Why my clownfish die?

id52

id52

New Member
I am kind of stumped, hoping someone can answer me. I have had my tank for 5 months and all seems to be going well. Have a coral beauty in it since Feb. On Thursday, I decided to get 2 clownfish from the LFS. Before putting them in, I tested the water and all was within it's normal range.
Saturday morning, I discovered one of the clownfish dead. Then I found the other one dead this morning. I immediately tested the water and this is what I have.
Ammonia.....0.1
Nitrate.........50
Nitrite..........0.3
Alkalinity.....175
PH.............8.1
Calcium.....500
Temp.......80.4
Salinity....1.022
My question is what could of happened? The fish had just arrived at the LFS on Wednesday. Is it possible that there purchased too soon? Can't understand why the clownfish will die, but the coral beauty is still swimming away.
 
pontius

pontius

Active Member
probably too much stress from being shipped, put in the lfs tanks, removed, and put in your tank, all in half a week. also, how did you acclimate them to your tank?
your ammonia and nitrite should be at 0. the nitrate would be best at 20 or below.
 
cl0wnfish

cl0wnfish

Member
Hold off adding any more fish until your ammonia and nitrite is zero. Do 10% water changes every 5 days to get the nitrate down.
They probably died as a result of stress from shipping combined with sub-optimal water conditions.
 
lizzard

lizzard

Member
That’s why you should really quarantine new fish. Not only for observation of disease but to reduce stress from shipping. It gives them time to regain strength so they can handle meeting new tank mates that might harass them at first, and just get use to you and their new surroundings.
 
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