HELP Please

Aww thats very nice of you. Glad I could help.8)

 

its a yellow tang... and he is small too. my original chromis... the one that is dying now is experiencing the same symptoms I saw in the first one. he looks like he is having trouble breathing, swimming crazy, etc. when i introduced the fish I let them sit for an hour and added my tank water to the bags then let them sit for another hour. everyone was eating well... they sold me this kelp with garlic to pin to the sides of my tank and oddly the only one who ate it was the shrimp that died. the fish don't even seem interested in it. i have to take this shrimp back today in order to qualify for a refund so if you guys can think of anything else that might help prevent further losses to what i already boguht please post... vinny thank you for your advice. I will definetly post here before adding anything else.

 

My pleasure.There are many ways to acclimate fish. IMO keeping stress to a minimum is they key. Acclimating the way you are is only adding stress. I float the bag for 10 minutes then drop the fish in the tank. I have been doing it this way for 25 plus years. IMO drip acclimating can do more harm then good.Also the only herbivore you have is the tang so the nori will probably not be consumed by the clownfish or chromis. Try a meaty food dipped in garlic for these fish.

 

yikes....more bad fish store advice! and this is supposed to be such a reputable store - all they do is saltwater fish! do you add their water to your tank? vinny do you think im going to lose all my fish?

 

Like I said there are many different ways to acclimate the fish.And this is very debatable. In your lfs they are getting fish that have been in the bag for a very long time.So there method of acclimating is different.I am luck enough that my LFS keeps a decent water quality so yes I do usually add there water but you don't have to.
Well I hope you don't lose them but just keep an eye on them and make sure they are all eating. Appetite loss is usually the first sign that something isn't right.
Also it might take a while for your tang to start eating the nori. Try tearing off a small piece and just let it go in the tank. Once he recognizes it as food he should start to eat it from the clip.

 

okay so i went to the fish store to return the cleaner shrimp and i asked the guy to test the water. i use the api strips for ph, no2 no3, kh... i also use the api liquid drop test. both of my tests yesterday had no amonia, no nitirites ph 8.2 and no nitrates and last week their test had no nitrates no amonia, no nitirites... so last week we had the same test results... today however he said my nitrates were just under .500 ppm and nitrites and amonia were 0. is this from adding the fish or feeing the fish too much? the guy told me to do a 50% water change and clean the gravel sand which seemed like a lot considering my tank is just over 3 months old. do you guys have an opinion about this?

i did get the garlic food while i was there. all the other fish seem fine. the tang has even started tearing up one of these plants i got to lower the nitrites.

 

+ 3 on what these fellows have said, a 75g is the smallest tank i would house a tang in even bigger would be better. also 40# of live rock will not give enough cycling for a big bioload, 110 # would make a better system in a 55g in my opinion, it would give them a better chance

 

i would not do a 50% water change, test soon after food is droped to see what its doing feed smaller amounts and feed more often

 

Just wanted to share a quick update since the death of the cleaner shrimp last weekend. I did not do a water change. I got the garlic drops to add to a cube of spirolina (sp) that I fed at night. tonight when i tested the water (after feeding) i had 0 amonia, ph 8.2 nitrates 0 and nitrites 0. no more deaths and the fish seem super happy. esp the tang who was hiding almost all the time and now just wants to hang out with one of the chromis fish. one of the chromis fish hid all day long i never saw him now he is swimming with the rest of the fish. the two clowns are hilarious and seem pretty good. the tang with his fins down is smaller than a silver dollar and the two clowns are about the size of a thumbnail. the 2 chromis fish are a little larger than the clowns. also all the snails and the 4 crabs seem good. How long do I stay in this place before I can add another fish? And what would you guys reccomend as an addition? Again the tank is 55g - the live rock and sand is prob 50 lbs. I appreciate your experienced opinions and thanks again for the help.

 

You are at your limit already.(Actually over it with the tang) Don't forget these fish will get bigger over time. Over loading a tank is one of the quickest ways to cause disaster. You could possibly add a small goby but I would wait a little while.