PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Amonia

[elvictre]

I woke up to one of my chromis being dead this morning and I went out and bought a test kit. The guy from the LPS that I purchased my take from would normally check my tank once a month, but due to my first fish dying on me I wanted to test myself. My levels are as follows PH 8.1, Nitrate 10, Nitrite 0.2, Amonia 0. The test kit say's that these levels are good, but then why did my fish dye. My other fish are 2 Clowns, 1 Hippo Tang, 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Oriole Angel, 1 Coral Beauty Angel, 1 Blennie, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, 1 Fire Shrimp, 15 Hermit Crabs, 3 Jumbo Mexican Turbo Snails and 10 Small Snails. All the other fish are doing great and there seems to be lots of life in my live rock (little worms all over and tiny anemones growing on one rock). Is there any concern for my other fish?
Thanks
Vic

 

[dreeves]

Seems like alot of fish for a 75...the two dwarf angels will probably end up fighting...
Nitrite needs to be 0...amonia 0, nitrate probably shouldnt be any higher then 10-15ppm...you may need a different test kit.
There needs to be more info on the particular fish that died...i.e...how long you had it and so on...where there any spots or such on the fish...
Water temp, salinity and so on.

 

[elvictre]

Thanks,
I had the fish about 1 month, there were no spots on it but it did act kind of shy (hiding behind a rock) the past couple of days and now one of the remaining 2 is doing the same. I don't have a salinity tester (will go buy one now). How am I suposed to know how many fish for the tank and would you recommend anding any anemones to the tank since I might have too many fish now.
Thanks Again
Vic

 

[beamer]

There is some rule to go by and I'm not sure what it is. If I had to guess I would say 1 inch/gl of water. Hmmm. That doesn't really sound right, I'm sure one of the others will chime in here.
The main thing I wanted to say is with the livestock that you have you might want to wait on the anemone. I bought a small bubble tip anenome about a month ago and it has gotten HUGE! I'm going to have to move some of my corals around because of it. He looks bigger everyday. They may be little and cute in the LFS, but they do grow fast, or mine did anyway. However, my little clark clown loves his anemone!:yes:

 

[bobbyzat]

If i had to guess, I would say your tank is way over stocked. I have a 75 myself, and am still debating if I want to squeeze A tang into it, let alone two. And two angelfish in a small tank like that is a nono too from what I have seen. Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, but from what I have seen, its true, and they will never behappy or healthy packed in like that.

 

[barry cuda]

Depending on who you ask, the rule of thumb ranges between 1" per 2-5 gallons of tank capacity. As a beginner, it's probably a very good idea to stay closer to 1" of fish per 5 gallons. And be aware that this recommendation is for the adult size of the fish...even if those tangs are tiny now, they'll get much bigger. My opinion is that the tank is way overstocked.
And on the anemone - I'd recommend you just skip it. Most anemones are very, very hard to keep and something over 90% of anemones taken from the wild die in the first six months in a hobbyist aquarium. Given that they live for centuries in the wild, I'd urge you to just say "no."

 

[dreeves]

If you do not even have a hydrometer...how do you check or know the salinity of the water? You probably ought to skip the anemone...they require for the most part, bright light such as metal halide to really thrive...
The rule of thumb doesnt include inch per gallon ratio...the rule of thumb is based on each individual specimen you decide to keep in the tank...it is based upon temperment, habitat needs and feeding...as far as to why the fish died...I would have to guess stress. Chromis are somewhat passive and that trait will induce a certain level of frailty...easy stress.
I do not think you should add anything more to your tank...and maybe find a home for the Yellow tang and one of the dwarf angels...