Help Me Please

[digital_fish]

Hi, I have had a 15 gallon Salt Water Aquarium for about a year that I got for free. I didn't know anything about SW aquariums prior to putting this one together but I did uising the 2 cheap aquaflow filters that it came with and just wung it. And for one year I had a perfect system. I had 2 clowns, 2 B/W damsels and a blue tang. Also a red shrimp I picked up somewhere.

Until just recently I wanted a nicer Aquarium and I bought a 32 gallon with a Fluvial 205 filter. My lights are the basic cheap florecent ones that say they're good enough for SW Fish but I know I want nice Cora Life ones because I want to get into the coral reef tanks. I moved everything over slowly and all was perfect (except my shrimp died randomly) until I put in a Yellow Tang and a new Cleaner Shrimp. My blue tang developed white spots a couple weeks after I put the yellow tang in and the guy at the fish store said it could be SW Ick and to give the ifsh a fresh water dip and that could help and I thought it must have worked because for a few days the fish looked good.

But last night it looked like more spots were back and today my blue tang was dead when I woke up. And I suspect the yellow tang might have small spots starting now but it is hard to tell. What should I be doing now? Will my other fish get it? Should I have a protien Skimmer by now? Can anyone tell me any other things I should be doing to make a healthier tank? Now many fish should a 32 gallon tank have? Does SW Ick wreck my live rock?

Sorry for a zillion questions, and I hope someone can help me?!

:D

[kwirky]

I think the first step to moving in the right direction of a "nice" tank would be to make sure you own good quality test kits and that you're testing them on a regular basis when you're first starting off in the hobby. That way you know what happens to your tank when you miss a water change and things like that. Also it'll make you more satisfied knowing exactly how your protein skimmer is benefiting should you get one. And if you know your tank is not producing nitrates then you could possibly add another fish without a whole lot of worry. That's one of the first steps.

Another important step is quarantining your new fish. Set aside a tank that will only be used for quarantining fish because you might be using copper based chemicals which are deadly for invertebrates. Quarantine your new fish purchases until you know for sure they don't have any diseases, and if they do treat them in the quarantine tank to make sure your existing fish don't get sick.

Another thing I'd recommend is READ READ READ. There is an extensive library on the canreef forums alone. When you're first starting off I think reading is a good place to start because there's a LOT to learn. More than what can be typed in a single forum post. Start reading through the "beginner" or "newcomer" sections of the canreef library. That'll answer lots of your questions.

Oh and you have a small tank. Not all of the equipment used in larger aquariums like protein skimmers and calcium reactors have to be used in a small tank. Your research will show you alternative methods to keep healthy reef aquariums.

[EmilyB]

A 32g tank cannot house one tang, let alone two.

[mark]

Read up on SW ich.

Spots will appear then drop off but the ich is never really gone just moved along in it's lifecycle, nor is FWD alone a cure.

Seems a lot of us probably have ich in our tanks but often never shows as fish can handle it if they're kept under good conditions. Having a couple of Tangs in a small tank might have caused enough stress to allow the ich to take hold.

Might also be a factor is setting up a new tank then quickly adding stock you got a little cycle going (spike of ammonia).

[Salmon King]

All fish have ick on them.It is dorment till something happens/stress/health.You should quaratine any new fish if you can before putting in your maine tank as you risk losing all your fish by not doing this.Rubbermaid tote is a cheap quaratine tank.Just add powerhead heater and airstone if you have one.Ps use cupramine in your quaratine but dont overdose.

[rigger11]

All fish have ick on them.It is dorment till something happens/stress/health.You should quaratine any new fish if you can before putting in your maine tank as you risk losing all your fish by not doing this.Rubbermaid tote is a cheap quaratine tank.Just add powerhead heater and airstone if you have one.Ps use cupramine in your quaratine but dont overdose.

really is this true??? never heard that befor

[Redrover]

Tang's require swimming room...Tank way to small
You will loose them because of stress

[mark]

All fish have ick on them.It is dorment till something happens/stress/health.You should quaratine any new fish if you can before putting in your maine tank as you risk losing all your fish by not doing this.Rubbermaid tote is a cheap quaratine tank.Just add powerhead heater and airstone if you have one.Ps use cupramine in your quaratine but dont overdose.

