help help help....asap response please

[amcarrig]

I've never had a use for that kind of stuff because, after learning the hard way far too many times, I've made sure that I don't let ammonia and other parameters get too out of whack. I would just leave the tank as it is and let the bacteria catch up to the new bioload. Once that happens, you won't have to worry about anything unless/until you add more animals to the system.

[nemo79]

Thanks. My Perameters Were The Same For 4wks. I Added The Fish Saturday, Then Did Water Change On Monday, And Tues The Test Were Off. I Don't Want Anything To Die So If Using Amolock Is Safe And Effective Then I Will Use It. Should I Do Another Water Change? Or Would This Perhaps Set Things Astray At This Point. I Heard Ammonia Can't Be Removed By Water Changes, That's Nitrates Which Are 0 In My Tank. Only Probs Is A Slight Spikein Ammonia And Nitrites.

[amcarrig]

I would only worry about water changes/AmmoLock if, after a week or so, the ammonia level in your tank didn't drop. Just leave things be for the time being and keep testing your water

[Jason McKenzie]

I agree with amcarrig, even though I recomended Amolock I would only use it is things were really bad. I have used it when my display tank was leaking and I had to quickly set up a bunch of holding tanks to keep everything alive.

In your case you have a new tank with new livestock. Just let the bacteria catch up

J

[Reef Lover]

When you do a water change, what kind of water are you using, are you puting the water right into your tank, or let it warm up first?

[jpmorley]

No worries! Your Nemo is likely fine. Just keep checking for parasites and other visible signs of illness. Don't add chemicals to your tank unless you know why (specifically) you are doing it. You won't do any harm with ammo lok but you need to add it every couple of days if it is needed. I doubt you need it because you have plenty of LR and a fully cured tank with a good skimmer. I have had clowns die of unknown causes under perfect conditions. It happens.

If your clown begins to deteriorate you have a different problem and will need to set up a hospital tank. You should have one around anyway. Buy a 10 gal aquarium at your LFS or just use a clean plastic bucket or container (like Rubbermaid). Put in some plastic pipe or fake rock or coral as hiding places and set up the tank when needed. Don't use any filtration but use something to create water flow (a powerhead will work fine). Learn how to do medicated fresh water dips. But don't do any of that to your clown for now. Always quarantine new fish in the hospital tank and ignore anyone who tells you its unneccessay.

[nemo79]

Thanks, The Rubbermaid Idea Sounds Very Good And Inexpensive For A Hospital Tank. How Long Do You Quarentine When Getting A New Fish? I Didn't Add The Ammolock But My Clown Isn't Doing Good At All. Now He Isn't Eating. My Ammonia Has Gone Down, Practically 0 But Nitrites Are Between 0 - 0.05...hard To Tell Which Blue It Is. I Wish I Could Help The Little Guy, He's The Only Thing In My Tank Acting Weird So It May Be Just Him. I Hope He Gets Better. No Markings On His Body, No Ich For Sure(i Know What Ich Looks Like) His Eyes Are Fine, No Slime On His Body, No Fin Rot, Colouration Is The Same, His Gills Aren't Red But To Me He Looks Like He's Breathing A Little Rapidly But That's Hard To Tell As Well. He's Never At The Top Of The Water Gasping For Air...so I Know It Can't Be A Oxygen Problem. I Have Started Using Reverse Osmosis Water That I Get From Water Depot. And When I Did My Water Change I Mixed The Water The Night Before, Airated It, And Temperature Check. The Salinity And Temp Matched Exactly To My Display Tank. I Was Actually Quite Proud Of Myself In That, As It Was My First Water Change.

[jpmorley]

Qurantine should last one month. Note that since you won't have filtration in the quarantine tank you need to add ammolok every couple of days as specified on the package and do weekly water changes. A good idea is to get a small plastic container that you use for nothing else and do a fresh water dip before placing the fish in quarantine. Put methelene blue or formalin into RO/DI water along with an antibiotic and ammolok and aerate well. The longer the dip the more likely you are to overstress the fish. Since he is already stressed, try one minute. As soon as you put him in the tank he will roll over and look dead but may suddenly make a rapid lunge. Be sure to cover the container. At the end of the dip, move him to the quarantine tank. (The temperature of the quarantine tank should be the same temp and ph as your main tank and the dip). You may want to add copper sulfate to the quarantine tank and possibly an antibiotic depending on whether you think it is warranted. (You need to do some reading on all this). At the end of quarantine, if the fish appears healthy, be sure the quarantine tank conditions match your main tank, remove the fish, dip him briefly in tank water so you don't transfer ANY of the copper sulfate (bad for inverts) and return him to the main tank. Please get some reference books and read up on all this. My single paragraph and limited experience doesn't match the tremendous experience of many good reef and marine aquarium experts who will give you all the details. By the way, if all this seems like a lot of work, it is. But you will soon get the hang of it and be better for the experience. None of this is a guarantee. Unfortunately we all have livestock die of unexplained causes. The longer you work at it, the more you will learn. Good Luck!

[Jason McKenzie]

Originally Posted by jpmorley

Qurantine should last one month. Note that since you won't have filtration in the quarantine tank you need to add ammolok every couple of days as specified on the package and do weekly water changes. A good idea is to get a small plastic container that you use for nothing else and do a fresh water dip before placing the fish in quarantine. Put methelene blue or formalin into RO/DI water along with an antibiotic and ammolok and aerate well. The longer the dip the more likely you are to overstress the fish. Since he is already stressed, try one minute. As soon as you put him in the tank he will roll over and look dead but may suddenly make a rapid lunge. Be sure to cover the container. At the end of the dip, move him to the quarantine tank. (The temperature of the quarantine tank should be the same temp and ph as your main tank and the dip). You may want to add copper sulfate to the quarantine tank and possibly an antibiotic depending on whether you think it is warranted. (You need to do some reading on all this). At the end of quarantine, if the fish appears healthy, be sure the quarantine tank conditions match your main tank, remove the fish, dip him briefly in tank water so you don't transfer ANY of the copper sulfate (bad for inverts) and return him to the main tank. Please get some reference books and read up on all this. My single paragraph and limited experience doesn't match the tremendous experience of many good reef and marine aquarium experts who will give you all the details. By the way, if all this seems like a lot of work, it is. But you will soon get the hang of it and be better for the experience. None of this is a guarantee. Unfortunately we all have livestock die of unexplained causes. The longer you work at it, the more you will learn. Good Luck!

Another way of doing things is to not medicate a fish that does not need it. Keep very good water conditions in the QT and only perform the stressful fresh water dip on a fish that is very sick

[nemo79]

thanks guys. appreciate all the good tips. god i hope i'm not being stupid with all this...i feel stupid.