New tank setup

[bboytrez]

hi guys..

pls advise. circulate the tank for 1 week. then add live rock for 1 week. then add 2 true perculiar and 2 blue yellow tail damsel and a black stripe damsel.

the next day, found d damsel to be dead. then 2 days later, 1 of the perculiar dead. 5 days later, another of the perculiar died. heartbreak. 1 of the damsel proved to be too teritorial. chase furiously. isit the damsel or maybe.. like wat i read in the forum, got 1 of the idiotic anemone or sum sort. they say it will sting the clown or any fish datz too near wit it. isit one of the main reason?

below is the pic of the anemone. tanx to MR LIMPC for the pic..

[ah fat]

It looks like an anemone but not very sure if it stings clowns. only heard of 1 type which eat fishes, tube anemone or sth.

Not very sure.

Cycling of tank does not start untill you have added your liverocks.

Therefore it means your tank has only been cycled for a week.

Recommended by most people is 3weeks.

Adding 5 fishes at one go is very not recommended. Something which i did when i started as well.

Learned that you have to take it SLOWLY and add 1 or 2 fishes per week.

To prevent sudden change in the nitrate nitride cycles.

Selection of fishes is very important. All the 5fishes are territorial and the clowns are not mated pairs right?

This might contribute to stress with the fish.

All newly bought fishes are stressed to new environments. Therefore newly bought fishes from farms have higher tendency to die within the 1st week of introducing to the tank.

Think there is a lot of factors which contribute to this. Try taking it slowly and follow the right process. It will help a lot and of course SAVE a lot of money on dead fishes.

My 2 cents worth.

[bboytrez]

thanx 4 the fast reply Mr AHFAT.. im very new and willing to learn more from experience folks like u. btw, i juz chiseled out the anemone out from the rock. hmm.. i hope im doing the right thing..

[ah fat]

thanx 4 the fast reply Mr AHFAT.. im very new and willing to learn more from experience folks like u. btw, i juz chiseled out the anemone out from the rock. hmm.. i hope im doing the right thing..

im not experienced.. juz started not long ago only.. but do read a lot here.. there is a lot to learn.

[bboytrez]

btw, any way to keep the blue damsels happy and not be too territorial?

[reeftask]

what ah fat says is true and thats the fastest cycle time to add a fish. Usually americans and europeans more patience and cycle their tanks far more than that time. It also depends on the live rock status. Very matured rocks and less die-offs during transportation home will lessen the cycle time.

The anemone is majano and it will not kill your fishes when they are near. Only the poison mucus is too much will kill them. I can see that you have so many majanos. I think the die-offs are mainly due to your tank condition unstable. Seems Still too new as I can see so many majanos. Only LFS live rocks will give you so many majanos. They are easy to get rid but not aipstasia. I hope you have no aipstasia but time will tell when they surface.

To make a damsel happy is to release it back to its original home. You where is its original home?

Damsels are born aggressive.

[angelfishlover]

what ah fat says is true and thats the fastest cycle time to add a fish. Usually americans and europeans more patience and cycle their tanks far more than that time. It also depends on the live rock status. Very matured rocks and less die-offs during transportation home will lessen the cycle time.

The anemone is majano and it will not kill your fishes when they are near. Only the poison mucus is too much will kill them. I can see that you have so many majanos. I think the die-offs are mainly due to your tank condition unstable. Seems Still too new as I can see so many majanos. Only LFS live rocks will give you so many majanos. They are easy to get rid but not aipstasia. I hope you have no aipstasia but time will tell when they surface.

To make a damsel happy is to release it back to its original home. You where is its original home?

Damsels are born aggressive.

To remove that thing cycle ur tank for a 1 month then add a filefish.Hmm damsels supposedly to be super hardy.Mine still survive for 4 months.Oh my u added too much damsels.Now i noe one factor that leads to the death of ur fishes.

[bboytrez]

wah.. 2 damsels can make a big difference?

[Ah-lim]

Why damsel.........

Damsels are territorial, its their nature.

Can't change that..

[angelfishlover]

wah.. 2 damsels can make a big difference?

Yes even though same species or diff species they will fight.I dunno wether that is majano anemone or bubble tip anemone cause it looks like it have bubble tips.

[mopiko]

i used false clown and couple of green chromis to help my tank cycle green chromis belong to damsel family too but more "guai". the rest of the damsels no no for me.

hey reeftask, you went reefing? now back to your task ?

