PLEASE HELP in desperate need of ADVISE

[frakln]

HELLO!
And thank you for reading at this post; I am in desperate need of help and advice about my tank.
To begin with I must tell you I don’t know much about this, I thought it was going to be like my fresh water tank with a little more of difficulty, so I got myself a 150 galon tank (I think is a 150 not sure..) browse the internet for a cheap way to start and got me some sand, died and crushed coral, I had everything running with no fishes for 3 months I don’t really understand the cycle process but I did the best I could, the first residents where 3 damsels, one black, a blue and a blue yellow tail ones, who are living there very happy, one month after I added a clown fish, all of them live togheter with no problems at all, until yesterday, I went to a pet shop to buy a cleaner shrimp, by the sales person advise I got me a really nice purple lobster he also told me a pink tip anemone called ”candy anemone” would be the perfect house for my clown fish, he also suggested I get a electric scallop and also got two hermit crabs, I know I should have read before getting them but I didn’t.
The lobster was doing fine but after 20 minutes it stopped moving and then died, The electric scallop is still opening and closing but it stopped flashing and the “tentacles” are losing color I have also read that this anemone is not used as a housing for a clown fish, and that instead it is very destructive and could end up eating my other fishes and its poison could kill nearby inhabitants, the lobster and the scallop where close to it, could it be this the reason? I took a sample of my water and they said everything was ok, except that salinity that is over 1.035 and it could be high for the scallop but it would adapt, please help!!!
Should I keep the anemone? Is it safe for my other fishes?, so far the fishes are staying away from it, Is there anything I can do for the electric scallop? If I can’t care for it I would rather give it away to someone who knows how to it. The hermits seem to be doing great but I would like to add some more cleaners shrimp and a star maybe? , I want eventually have a reef fish tank, but I think I might be starting wrong…
Any advice on what to do next? Or what fishes can I add?
Any advice will be much appreciated, please help!!

[lunatik_69]

If indeed your salt is 1.035, that is way too high. I would look to find another LFS b/c those ppl dont care about you or what they sell. Only a quick buck. Remember to go slow, dont add so many things at once. Some ppl like anemones and some dont, I dont have a problem with them and your fish already know not to mess with it. I would worry about the condition of your water. Need to test all aspects of the water.

[a1amap]

Always be sceptical unless you know what you want. Homework first and try to avoid impulse buys.

How long did you acclimate the lobster? Lobsters usually need to be acclimated for a long time. The anemone did not kill him. I have not heard of a "candy" anemone but he may mean condy short for Condylactis. The only candy canes I know are LPS. If it is a condy, it is a good starter anemone. It is more tolerant to newer tanks then say a bubble tip. It does require decent light and to be fed once a week if small. I would keep an eye on the scallop it may just be stressed but if it dies get it out of the tank otherwise you will have issues with the waste. The crabs are no problem.

Get a pic posted will make it easier.

I have a condy and a pair of clowns and they don't go near the condy. Any fish that swims through the tenticles will get stung but most fish will avoid the condy. They can't be hurt by being near but that is not to say the condy wont move. They tend to move till they find a place with the proper flow and light. Also clowns and condys are from different oceans.

P.S. It also may be a haitian anemone very simular to the condy.

Lower your salinity slowly don't just dump fresh water in. Do it over the course of a couple hours.

[Matt Rogers]

Originally Posted by a1amap

How long did you acclimate the lobster? Lobsters usually need to be acclimated for a long time.

EXACTLY. From the post it sounds like acclimation may have been a problem.

In addition, I think it's way too early to start thinking about anemones.

I hate saying this but your LFS guy was being irresponsible in my opinion and just trying to sell you a bag of goods without giving much thought to the maturity of your aquarium.

Did you say a scallop too? Those are difficult to keep and should be avoided (at least what I know about the flame scallops.)

THAT SAID - You made a great choice by getting a big tank like a 150 - the more water volume, the more stable - after you get through this, things should get better.

What type of filtration do you have?

The others above gave great advice - listen to them too.

