Fishes keep dying =(

[Kalib]

Do you use any anti-chloramine(make sure it can be used for marine setups) to treat tapwater prior to use? The chloramine in tapwater is toxic to the livestock in our aquariums.

It would be good to check the salinity of the sewater and adjust accordingly if its too high/low. Tapwater(treated) can be added to dilute the water and make it less salty.

ANN refers to ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle.

Here are some easier fish you can try, offhand i can think of these few:

- Cardinalfish

- Firefish

- Bicolor Dottyback(Caution: Can get aggressive)

- Six-line wrasse(Caution: Can get aggressive)

Another thing to take note is the choosing of fish. Some fish are in a bad shape(some arrive in a poor condition) at the LFS and at times, the entire batch is in poor shape and doomed to die. Its good to observe the general health of the fishes in the tank(and connected tanks) before you decide on the purchase. I usually spend some time observing the fish for any signs of ill health and make sure it is alert and aware of the surroundings. If a few individuals of a particular batch of fish of the same specie don't do well, it maybe a good move to avoid getting any fish of the same specie from that batch as sometimes when one fish don't do well, the rest generally follow and die.

[sparks1107]

Do you use any anti-chloramine(make sure it can be used for marine setups) to treat tapwater prior to use? The chloramine in tapwater is toxic to the livestock in our aquariums.

It would be good to check the salinity of the sewater and adjust accordingly if its too high/low. Tapwater(treated) can be added to dilute the water and make it less salty.

ANN refers to ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle.

Here are some easier fish you can try, offhand i can think of these few:

- Cardinalfish

- Firefish

- Bicolor Dottyback(Caution: Can get aggressive)

- Six-line wrasse(Caution: Can get aggressive)

Another thing to take note is the choosing of fish. Some fish are in a bad shape(some arrive in a poor condition) at the LFS and at times, the entire batch is in poor shape and doomed to die. Its good to observe the general health of the fishes in the tank(and connected tanks) before you decide on the purchase. I usually spend some time observing the fish for any signs of ill health and make sure it is alert and aware of the surroundings. If a few individuals of a particular batch of fish of the same specie don't do well, it maybe a good move to avoid getting any fish of the same specie from that batch as sometimes when one fish don't do well, the rest generally follow and die.

For the topping up of tapwater, I didnt use any anti-chloramine to treat it before adding. However, I did use the API stress-zyme which says it can kill chlorine as well. What is the proper procedure of adding the evaporated water? For now, I am just adding untreated tapwater whenever I see a dip in my tank's water level. Can i just add the API solution into my tank after I added the tapwater? Or i have to premix them before adding?

Thanks for the recommendation ^^ actually im having 1 cardinal fish (the other 3 died zz) and firefish in my tank now. haha. however, the firefish seems inactive and havent been eating since i bought 2days ago. tried pellets, mysis shrimps and even baby plankton. doesnt seem to work. they normally feed on mysis shrimp right? I will look out for the other 2 species maybe will get them at a smaller size at least they wont attack my other bigger fishes haha. will take note of the points u stated too. thanks again.

As for the weekly change of water, whats the proper procedure? Right now, im extracting 10% of the water in my tank then slowly pour the newly bought water from a pail. I think the rate im pouring is relatively fast, however, i just make sure that when i pour the water it doesnt hit the sandbed. Do i have to do it really slow? So that the fishes can better adapt to the new water change as well?

[Kalib]

You should mix the stresszyme with tapwater prior to adding into the tank to top-up the evaporated water otherwise you'll be wasting the chemical. Once you add the water into the tank, you would have to treat the entire volume of the tank for chlorine, rather than just the amount of water that your topping up.

Firefish in general accept a wide variety of aquarium fare, including pellets, live foods and flakes. From the pictures you've posted, you don't seem to have a wavemaker/powerhead to circulate water in the tank. You should add one as it helps improve aeration and benefits the marine tank in general. The water movement may trigger the firefish to feed as well, assuming poor water quality isn't causing it to not eat. Firefish feed from the water column and like to chase bits of food being moved about by the wavemaker/powerhead.

Your procedure for water change is fine but if your concerned that pouring direct from the pail is too fast, you can use a mug or small pail to scoop the seawater and pour it gently into the tank.

By the way, you should lookout to add some empty shells into the tank for your hermit crab. It will eventually outgrow its current shell and need a new home. I heard you can get shells from Spotlight.

