I dont know what happend!!!!! first tank! FISH DIED!

[entice59]

i dont know what happend i added my mushroom corral and all of a sudden with-in hours my fish had white spots!!! its a horrible experince for me. Atfirst they started to have little specks i that look like salt or tiny sand particles. then they discolored and then they got weak and soon they died. all my fish has now died and all i have now is 2 hermits and a rock full of mushrooms. Also my tank now has these little things that are really tiny and white( look like lice) and they're all over the PLACE!!!
can anyone tell me if i should keep the light on all the time for the mushrooms and what my hermits will eat? i am dumbfounded. Keep in mind this is my first tank. Any ways to treat this horrible thing so i can keep my tank. i blew off my work money and they all died....... i dont want to throw it all away. I NEED TREATMENTS AND INFO ON HOW TO GET RID OF WHAT HAS HAPPEND. PLEASE!!! EMAIL ME AT FLARE59@juno.com ASAP!!!!!
OK my tank is a 15 gal hex and it has a small rock with a mushroom coral the temp and salt is perfect, its not a reef tank i just added a rock with alot of mushrooms. I had damsels which were fine before i added the rock and 2 mandarin goobies which died 3 days later on after all the damsels died. I only had the tank for about a month. >=O WHY ME!!!! i should empty out all the water? or what should i do? is there a thing i can put into the tank? is there a way to purify the water without actually taking anything out? i should have just gotten a tropical tank with betas and neon tetras.

 

[porcupinepuffer]

Wait, so you had fish in the aquarium before you added in the mushroom coral? I'm guessing that your fish had ICH and you were too late about noticing it.
I would do a waterchange if I were you, about 15%. and yes, keep the light on so your mushroom coral can receieve light. Check the water parameters.

 

[beth]

First, don't panic, and second, give us some more info about your tank, water conditions, how long has the tank been set up. I'm assuming it is a reef? Those "lice" are not the issue, so don't worry about them.
Leave the lights on as you normally would. Hermits are ominivores, so you can feed them meaty as well as vegetarian foods.

 

[entice59]

i have just added new info about my tank! PLEASE EMAIL ME!!!! I NEED INFO!!!!! I AM SOOO NEW AT THIS!!!!! FLARE59@JUNO.COM, should i get new fish maybe to cycle the tank? but what was wrong to begin with!!!!

 

[beth]

Please calm down. So there are no fish left alive? What else do you have in the tank? What type of substrate, rocks, etc.? Also, I want you to post your water readings here. Ammonia and Nitrite specifically.
Why you? Well, you made the same mistake that many new hobbyists make, which is leaping before learning.
Please provide the above info.

 

[entice59]

I have these 2 crabs which are red and small.... some rocks, afew mushrooms in on a rock, this type of green plant which the fish were supposed to eat out of i dont know the names of these things sorry i think its some type of alge plant. salt and temp are perfect, Ammonia and Nitrite i dont know........ i heard it wasnt that important...... Thank you beth for helping me out =)

 

[beth]

entice: You really do need some help. Badly. Still, don't panic. I'll talk to you later 2nite when I can spend some time with you.

 

[beth]

Well, I wonder who is giving you advise regarding setting up a marine tank? I take it you haven’t read any books about how to set things up?
Please post specific info about your tank. Like:
What type of substrate are you using
What filters are you using
What salt are you using and what did you use to measure salinity
What water you are using to mix salt
What exactly do you have in your tank. Type of rocks and décor, etc.
You need to get ammonia and nitrite test kits immediately, if not sooner.
Your tank is not cycled [meaning that it was not adequately prepared for marine life at the time that you started adding organisms]. Ammonia and nitrite are natural byproducts or marine organisms, and they are also toxic. In an unconditioned tank [such as yours] these compounds reach lethal proportions and kill off life---which you witnessed. Your tank needs to be slowly conditioned to support marine organisms.
Don’t add any more animals to your system at this point. Just get the kits I mention and give us the info I requested. When you get the kits take readings then post the results back here.
Do you mind my asking how old you are?

 

[entice59]

ok i'll start asap when i get time... im 18
to save time from posting left and right.... would you mind if i emailed you instead? if its okay with you.

 

[beth]

You can email me if you want, but I check the Disease Forum a lot more frequently then I do my email [which only gets done 1-2x a day]. Also, posting on the BB affords you the opportunity to get adivse from other members that might have some good input.
However, you can email if you want. Be sure to put SWF.com somewhere in the Subject Line otherwise your mail may go out with junk mail. Also, no attachments, I won't open them.

 

[entice59]

well i just added 2 damsels, they're looking good so far ill email if something comes up
thanks

 

[beth]

I doubt if round 2 will go better, but I hope it does. In any case, I don't mind people not taking my advise, but I am irked when people have little regard for animial life.
I doubt I'll be available for round 2, however, I will give one last bit of advise. Get this book:
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. Here is a link with a writeup on it. Excellent for beginners. Emphasis on "Conscientious". Also sold here at SWF.com. Good Luck!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...681356-1904014

 

[entice59]

My friend came over and tested the water he said it was fine, he said what the real problem was is the tank was next to my window which i open frequently. The was causing ick, i live in san francisco where the majority of the time its freezing cold every day because i live right next to the beach. He told me to just put 2 new fishes just to cycle out the tank. I moved my tank to another location. I dont actually know what the results were for the nitrate and such but he said it was good. Thanks for all the help i really appreciate you spending your own time helping me. I'll check out the book at borders.

 

[shutterbugg69]

you know im fairly new to this too......however you really need to learn how to test your tank...things can go wrong in a split second and you need to check your levels often just to keep an eye on how life is going in there! your fish depend on you to keep their living quarters livable..if you choose to take them from their natural invoroment then you need to see to it they can stay alive.just a thought........

 

[entice59]

Ok its been about a week and the fish are alive and healthy.
Heres the test results , the pH was a low the range was 7.8 and a 8.0 but i raised it to 8.2 now. The ammonia level (nH3/nH+4) is about in the middle of 0ppm and a .25. The Nitrate(n0-2) is 0 ppm. and finally the nitrate(n0-3) level looks to be inbetween a 0 and a 5. I saw these slugs in the store today and wasnt sure what it was called it was purple with a white lining on the outer edge and has a neon orange eyes and has some kinda wierd thing on its back looks like its eyes... it looks like a bush of. looks wierd ... is it poisonus, what does it eat? Oh, my mushrooms i was wondering if it will actually branch out on to other rocks

 

[beth]

You didn't buy the "slug" did you??? Avoid getting it.

 

[entice59]

uh.... oops.... sorry i gotten it.... i shouldnt have gotten it?

 

[jake22]

I just returned one of those same exact slugs. It almsot got sucked into my filter and died. I think they realease toxins when they die.

 

[entice59]

are you for reals?????? crap........ thats not good..... how do u know if they are dieing or going to die just to make sure and what do they eat and what other info should i know about this slug, it just extracted this white foamy substance on a rock? what is it and do u know the name of it by any chance?

 

[donnal]

i have just been reading all the posting here i'm also new at this the most important thing i have learned is patants is a must and by all means lisen to wise people that have been doing this much lunger then us like Beth it will save animal life and you money and time in long run