[amcarrig]

To add to the above, let us know what kind of lighting you have and we'll be able to tell you whether or not your tank can even support anemones and/or corals (once you're ready for them)

[wastemanagement]

Firstly I would like to welcome you to the 3reef.
3mths is a good time to let your tank cycle.
so you tank should not be a problem to add some fish at this point (paramiters permitting) also you should realy just spend a day looking around at fish stores and make a small list of what you like ,then do a little reserch on the type of enviroment that is needed for thoes fish.
some fish are very fragile and will not live in newish tanks like the buitiful manderine fish. however as stated it may be a bit soon to have a anenony so you will need to keep an eye on it if it starts to close up all the time it is a good sign that it not ok and you need to bite the bullet and take it out befor it pollutes your system.
Also your lighting will be an issue if it is not strong enough it will be a problem for your anenomy.
If you find yourself a bit confused just post some more questions and we will do the best to help.
Post some pics of your set up for referance is a good way to let others help you out.
good luck too you

[cuttingras]

Welcome to 3reef!

I would take the 3 things(lobster even though it's dead, anemone and scallop) you purchased yesterday back to the store! Tell the person who sold them to you you want your money back. Then find a lfs that won't just sell you anything. If they know anything about clown fishes and anemones, they would have known not to sell you a condy. They are just taking your money. Most stores have some kind of return for things that die within a certain amount of time....The crabs are fine, leave them in...

+2 for what Wastemanagement said...Go to another store and make a list of what you like and then go home and look them up to find out what it takes to keep them alive and make them thrive. You've done a good job on the patience end with letting it wait 3 months!

Tell us about your tank, other than it's a 150 gallon...what kind of lights, protein skimmer(?), filter all that good stuff.....

1.035 is way high, you want to be around 1.021-1.025, no higher than that. Ditto on what A1A said don't add a lot of fresh water all at once do a couple of cup fulls every few hours until it's good.

Ask questions and read. we've all made mistakes before and learn from our mistakes and lessons we've learned!

[Otty]

Welcome to 3reef. Sorry to hear about your troubles, some local fish store will try and sell you a flat tire and tell you the air is extra. My self I would never go back to that place again.
As for your salinity, you need to lower that over a couple days. That kills fish and inverts fast. Your lobster probably came from a tank about 1.024 and then if you didn't acclimate it very long and added it to your 1.035 then that is what killed it.
You started off on your cycle great by taking the time and letting mother nature do her job, but you got in with a bad LFS and have probably wasted quite a bit of money there in the process.
You need to get some test kits so you can test your own water instead of relying on lfs to do it, I don't trust them no farther then I can throw them.

[mandarin11]

Whooooooooo boy. Well at least you are asking questions, that's always a good thing. Ditto the salinity discussion, it's way to high. Also I agree with amcarrig. We need to know what lighting you have. Actually we need to know a lot about what you have. The more we know the better we can help. Soooooo not to freak you out but we need to know at least:
lighting(what type, the wattage, how often it's on)
filtration
protein skimmer yes/no?
live rock? (NOT decorative, but the actual "live" stuff)
live sand?
nitrates, nitrites,pH (all that good stuff)
powerheads? (if so how many and what type?)
Any algae present? (If so what type, a lot/a little?)

There's always more but since you're new we'll try not to freak you out to bad.

I'm glad, and I'm sure everyone else is, that you're asking questions about the hobby. I'm sure you've noticed by now that saltwater, especially the reef part of it isn't a fast moving, cheap expenditure. Not that time seemed to be a problem with you, kudos for the 3 month cycling. Just make sure you know everything there is to know about something before you take it home. (This isn't a lecture, trust me we've all taken something home at one point or another that we probably shouldn't have. Heck I got a zebra moray once upon a time. The look on my mom's face was worth it.)

Also, others may be more trusting of their LFS's but I'm naturally wary of 95% of the stuff they tell me. So unless you find a reliant one then research a lot about anything you want, and always from at least 3 sources since some people may have had different experiences.

Good luck with your fish tank and please always feel free to ask questions here, because someone will answer them. That's pretty much what we're hear for.

Oh, and welcome to 3 Reef!!!!!

[trying it again]

Just my own opinion. Ask here before you buy-and what to do next.
The people here will take you by the hand to help you acheive your goal.
They have been doing it for me and so far so good!