Need Advice

[honey76]

Hi all i have recemtly bought a salt water tank which has been running for 3 years, i dont know alot about marine fish and everytime i try and ge advice from pet shops they all telling me different thinks. IE originally i had a flame angel, 2 clown fish, 1 brown tang and a chromis. Now my flame angel fish has died and the chromis i have tested the water myself and had it tested at the pet shop and they can find nothing wrong with the water.

What fish are suitable to put with my brown tang and my clown fish i have anemones 2 one bubble tip and alantic also have pussy coral and another twiggy lucking one lol Please help me

 

[Ricey]

sorry to hear about the chromis and angel.

i would hold off from buying any more fish until you have managed to work out why the other 2 died.
you say you and your LFS tested your water.. can you list exactly what you tested for and the resultys you got? you might have missed something vital!

also how big is your tank? what equipment do you have (list everything if you can)?

 

[SkiFletch]

In addition, did the fish die of a disease or just mysteriously end up dead?
Were there any signs of stress or fighting (strange behavior, flicking on rocks, nipped fins, sunken bellies)?
Or did the fish just completely dissappear?
What kind of nems do you have?

 

[callell]

What kind of nems do you have?

i have anemones 2 one bubble tip and alantic also have pussy coral and another twiggy lucking one

Also on the nem's what lighting do you have ?
What are you feeding them ?
How often ?

Also what is this Twiggy thing

 

[honey76]

Hi there the did upto 7 tests on the water the amonia, nitrates and ph they said the was all fine they said that one off the tests was high began with f said it would cause algae to grow in our tank sorry im new to this.

We have a 150 litre tank, with fluval 103 external filter and sump tank which is linked back in to the main tank, we have a heater a uv power filter. a power head for water flo not sure off the make.

we have 2 lights a marine white light 36 inch high output and also a blue 1 24inch UV light.

 

[honey76]

The fish where not behaving strange we just got up one morning and the flame angel was dead under a rock but it wasnt trapped as it used to swim under the rock regular, the chromis did start to flick its self like it was having a fit on the bottom off the tank.

I have 2 common clowns we feed them flakes and also mysis once a day

callel like i have explained above what nemos i have and what lighting i have, i just know it is a piece off coral and it looks like a tree branch but im afraid i dont know the name of it as it came with the tank when we bought it

 

[Matty P]

Chromis should be kept in a shoal of 5+

Matt.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, flicking on the gravel is usually a sign of parasites. Its possible your clownfish are resistant to the parasite and able to fight it off themselves. With parasitic infections you really have 2 options. First, dont add more fish to the tank for at least a month to allow the parasite to go through its life cycle and die in absence of a host. Then after a month, try adding one fish and waiting at least 2 weeks before adding another. If the parasite is present, it may attack the new fish. This option is somewhat of a gamble.

Next option, buy a UV sterilizer and use it for 2 weeks. UV sterilizers will kill water-borne parasites and most bacteria as well. Great little inventions but a little costly. I run a UV sterilizer (have done so since my tank started) and I've never had a parasite problem in my tank. Just my personal experience.

As for the test that started with an "F", it actually starts with a "PH", Phosphates. High phosphates are a ticking time bomb for hair algae and/or cyanobacteria. Your best bet for stopping phosphates is a chemical remover called Rowaphos, or Phosban if you're in the states. Great stuff and a few teaspoons goes a long way.

 

[callell]

I would be very concerned regarding the wellbeing of the anemonnes in your tank tbh

Your lighting is no where near suitabel to keep them healthy

Have a read of this thread http/www.fishforums.net/A-Short-Anemone-...rs-t160869.html

Also I a 150 ltre tank is also way to small for any Tang

 

[honey76]

I have a UV steriliser in my tank thats is ph was abit high but the pet shop said that was to be expected off atank that had been running for 3 years and adviced us to buy some Phosban in the future but nothig to worry about at the moment.


As for my tank not been big enough for the tank i dont know cos the fish came with the tank when we bout it so i had no idea, and we are upgrading to a t5 lighting system at the weekend


Im from the uk

Matty i found out they should be kept in groups, but he was on his own i gothim with the tank i bought

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hiya honey, it might help you to read through the topic linked in my sig, we too bought a marine tank that had already been running (and neglected and badly stocked) for years so we've been through it all, reading it might give you some insight into what you have in store and there's loads of useful info on all sorts of topics from the experienced members on this forum

 

[callell]

As for my tank not been big enough for the tank i dont know cos the fish came with the tank when we bout it so i had no idea, and we are upgrading to a t5 lighting system at the weekend

T5's wont cut it for the Nem's IMO, I would strongly suggest selling these to your Local Marine Shop or an experienced reefer, as they are very difficult to care for & if they do end up dying in your tank they can/will cause a wipeout of your livestock

As for the tang, can you get a pic of it, again a 150ltr isnt suitable for any Tangs tbh.

I have a UV steriliser in my tank thats is ph was abit high but the pet shop said that was to be expected off atank that had been running for 3 years and adviced us to buy some Phosban in the future but nothig to worry about at the moment.

Did your LFS recomend the Phosban to stabilise your PH, as this is not what Phosban is for or have I picked this up incorrectly ?

 

[honey76]

Well the pet shop advised us to upgrade to a t5 this is what i mean every tells you different things, this is my tang he is quite camera shy but its the best pic i got, i have also tok a pic off the coral that i called a twig


They told me to buy phosban to reduce the algae in the tank

 

[callell]

Phosban will reduuce the Phosphates in the tank, which will hopefully starve the Algea of food

I have given you the facts on the lighting & the Tang, these are the truth as I have known & done for many years, if you wnat to take the advice great

PS you Tang is a Zebrasoma scopas


http/www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/Fish.htm

http/www.wetwebmedia.com/zebrasom.htm

http/www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=2045

 

[honey76]

Callel oh im not saying yur giving me fasle advice im on about the pet shopsthey all tell you different things, well at the moment my partner is chasing a hairy crab around the tank whic we have never seen before trying to get it out as i dont want it eating our corals, we also have found out we have bristle worms also which we have been looking for but have not come across it for a few days now, as we are wanting to buy some peppermint shrimps