I need so much help!

[shlenier]

Hi there, i'm new to this forum and I hope you can help me! I'm in dire straights, and this will be a LONG email.


It all started about a month ago......

I have a 24 gallon Aquapod...with 20 lbs of live rock, and roughly 20lbs of live sand. Had a orange false percula clown, a royal gramma, 2 bengaii cardinals, and that was it! Haitian bubble tip anenome Nitrates zero, Nitrites zero, ammonia zero, phosphates, almost minimal, calcium 380-420, hardness 10-12. Ph. 8.2 Salinity 1.022

On my birthday, my roomie bought me a black clown percula......the orange one was NOT HAPPY about that, and started attacking him. Lol, so to save a 45 dollar fish, I spend 300 dollars and got a 12 gallon aquapod to put the orange and gramma in. I split 1/2 the rock amongst the tanks, and bought new rock for the 24.

So everything was going fine.....then a few days later, my orange clown (now in the 12) came down with something that looked like clownfish disease, I medicated him in formalin and melafix for 3 days, and he recovered beautifully.

Then I bought a new black clown, three days after getting the first one cuz the pairs are just so cute in the store.

About a week later, the first black clown got sick....I tried the same medication and he died within 48 hours.....I cried a little.....

So I waited another week, the second black clown looked fine.

So I bought one more black clown.....Third ones's gotta be the charm...wrong. My anenome died...a haitian tipped bubble thing. I tried to clean it up, but it may have left something.

The 2nd clown became sick...but this was different, first the 2 and 3 were very hyperactive, then the 2nd became very lethargic......3 days later, the 3rd one became very lethargic....and a bengaii cardinal died.

(on a side note, at this time I put in red slime remover chemical, I was having a terrible red slime algae problem, killed my second bengaii cardinal within a couple hours)

So I took both out and put them in a qt tank with melafix and formalin.

2nd died, and now 3rd died 4 days later.

The water is still perfect....Nitrates zero, Nitrites zero, ammonia zero, phosphates, almost minimal, calcium 380-420, hardness 10-12. Ph. 8.2 Salinity 1.022


I can't think what to do. I don't know what killed all the clowns....or the cardinals or the anenome....I'm trying everything I can think of, and reading all the research. I'm afraid to put anymore fish in the tank. Any thoughts?

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

A couple of mistakes you've made:

1. Putting different clowns together ... it will not work in a small tank, and rarely in a large one.
2. Setting up a second tank that fast can cause problems. Sure, the rock was cycled, but it was still an immature tank, and a risk.
3. Never medicate your display tank, as it will likely kill off your live rock or otherwise compromise it. Always treat in a barebottomed hospital tank.
3. Formalin is extremely harsh on fish. Always use it in a hospital tank, and be extremely careful with dosing. It may not always be the best med for whatever you were treating for.
4. Don't add new fish on a weekly basis. It's much better to wait three weeks or a month, especially on a new or small tank.
5. Anemones shouldn't go in tanks less than 6 months old. They're extremely sensitive. I'm guessing the meds killed it.
6. Red slime remover is extremely dangerous in young tanks. It can wipe out everything. It's basically and antibiotic, and in a young system, it can wipe out your beneficial bacteria.

At this point, don't put any new stock in any of your tanks. Keep up with water changes, and wait for the tanks to fully stabilize. I wouldn't suggest adding any new stock for 6 weeks or so. Don't add any meds or cures to the tank without fully researching them, they can seriously trash your system. When it comes time to add new fish, make sure you quarantine for 4 weeks.

 

[shlenier]

Thank you for the prompt response!!!


Oh I feel I wasn't very clear in my original post. I did create a seperate empty hospitalization tank. No formalin went into the main tank.

The 12 gallon tank is doing splendidly, even better than my 24 gallon tank. And the 12 was the emergency seperation tank.


The only reason I added the extra clowns so fast, was because I didn't want the first clown to become territorial and reject the new clown later on. I really had my heart set on having a pair of black clowns.

as for the red slime remover, I wasn't aware of that. even though it says it's safe for everything! lol. The live rock fading was happening about 3 weeks before the red slime stuff went in.

And I forgot to mention that the tank is roughly 4 months old. So i'll wait at least 3-4 months before getting another anemone...(and oddly enough again, my 12 has a cardi anemone that is so wonderfully healthy! it's oddly perfect)