Fishes dying

[IshDeOne]

I have 1 adult 3 bar damsel, 1 juvenile one & 2 clownfish.

The adult damsel has been in the tank fr 3 weeks aedi.. So i bought the other 3 fishes and acclimatise them for 3 hours wit the drip method..

I released them in the main tank n they were swimming happily arnd..

When i woke up tdy, the juvenile damsel n 1 of the clownfish wqs dying...

I don get the logic.. How come the adult damsel is healthy n active while these fishes are dying?

[Angel Keeper]

Have you checked your nitrates? Your adult damsel may have gotten used to the slowly increasing nitrates... But your new fishes may have just been dumped into a high nitrate environment.

Angel Keeper

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/128217-Angel-Keeper's-5-Feet-Mixed-Reef-Tank

[asg]

Maybe the adult damsel attack the new fish... also possible is nitrate spike cos bio filter used to one fish load...

[IshDeOne]

Nitrates reading between above 10 to 50ppm Second clownfish is dying too.. Anyways to save them?

[RayL]

Change water more frequently? Like 10% every other day.

[dinGdinG]

Nitrates reading between above 10 to 50ppm Second clownfish is dying too.. Anyways to save them?

IMHO, I think 50ppm is very high... you had your tank for how long already?

[IshDeOne]

Its defn not 50ppm bro.. Its more than 10ppm but defn less than 50ppm.

Its been 2 months, finished cycling within the 1st month actually... and i have only manage to keep the 3 bar damsel alive.. the other fishes i kept died aftr a few days or few hours..

and i do 30percent water change every week.

should i cycle it somemore?

[Angel Keeper]

Your anaerobic bacteria is insufficient to convert nitrites to nitrates... That's why nitrates will continue to climb... You can use Microbacter7 when you add new fishes in. This will increase the bacteria within the tank to handle the new increased bioload...

Angel Keeper

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/128217-Angel-Keeper's-5-Feet-Mixed-Reef-Tank

[mitchell.liang.9]

Got check the fins of the dead fish? Could be due to stress from transport and possible harrasement from the dominant damsel that already "claimed" the tank. Either way it could be due to sudden rise in pollutants in the tank leading to a spike in ammonia nitrite or nitrate. Prolly should check for all 3 when introducing new fishes specially if its 3 at one go and your system only used to one fish. All the best!!!

[Martian]

I had the same problem previously when I had kept 3 zebra damsels. I also thought my water parameter was the culprit but it was the Zebra damsels who was killing the new additions. Once I removed the damsels, everything was fine... You should monitor your damsels...

[IshDeOne]

The adult damsel kept chasing the juvenile but left the clownfish u harmed.. I think I'm just going to do a 50 percent water change.. And probably let it cycle another week or two.. Is there any product to add the bacteria needed for a stable tank? I'm just beginning this hobby n this set backs are just making want to drop it Thanks for all the advices fellow reefers.

[tang_sohal]

Damsel are known to be extremely aggressive towards new additions especially when they have been established in the tank. Suggestion. If you can catch the damsel, placed it in an isolation box when you put the new fishes in. This will give time for the new fishes to established their territory. Of course without the size of your tank, it is very hard to say if the problem lies with your damsel

[tang_sohal]

Alternatively it can also be your water parameters. Damsels are know to be more hardy then most fishes. With less then pristine water parameters. The damsels will be the last to perish

[Edmund Koh]

The adult damsel kept chasing the juvenile but left the clownfish u harmed.. I think I'm just going to do a 50 percent water change.. And probably let it cycle another week or two.. Is there any product to add the bacteria needed for a stable tank? I'm just beginning this hobby n this set backs are just making want to drop it Thanks for all the advices fellow reefers.

Get MicroBacter7. Go for the bigger bottle as it's quite dilute and needs to be added daily for the first week. After that it's once a week.

I prefer this over the Prodibio range of bacteria as I have used both in cycling my new tank and it's the MicroBacter7 that's really speeding up the bacteria growth.

[IshDeOne]

Alright. Thanks bro

[IshDeOne]

I managed to keep 3 clownfishes alive till today..

I had put the damsel in a separate tank ( now given away) and the clownfishes were added thereafter...

They survived for abt 4 days until today. Came home to find one dead and idk whats wrong...

my tank temp has been changing from 31-32 deg.

every other reading are normal. i don understand whats happening.. anyone with any idea?

I wondering if i should u activated carbon pellets to remove any toxins or stuff thats in the tank ...

[Edmund Koh]

Clownfishes are usually pretty hardy fishes. Had 2 surviving in a tank of 30odd degrees before so I highly doubt it's the 31-32 degrees temperature that's ar fault.

But then .. Is it constantly in the 31-32 range or does it changes greatly throughout the day? If the lowest temperature of the day is at 25-26 and the highest is 32 I think there is a need to worry about your temperature.

Also .. Do u mind giving us your reading for salinity, ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

[IshDeOne]

Temp : lowest 28 deg

highest ( every other day ) - 30 Deg

for today - 32 Deg

Salinity - 1.025

Ph - 7.5

nitrate - 10ppm to 25ppm

I don have my ammonia and nitrite reading , as i ran out of the kits..

[mitlancer]

Ph too low. Try to increase to 8.3

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[Edmund Koh]

Nitrate is ok.

Ph try and get it between 7.8 - 8.3 ... 7.5 is way to low.

Ammonia and nitrite will be quite crucial especially for new tanks. Try to get the kits.

[IshDeOne]

Finally found the culprit n it was a painful finding actually... Of the pump's wire had been exposed n was leeching out electricity into the water.. Found out wen i got electrocuted.. Only 1 clownfish left.. Haaaix

[Edmund Koh]

Ouch! At least a now u know