frustrated

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mlindsey1
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frustrated

Post by mlindsey1 »

i'm having a problem with every new fish i get dying within 2 days to a week. and each time, my water levels are tested and i'm told "your water looks perfect"... so why does every single fish i buy die? (i will admit they are all from the same lfs, b&b, except for the last). i am acclimating for 30-45 mins. i've used the bag method and drip method. same result. tank is over a year old, with a clown and an azure damsel that i've had almost a year. corals are doing fine. i do have lots of green hair algae and a very small amount of brown algae on the sand. temp is approx 78. salinity 1.022-1.023 in a 40 gal cube. good circulation and filtration. lots of sand and rock. any ideas???? i'm getting ready to just scrap it on craigslist.
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bluwtr
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Re: frustrated

Post by bluwtr »

If you have lots of hair algae, you have a nutrient problem. High nutrients don't normally bother fish, but if the fish is in poor health to begin with it sure won't help. I read an article a while back that addressed drip acclimation and I've always considered it and have never had a problem. When we buy fish, most are put in the bag and then air or O2 is added. Under this increased partial pressure, when the fish pees and craps, the ammonia associated with it is actually in a different form--ammonium (sp) I believe. When we get home, we open the bag and then slowly drip water in. The problem is that when the bag is opened and exposed to CO2, the ammonium converts to ammonia. Obviously this is very toxic and deadly to the fish. The longer the fish has sat in the bag (long drive home) or if the water quality from the original tank wasn't that great you get the higher nutrient load to begin with. When we do a long slow drip the fish is actually sitting in the toxic water for a longer period of time. One of the affects of ammonia on fish is the destruction of gill tissue--obviously not good. Then add in the stress of a new home and water and you can see how a fish can die quickly.

So what does all this mean? Reduce your nutrients in your tank. Try getting home as quickly as possible. Drip acclimate faster. I have never taken longer than 15 minutes start to tank on any fish and have only had one die within a day. It was a copperband and I believe it had problems to begin with that I didn't notice at the LFS.

I may be completely wrong here, but I feel it is something to consider.

Good luck.
Wes

Beatings will continue until morale improves!!!

"I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them."--Judge Smails
mlindsey1
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Re: frustrated

Post by mlindsey1 »

thanks for the input. what would be the best way to deal with the nutrient problem, other than larger water changes? or will that be enough? i'm only feeding once a day right now.
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bluwtr
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Re: frustrated

Post by bluwtr »

For sure start with the WC, but don't do anything drastic, meaning I wouldn't do a 50% WC as that could very well shock any inhabitants that you have etc. Just do a 10-20% every week. Are you running any type of exporting media? I run both Xport PO4 and NO3 from Brightwell Aquatics, but you can run GFO and any other product you may choose to help. Also, stop feeding daily. I absolutely promise your fish are not going to starve if you feed them every three days and when you do set a timer and feed no more than they will eat in 2-3 minutes. Also feed lightly when you do. No sense in dumping a pile of food in the tank in the 2-3 minutes just to have it all sit and decompose.

Hope all of this helps and good luck.
Wes

Beatings will continue until morale improves!!!

"I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it. I felt I owed it to them."--Judge Smails
fishnbutch
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Re: frustrated

Post by fishnbutch »

I had a hair algee problem that was about to overtake my tank so I put some NP pearls in a reactor to remove the phosphates and between that and pulling what I could reach I am now hair free :D
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