[sparks1107]

You should mix the stresszyme with tapwater prior to adding into the tank to top-up the evaporated water otherwise you'll be wasting the chemical. Once you add the water into the tank, you would have to treat the entire volume of the tank for chlorine, rather than just the amount of water that your topping up.

Firefish in general accept a wide variety of aquarium fare, including pellets, live foods and flakes. From the pictures you've posted, you don't seem to have a wavemaker/powerhead to circulate water in the tank. You should add one as it helps improve aeration and benefits the marine tank in general. The water movement may trigger the firefish to feed as well, assuming poor water quality isn't causing it to not eat. Firefish feed from the water column and like to chase bits of food being moved about by the wavemaker/powerhead.

Your procedure for water change is fine but if your concerned that pouring direct from the pail is too fast, you can use a mug or small pail to scoop the seawater and pour it gently into the tank.

By the way, you should lookout to add some empty shells into the tank for your hermit crab. It will eventually outgrow its current shell and need a new home. I heard you can get shells from Spotlight.

The reason why i add the solution to the tank is because the amount of tapwater (for evaporated water) i added is kinda little. so i was thinking it might be better if i just add directly into the tank. probably i should wait for the vol of the evaporated water to be higher so that i can add and treat the tapwater at one shot?

actually now the water movement of my filter is kinda high cause at night some of my fishes normally hide behind the skimmer cause the movement too high for them to slp peacefully. and the clownfishes that i used to have often have a hard time swimming at night and sometimes i even lower the flow so that that can slp peacefully. should i stick to highest flow and let them struggle to slp at night? or shift to highest during the day and lower at night? or it doesnt matter at all?

wheres the location of spotlight? guess ill just pick shells from beaches! haha! anyway, i was thinking of giving my hermit crab away cause it is really very irritating and i saw him ripped another small crab alive and ate it! lol. and at times he often moves my corals away. lol. just hope that he wont create any more problems for me. and hes been quite quiet lately. actually the shell of the crab is really very big, think shldnt have any problems for now.

[Kalib]

If evaporation is very little, you can wait till a little bit more water evaporates before topping up.

The fishes hiding behind the skimmer may have nothing to do with water flow. They could be using the skimmer as a form of shelter, like how LR serves as a shelter for the fish.

Are you using a hang-on filter? From the picture looks like your using one and it is unlikely that the flow from it will be too high for the fishes, you can leave it fully open to improve gaseous exchange.

For now, there won't be problems for the hermit crab but it would eventually need a new shell, you can pickup shells from the beach if you can find any. Just make sure you clean them thouroughly, there's a spotlight outlet at plaza singapura.

[sparks1107]

If evaporation is very little, you can wait till a little bit more water evaporates before topping up.

The fishes hiding behind the skimmer may have nothing to do with water flow. They could be using the skimmer as a form of shelter, like how LR serves as a shelter for the fish.

Are you using a hang-on filter? From the picture looks like your using one and it is unlikely that the flow from it will be too high for the fishes, you can leave it fully open to improve gaseous exchange.

For now, there won't be problems for the hermit crab but it would eventually need a new shell, you can pickup shells from the beach if you can find any. Just make sure you clean them thouroughly, there's a spotlight outlet at plaza singapura.

ok. thanks alot. hope to see more healthy fishes in my tank now.

[sparks1107]

guys.. sad to say my new batch of fishes died again

followed what senior reefer kalib had told me but my fishes still didnt survive.

im really kinda jaded in keeping fishes already, tried to keep bicolour, cardinal and lionfishes which khalib recommended but none survive. im really eager to find out what is the problem and determine to solve it. hopefully with the help of u guys.

after the long and lengthy posts from khalib, i tried to do acclimization with all the newly bought fishes, bought new anti-chlorine for topping up of evaporated water & buying at most 2 fishes per visit. but none of the fishes survived still.

however, i bought afew more hardy corals which are doing relatively well at the moment.

im thinking of buying a 2nd hand skimmer + hang-on filter but i dont know if my fishes will still die after buying them as ive already spent so much on my initial setup.

really hope that u guys can help me out and resolve my problems asap.

Heres some pictures of my tank:

[sparks1107]

heres the picture of my jebo waterfall filter and my low-end skimmer. any improvements that i can make?

[yikai]

heres the picture of my jebo waterfall filter and my low-end skimmer. any improvements that i can make?

That goniopora is not hardy at all. Very high mortality rate. Sorry for this bad news =( If given proper care, it can be moderately easy to keep. but most of the time, very hard. Sorry to hear about ur fishes, hope u can find out the problem and fix it

[Kalib]

Its unusual the fishes still die despite putting in the new measures like using anti-chlorine, acclimatization. Maybe need to look one step further to see what might be the cause. The few fishes that I mentioned in the earlier posting are in general easy to keep and relatively hardy.

