Dont know what I did wrong...now they're both dead!

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by ria_nygr, Dec 27, 2008.

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  1. ria_nygr

    ria_nygr Plankton

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    Hi everybody! Hope you all had a nice Christmas, unfortunately I didnt :cry:
    My son asked Santa for a new tank and I was very happy to make the move from goldfish to marine at last (something I wanted to do for years), so we got the equipment and everything we needed for a fish only system, salt and allsorts. I 've been reading books and books for months, and to be honest I didnt think I could wrong! Anyway, we set up the 54LT tank almost a month ago and on Christmas eve we got 2 lovely, adorable little clownfish. I floated the bag for about an hour, added the water in the bag and slowly released them. For the first few hours they were fine, swimming and eating, no problem whatsoever. In the morning my son told me Nemo is asleep in the tank, they were both dead right next to eachother- I cant understand what I did wrong, Im absolutely gutted! the temperature was 24.7, Ammonia and chlorine 0, GH 8d, KH 6d PH 8.2. Did anybody ever had the same problem? I want to give it another go, but I dont want to keep killing fishes!!!
     
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  3. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    i would buy live rock, and skimmer.
    also 15 gallons is really small for a first reef tank.

    we need to know your salinity also.
     
  4. ria_nygr

    ria_nygr Plankton

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    Sostoud, thanks for your reply, sorry for the missing info: my hydromeret showed salinity almost 29 and gravity 1.021...
    I didnt really have a choice on the tank size unfortunately due to lack of space, I considered live rock but I thought it was a bit risky, being an newbie and I was told that I didnt really need a skimmer because I was using the "Organic Aqua" products...
     
  5. chris adams

    chris adams Purple Tang

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    IMO a skimmer is the most essential. SG should really be around 1.024. If you Salinity is to low they basically drown.
     
  6. REDMANS CUBE

    REDMANS CUBE Fire Shrimp

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    LR is the thing you need the most. salinity could be higher. so the tank wasnt cycled before you added the fish?
     
  7. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    Did you add increments of the tank water to the bag with the fish over time before releasing them? Or did you just float the bag, then release without mixing water?
     
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  9. sostoudt

    sostoudt Giant Squid

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    salinity is a little low but thats not what killed them.

    live rock contains all the bacteria you need i would atleast use a little bit in every tank i set up. also the rock will have some die off creating ammonia allowing you to cycle with out fish.
    what a skimmer does is take protein and fish waste out of the water, to my knowledge no product can replace that functionality(besides water changes but salt is expensive).
    skimmers are really important tanks can be done with out them but its alot harder, for someone new to salt i would say they are necessary(don't just buy a cheap one research them good becuase alot are bad). there importance may not seem appearent in the beginning but over time they difference in the waste that accumulates is incredible.


    also only start with one fish, then if it does well for a month and your other one
     
  10. ria_nygr

    ria_nygr Plankton

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    In the pet shop they told me that if I use Organic aqua I dont need to cycle it, but I di for about 4 weeks just to be on the safe side...
    So you think my next attempt should be with live rock then? The skimmer is easy to find but live rock is in short supply here in Ireland, I have to look for a place that has some.
     
  11. ria_nygr

    ria_nygr Plankton

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    Sorry Matt, I didnt see your post there, I floated the bag for about and hour and mixed one cup of water every 15 min. in their own bag. Did it 4 times and then released them...
     
  12. REDMANS CUBE

    REDMANS CUBE Fire Shrimp

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    did u yest for ur water params to make sure the cycle was complete? i would add some rock, get some test kits, dont add fish for a while. (tank will go through some sort of cycle) you can wait a while on a skimmer. i just added one to my tank and its been running 18months-2 years.