Cloudy water then 6 dead fish

[stoffrld]

About 5 days ago we got a Purple Haitian anemone.The water turned cloundy.We finally decided to do a partial change 8 gallons of 35 approx Saturday.When we got up this morning,dead Blue Tang,Foxface,Bursa Trigger,Copperband Butterfly,2 Damsels,and a couple others.Condylactic anemonie lived,2 clowns,firefish.It's like we poured gasoline in the tank.Used Petco salt to change and water conditioner to remove chlorine etc.We have an airbubble protein skimmer and that was over flowing.First time that has happend.

Anyone have a idea? It's as though it targeted the high dollar fish.Iwill check back here for an idea or you can email me stoffrld@Q.com.You don't know if you should cry for the fish or the $200+ you just lost.The tank has been up since about January.We try to check once a week for water condition.As usual nitrate/nitrite in the zone.We use Marine Max,Prime and what ever we can tweak as the test shows on the 5 strip test paper.

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

I moved this into the saltwater section.

It sounds to me like the anemone died and the ammonia spike killed the fish. What size tank is this?

 

[stoffrld]

Both anemonie are still alive the way it looks.The clowns are doing their normal swim routine with them.The tank is 35 gal.Since my wife started we loose one once in a while.Especially if we do Pet**.On average their fish make a week or are dead the next morning.The air protein skimmer sudenly getting over full leads me to wonder.All the high dollar fish? The cheap ones live? I'm stuck.

I wonder how we can get the water to get clear again.The change didn't seem to help at all.

Thanks for the reply.After this long we still search for answers

 

[zoalover34]

Im not being mean here but your way over stocked in that tank for starters.. 2nd you don't have no where near enough live rock in there! I don't see any powerheads in the tank either? The protein skimmer you mention ive never heard of and probably isn't very good.. Im really suprised that any fish will stay alive in there for along period of time.. As far as getting your water clear just keep doing water changes.. You should use RO/DI water for best results

 

[Lorna]

seconding Jim's comments I agree that the tank is extremely over stocked and with just the clowns and a couple small fish should be all that reside in this size tank. You should have a minimum of 1 lb per gallon of live rock to provide good filtration. A protein skimmer though good is not essential at this size provided you are very dilligent in changing about 10% water change weekly. That being said......I would change out about another 50% of the water over two days or so letting things adjust between the changes. I would then seriously think of returning the Haitian condy anemone as it is not the natural host for your clowns and will at some point probably attempt to eat them and it has been done....that and any other fish you have in your tank. Once you get your tank stabilized again......and don't trust test strips to determine your exact paramenters, spend a few dollars and get reliable test kits such as saliferts and use the same type each time. Use good ro/di water for your salt mix for your changes, making sure to mix the water and areate it well for about 24hours before changing. Also run a check on the ph alk etc of the change water and ensure that it matches the display to aleviate any shock. Your fish no doubt did die from ammonia I would think. Your other parameters may be severly out of adjustment with high nitrates etc if you ket that many fish in that size tank. You stated you were unable to keep Pet** fish for longer than 24hours, you don't mention any type of quarantine? Maybe the condy brought something in with it. The cloudy water could also be caused by a bacteria/algae bloom so water changes are in order....

 

[zoalover34]

Just to add another thing, i would run some carbon in there asap!

 

[stoffrld]

Yes we have changed filter today with a new one.
Jim/Lorna thanks for the info.You keep writing and I'll try to absorb more.
The protein skimmer(junk probably) we have:~Aquarium Fish Tank Protein Skimmer Separator RS@4003~ on eBay, also Filtration Heating, Aquarium Fish, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 22-Aug-08 04:57:00 BST)

There are two power heads in our 35 gallon tank.Cascade 200 filtration.My wife works and I'm on disability so I try to be anal with her tank and my 55 gal fresh water.But we missed this one bigtime.The test strips do kind of suck,don't they? Hard to get the colors correct to know what you have.

Over crowded? That surprises me.We had been led to believe 1" of fish/gallon of water.We float the fish to normalize temp and release them.I guess quarantine is a great idea if you are setup to do it.I know of no-one that does it,but that's not to say at all it's wrong.But we are still newbies.So often we get two opinions,one black,one white.Then we go internet and try for another one.I guess we'll have to get some-more live rock if that's the case.Then you run into spikes of amonia by adding new rock?