[mopiko]

i used false clown and couple of green chromis to help my tank cycle green chromis belong to damsel family too but more "guai". the rest of the damsels no no for me.

hey reeftask, you went reefing? now back to your task ?

[reeftask]

To remove that thing cycle ur tank for a 1 month then add a filefish.Hmm damsels supposedly to be super hardy.Mine still survive for 4 months.Oh my u added too much damsels.Now i noe one factor that leads to the death of ur fishes.

but filefish not suitable for my tank, just wont risk.

damsels are too hardy and hard to catch, LOL.

[reeftask]

Why damsel.........

Damsels are territorial, its their nature.

Can't change that..

majano has slight bubble tip. Had those 7-8 yrs ago when new to this hobby. The LFS still said gimme free when I buy 100kg LR. I thought still got free gold, LOL.

[reeftask]

i used false clown and couple of green chromis to help my tank cycle green chromis belong to damsel family too but more "guai". the rest of the damsels no no for me.

hey reeftask, you went reefing? now back to your task ?

Yeah, finished dancing with lionfish, LOL. Lionfish went mating so I have to come back.

chromis is slightly above level of "low aggressive".

damsels are suitable to live with lionfish.

[sherman]

Have you cycle till NH3,NO2 and NO3 is zero before you add in the LS?

[angelfishlover]

but filefish not suitable for my tank, just wont risk.

damsels are too hardy and hard to catch, LOL.

Got zoas is it???Cause i got brown zoas growing on my LR after getting the filefish the zoas are gone and my aiptasia too.

majano has slight bubble tip. Had those 7-8 yrs ago when new to this hobby. The LFS still said gimme free when I buy 100kg LR. I thought still got free gold, LOL.

Where u get the rocks from???

Yeah, finished dancing with lionfish, LOL. Lionfish went mating so I have to come back.

chromis is slightly above level of "low aggressive".

damsels are suitable to live with lionfish.

Wah so good ah breed lionfish.

[BFG]

Best thing to do now is to leave the tank alone for 2 month to let the cycle complete. Do not add any livestock into that tank. Switch off the lights to prevent algae from growing. Do not change water for now but only after the 2 month cycle. Be patient or else you won't be successful and don't cheat. Use the KISS method for now.

[babareef]

I think you added the fish too early. During this cycle period a lot of tiny organisms die of from your live rocks and so on. All this die offs cause your NO3 to rise up sharply or even become poisonous ammonia. So be patient. I suggest u do a tests on all parameters like NO3, SG, Calcium, KH and so on before adding any livestocks at all. I'm pretty sure your NO3 is high now. Change 50% of water only after at least a month then change about 10 to 20% every week. Be sure to do all the tests b4 and after water change.

Hope this helps

[angelfishlover]

I think you added the fish too early. During this cycle period a lot of tiny organisms die of from your live rocks and so on. All this die offs cause your NO3 to rise up sharply or even become poisonous ammonia. So be patient. I suggest u do a tests on all parameters like NO3, SG, Calcium, KH and so on before adding any livestocks at all. I'm pretty sure your NO3 is high now. Change 50% of water only after at least a month then change about 10 to 20% every week. Be sure to do all the tests b4 and after water change.

Hope this helps

Yah the Liverocks usually is full of organism and when they die wah the NH3 can rose till 2.0ppm.Then you add bacteria to help the existing bact to convert ammonia.Then comes in Nitrite which will take about 2-3 weeks to appear.Marine hobby isn't like freshwater.Marine you mus cycle ur tank at least 1 and a half months but freshwater takes a teeny weenie bit of jus 2 weeks.2 weeks added LS is like way too early.I bought my yellow tail damsel 3 weeks after adding LR.

[bboytrez]

thank u all reefers, wah, suddenly, diz thread bcome so alive.. heheh!! will listen to u guys advice. thanx.

[reeftask]

Got zoas is it???Cause i got brown zoas growing on my LR after getting the filefish the zoas are gone and my aiptasia too.

Where u get the rocks from???

Wah so good ah breed lionfish.

Thats why I prefer shrimp to get rid of aipstasia. Best is to monitor the rock before you buy corals.

LR from CCK.

Suppose to be a joke on the lionfish in another thread, LOL.

[Terryz_]

Bottomline is your tank is not fully cycled and that cause your fish to die due to ammonia/nitrite poisoning...

Damsel are notorious for their aggressiveness and territorial behavior, so best to avoid them if you want to keep other fishes...

Those are majano anemone, pretty harmless but can be pest if it start shifting and sting all your corals... Not much effect on fishes, their sting not that potent compared to other anemone...