unexplained death of two fish in a week, help all opinions appriciated

sarat

sarat

New Member
:help: I currenlty added a orange back tang to my aquarium along with a sea anenome and star fish. within the past week I lost one clown fish that was perfectly fine a couple of hours before and ate good the evening before. My clown died a day after adding the new addition and now my tang. (the tang was one of my new additions) I have checked ammonia levels and tested for nitrates, nitrites, ph alkalinity and everything is normal. please can anyone give me an idea of what might be wrong? all opinions will be greatly appriciated.
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
My tank has been set up for three weeks, but the pet store I bought the fish at said as long as i stayed under ten in. of fish and the water checked ok i would be fine. are they wrong on this?
 
crazyguy

crazyguy

Member
ur tank needs to go through a cycle of at least 3 mon ths mine took 5 months. Never listen to the lfs they just want ur money quickly thats why they said that
 
crazyguy

crazyguy

Member
u prob. wont belive me but i did the same mistake and i know how u feel i lost 600 bucks in a week with my 400g
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
so basically what killed them if the water checked out fine? please dont think im stupid i just dont understand.
 
crazyguy

crazyguy

Member
the water could be perfect and still ur fish could die. Please cycle ur tank. Its an absolute yes to do it.
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
I have a digital camera but im not really familiar with using it. I can explain it to you however, the tank is 40 gal. and i have living rock along with dead rock and sand on the bottom. i thought cycling your tank was complete after nitrates and nitrites leveled.
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
also can u please explain what exactly cycling is if its not the leveling of nitrates and nitrites
 
loopy

loopy

Member
you need more experience before opening a fish store.....don't waste and lose your money...even if there is a demand. There is a HUGE demand here...but I would be the last person to open a fish store, it would be like flushing money down the toilet. Ya gotta be a pro.
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
thanks for the info. i typed cycling into the google bar. I read about cycling, and their saying thirty days. the only thing i dont understand is that i check my water every couple days and my water has never peaked and then fall out. is this normal to have good readings everytime. i mean i know that the cycle process is for these to rise and fall so each bacteria can over take the one before so your tank can handle the amnonia, but i have never had any of this rising and bottoming out and have never had any high amnonia levels even after i added the new fish, not once. so what do you think is going on?
 
sarat

sarat

New Member
salinity and temp are fine, i check the salinity weekly with a hydrometer and keep my tanks at around 79 deg.
 
greatfullreefer

greatfullreefer

Active Member
how did you acclimate the fish? Additionally to start a cycle you need a source of ammonia (commonly a raw dead coctail shrimp)
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
I'll spare the "Tang Police" an arrest and be the first to tell you that tangs should be kept in at least a 75 gallon tank (many will say 100 gallons or more). :)
Also, anemones require much more light than what comes on standard tanks. I don't know the exact wattage needed, but I do know that the 32 watts on my tank is much too low for what an anemone needs.
Sea stars should only be added to stable, established tanks. They are among the most sensitive of sea creatures. Star experts recommend waiting six months before getting one. :)
-lefty
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member

Originally posted by SaraT
My tank has been set up for three weeks, but the pet store I bought the fish at said as long as i stayed under ten in. of fish and the water checked ok i would be fine. are they wrong on this?
YES, they are wrong, and they probably made some good money off you. Sad but common...ESPECIALLY if they sold you something like a tang for such a young tank! Many of these fish just do not do well in young tanks, regardless of what the water test says...things that can't be measured easily.
IMO, not tang in a tank under 6 months old. At least give it a few months past cycling.
Not to mention that it is not a "hardy" tang relatively...it is a tang that, IMO, should always be in a Q tank before adding to a main tank.
What other fish do you have in the tank?
Honestly, your LFS sounds terrible :nope: 10" of fish in a new tank! That is maximum stocking level, IMO!!! In a brand new tank! Maybe 10" of damsels to cycle it, if it is an "old school" place but not what they sold you! And how good is their warranty? I assume they gave you a credit on the tang?
 
meadbhb

meadbhb

Member
Hiya,
How much live sand and live rock is in the tank? Sometimes if you put a lot in the tank, it may registar no cycle.
Meadbhb
 
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