Our Batfish was getting so nice and big.Will have to see about the anemone if it's not a normal host to the clowns.There also is a condylactic anemonie in the tank now.We have been told you can not mix colors of clowns and the larger is always the female.Tangs don't mix well together if at all ?

 

[zoalover34]

You shouldn't put any tang in that small of a tank. A min. of 75gallons is rule for tangs.. Not saying they will die or anything they will just not be very happy! The 1" rule doesn't apply to SW at all! Different fish *i.e. tangs* produce alot of waste and need alot more swimming room.. As far as clowns go you really don't wanna mix breeds *i.e. maroon with a perc* You will probably get ammonia spike when you add new rock. It's best to buy pre-cured rock from a store. You should take some tank water to put it in for transport so you will minimize *sp* die off.. And when you add fish, which i wouldn't do in your case you should float them for 30 min then do a drip acclimation *time will be different in each fish* then release em

 

[Lorna]

I still stand by qt'ing all new arrivals. Batfish need room and a very stable environment and even then their long term survival rates are dismal at best and as such should be left in ocean. Condylactis and Haitian anemones shouldn't be used as hosts for clowns as they will probably eat them at some point. Here is a great website for research

Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information

I try to drip acclimate my fish as floating the bag doesn't really help adjust them to different water parameters ie. sg is always lower in the lfs to combat ich.....ph and alk and temp.

the 1" per gallon is a good rule of thumb only for freshwater. Saltwater fish need more water for respiration etc as their oxygen demands are higher. Tangs need linear room for swimming as do most of those fish you had......this keeps them happy and less stressed and therefore less likely to succumb to parasitic infestations or disease, a happy fish is a healthy fish....

 

[quaddity]

Also that freshwater strip light you have on the tank is not good enough for any corals or anemones.

 

[spitrhyma]

here is my advice guy...

i heard compact fluorescents CAN hold up coral tanks from 1 person. He said for years his friend's tank's been running on compact fluorescents.

fish that move around fast need a HUGE tank. if your fish keeps pacing back and forth something is either wrong and he's trying to get out or he doesn't have enough swimming space.

if it takes your fish a second or two to go from 1 end of the tank to the other tank at average speed then something is wrong.

i have eels that can swim accross the tank in 1-2 seconds but generally take a few minutes (they move from 1 peice of wood to another). this is a freshwater tank btw... my angels generally glide around slowly and would probably take 10 seconds or so to swim accross at average speed but they usually have good places to hang out and play with plants.

which brings me to my next point... there needs to be more decorations in your tank and make your tank a work of art... not a glass box that lucky fish survive in. my tank isn't just a glass box, it's my fish'es home and my water garden... a decoration for my room. I can't grow indoor plants because my windows don't let in the beneficial rays of sunlight. My tank is all I got.

I have 4 peices of wood (each with 2-3 hiding places) giving my 3 small spiny eels many homes to choose from. Plus they can burrow because I upgraded to plant substrate (from coarse gravel).

Your tank looks like a freshwater w/ the background and plastic plants. Maybe you should make it a freshwater tank and have more fun. Plus FW can look a lot nicer if you go w/ planted like me :-D

I'll have a updated picture once I get my woods sundried a little bit more. I need to replant their onion plants in'em and put'em in the tank hoping they don't stain the water again.

I had a really nice set-up for a while but I had to get rid of it cuz my pH kept bouncing and i had to take some rocks out to figure out the problem.

Good luck. Hope your tank does better!

 

[Lorna]

A few words. Power compacts can be used for some corals such as mushrooms, polyps, some leathers and some (few) lps such as frogspawn etc. The biggest issue with pcs is placement of the corals high toward the available light. Other stony corals and anemones (not condys) need very bright light such as metal halides or t5's as they survive by using light as their energy source. Clams again need high light also.
These are generalizations only and each animal should be thoroughly researched PRIOR to being placed in the tank to ensure that you can provide the optimal home and husbandry for them. Anything less is cruel and expensive if you need to start replacing lost livestock. The aim is long term 5+ years survival in your tank. That being said, you also do not need to add decorations to your tank, a nicely aquascaped tank with live rock and corals etc. is just as interesting as one full of plastic artificial toys and the fish will feel more at home in something that imitates as best as possible their natural environment. Wood should not be used in saltwater tanks as you are not sure what is leaching into your water, as well as rock that is not from the ocean.....some rocks will leach copper and other hard minerals and could prove deadly to your inverts......Do some good research at the site I mentioned.....read lots of the q&as as well as the stickies at the top of this forum.......