.
Your fish may not have died from ICH. The white spots may have been because the fish were weakened and therefore more vulnerable than normal. Once you get plant life established you will have a balanced and stable tank. And the inhabitants will be more resistant to any parasites present.

 

[booya]

With any fish, tank fish do not die for no reason what so ever. My advice to you is go do some good research. There has to be some things that you have done wrong. I am starting my first Salt Water tank, and I know I have done tons of things wrong. So I took the advice that these fine people on the board; have patients!!!!!!!!!! This hobby is about trail and error, so don’t give up and don’t believe all the things your LFS tells you.
Maybe try keeping some less expensive thing like Craps and starfish until you get the hang of things!

 

[donjasper]

NT

 

[sammystingray]

Try brine instead of mysis.....not as healthy, but it gets almost any fish eating...just my opinion. I've had lots of fish that simply did not like the taste or size of mysis, but almost every fish in ten years has absolutely LOVED brine shrimp. I would personally get the tank done...AKA more liverock, and let that settle in before I bought more fish. The tank will definately have to sit fishless for 21 days atleast to kill off the ich....not really ich in saltwater, but whatever. "ich" doesn't just stay on the fish....it goes through a few stages, and is now in the tank waiting for a fish host to infect....without a host, it will die. Post some ich questions in the disease forum....we easily have just about the best disease forum on the net.....fact.