Need help settling a argument

[pfunk]

OK, I have a friend who has not been able to keep any fish alive, except two clarkiis he had for little over a month in his old 20 gallon.
He now has a 30 gallon tank with about 30-40 lbs of LR and 5" SB. Again, everything he puts in dies. His water has been tested and the ammonia was, "a little high", according to the LFS but everything else was good to go(trites, trates, Ph, etc.).
He has a bio-wheel filter that i have only seen used on freshwater tanks that came with his 30 gallon tank package and one powerhead on the tank. He also has crabs and peppermint shrimp that do fine but he can't keep fish.
He had a red slime algae problem on his sandbase but he cut his flourescent light down to 4-5 hours a day and the algae has since dissapeared. He has a relatively weak light.
Now to the questions.
1) He says that there is nothing wrong with his water because if that were so, his peppermint shrimp and crabs would be the first thing to die. He sticks to the idea that he has been buying "bunk" fish and that is were the problem lies. I have some fish from the two LFS and i have managed to keep mine alive, with only a few deaths. Are the shrimp and crabs good indicators of water quality? And is there any validity to this argument?
2) Could his filter be the problem? He is the only person i have seen running this type of filter on a saltwater tank. It closely resembles the penguin filters for a 30 gallon but it has a biowheel. Perhaps he isnt getting enough filtration.
3) Why do you think his fish are dying and he cant keep anything alive. He is getting very frustrated and is on the verge of quitting.
Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated in figuring out this "mystery".

 

[flamingkingofhe]

1) being that the crabs and shrimp are usually the first thing added as a clean up crew then imo yes they probably would be hardier than the fish
2) i dont think it is the filter because he has betwenn 1-1.? lbs of lr so that should be suffient filtration there plus the bio-wheel
3) how strong is the power head is he getting enough air in the tank also even a small amount of ammonia is deadly imo does he have a skimmer or possibly a mantis shrimp

 

[cboyfan2020]

I agree with Flame. Even a small amount of ammonia and nitrites can be very bad. What kinda fish was he adding? A lot of fish need mature satble tanks before they can be added. Any weds ever used? copper,etc?

 

[wamp]

0 ammonia= good
Any ammonia trace=no good.
No way around it. Any and I mean any ammonia that shows up on a test kit is bad.

 

[thomas712]

What about acclimation procedures. Also if he has another fish die take a very good look at it to see if you can find any abnormalities. Are his fish eating alright or do they stop eating when they get in his tank?
Ammonia being a "little high" is not a good thing, its like saying that the water is a little toxic.
Thomas

 

[david s]

His water has been tested and the ammonia was, "a little high", according to the LFS but everything else was good to go(trites, trates, Ph, etc.).
this makes me think. having ammonia without trites and trates.when he put a fish in the ammonia shot up and killed the fish. and nothing has been converted to trites or trates. or the readings are wrong. Unless this tank has a very good sandbed I would think there should be some trates hanging around.
the not enuff air seems viable too. no air leads to death then to ammonia. If the fish is left in the tank

 

[pfunk]

Good points.
The tank in question is around 5 mos old. The water, sand and rock came from an established 20 gallon up around 5-6 mos. before the conversion to the 30.
As far as how many fish are added at a time. I think no more than 2 at a time. Or maybe one or two over a week long period. There has never been to much in the tank at one time, i dont believe, the livestock dies quickly (recently had a percula die in two days).
The deaths tend to be sudden and sweeping with everything dying at once. He does leave the dead fish in for the cleanup crew to eat, i have read that this isnt a good idea, perhaps that may be contributing to his problem.
I will check with him and pass the info along.
Any additional advice is still appreciated.
Thanks Folks

 

[flamingkingofhe]

all the fish dieing and being left in the tank may be what is causing the ammonia

 

[thomas712]

That explains the ammonia, however why would his nitrites and nitrates be....."good to go" that does not make sence with ammonia present like that, with dead fish left in the tank.
go to another LFS and have that water retested,. or get the kits and test it yourself. Somthings really not right here. The red slime also talks of water quality problem..ie nitrates,phosphates, docs,docs and more docs by leaving the carcusses in there. Might be a desease problem as well.
Thomas