Fish aren't Swimming! Help

ready for an update ryan.

 

if you dont have a refractometer, dont mix your own salt water...it is only going to make your problem worse. TRUST ME, I LEARNED THE HARD WAY. Those plastic hydrometers dont work. Go to the hardware store, buy a couple plastic gas cans (5gal) and GO TO A DIFFERENT LFS and get at least 15 gal of saltwater already made. (You have 75 gallon right? around 20%) But before I do anything else, when you go to a different LFS bring in a water sample and have them do a water test for you and ask them what the parameters are and have them tell you what to do. Some stores are full of BS....where I live I have been very lucky and never had any problems (and I am in the process of buying my 4th tank upgrade ....but that store definately set you up for failure and all they want is for you to keep coming back and spending more and more money. (I read recently that over 50% of people quite this hobby their first year...simply because of things like this)

But that is not what you need to hear now...you need answers....so, get a water sample. Find a different saltwater LFS store. Stop at the hardware store and buy some gas cans (you will need those no matter what) and see what they say. The best thing a LFS store told me is to keep a journal (what I have, what my parameters are everytime, when I added everything, and update it and bring it with you whenever you go to any store...I since stopped but will start back up again with my 125) and just to be safe I would come back on here when you get home and post your results and what the LFS told you to do as people here are more into this hobby than anybody you will ever find, and they are not into "selling" you anything.

 

(appearantly when I went on my rampage, I missed somehow like 3 pages of notes.....so disregard the previous note of mine!!!!!)
Good Luck!!!:

 

Sounds to me like this guy is SOL >.>

 

lol, be nice Zeck'y....we all were their once upon a time.
Of course when most of us started out we didint have the net to go searching for quick real time ansewers.


Oh by the way guys you probly won't see Ryan online till late , he works 2nd shift as i understand .

Talked to him a bit last night on messenger , he's worked up now it seems and our words of encourgement have built his anger up a little with the LFS guy that told all the ka-ka.

And as of last night, said he was gonna have a few words..with that guy .
( it were me i'd walk up one side and down the other , LOL )

But i think this thread really is one of the most wilder ones ive ever had the pleasure of responding to.

Also he said that all us have really helped alot and so forth and was really gratefull for all the help.


With that said i shall call us the
" BAND of reef brothers "... with our refraction meters in one hand and alk tester in the other.

We shall set the world right !.....8)LOL

 

I can honestly say WR I've never been this worked up over a thread. Like I said, I work at a LFS and I couldn't imagine sending a kid with his heart home with the mission to fail like that. What a bonehead.

 

Hey Friendly Fish Defenders!

A quick update before I'm off to work...
So I get the guts to call the LFS... told him that for 2K... at the very least it should have included a 25 Saltwater test kit. I also got the guts to tell him that it was the opinion of my "forum friends" (that's you all) that it was unprofessional and unfair to the fish to put in 5 different kind of species, 9 fish total, inside a tank that hasn't been test for water quality. To make a long story short... he told me that he has done it this way for hundreds of other tanks and not to listen to every Tom, Dick and Mary. He said the water was "cycled" and the water testing is never included because it's not necessary... his systems run as he put it so the least amount of work has to be put into it.

After a long but civil talk, whick included me saying that I had trusted him, he is coming over right now as we speak to bring a cleaner wrasse? (spelling) This to help eat the parasites (ich) off the 2 surviving clowns and yellow tang. BTW, it's a bloody miracle they are still alive... even after a 50 percent water change... the nitrate levels are still at 80ppm!!!!!!!!

They have heart... I'm just hoping to eventually give them a decent home...
More to come tonight after 11pm central time...

Take care my friends... and keep your fingers crossed for the 3 left!

 

cleaner wrasse to an already stressed system??????????? think about it ryan buddy. You just lost several fish and he's about to drop another in your tank????? BTW both of All 5 of my systems are very successful and I still test to this day. (successful not meaning the HUGE crash I had the other day due to a toxic cuke.) I'll bet there's not another marine aquarist on this forum that doesn't test. he is correct on one thing though. You shouldn't listen to every tom dick and harry but when tom, dick, harry, bob, bill, ted, roger, dan, ed are all telling you the same thing, you might want to open ur ears as you have.

 

+1 Unbelievable that your lfs is going to "solve" your problem by adding to it. : I'd find another fish store stat.