Losing fish. Please Help

[enriqueb]

Hello. I have a 29gal that started with about 6 lbs of live rock and 15-20 lbs of base rock. It has been cycled for about 3 months and I have a wet/dry from a 55 gal my friend used to keep. I check my water and have ph of 8.2-8.4 no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. my salinity is a bit low right now- 1.019-1.020. I have a clean up crew with 5 turbo snails and about 10 blue leg hermits which are all fine and I have a lawnmower blenny which is doing well, as well as a pink and blue shrimp goby who has been in the tank for 2 weeks and seems great. I lost two clowns at different times within the last three months...on to brookynella..and the other to drastic temperature changes i think...both of which i know how to prevent or take care of now. I added a sixline wrasse two days ago and he seemed fine but died on me this morning. I dont know why. I acclimated him by floating the bag for about 25 minutes and adding water every 4-5 minutes for another 35-40 minutes and put him in finally. I am running chemi-pure and algea grows fairly well in my tank, so i dont think i have a toxin. and the most confusing part to me is that my inverts are fine. any idea what im doing wrong or what i should do?

 

[lion_crazz]

You may not be doing anything wrong. I don't want to assume something is or is not wrong, but have you thought that it might be your lfs' selection? I'm not criticizing the LFS. I mean, you know why the clowns died. If one had brookynella, the other could have had it slightly when it went through the water fluctuations. When you bought the six line, did you watch it feed in the store? When did the LFS get it in? Did they have it for a while? Six lines are not always very hardy when they just come into the store, so if they just got it in recently when you purchased it, that is what I would assume is your problem. Just call them and ask them the questions I just asked you, and we could rule that out.
Also, I would change your acclimation procedures as well. The float method is okay, but it is not the most effective way to acclimate your fish. I would suggest taking the fish home, and drip acclimate them in a 5 gallon bucket with airline tubing for close to an hour and a half to two hours. This will be a slower, more steady acclimation, and be better for the fish and you (because it is a lot less work for you). All you have to do is start a siphon from your tank to the thin airline tubing, and then tie a small knot in the airline tubing so that the drip is very slow.

 

[enriqueb]

thanks for the reply. i am thinking now that i didnt watch him eat, unlike the clowns i bought a while back. but he had been in the store for a few days. i know of a another lfs around me that i will check out. Also i will drip acclimate. my only question is does drip acclimation do a good job getting them temperature acclimated? thanks again. E

 

[jafrench]

The drip method is the best method. Also, with the snails, crabs, and shrimp, I would definitely get your salinity up to around 1.025-1.027. Do it slowly at about .002 per day. LFS's can often get bad fish that have been mishandled or been caught using copper or cyanide. Maybe next time you see a new fish you like put a deposit on it, and let the LFS hold it for a week. If it dies on them you get your money back. Just a thought.

 

[enriqueb]

how do i get the salinity back up slowly? i was planning to do a water change on the salty side to get it back to where it needs to be? how should i do it?

 

[lion_crazz]

What exactly is your SG at right now?

 

[enriqueb]

1.020---
the first things to die if my water is off should be my inverts right? it could be my lfs.
also does anyone know how much a pretty big pink and blue shrimp goby adds to the bioload. hes about 3.5-4inches?

 

[lion_crazz]

If your SG is 1.020 right now, next time you do a water change, make your water change water 1.021. Continue to do water changes with 1.021 water until your tank SG is 1.021. Then, when it is 1.021 in your tank, make up water change water at 1.022 until your tank reads 1.022. Then when your tank reads 1.022, make all your water change water 1.023 until your tank reads 1.023 and so until you get it where it should be.