Please help

[leopard_babe]

I have had my tank set yup for almost 2 months. i did a water change earlier my third one maybe. It appears my ammonia spiked. Nitites, and nitrates at 0. Ph at 8.2. Alk at normal level. Salinity at 1.023, and temp at 79. I have a medium sizes tomatoe clown and 2 blue damsels. The clown appears to be alright for now. One damsel is close to being a gonner. I am having a hard time watching my fish die. is there anything that I can do? I am cycling my QT right now, it is not ready for fish. It is also a sunday night. Is there a possibility i can

[hr]
my fish somehow??? thanks all

 

[daniel411]

Do you have any Amquel?
What makes you feel one of the damsels is a goner?

 

[leopard_babe]

My ammonia is at zero I finally got a reading. My damsel won't move, the gills are going rather fast, and it is kind of white. No cloudy eyes, and I know tha it is not ich. This same damsel was a little white the day before, but then it went away. they all ate this morning. the other damsel is hiding under the rock the non moving damsel is with. the clown is swimming slow and staying at the bottom. The clown and pther damsel appear to be alright at the moment. got any ideas???

 

[cindyski]

you said your tank has been up for 2 months, is that total time or in addition to cycle time?
also did you use your display tank water in your QT? wouldnt that make the cycle much quicker?
just a thought, i am new too

 

[leopard_babe]

It has been cycled for a month and set up for 2. The damsels cycle the tank. they have been in for 6 weeks. The clown has been in for 2 weeks. The water in the QT was from the display, and it had a little ammonia this morning. There is no ammonia in my display. So right now everything is at 0. Why are my fish dying? I did the water change the same i lwys do. With aged saltwater. Are they gonna be ok. Is there something I should do?

 

[leopard_babe]

If this isn't weird, my fish is blue again. Still not swimming, but it has gotten its color back. What the heck is going on??

 

[leopard_babe]

my fish are all swimming sideways got any ideas?

 

[beth]

I'm confused. Are the fish in a QT that has ammonia? Or are they still in the display.
Give specific readings.

 

[daniel411]

Yikes! Sadly, I have no ideas
Temp, ph, water circulation, no chlorine, ammoina, nitrate, nitrite, are all good? Did this all just suddenly start happening today?

 

[lovethesea]

Something similiar happend to us when we started up our tank.
After a water change we had used aged salt water (as usual)
BUT, we used a different salt to mix that time. It was instant ocean.....when things started going hay wire, we started testing everything under the sun. The last test was the salt. It was really high. Something had happened to the batch of salt water. To this day we don't know. We called our LFS who was very trustworthy and helped along the way with our set up. He said to ditch the IO and come in and get some new salt water that he had on hand. We did a large water change and things went back to normal.(slowly) I am not suggesting you do this, but I am giving you some in sight on what happened to us. Did you change anything recently?

 

[leopard_babe]

They are not in QT. I came home after about 5 hours, and everyone was sideways. The damsel is at the top of the tank. I know he probably won't make it till tomorrow. This particular damsel was slightly discolored before. Nothing has been changed in the tank. i just turned the lights off. Clown is swimming. Dying damsel is hoovering near top, and hiding under a rock. the other damsel has been hiding since i came home. the 2 damsles are breathing kind of fast. besides swimming funny the clown apear to be ok. Any other suggestions?

 

[beth]

You forgot to post your readings.

 

[leopard_babe]

amm- 0
no2- 0
no3- 0
salt- 1.023
temp- 79
alk- norm
ph- 8.2
all the same when I added the fish

 

[leopard_babe]

Ok clown and damsel #1 both at the top. Still swimming sideways. what I am most concerned with is what is causing my fish to be sick? I want to know so that I can treat my tank and add more fish. thanks all.

 

[beth]

How do you mix your salt water, and what is your water source? What filters do you use?

 

[leopard_babe]

Well goodnight all. i am totally frustrated, so I am going to bed. If I have any fish left omorrow I will let you know. Somehw I HIGHLY doubt it. i will go to the locl fish store and get pre mix salt water and do a large water chage, and then test my water. When can i add more fish? I am sad my birthday was this week and i was going to get another fish, and new lights. If I have to let my tank cycle again I am going to be P^&%. I'll update you later. Thanks everyone!

 

[beth]

Besides the fish dying behavor, what else do you notice wrong the fish. Rapid breathing, spots on the fish, swollen gills.
I would suggest you let up on the fish buying for now. Also, how big is your tank?

 

[leopard_babe]

I have a wet/dry with protein skimmer with bio balls. it is an overflow in the tank. I mixed the Ro and instant ocean salt in a bucket. the water was only about 12 hours old so it wasn't really aged. Could that be the cause? There is a powerhead in the bucket to keep stirring it. I stuc a heater in the bucket also. The bucket that is only dediated to the fish tank. I used a water pitcher that is only for the fish tank, to take the water out. I used the same pitcher to add water to the tank. i only did about 3 gallons. I have doneit this way beofre with no problem. If my levels are reading normal i have a hard time seeing that the water change is what is causing my problem. Thank beth I really appreciate your help.

 

[leopard_babe]

My tank is a 46. The damsel is near the top of the tank. He is white on both sides, from the gills to the tails. He is not pure white, but there is alot of white discoloration. He was breathing fast, but nbow then breathing has slowed down. He will swim to the top of the tank, and go and hid under his rock. the clown is swimming upside down and sideways. Occationaly going to the top of the tank. No discoloring on him at all. No cloudy eyes on any of them. the gills of the 3rd fish (another damsel) look mildly swollen. However i cannot see her, she is in her cave that she sleeps in. It appears that she has been breathing fast. Also apppears that the gills are swollen. Haven't seen her swim, or her coloring. thanks!!!

 

[leopard_babe]

Damsel #1 dead