Firefish died :(

[fredg89]

So last night I put 2 firefish and 6 snails into my tank. This morning I wake up and one of my firefish is by the front glass died and I can't find the other.

My parms are:
SG:1.025
Temp:77
Ph: 8.0-8.2
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0

I just don't get it...I thought snails would be more likely to die than the fish. I acclimated the fish with half a shot of water every 10 minutes for 2 hours and the snails a half shot of water every 10 minutes for 4 hours.

 

[allsps40]

How big is the tank? What other fish do you have? By in the front glass do you mean out on the tank? Firefish are known jumpers, they are also very shy and will hide out in the live rock. They dont take well to other fish bullying them as the will stress and die.

 

[disc1]

Half a shot? Half a shot glass? What was the salinity in the bag?

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[fredg89]

They were the only fish in the tank. It is a 45gal with a 10gal sump. What I meant by the front glass is that it was not in the rocks it looks like it came out to the glass and died.

Yes I mean half a shot glass and I don't know what the salinity in the bag was. I just went until it doubled in size, pour half the water off than did it again.

 

[DownwardDawg]

So last night I put 2 firefish and 6 snails into my tank. This morning I wake up and one of my firefish is by the front glass died and I can't find the other.

My parms are:
SG:1.025
Temp:77
Ph: 8.0-8.2
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0

I just don't get it...I thought snails would be more likely to die than the fish. I acclimated the fish with half a shot of water every 10 minutes for 2 hours and the snails a half shot of water every 10 minutes for 4 hours.

Was the fish in a bag when you got him? Did you buy him from a LFS or was he shipped to you? I'm done acclimating my fish in about 20 minutes.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939508

 

[reefmanmatt]

if it was just bought at the lfs , you probably did more harm to them by keeping them in the bag for hours than anything . unless you suspended the bag in your water while adding the half shots of water the water temp was probably down to 70 or 72 by the time they got in your 77 degree water . float the bag for a half hour , dump out all the water , dip if you dip , then toss em in . ive never lost a fish that way . i dont dip yet but from now on i am because of the pests section of rc......theres some scary critters lurking !

 

[fredg89]

I bought them from the LFS. He said about an hour since I was going to do half shot glasses. So do you all suggest that I tear down my rock to see if I can find the other? I have no crabs in the tank so I know the body isn't gone. I guess it's a lesson learned. So float the bag for 20-30 minutes than just dump them in?

 

[disc1]

Don't tear down the rocks. Firefish hide that's what they do. If its dead your cuc should be about done eating him by now.

Also, don't listen to the "rules" about acclimation. The correct way differs depending on what's in the bag. I get fish from one store that has water that matches mine exactly. Those fish get 15 -20 min to come to temp then in they go. Our other lfs runs low salinity, so those fish get a little longer treatment with water added slowly to the bag. Anyone who tells you always do it this way or that way doesn't know what they're talking about. The FIRST thing when you get home with a new fish is to check the salinity in the bag. Then you can go from there as to how much acclimation they need.

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[reefmanmatt]

Don't tear down the rocks. Firefish hide that's what they do. If its dead your cuc should be about done eating him by now.

Also, don't listen to the "rules" about acclimation. The correct way differs depending on what's in the bag. I get fish from one store that has water that matches mine exactly. Those fish get 15 -20 min to come to temp then in they go. Our other lfs runs low salinity, so those fish get a little longer treatment with water added slowly to the bag. Anyone who tells you always do it this way or that way doesn't know what they're talking about. The FIRST thing when you get home with a new fish is to check the salinity in the bag. Then you can go from there as to how much acclimation they need.

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+1 disc1 . i forgot to mention check the salinity . i would ask the shop what they recommend too , they should know the salinity and temp as soon as its mentioned ....if not buy else where . dont rip your rock down . i agree its probably just hiding , and for all we know one may have killed the other .

 

[NatureNerd]

Check with your LFS. Some have a policy to replace any fish that does not live.

Please also consider if you had a pair, not just two fish. Firefish typically do not tolerate other firefish unless they are a mated pair. If they are, then they will stay fairly close to each other. You can pretty easily tell the difference between males and females of what is the most common firefish. It is a little harder with the purple and quite difficult in the Helfrichi, IME.

 

[TwistedNerve]

Could it have gotten into your overflow or sump? If there's no cover on the tank it may have jumped ship and landed behind the tank. I found my missing firefish 2 hours after lights out hiding in a small cave in my pile of rocks. Came out long enough to grab a bit of food that I put in for my serpent star.

 

[fredg89]

Umm I don't know if there a mated pair. When I put them in, they both went two different places. I know last night when I put them in I saw the one that didn't make it out in the front of the rocks. He didn't look good but he didn't look bad (just looked like he was scared in a new place). The other came out and looked at him then went back into the cave. Before I went to sleep I saw the other ones head sticking out of the cave so IDK.

He didn't jump because I have a top on it and he's not in my sump, I checked this morning. As far as salinity, IDK I didn't think to ask :facepalm:.

 

[disc1]

Whatever you do, don't go moving rock and trying to scare him out just to make sure he's still alive. You'll just end up stressing him to death. Firefish can hide for a very long time.

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[fredg89]

I'm not, I'm about to go buy a emerald crab or two and they will take care of it if it died. Think it will be ok to add a chomis since I took the dead firefish out?

 

[disc1]

I would wait a few days to be on the safe side in case there's an ammonia spike.

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