Starting Over...any/all input appreciated

[solecraft]

So early last week, I posted a thread wondering why my Yellow Tang died. I received a lot of input, and all very helpful.
To bring you up to date, I came home the next day to find the bicolor goatfish dead and the remaining fish (1 tomato clown and 3 blue damsels) acting weird and refusing to eat. We took the remaining fish back to the store, assuming they were basically guaranteed to die if we kept them.
My roommate took a water sample with him when he took the fish back. The guy at the LFS tested it and told us that everything was normal. Ok...so why are all of our fish dying? He said that it's possible that one of our fish had a parasite and passed it on to our other fish. He corroborated this via an examination of one of the damsels, who apparently had clouded eyes and some sort of white spot around one of the eyes as well. He said that our cycling should be ending soon and that only a 30 to 50% water change was really necessary before adding a couple new fish. Additionally, he suggested to clean the algae that has basically covered our fake coral by soaking it in bleach.

So I have a couple questions, and I realize it might be a little time intensive to answer, but your help would go a long way to helping to convince my roommates that throwing 17 fish in a 46 gallon tank is a bad idea...
(1) Does what the LFS told me sound right?
(2) The tank is now sitting devoid of fish. All that remains are the 4 pieces of fake coral of various sizes. What are the suggested next steps?
(3) What is a good amount/combination of fish for a 46 bowfront? I now realize that tangs arent a good idea, and that goatfish can grow out of these tanks pretty easily.
Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[mxer485]

First before anything how long has you tank "cycled" for before u added the fish????

 

[puffer32]

Since you don;t even know if your tank cycled, I would just do a 50% water change and wait wait wait! See if you get an ammonia spike, when your tank cycles sart adding fish, though I would suggest some live rock before anything else. When you are sure your tank is cycled get some small fish, but onlt 1 or 2 at a time. Maybe a chromis, if you like them. Even a clown fish a pretty hardy and don't get to large.
You can bleach your corals, just make sure they are rinsed well before putting them back in the tank, let them sit for aday in frest water then in the sun for a day or 2. Good luck!

 

[fishmamma]

I think I may have some differing opinions here.....don't do a large water change just yet, if your tank is about to cycle that will throw it all off. Start testing your water every 24 hours for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and keep a log of this to track any cycle that may occur. THEN after a cycle has occured (if not naturally than you can start one) do a large water change.
Second issue here is leaving the tank to run fallow since it sounds as though it had diseased animals in it. Maybe post a question for Beth in the disease forum here but I think you will need to leave the tank fishless for 6 weeks, during which time you could also let the tank cycle.
As for future stocking requirements add one or two fish at a time depending on size and pairing, and wait a minimum of two weeks between additions. It is always a good idea to quarenteen new fish but I am not preaching here since I don't always do it myself....but if you get a small QT set-up and cycled now as well you can purchase fish when ever you see something you like and then house it in QT for 2-4 weeks while the tank adjusts to the last addition of bio-load (fish). I found that to be a good way to slow down my intial stocking and keep any potential problems at bay. IMO a good number of fish to end with 6 months down the line would be 4 or 5 small to medium size fish.
Good luck with starting over, I hope things have a happy ending for you this time around so you can enjoy this wonderful hobby!! :happyfish

 

[solecraft]

Originally Posted by mxer485
First before anything how long has you tank "cycled" for before u added the fish????

The tank has been up since mid september, and we "cycled" it for about a week and a half before adding some damsels.

 

[jdragunas]

Well that's probably not long enough of a cycle. This may be the reason the fish started dying. I completely agree with everything fishmamma said. You're probably going to experience another cycle, so you need to wait until your ammonia and nitrites read 0, and then do a water change, to get your nitrated below 20 ppm.
When you add fish, make sure you research them first. NO impulse buying is allowed... lol. This has gotten many people in trouble, so knowing about the fish you want before you buy it is a great idea. You could even ask the LFS if they can "hold" the fish for you while you go home and look up information on it... you can ask us here, or there's a magnificent book called "the pocketexpert guide to marine fish". This book tells you everything you need to know about 500+ of the most common saltwater fish, including the size they get, the min tank size they need, what they eat, if they're reef compatible, and much more! It's a great book to have.
Also, if you don't already have it, you should get Fenner's "the conscientious marine aquarist". This book tells you everything you need to know about maintaining your saltwater tank! It is also a marvelous addition to any library.
IMO, let the tank sit for a while before you add anything to it, to see if it's going to cycle again. Now you said the LFS saw a white spot on the fish... that could be ich, which can live in the tank for a while without a host... so if you add fish too soon, they'll probably get ich too. Like fishmamma said, ask Beth in the disease forum about this, and how to rid your tank of any parasites that may be living in it now...