Help with a salt water tank

[mousetap]

I started a salt water fish tank about two months ago. Had the tank up and running for more than 3 weeks. Did a sample water test and the store gave me green light to go ahead with the fish.

I bought two pairs of clown fish and they were doing very well for about two weeks. In between I bought some snails and a flame hawk. After that, I lost one clown fish. Three days later I lost another two. Two days ago I lost the last clown fish and today I lost the flame hawk.

They all had the same symptoms. Usually they stop eating for few days and then isolate themselves from others. Usually swims very close to the top… When I lost two, I took a water sample to the store and ask if there is anything wrong with the water. They couldn’t find any issues.

I really don’t know what I should do now… Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated…

[mike31154]

Additional info would be helpful, particularly size of the tank, amount of live rock and perhaps some water test results in numbers. If I've got the stocking info correct, you added four fish all at once? And another shortly thereafter? If so, I suspect you may have experienced an ammonia spike. Too many fish added to a relatively new system too quickly, particularly if it is a smaller tank.

[George]

What kind of tests did the store do for you (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, etc)? What are your levels? What test kits did they use? I would get a second opinion from a different LFS. Or you can buy some test kits and test those parameters by yourself, Salifert or Elos brands are good.

[mousetap]

Thanks for your replies Mike & George...

It is a 30Gal tank. The store advised me to get about 30lbs of live rocks based on 1 gal = 1 lbs. I didn’t get any test results from them. When I brought a sample to the store, they add some chemicals and checked the colors…and said water is clean. I remember he said that he checked for Nitrite, nitrate and ammonia...

If I did a test now…would they be able to tell…if it is due to an ammonia attack? Do I need to clear the entire water tank before I try out again? Is there anything I could do to prevent this in the future?

Is there any store that you would recommend?

[mike31154]

Every new system will go through a cycle and I imagine your store advised you regarding this and allowed you to introduce the livestock based on the tests they did for you. Not sure if they advised on how many fish to add, but for a system your size, four at once is certainly ill advised.

It is best to have your own test kits on hand for the cycle so that you can monitor how that goes. You need to introduce the livestock slowly, one, maybe two fish at first, no more than that. This will minimize the chances of an ammonia spike which will almost certainly be fatal to your livestock. Some fish are hardier in that regard than others. Clowns are considered to be fairly tough little guys, but you saw the unfortunate result in your case.

Do some research on your own on this site and others related to saltwater fish/reef keeping. There's plenty of info out there. Some key points are the cycle, filtration and water movement. Most systems use protein skimmers and sumps in conjunction with the live rock to provide the filtration. Plenty of water movement is required through the use of powerheads, closed loops and flow from the return pump on a system using a sump.

You should be ok to try another fish by now, but do a bit more research on the points I metioned above, this will give you a better understanding of where to go from here. Most of the main stores dealing in salt water tanks in Vancouver should be quite knowledgeable and not steer you wrong, but it's not always the case, depending on which employee you might talk to. Your best defense against mishaps is educating yourself with some research on the subject.

[George]

Originally Posted by mousetap

Thanks for your replies Mike & George...

It is a 30Gal tank. The store advised me to get about 30lbs of live rocks based on 1 gal = 1 lbs. I didn’t get any test results from them. When I brought a sample to the store, they add some chemicals and checked the colors…and said water is clean. I remember he said that he checked for Nitrite, nitrate and ammonia...

If I did a test now…would they be able to tell…if it is due to an ammonia attack? Do I need to clear the entire water tank before I try out again? Is there anything I could do to prevent this in the future?

Is there any store that you would recommend?

Several possibilities. Your tank is new so maybe it's still in the process of cycling. You are adding fish too fast (did you add 4 clowns at the same time?). add one or two fish at a time and wait for the bio filter to catch up to the load before adding another fish.
How long did you wait between adding live rocks and fish? (uncured) live rock may cause your tank to go into another cycle.
You are in Vancouver. Maybe King Ed Pet Center is closer for you. They are at: 7377 Kingsway, Burnaby.
Or you can make your way to JL Aquatics, 205A-3430 Brighton Ave.Burnaby.
Either of these stores should be able to test your water sample and give you good advice.
Good luck. And go slow.

[BlueAbyss]

Read read READ before doing anything in this hobby, mistakes can be very expensive. Quick lesson on the nitrogen cycle, ammonia is excreted by fish converted to nitrite then nitrate by bacteria, and from there can be turned into nitrogen gas by bacteria, picked up by alga (which can also consume ammonia directly), or removed in water changes. If you have ammonia today and nothing is producing more, it will go down pretty quickly, being converted to nitrite and then nitrate (and becoming less toxic at each conversion).

Reef tanks reach sort of an equilibrium after a change is made (ie: adding a new fish, more light, etc.) and takes a little while to reach that equilibrium. It sounds to me like you did too much too fast. Move slowly and do a lot of research before you add livestock... specially with delicate creatures like anemones (as an example).

[mousetap]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions...

[mike31154]

That's what forums like this are for. A belated 'Welcome' and best of luck with the hobby in the future.