whats killing my fish!!!

[chode]

ok i have had my tank running for over 2 months. my fish just keep dieing. my ammonia is at .1 nitrite less than .1 o nitrate 8.1 ph and 1.023 salinity. i had a pair of false perculas and they died after 2 weeks. i also had a coral beauty angel fish that looked great one nite and died the next day. so i didnt add fish for a while then when i thought it was safe i added a purple psuedo and it was doing great and eating good for 2 days then i woke up and it was dead. i have had starfish and snails and hermitcrabs since the begginig and they are still good. i had a small white carpet anemone but i just got rid of it. can any one tell me a possible reason for the dieying fish. could the anemone have killed them or is my water infested with a fish only killing diesease that wont hurt inverts. thanks

[icereefer]

well for one I'd get that PH up around 2 more points and as for that anemone IMO your tank is to new for one. besides that can't say... what's your alk at? your running a skimmer so oxygen should'nt be your problem. what do you mix your salt water in? it's not a bucket that might of had chemicals in it?

[MikeS]

Your tank is still cycling...that's a big part of it....ammonia is pretty toxic to fish.....this level needs to be at 0, and nitrite as well.....

Mike

[chode]

the bucket has no chemicals or any thing. its in a big rubbermaid container. how do i raise my ph. i didnt know that .1 would kill my fish for the ammonia. do i just do waterchanges to get it to 0. my anmeone didnt die i just got rid of him. for one the tank was to knew like you said and 2 i just didnt like it that much. would ammonia nd nitrite also kill fish that fast. well i hope i get it stable cause ive put a lot of money into it. thanks again.

[icereefer]

small amounts of water changes, like mike said you putting a load like that on a tank that's not done cycling will keep your parameters up.
get those parameters stable them add your live stock slowly to your tank

[FishinInTheDark]

You might find this helpful:

http://www.coralforum.com/reference60.html

Your levels are only slightly out of whack, so if you stop adding things and let your biological filtration catch up, you'll be on your way in no time!

Conni

[chode]

thanks that does help. do you think when everything settles that i could get a maroon gold striped clown and maybe one other fish or just the clown for a while.

[nbaker]

What kind of salt are you using? Using a good brand with render good chemical results in the long run, a bad brand will cause you to have chem. problems constantly even after doing the ever so recommended water changes. I use Coralife salt, I see some use Instant Ocean around here. You might want to pickup addition test kit's and test the other problematic areas of SW tank. Look through the Articles section on this site to get a better idea what else will be important other than the basic four chemicals we are initially taught. Good Luck, keep us posted.

[chode]

i am currently uisng instant ocean. not sure if its that great. yea i guess ill get those other test kits cause i know i will need them. also how do you think i should add fish when the tanks parameters are stable. 1 or 2 at a time or what. i know the first 2 fish i want are a gold striped maroon clown and a watchman goby. would that be ok at one time or should i put one and wait then put the other. thanks

[arockkid]

Wouldn't you all still recommend a good hardy cycling fish, like a damsel, or 2? You can always ditch them (BACK to the STORE, of course!) when they've done their job, and you won't be losing craploads of $$$$ in the meantime.
At this point, that's most definitely what I'd do.
Leslie

[FishinInTheDark]

I disagree. It is not necessary to add fish to that tank to cycle it. You already have ammonia sources (LR, inverts, etc.). Don't add any more until the cycle is over. It will only prolong the cycle and stress the fish and your system further. Also, damsels are really hard to catch in a tank with live rock.

I would only add one fish at a time to a brand new tank (that is finished cycling). That maroon clown will be hardy, but it will also be aggressive. You might want to add it last of all. The watchman goby should do okay. Make sure you see it eating at the LFS, because you won't have anough microfauna (pods) to sustain it, so it must be eating prepared foods. Make sure you buy the same food they're using at the LFS, too.

You're doing great asking questions! That's just what we're all here for!

Good luck!

Conni

[MikeS]

I agree with Conni....

The best way I'v found to cycle a tank (with or without LR) is to add some water and a bit of sand from an existing mature, healthy tank...that kickstarts the cycle real well....

Mike

[chode]

yea i had damsels first and after the tank had cycled(or so i thought) they were a real pain to get out. i guess i just added to much in such a short time. i also have 60 pounds of livesand in there. i did a 10% water change so im hoping this will help. i guess after a while ill start slowly adding stuff. thanks for all yalls help. i also am getting two 110 watt vhos next week. when the tank is done cycling is there any soft corals or mushrooms i could get with the goby or is that still to much. hopefully my sump with built in refugium will be running in a couple of days to. thanks again

[FishinInTheDark]

Once your cycle's over, you can't go wrong with mushrooms, zoanthids, star polyps (that are spreading like crazy in my tank), and most of the leathers. Congrats on the new lights and sump too!

Conni

[chode]

alright. thats good to know. thanks