-How did the fish die? Like any symptoms of disease, stress, refusal to eat.

-Another important point is, did all the fish come from the same LFS? Sometimes, its a problem(like rough handling, improper collection methods) on the supplier side that caused the fish to die and there is really nothing we or the LFS can do.

Hate to break it to you, but the recent corals added are neither very hardy nor very easy to keep either. As mentioned, the goniopora in general don't do well. The clam is easier but requires good amounts of light & properly maintained calcium & kH levels.

The clam should be facing upward towards the water surface and not facing forward towards the glass. When placed this way, it would not be able to receive the maximum amount of light. What lighting are you using currently? Clams in general need quite alot of light, your lighting needs to be strong enough or the clam will not survive long term.

[sparks1107]

Its unusual the fishes still die despite putting in the new measures like using anti-chlorine, acclimatization. Maybe need to look one step further to see what might be the cause. The few fishes that I mentioned in the earlier posting are in general easy to keep and relatively hardy.

-How did the fish die? Like any symptoms of disease, stress, refusal to eat.

-Another important point is, did all the fish come from the same LFS? Sometimes, its a problem(like rough handling, improper collection methods) on the supplier side that caused the fish to die and there is really nothing we or the LFS can do.

Hate to break it to you, but the recent corals added are neither very hardy nor very easy to keep either. As mentioned, the goniopora in general don't do well. The clam is easier but requires good amounts of light & properly maintained calcium & kH levels.

The clam should be facing upward towards the water surface and not facing forward towards the glass. When placed this way, it would not be able to receive the maximum amount of light. What lighting are you using currently? Clams in general need quite alot of light, your lighting needs to be strong enough or the clam will not survive long term.

the fishes i bought from are all from pasir ris fish farm. i bought from different shops though. so i think it should be my water thats causing the death of the fishes.

as for those dead fishes, some of them doesnt even eat at all, some do eat pellets and frozen mysis shrimps. nroamlly i feed them once a day during evening time. (either 1 cube of frozen shrimp or few pellets at a time for abt 3mins) am i overfeeding them?

I realised that whenever i spot that the skin of the fishes is not in good condition after introducing to my tank, it'll nroamlly die after afew days. and during the night, i find that they're sleeping in awkward positions because of the high water flow. could this be a reason for causing stress to them?

as for the coral i bought its doing quite well (already with me for 1mth), blooming really big whenever theres sunlight shinning on it or when i switch on the lights. as for the clam, i tried to place it at many positions such as on top of the LR, but whenever it closes and reopens again it'll drop off. however, ill take take note and will remove them once they're showing signs of dying.

Im only using PL light at the moment. and im only switching on the lights at night when i reach home. during the day, the window is left open so theres some sunlight shining on them.

as for the water parameters, im only checking for pH, salinity, temp, nitrite. do i have to buy calcium and kH test kits too? and ammonia?

do i have to add anything else to my filter media to improvise the water parameters?

thanks for the prompt reply kalib!

[yikai]

Kalib is right. Don't take this the wrong way, we are all trying to help u, and learn at the same time. But please do more research first before buying. Plan a list, research the requirements, then go LFS shopping =) Some livestock are VERY hardy, some are moderate, some are hard, and some just cannot live in aquariums. Choose those hardy to moderate ones, learn their requirements and then buy. BTW, has ur tank been used for anything before u keep fish? Is it a new tank? If it has been used before, maybe there are harmful chemicals on them. It is unlikely, but if it is new, then it is VERY unlikely. I used to know this person who kept sea cucumbers and etc etc. When it dies, it released alot of toxins. Even after washing the tank, the fishes still die because of the left over toxins on the glass. He went to scrape the tank and went to check for chemicals, and he found out some residue toxins on the glass. In the end, the tank need to wash with ammonia and then clean until VERY clean. But please don't anyhow go wash ur tank lol. unless u are 100% sure that it is ur tank. But like i said, this is those 1 in a million case. I dont know why ur fishes keep dying =(

[yikai]

the fishes i bought from are all from pasir ris fish farm. i bought from different shops though. so i think it should be my water thats causing the death of the fishes.

as for those dead fishes, some of them doesnt even eat at all, some do eat pellets and frozen mysis shrimps. nroamlly i feed them once a day during evening time. (either 1 cube of frozen shrimp or few pellets at a time for abt 3mins) am i overfeeding them?

