Help fish/tank issues

Sieonide

Sieonide

AC Members
Jun 28, 2008
31
0
0
Las Vegas
I recently set up a 55G tank about 4 months ago, 2 weeks after I set up the tank i added 4 damsels and cycled them for the remaining time. Last weekend I went out and made my first big purchase of fish I bought a Porcupine puffer and a Trigger. Everything was fine they ate normal and the next morning the Puffer was dead. so i went back to my LFS and gave them a sample of my water which was.

pH-8.2
N02-0ppm
N03-0ppm
nh3/nh4-0ppm
Salinity 1.020
Temp-78

so after seeing that everything was fine they gave me another puffer. That puffer died the next morning. My trigger has been fine and all the damsels except one, and he seems to be gasping for air but my ammonia levels are nothing so im a bit confused on what might be going on. I just did another water test and the parameters are exactly what they where yesterday.
 
Sieonide said:
I recently set up a 55G tank about 4 months ago, 2 weeks after I set up the tank i added 4 damsels and cycled them for the remaining time. Last weekend I went out and made my first big purchase of fish I bought a Porcupine puffer and a Trigger. Everything was fine they ate normal and the next morning the Puffer was dead. so i went back to my LFS and gave them a sample of my water which was.

pH-8.2
N02-0ppm
N03-0ppm
nh3/nh4-0ppm
Salinity 1.020
Temp-78

so after seeing that everything was fine they gave me another puffer. That puffer died the next morning. My trigger has been fine and all the damsels except one, and he seems to be gasping for air but my ammonia levels are nothing so im a bit confused on what might be going on. I just did another water test and the parameters are exactly what they where yesterday.
Click to expand...


Acclimation process for salt is different than freshwater.

Did you float the bag and just let the fish loose? That would do it.


Acclimation can be done by drip or the old Toejam im lazy way.

Float the bag... then after 15 min dump half the water out. Now take a shot glass and dump a shot of water in...after 10 min do it again. repeat this process till you have about 5 shots of water in... by this point you changed the bag water to the parameters of your tank vs the tank he came from.

Still freak deaths are hard to diagnose via forums for me...but I do know acclimation process is not like FW and can kill marine stock if you do it that way.

Did you test PH after photo period? (most accurate time) ...I don't think this is the problem...just letting you know PH should be tested then. Not in morning before lights on to get a good reading. Thats if you didn't know.

Drip method is a very sure fire way to acclimate safely...i dont do it. That's because I'm lazy and I just do the shot glass method. Have not lost a fish yet. In all my time in salt... well one died..but thats because he was ermm attacked by a swimmer crab in his sleep...(stupid crab)
 
When i acclimated both fish i did exactly what you jut stated I floated the bag to acclimate temp. removed some water and added small amounts of mine. I'm just confused on why one of my damsels is gasping throughout the whole cycle I didn't lose one damsel.
 
Well if you are sure (*I think you are) that all parameters are holding steady.
What if its not parameter related then.

You eliminate parameters and acclimation...so whats next? Parasites and bacteria...

Tough call...I never had fish problems..i also don't buy fish often either =\.

As long as you are using a good liquid test kit and acclimating... I can't think of anything besides the other two issues...

Scary spot you are in...we need a Fish person in here ...reefer like me knows basics only.
 
Sieonide said:
When i acclimated both fish i did exactly what you jut stated I floated the bag to acclimate temp. removed some water and added small amounts of mine. I'm just confused on why one of my damsels is gasping throughout the whole cycle I didn't lose one damsel.
Click to expand...

Damsels are known as the most hardy fish from what I understand. LFS jokes how you can put them in a sewer and it would survive.

What do you mean he is gasping through out the whole cycle? You mean since introducing the new fish? Or cycle of tank?

If cycle of tank and only one stressed...he was the weaker one of the several..but those fish are tough dudes..real tough.
 
I'm using the API saltwater master Test kit, and yes after the first puffer died he started gasping. Everyone else fine though, but i just went and watched my tank, now it is running about being an idiot like it normally was.
 
Your salt is a little low...I keep mine around .025...I don't know if that's what might be doing it, but ya. Have you found the puffer with any cuts, bites or discolorations when it is dead? It is possible that you have a very bad boy trigger.
 
I thought that might be an issue but would the trigger only attack at night? it seems that during the day when the lights are on they would get along, and as for my salinity i was told 1.020 is fine for FO tanks. Coral and invert tanks require higher salinity levels. As for discoloration and cuts/bites it didnt see anything out of the ordinary.
 
Luckily, fish are tolerant of salinities--nearly anything in between is acceptable for the fish. That being said, most will be found in full strength seawater in the wild--that is 1.0264 @ 77 Fahrenheit. If you are having repeated troubles with a particular fish from a particular source, I would question the store's source for that fish. It sounds like whomever they get their puffers from doesn't have good stock. I would give things some time and, if you are up to it, attempt another from a different source or ask the store to get it from a different source (most stores have at least several places to choose from).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom