Why won't my fish live?

But everything IS reading zero

 

I still stand behind what I said above. I dont think its the fish or where they are coming from. 3-4 fish dying right after each other is not normal.



Luna

 

Fish suicide pact…hey, it could happen !

Copper does seem like a possibility – after reading through this post all I could think was that things aren’t adding up.

I urge you to bring your water to a lfs for testing – I think one or more of your test kits are bad…salinity might be the culprit. It sounds more like a PH shock or abnormal salinity to me. I am sorry for your troubles.

 

This is what I do. I don't drip. I float my bags for about 15 minutes to adjust the temp, pour in a cupul of tank water, sit for another 10 or so and dump em on in. I actually open the bag top and lay it on its side.....they come out on their own when they're ready, LOL.

 

What about the water you are using for water changes? Could chlorine be an issue? Are you using clean buckets without any sort of cleaner or chemicals ever used in them? Friend of mine killed a couple fish when he accidently used the same bucket he uses to clean his cars to refill his fish tank. Still had some soap in it and he didnt realize it.

 

I don't think copper is the issue. None of your fish were sensitive to copper and you havn't lost any inverts. Copper is most likely not an issue. One issue is ammonia. Let the ammonia disappear before doing anything further. In the meantime.....check your water source. If your using tap....stop. Buy RO water from your grocery store and make sure your buckets are clean.

After a fish dies, how long do you leave it in the tank for? Take it out immediately and do a 10-15% water change to prevent any other fish from dying. Whenever you notice something dead, always do a water change to try to get rid of some of the ammonia.

 

Oh ok good no biowheel, or filter media.. yeah that's plenty of flow! I would have to say your ammonia is the prob, and maybe an inaccurate Ammonia test kit. I would do a 20-40% water change, and wait a couple weeks for the tank to balance. that's just what I would do! You could also add another 5-20 lbs of live rock

 

That very well could be the problem right there. NEVER buy a fish if possible without observing it's behavior (including feeding). If your buying fish that are goners to begin with you have no chance.

 

Two perfect recommendations on how to acclimate and pick fish. I would only recommend using the drip method for sensitive invertebrates like starfish. You need to not only observe whether or not the fish are eating but are they also fat.

I don't recommend this because then the LFS water mixes with your tank water and ruins your water chemistry.

Take your time just relax. It took my 265 Fish Only tank 3 years until we didn't lose a single fish (tank is now 8 years old). New water needs to fluctuate and balance itself out before fish can live in it. The Ocean has cycled and balanced itself out for more than 4 billion years ;D

 

Why do a couple people suspect copper? I'm not dismissing this as a possibility, just curious as to WHY.

Also, why is it coming across that I have alot of ammonia? Im using a salifert test kit, and the lowest end of the scale is <0.25, which is what it is reading. The expiration on it is 03-2011.

The buckets I use for water changes are brand new buckets, only for the tank. I've been using tap-water for top offs. I thought I read somewhere that salt naturally de-chlorinated, and less than a gallon a day of top off is less than 1 percent. The top off water sits for a couple days before being used as well. Changing my top off water is the first change I have made to find a solution, I have RO water from my LFS.