Can't keep fish alive.

[Jedidad]

So, i have been having this problem for several months now and I don't know what is going on. Every time I add a new fish to my tank it only lasts for about 3 days then dies. I also lost the only fish I had long term to a brooknellia outbreak so I went 7 weeks without any fish in my tank. Everything else in my tank does great, inverts and corals (with the exception of sps other than monti caps). My params are pretty stable at
ph 7.8
no3 8-10
po3 .25
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
salinity 1.024-1.025
I just added two barnacle blennies the other day after being fishless for 7 weeks to clean up the parasite problem that I thought may have been the problem all along but they both have dissappeard. One I never saw and the other was in a hole that was out in the open so I could see it all the time. The one I could see would dart out and eat when I fed. Now neither of them came out when I fed last night. I assume they are dead. What could my problem be. I did not that the one I could see was breathing pretty hard all the time. I feel like I am :headwally:.

 

[blakers82]

It would be nice to have more info on your setup and filtration. What test kits are you using and are they expired by chance? Are you using a properly calibrated refractometer to check salinity? How often a water change and how much? A few of your parameters stand out to me. Namely, nitrates and phosphates. Are you using any particular media for chemical filtration? I try to follow Randy Holmes-Farley and his recommended marine aquaria parameters when I can. The link is below.


http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

[Jedidad]

29g biocube without the hood. 10 g sump with skimmer and cheato. salifert nitrate kit which is in date but other params i am using api and they are old. i plan on getting salifert test kits for everything. change 6 gallons every other week with either ro/di from aquariums of edmond or distilled. using reef crystals. salinity is checked with a refractometer but I don't know how to calibrate. it reads what the lfs says they're salinity is when i check water in the bag from them though. 8-10 nitrates should not be a problem for fish but ph might be an issue. i could maybe be burning they're gills because all i was doing was temp aclimating. p03 i don't know if that level is an issue with fish. my api kit for it is in date. i plan on adding a phosban reactor to take care of this. i am using chemipure elite but not in an effective way. i need to find a way to get good flow through it. no other chemical filtration. i do have some carbon i am going to use tonight in a filter sock at the end of the line from the tank to the sump. if i have enough room in my cabinet i may run two reactors, one with gfo and one with carbon. what do you think? you can see pics of my tank in the thread new ai sol blue and mp10 in this comas forum

 

[MBryant]

What's your temp

 

[zxanth]

You mentioned a couple of things that I would check. Since u don't see any dead bodies in the tank have u looked around the tank since u run it w/o the hood. Also when u introduce the fish u let it acclimate to the temp but how about the water. Do u slowly water from the tank into the bag. If u don't try doing that, it will reduce stress. Do u have any crab or pistol shrimp that u don't know about eating them

 

[lauremf2002]

serpent stars sometimes eat fish and make sure you have good water surface turbulence so there is oxygen in the tank and I would second acclimation to the water. Wet Pets has these nifty little plastic "u" pieces with airline hose and a knob that you can dial down the flow of water so you can siphon water and acclimate your fish. I use a fish bowl, drop the fish and his water into the bowl and drip the water as slowly as I can get it to come out without stopping the flow until the bowl fills up, then I net the fish and drop him in the tank. And you have just done a small water change!

 

[WCreef]

I has the same problems when I had a 24g cube.....sorry to hear about the losses it's a bummer trust me I knowmfirsthand


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.094056,-117.956922

 

[TeHGuy]

I was having this issue until I discovered my sally lightfoot was being evil and having expensive lunches on my tab.

 

[cjilge]

Definately acclimate the fish, 1st and I would stalk the tank at night with a red light to see if maybe you have a hitch hiker. Also do you have other pets that might carry off the fish if they jumped? I found my cat chewing on some fish jerky once, out of my old tank before I made a canopy for it. Also check your over flows to the sump is there any chance they might get in sump area? I have ha dmany fish take a joy ride down the plumbing to end up in my sump. lol also what are the rest of you params? ALK, mag? Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Jedidad]

no other pets in the house. just two dogs outside. searched everywhere around tank and in sump and i don't see anything. i have wondered about the hitch hiker deal but have never seen anything. gues i need to get a red light and start watching. i need to get new test kits for calc, alk, and mag this week. think i will get the salifert ones. i guess i need to try drip aclimating the fish now. I always heard you didn't need to do this for fish but I will give it a try. I also turned my return nozzle to the tank so that it is pointed straight up at the surface for agitation and i have been running my window unit on fan mode to bring in more fresh air from outside. I hope I figure this out soon. its just odd that corals and inverts all do so well and i can't keep a stupid fish alive.

 

[bobkill]

What fish have you tryed to house?

 

[DragonWarriorPo]

good luck, hope new techniques work better

 

[Jedidad]

ocellaris clowns. barnacle blenny. flame angel. lawnmower blenny. flasher wrasse. each of these over several months. i had a pair of ocellaris i kept for 2 years before i started having this problem. it just seems weird that it's only fish that i can't keep. inverts and corals are all great.