I realised that whenever i spot that the skin of the fishes is not in good condition after introducing to my tank, it'll nroamlly die after afew days. and during the night, i find that they're sleeping in awkward positions because of the high water flow. could this be a reason for causing stress to them?

as for the coral i bought its doing quite well (already with me for 1mth), blooming really big whenever theres sunlight shinning on it or when i switch on the lights. as for the clam, i tried to place it at many positions such as on top of the LR, but whenever it closes and reopens again it'll drop off. however, ill take take note and will remove them once they're showing signs of dying.

Im only using PL light at the moment. and im only switching on the lights at night when i reach home. during the day, the window is left open so theres some sunlight shining on them.

as for the water parameters, im only checking for pH, salinity, temp, nitrite. do i have to buy calcium and kH test kits too? and ammonia?

do i have to add anything else to my filter media to improvise the water parameters?

thanks for the prompt reply kalib!

Actually, marine fishes have very high metabolic rates. Depending on the species, they might evenh ave to be fed 3 times a day, everyday! I feed my fishes 4-5 times a day. Each feeding is very light. Try to feed many small meals rather than a few big meals. Feeding once a day could actually be underfeeding, and this may have caused ur fishes to go hungry and this may lead to stress, and thus, they easily succumb to disease and die. Try to feed ur fishes more, at least 2 times a day, and then suck out any uneaten food, to ensure that ur tank doesnt get polluted.

[sparks1107]

Kalib is right. Don't take this the wrong way, we are all trying to help u, and learn at the same time. But please do more research first before buying. Plan a list, research the requirements, then go LFS shopping =) Some livestock are VERY hardy, some are moderate, some are hard, and some just cannot live in aquariums. Choose those hardy to moderate ones, learn their requirements and then buy. BTW, has ur tank been used for anything before u keep fish? Is it a new tank? If it has been used before, maybe there are harmful chemicals on them. It is unlikely, but if it is new, then it is VERY unlikely. I used to know this person who kept sea cucumbers and etc etc. When it dies, it released alot of toxins. Even after washing the tank, the fishes still die because of the left over toxins on the glass. He went to scrape the tank and went to check for chemicals, and he found out some residue toxins on the glass. In the end, the tank need to wash with ammonia and then clean until VERY clean. But please don't anyhow go wash ur tank lol. unless u are 100% sure that it is ur tank. But like i said, this is those 1 in a million case. I dont know why ur fishes keep dying =(

haha no worries im still new to marine hobby so im kinda open to all comments and feedbacks. in fact, the more the better!

well my tank is already been up for at least 1/2 a year. im still thinking whether should i replace my filter & skimmer to a 2nd hand skimmer + filter. however, still unsure whether the fishes will survive after buying them.

ok will try to feed them more often at lighter meals. however, can only feed them when i reach home cause im serving the nation now work commitment!

[yikai]

haha no worries im still new to marine hobby so im kinda open to all comments and feedbacks. in fact, the more the better!

well my tank is already been up for at least 1/2 a year. im still thinking whether should i replace my filter & skimmer to a 2nd hand skimmer + filter. however, still unsure whether the fishes will survive after buying them.

ok will try to feed them more often at lighter meals. however, can only feed them when i reach home cause im serving the nation now work commitment!

Haha. alright, hope all our advice have helped u. maybe u should try chromis fish. Its not a very nice fish.... but its very hardy. and very peaceful

[tiffanydunk]

care to share ur water parameters?

[sparks1107]

care to share ur water parameters?

im using the pH buffer that maintains at 8.3 so i assume that my pH is ard 8.3

as for SG, im using the floating thermometer that measures the SG as well. it falls under the safe green zone.

nitrite is 0 cos tank is already up for quite some time already. will there be a spike in nitrite if i add in corals?

these are the water parameters that i measure. i miss out on anything thats impt and might cause the death of my fishes?

[yikai]

im using the pH buffer that maintains at 8.3 so i assume that my pH is ard 8.3

as for SG, im using the floating thermometer that measures the SG as well. it falls under the safe green zone.

nitrite is 0 cos tank is already up for quite some time already. will there be a spike in nitrite if i add in corals?

these are the water parameters that i measure. i miss out on anything thats impt and might cause the death of my fishes?

