Unresolved Clownfish acting weird?

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Moray Eel, Feb 17, 2012.

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  1. Moray Eel

    Moray Eel Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    OK so i just set up my tank one week ago and added 35 pounds of cured live rock and some Bactria loaded live sand that is said to help cycle the saltwater aquarium. I waited 6 days and added Dr. Tim's one and only, a live nitrifying bacteria that is said to remove Toxic Ammonia and nitrate naturally, and to use when setting up a tank add fish immediately. It is also said to eliminate NTS. I also have for additives Amquel ammonia detoxicifier, Stress Coat, and a Serchem Stability that is also said to prevent NTS. All I have for filtration is an Aqua Medic GmbH Protein skimmer and a Fluval 205 (I also have a Fluval 305 but am not using it). I also have a heater that I used for my 20 Gallon FOWI, and two thermometers on each side of the tank. When I added the water I made sure it was filtered through a ROU but did not put stress coat in and I have salinity of 1.021 and temperature of 78.2. I checked the ammonia and it was around 0.18 I also have a phosphate tesk kit but have not used it yet. I'm making this 55 gallon saltwater FOWLR Predator with a Snowflake Eel, Niger Trigger (will be moved to 90 gallon), Dwarf Zebra Lionfish, Comet Grouper (Marine Beta), and Falco's Hawkfish. I put in a Tomato clownfish yesterday and sorry he was living in a bucket for a week because he was from my old FOWI tank. So I put him just with a net in and he was shy and slow at first then he kept on racing against the glass and clamping his pectoral fins for about 1 second and then goes swimming again now he's in a corner barely moving. He is sort of eating but you will have to see the video I have. Is this normal? What should I do? Am i doing a good job? Is he sick? Here's some videos of him acting strange.
    Clownfish 3reef - YouTube
    Clownfish being strange - YouTube

     

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  3. Caspian

    Caspian Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Okay first I need to say this and don't hate me for it. But that was hard to read...

    Now.. What size tank is the clown fish in now? Is this the newly set up tank?

    If so did you test ANY ammonia before adding the clown? What about Nitrates or Nitrites?
    Just because a chemical says it will help with NTS I still wait a month before adding anything living... Most can get away with adding hermit crabs because their hardy and don't carry marine issues like ich or other problems like that.

    Test your tank with whatever kits you have and report them here.
    Sg.
    Ph.
    Ammonia
    Nitrates
    Nitrites
    Temp
    Age of tank
    Size of tank

    That list should cover most the issues And should give us the ability to help quicker.

    The saying is... Go slow... And you really want too go slow. A lot of that live rock if it's cured might not be fully cured especially if it's going in new water, your going to have some die off, same with Live sand, live sand sits on shelves for quite some time. Sometimes you can get Fresh bags but your still unsure of what part of the month they were filled. Some Bacterial additives will have live sources of the required bacteria but there's often the case of sitting on the shelf and some of it will die off.. Dead decaying things makes Ammonia yes the bacteria changes this to a less deadly form but it's still got potential to be fatal.

    Test your tank.. Let us know. And we'll try and help ASAP.

    (posted in your other post as well)
     
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  4. ZC42

    ZC42 Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    I wouldn't trust that Tim's stuff too much. A brand new tank needs A MONTH at least to cycle. The fact that your ammonia is .18 shows that, and that's probably why your fish is acting weird and the fact that he was living in a bucket. Did you even acclimate the poor guy? What are your other levels?. Why aren't you using your other filter?and you only added the Tim's yesterday? And your heater, if it was appropriate for the smaller tank, won't be enough for the big one (it could have been bigger than needed, idk) and the trigger is going to be WAY too big for the 90. I would get that clown back to your other tank (acclimate him first!) and wait a month and test your levels. Whoops just realized that the guy before me posted the same things as I did while I was writing this.
     
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  5. Moray Eel

    Moray Eel Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    clownfish is in 55 gallon now
    it's one week old tank
    I did test ammonia before adding him it was 0.25
    I do not have any other test kits.
    Try reading my story again if you were confused I wrote it quick because I thought he was going to die :-[
     
  6. Caspian

    Caspian Coral Banded Shrimp

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    Yeah as it was said before I'd remove the clown you want 0 trace of ammonia! Ammonia is killer to fish it's like taking a bath in pure bleach it's gonna kill you!

    The ammonia in your tank is burning your fish's body and gills you need to move him to clean water from one of your other tanks even if it's in the bucket it's better than in water with ammonia! Acclimate him to the safe water and go from there other wise you'll end up with a toilet ornament...
     
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  7. Moray Eel

    Moray Eel Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    I must've checked it wrong last time because this time I got 0-3 ppm
     
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  9. Caspian

    Caspian Coral Banded Shrimp

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    It's still recommended that you return the clown to a fully matured tank, and wait the full Month before attempting to add fish to this new setup. The community recommends this Month waiting time because it's the proper thing to do, Yes there are additives and other such goodies that Combat NTS but these aren't an end all cure all. They take time to work most likely a week after the initial dose or even two weeks, they help jump start the process but they don't cure the problem. Your still going to have to wait for the tank to populate with the correct amount of bacteria before you can add a clown fish. I'd start with a hand full of hermit crabs... On week three they can handle the extra abuse.. And their FAR cheaper than fish... Most wont use live things until 1 month is up they'll drop a piece of uncooked shrimp in there for a few days wait till it starts to die off then remove it.. One month later they start adding hermit crabs... It's a cycle you cant forget about it needs to be done and trying to skip it because your in a rush only gets bigger problems.
     
  10. JustSumGuy

    JustSumGuy Plankton

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    From what I see from the video is a completely fresh looking tank with Aptasia already poking its head out and fairly normal clown fish behavior.

    As it has been stated already the Ammonia is high which tells me the tank is definitely not cycled. But some people do start a tank cycle with fish though it is not advised some do and it can still work just not encouraged at all because of the thought of putting your animals through stress and possible death.
    When I got into this hobby I did the same thing though by buying fish and adding after about 5-7 days of setting the tank up. I had not fatalities and I had a bunch of fish and corals. I did not add all the stuff you added. Adding as much stuff as you have to the water at the same time I would imagine can cause problems. Be careful dosing a tank especially if you are adding directly to the tank and not in the bucket you use for mixing your saltwater.

    Salinity I think is low. Most people keep it around 1.024- 1.025 for reef tanks I think 1.023 is ok for fowlr I can not be 100% certain on this as I only have reef tanks and even when I started it has always been 1.024-1.025.

    Remember these fish need to be temperature and water acclimated before adding into the tank.