Fish Die for no reason

[clownfish26]

Hi I have a 60 gallon tank it has been running for 7 weeks.
all my water test perfect sg 1.022 amonia 0 nitrite 0 ph 8.2 nitrate 5 I purchased 2 false purcula clowns and only had them for 2 days and they both died one after another and do not know why i never got them to eat. I have a damsel that is doing great and snails all fine performed a partial water change 3 days before i purchased the fish let me know what you think the death was caused by.

 

[simion3]

How did you acclimate them? Maybe the damsel was harrassing them and they got stressed?

 

[ambaratur]

What technique did you use to aclimate them to the tank?

 

[davocean]

Did the fish eat at the LFS?

 

[clownfish26]

I use the drip acclimation method. I do not think the fish were eating at the store. We tried to feed them at the store and they did not eat. The LFS said they had already fed the fish before I got there. The fish had no physical signs of damage. And the damsel is 3/4 of an inch. The clown was 3 inches.

 

[ReefNutPA]

Were these captive bred clowns or wild caught clowns? IMO, the quality of wild caught clowns, especially from the Phillipines... has been extremely poor for the last year or so. Of the ones I have ordered/received at work...those that survived the first 24 hours either refused to eat or wasted away over time.

I honestly don't believe it was a problem with your tank.

Tom

 

[gohan3]

my LFS said they wont even buy from dealers in the Philippines due to the use of cyanide. They said alot of the fish wont eat and die within days. I dont know how true it is but I would look in to it.

 

[Kronnk7]

imo, I would raise sg up to about 1.025 or so and the clowns were probably sick at the store. That's why I buy all of my fish online.

 

[bguile]

How are you measuring your SG? Meaning what device. If you are using a swingarm that could be your problem. I had the same problem with corals dieing in my tank early on using a swingarm that said 1.026 but it was actually 1.015 with a spectrometer. Also, check your ammonia levels with a different test kit. Clownfish are usually tolerable of different SG's but ammonia will kill anything.

 

[davocean]

Friends of mine just got back from Indonesia, and saw cyanide fishing going on there.
It's still fairly common in different parts of the world.
It usually affects their appetite.
I never buy a fish that doesn't eat at the LFS

 

[Kronnk7]

I agree bguile, I use a refacto. and it's pretty accurate. I keep my reef at about 1.027 and my mixed tank at about 1.026. I would get a few different kinds of test also.

 

[bguile]

Yeah...Refractometer is what I meant to say. Although I do believe it can be classified as a spectrometer...maybe. Lol. Anyways I stand corrected.

 

[spoiledcats]

I can't believe how inaccurate the swing arms are. We had one that said my water was at 1.025. Then we bought a refractometer and tested the water, and it said it was at 1.031! I can't believe everything was still alive. But we've gradually gotten the water back down, not quite to 1.025 yet-couple more water changes for that, as we are trying not to shock everything. But man, what a beneficial purchase. Would recommend getting one to everyone.

 

[bguile]

I know I'll never use one again. It cost me over $100 in corals because I "had" to have it and kept trying. Then on a whim bought the floating type hydrometer. Which is pretty accurate also. A little difficult to read sometimes but good. I then bought a refractometer and use the floating one for backup or "second opinion".