Problems with fish

Okay in the future I will try this.

..but would the fish live for a few days and then start to become sluggish as a result of a poor acclimation? My hunch is that something else is the problem because after acclimation the fish seems to do fine for a couple of days.

 

I'm not sure, I'll defer that question to someone else.

What I can say is that by not acclimating properly, you're hurting your chances of success. Also, the fish could be in shock, which might not kill it immediately, but allow it to succum to other illnesses.

This is just my hunch, it sounds like you've checked almost everything else. Sometimes its the simple things that slip by.

 

I would try this.

Get a cheap fish, like a healthy chromis make sure it is eating.

Bulk up the biological filter with something like Microbacter7 just prior to adding the fish and for a couple days after acclimation.

You say a couple days after introduction they die? In each instance?

 

Tisk, tisk, putting a price on a life...

I kid, he's got to start somewhere.

 

A slow acclimation is not always a good thing. During shipment the O2 in a bag lowers. This makes the pH drop, turning ammonia to ammonium. When you open the bag to drip acclimate whether in the bag or a box (some online companies ask you to acclimate in a box they provide), the exposure to air will cause the pH to rise and all the ammonium to convert back to ammonia. A slow acclimation may often times be the cause of fish to die. It is better off to match specific gravity (and pH if you can), float for temperature match, and drop it in quarantine.

 

My Blenny was healthy for over a month and then it died after I set up my sump. After setting up my sump, new fish that I introduce are dying. There is nothing contaminating the sump.

The fish that was laying in the sand I mention earlier has died. I put in the freezer for a few minutes to be sure it was dead. I cut the fish right down the middle with a razor blade and I do not see any kind of parasites or odd coloration of the organs, but then again I'm no expert. As I work with the fish I feel completely responsible for it's death and I want to do whatever I can to prevent this from happening again. I'm afraid to buy another fish. My water parameters seem okay so when do I know that it is safe to buy another fish?

I feel like I should just wait a month or longer and see what happens to the two fish that are still alive. If after that time everything is healthy then maybe I can try again.

 

I dont drip fish, and the OP stated that he got the fish from an LFS, so I was assuming they were in the bag for no more than an hour or two. You points are valid, but given the assumptions above, I didnt want to complicate the matter.

 

So, based on what you're saying, you've been fine until you introduced the sump? Then I'd start looking at what is in the sump, all the way down to what sealent was used for the baffles, what is the sump made of, etc.

 

I tend to agree. Another aspect is stress. If your stuck in a plastic bag for an hour that can be more stressful than a sudden change in parameters. That being said, I will try to acclimate more slowly and deliberately in the future when I do decide to try another fish.

 

The sump is a simple 10g aquarium without any baffles at all. It is really not much of a sump at all. Overflow flowing into the sump, protein skimmer, live rock, chaeto, and return pump. I also have a bag of chemi-pure floating in the sump but I doubt that is causing any problems.

The protein skimmer was already on the display tank before it was moved to the sump. The live rock came from the LFS out of their system which is healthy. The cheato was also already in my system before the sump.

I know it seems like 2+2=4 to say that the sump is causing the problems because all of my problems started after the sump... but in this case it isn't so black and white.