Maybe, maybe not they have ich but a good idea to quarantine. I'm being a little hypocritical here in saying QT stuff as I haven't always, but looking by me not, I brought something into my system. Now I'm looking at some major work breaking down a 145g display, disrupting fish and corals, where as it all could have been prevented by setting up a small little 10g (size depending on fish) with a heater and HOB filter or even a plastic tub.

As for cupramine, it can be harmful even if done right so wouldn't suggest using it unless for sure the fish in QT show signs and then probably only after trying hypo-salinity and finding that unsuccessful.

[Matt]

Am I the only one who thought "troll"? Apologies to the OP if I'm off base, but...

[howdy20012002]

SK, please give one document that proves what you have stated...not all fish have Ich...it can be treated and removed 100 percent by hypsolanity.
ich cannot remain dormant for more than a month which is why you leave your tank fishless for over 4 weeks, preferably 6 weeks.
I have killed a few fish trying to treat with Copper but I haven't killed one fish with hyposalinity.
the only thing that SK said that I agree with is that you should quarantine new fish for at least 2 weeks.

DF - From the sounds of it, you have a fish only tank.
if you don't have any inverts, snails, or corals, i would lower the SG of your tank between 1.010 and 1.013 and leave it like that for a month.(hyposalinity)
this is will kill off the ich. read up on the internet and see how to do this.
You basically just add fresh water to the tank until the salt level drops low enough.
if you still have the cleaner shrimp, remove it before you lower the SG.
you cannot leave anything other than fish in the tank though cuz it will kill it.
Copper isn't a 100 percent effective and you have to be very careful how much you add as it is toxic and will kill your fish.

You should not have a tang in a 32 g as it doesn't provide enough swimming space.
I have a very small purple tang in a 29 gallon, however I am preparing to move it into a larger tank when it gets bigger.
IMO, you don't need a skimmer for a tank. Lots of my tanks don't have one.
However, that means that you will need to do more water changes as the water will foul quicker.
Ich will not hurt your LR.
is your fluval a canister filter? if so, I would get rid of it...they tend to just become nitrate farms.
filtres, IMO aren't really necessary. I have hang on's on my smaller tanks but just to keep the surface of the water clean.
You can have just a powerhead in there that is at least 10 x the gallons of your tank and that will suffice.
in a 32 gallon, opinions vary, however, I would say that 3 -4 smaller fish would be fine.

I am sure others will have things to add...and I sure that others will disagree.
However, I am just giving you my advice from my own personal experience.

HTH
Neal

[mark]

If the tank is FOWLR would be hesitant for a whole tank treatment of hypo-salinitity due to the possible effect to life on the LR (pods, sponges, bacteria etc).

[howdy20012002]

it will not affect bacteria.
probably would effect pods and sponge.

[Salmon King]

howdy 20012002 is right about the hyposalanity it works. As of copper killing fish it only happens if you overdose.The ocean has a certain level of copper in it as does (THE REEF PLUS) .You should reed the labels on some additives as I am sure it will shock people and yes all fish have parasites they are just dorment waiting for the right time to come out.Stress and bad water are the biggest reasons.

[Pier Pressure]

A fifteen gallon aquarium housing 5 fish and other creatures means that you are overstocked, I think. I have five fish in a 29 gallon and I consider myself to be right at the limit. As others have said, the tangs are going to need a new home regardless.

[Snappy]

Do some water changes and buy some ich medicine that doesn't contain metals. Most SW LFS have it available. Wais & Elite carry it for sure and I am sure Gold would too.
Now that said IME tangs are ich-magnets. They can develop ich spots just from stress and then they can be gone a few hours or days later. If you want to run a nano tank which I would consider both yours to be, you will have better success if you stock it accordingly. If you want more fish then you need to have a system with equipment that can handle the bioload and a fluval filter doesn't cut it. Sorry, you will have to spend some more $$$$ unless you stay with a FOWLR.

[Salmon King]

Almost all fish stores copper there fish only tanks as well as a lot of public aquariums with fish only displays as they cannot afford huge losses.

