wondering whether to give up

[schnyd]

My husband and I are new to the hobby and I just stumbled upon this message board. We started a tank 7 1/2 months ago. Fish-only, 46 gallon, emperor power filter, CPR unit. We're using the only LFS we trust, but it sounds to me from this message board that most people don't have a high opinion of LFS. But what's our option?
We haven't had a lot of luck keeping fish. We'd had two fish (yellow tang and blue damsel) for 6 months but they both died yesterday, along with a cleaner wrasse. THree fish in one day was frustrating.
And the remaining fish look ill to me - blackbird wrasse is lethargic but still eats, black and white damsel eats but coloring looks odd and our sailfin tang is not eating, sucks air and is obsessed with the return hole on the CPR. We've gone through quite a few damels, wrasses (cleaner, rainbow, blackbird) and a clown fish since last September.
We've had some parasite problems and treated with copper about a month ago. Our chemicals are all checking out OK, so we don't know how to fix the problem.
We are considering buying a UV steralizer...but will it make that big of an impact? We are wondering whether to invest another $150 on the UV steralizer or to just pack it in and try freshwater if these final three fish die?
Did any of you start out this way, too? Would appreciate any and all advice.

 

[saltwater marauder]

O.K., You say you have or had,two tangs, two wrasses, damsels, etc and that the tanks is 46 gal. IMO, your tanks is too small for the tangs. What are your water parameters, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH, Salinity, etc all this will help to troubleshoot your problem. Also, sounds like you need to increase O2 exchnage if your sailfin is hanging out by the pump return, either that or ich is in his gills, maybe flukes, and he is suffocating. You should post your water parameters so everyone here can help you out, but it sounds like the tank is a little crowded. How soon did you add all these fish? Were they all added at one time? one every two weeks? If you are not dealing with the parasite problem, as for right now the UV wont help. Have you gotten a look at the fishes gills? Are they discolored? Spotted? How long did you treat with the copper? Who manufactures? What level did you maintain for the duration of treatment? Sorry for all the questions but your responses will help everyone to narrow down what your problems could be.

 

[03]

HI i would sit back a minute and find the problem and stop restocking for now we need some specs on the tank the first thing i would look at is ph how are you doing there!

 

[schnyd]

Let me know if this sounds like overcrowding. We started out with a few damsels and then each month started to add extra fish. We had two damsels, then added a Yellow Tang and blackbird wrasse (that died) in October, Followed by a clownfish and Blackbird wrasse in December, follwed by a Mexican Rock Wrasse and a Sailfish Tang in January. At our peak we had the two Tangs about two inches long, two juvenille Wrasses, a small clownfish and two damsels in a 46 gallon tank. Does anyone have a suggestion on what would have been a good mix of fish that would work with a 46 gallon tank.

 

[schnyd]

On the skimmer subject:
We have a CPR, which I believe is a skimmer. Its valve is wide-open, which I believe means we're pulling in as much air as possible.
Is there something else we can do to get oxygen in the tank?
By the way, the sailfin tang died today. So that is 4 fish in two days. We have a black & white damsel and a blackbird wrasse remaining.

 

[pufferlover]

In reading your post it reminds me of what I call my devil possessed tank a 45 gallon. This tank has been a pain in my side for as long as it has been a salt tank, and I probably lost more fish in it then any of my other tanks. The other side of the coin is I also have a 46 Gal bowfront that has been the most stable tank I have ever had. Now when I think back on why I think there are 2 reasons if I am honest with you all and that is the 45 once it has more then 4 fairly small fish in it just goes sour. The 46 has 10 fish in it and has for close to 4 years now with only 2 deaths I can remember and that was from bullying not disease. I think the size the fish will get to has to be considered very closely. Also, both tanks have Emperor 280's and thats all they ever had (the 45 has had a skilter 400 added to it but to no good effect I can see). I also tried a UV on the 45 and within a few weeks another Ick outbreak happened then the UV broke and I have sent it back for replacement as it was only 3 months old. Now going a step further the 45 has the most beautiful green algae growth one could want, the water is crystal clear and readings all good but still it will not work right. I have a theory and that is the 12" tanks are a problem in the say 30 gallon and up sizes for marine use (I used to use the 45 for African freshwater and had no problems till I switched it to salt) why I can't explain expertly but I truly believe there is just not enough room for many of the salt type fish in that size tank.

 

[schnyd]

Pufferlover: we have the 46 gal bowfront you are talking about. You said you've had luck
with it and had 10 fish...what were the 10 fish?
Thanks for your input.

 

[saltwater marauder]

To increase oxygen you can put a powerhead at the top of the tank and direct it so that it ripples the water. What about your water parameters? Ph, Ammo, etc? I would also take a good look at the dead tangs gills and see if you notice any dicoloration, flukes, or ich, which would be difficult wihtout a good magnifying glass or microscope. Gotta figure out whats killing these fish before deciding on new stock.

 

[schnyd]

I've noticed that when you guys give water parameters, you usually give numbers. We have been using those quick dips, so I don't have numbers to give. I can tell you whether the dips show ideal or unsafe conditions. Will that help, or do I need to buy something else to measure the water?

 

[saltwater marauder]

Who manufactures the kit? Is it red sea? Personally, I have never liked the dry tab kits, currently I am using the saltwater master test kit that you can find online for about 15 bucks. The ph level is the hardest to read as the color doesnt vary much between 8.0 and 8.8, but other than that I like it. There are all sorts of kits that run anywhere from 10 to 350 bucks, maybe higher. Have you thought about taking a water sample to your lfs and having them test it, with a liquid kit? Might want to do that.