There will not be much of a spike if u add corals, i dun think there will be any spike at all. maybe nitrates. Ur filtration system should be able to handle it. From what u tell us, sg, ph, all seems ok, nitrite 0. What about ammonia? Do you have an ammonia test kit? It is important to have an ammonia test kit, but after awhile, ur tank establish, u dont need to use it often. But if ur corals all alive, there wont usually be ammonia present. Ammonia poisoning have symptoms like torn and frayed fins, bloody streaks on body for fishes. Does ur fish display these symptoms?

[sparks1107]

There will not be much of a spike if u add corals, i dun think there will be any spike at all. maybe nitrates. Ur filtration system should be able to handle it. From what u tell us, sg, ph, all seems ok, nitrite 0. What about ammonia? Do you have an ammonia test kit? It is important to have an ammonia test kit, but after awhile, ur tank establish, u dont need to use it often. But if ur corals all alive, there wont usually be ammonia present. Ammonia poisoning have symptoms like torn and frayed fins, bloody streaks on body for fishes. Does ur fish display these symptoms?

ya i think some of the fishes do encounter these few symptoms. was thinking of a way to pharse them. nice descriptions

i think i better go get ammonia test kits. how do i have to maintain ammonia at 0? changing of water? or is there a solution to decrease it? whats the reason for the increase in ammonia? and how often does the pH drop?

[yikai]

ya i think some of the fishes do encounter these few symptoms. was thinking of a way to pharse them. nice descriptions

i think i better go get ammonia test kits. how do i have to maintain ammonia at 0? changing of water? or is there a solution to decrease it? whats the reason for the increase in ammonia? and how often does the pH drop?

Ammonia is caused by uneaten food that is decaying, dead organism, waste produced by fish. Normally, bacteria inside live rock will convert the ammonia to nitrite, and then the nitrite to nitrate. Ensure that your biological filtration (live rock, sand) is working. Next, ensure that ur mechanical filtration is working. The mechanical filtration (pump, protein skimmer), will filter out all the uneaten food and waste before it can be converted to ammonia. Usually in a matured and healthy system, u dont have to worry much about this. Maybe you did not cycle your tank properly. Maybe it is ur filtration. Whatever the case, get a good brand ammonia test kit and do a test, to see if there is an ammonia spike. Changing water will temporarily solve the problem, but you want to cure it in the long run.

Since you say some of your fish exhibit these symptoms, could be your tank have an ammonia spike due to insufficient microbacteria in liverock, filtration, and maybe u never cycle prorperly. Fish can die of prolonged exposure to minute amounts of ammonia as well, causing organ failure. Hope this helps

[yikai]

Oh i forgot, regarding Ph, it will slowly drop because fishes excrete waste that are acidic, and this will neutralise the Ph, making it lower. It is also normal for Ph to drop at night in a matured reef tank.

[Kalib]

You should measure the pH rather than just dose the pH buffer and assume it will keep pH around 8.3. You can overdose and raise pH beyond 8.3.

I used to use the Seachem Kalkwasser, it mentions it maintains calcium so i happily follow the recommended dosage written on the bottle and assume it maintains my calcium. In fact, unknown to me, one fine day when i test my calcium & kH levels, they are way above recommended levels due to the dosing of the kalkwasser. So from that time on, i periodically test my calcium & kH whenever i dose these additives to make sure i don't dose too much.

[sparks1107]

You should measure the pH rather than just dose the pH buffer and assume it will keep pH around 8.3. You can overdose and raise pH beyond 8.3.

I used to use the Seachem Kalkwasser, it mentions it maintains calcium so i happily follow the recommended dosage written on the bottle and assume it maintains my calcium. In fact, unknown to me, one fine day when i test my calcium & kH levels, they are way above recommended levels due to the dosing of the kalkwasser. So from that time on, i periodically test my calcium & kH whenever i dose these additives to make sure i don't dose too much.

ok. will buy a ammonia test kit soon and take regular pH test. any other test kits i should buy?

one of the bottles can increase the biological filtration. hopefully its working on it.

hopefully, my fishes will survive with it. thanks guys!

[sparks1107]

as for the water flow of my tank, should i lower it at night and put to max in the morning? or its just the higher the flow rate, the better it is for the tank?

[yikai]

as for the water flow of my tank, should i lower it at night and put to max in the morning? or its just the higher the flow rate, the better it is for the tank?

depends. You have some corals right? the goniopora dont need so much current. slight current, enought to wave its polyps, is enough. Blow the current tru the rockscape to prevent any dead spots from accumulating. This will prevent ammonia spike. Flow is not very very important, its not crucial. Too much flow can be quite strressful sometimes.