[digital_fish]

My 15 gallon tank seemed perfect though and my blue tang never seemed to have a problem. My yellow tang as of now doesn't seem to have any spots and the tank seems back to normal. Of course, I don't know that for sure though.

So should I just leave it with the 5 fish I have now? I do have 5 snails in the tank too.

[digital_fish]

And again, because I just wung this from the beginning, I have no idea what tests I should be doing and what kind of test kit to buy. I have always done my water changes though. What would be my best option? Also, Is my yellow tang suffering in any way by being "cooped" up in a 32 G then?

Thanks for all the advise. This site is great! And I would like to assure the guy wondering if I am some fake troll account trying to do something extraordinary besides obtaining advise on fish, that I am absolutely real and that I really really do just want fish advise!!!:)

[Snappy]

How big are the tangs?

[MikeP]

Welcome to Canreef. What are all the types of fish you have? The tangs need to go for sure unless they are really small but even then they will need a bigger home down the road. As for testing for starters you need to test for Nitrate, Ammonia, and Nitrite.

[fishoholic]

Tangs need lots of swimming room, a tank that is 6 feet long is an ideal home for this type of fish. IMO a tang should not be in a tank less than 90g.

[digital_fish]

Shyte!

My yellow tang as far as I ever thought is quite small. About 2 inches long. The blue tang was about the same size and did grow a slight bit over the year. And like I said, the blue tang never did seem to have a problem in that small 15 gallon tank. I also have 2 clowns and 2 B/W damsels. 5 fish in total. One cleaner shrimp, and 5 snails.

Also when I first started the hobby, the guy at the fish store said I should only keep the damsels for a short while because they will get aggressive. They did seem a little aggressive at first but they all seem to get along now. I tried to give them back to the store but they wouldn't take them. I kept them because I didn't want to kill them. Should I really get rid of them still and if so what could I replace them with? Should I just keep my yellow tang and hope for the best?

:D

[mark]

Shyte!

Also when I first started the hobby, the guy at the fish store said I should only keep the damsels for a short while because they will get aggressive. They did seem a little aggressive at first but they all seem to get along now. I tried to give them back to the store but they wouldn't take them. I kept them because I didn't want to kill them. Should I really get rid of them still and if so what could I replace them with? Should I just keep my yellow tang and hope for the best?

:D

Already answered, should be looking at trading the tang out if keeping the small tank. As for damsels, no reason to kill any fish, just post here For Sale or the give away.

[MikeP]

You don't have to take the fish back to the store you bought them at, some of the stores in town here will take fish or corals in on trade (depending on what they have in stock already) it's worth looking into. And as mentioned you could try posting them for sale/trade (or give away) in the buy/sell/trade livestock section. You should do some research on nano tanks. With the right info you can have a really nice little tank :)

[michika]

You keep saying blue tang, are you referring to a regal tang, or an atlantic blue tang?

[mark]

You keep saying blue tang, are you referring to a regal tang, or an atlantic blue tang?

Thought the blue died so he's thinking a YT in a 32g.

[tang daddy]

what everyone said here is accurate or close to you should get the damsels out as for the tang trade him too, the clowns can stay maybe after clearing your fish stock you can add a couple gobies. I love gobies and there are so many varieties out there. Most of them stay fairly small and are great additions for fish or reef if you decide on going in that direction later. the yellow watchman for example love it also you may be able to add a small wrasse like a six line so say if your 32 had 2 clowns 3-5 small gobies and a wrasse you're golden just get a nano skimmer or hang on and some test kits like nitrate, amonia and phosphate by salifert. I don't trust the cheap kits as their unreliable trust me from some one that had to buy a cheap kit first and then decent ones just go for salifert the first time around and use the money that would've been spent on the cheap kits for fish! If you were in Vancouver i'd invite you over for a coffee and talk your ear off about fish keeping and reef though I'm still learning alot reading is often another good way to get experience but I love chatting with succesfull reefers to get a feel of the hobbie.

Cheers Chris

[digital_fish]

If I were to go with starting a reef now, what are the best lights I should use that can fit nicely onto my 32G?

And should I really drop the fluval canister no matter what? Is it helping in any way?

Thanks.