Help - Is my Clown Sick?

[gone fishin]

With a RO/DI unit the RO does the bulk of the work. Leaving the RO section TDS should be low IMO around 5 TDS. Then the DI will clean up what is left.

I would suspect your DI resin is spent as well since it was taking everything.

 

[gone fishin]

I would second getting some RO/DI and doing a big water change. Hopefully that is the issue and you can turn things around.

If you have not read the "setting up" sticky at the top of this forum it has very helpful info on multiple topics. It would most likely benefit you to give it look.

 

[Shawn O]

Heck, I would start a quarantine tank with newly made saltwater with 0 TDS water and get the clowns out of your DT and into the quarantine tank.

This sounds like the best thing you could do right now. Move to a 10 gal QT, perhaps of a slightly lower salinity that the current water, and do a few 50% water changes with good SW. Test for everything, including copper, if possible.

Don't beat yourself up too badly, my first noob screw up killed three fish in a matter of two days. Live and learn, and hopefully learn to not do things that can harm the little creatures.

 

[Marchillo]

Any update on this?

 

[ericarenee]

Good to know. Followed instructions LFS said, but should have known better.



I am really confused why my TDS was so high from my RODI even if my RO membrane was burnt out from the hot water. I rinse my trash can and 5gallon buckets that I use to mix water with RODI, so don't think I had any contaminant from there.



I am going to get a TDS monitor now. Figured that it was something that would only need to be tested every few months, but like with everything else that I am finding in this hobby, cost is worth it upfront.



Yes, he looks pretty bad today and I don't think he is going to make it much longer from what I can tell. Also late last night (I was up researching for hours figuring out all I could to help matters), the other clown started doing the same thing. I am really bummed out now.

Seems like if there are multiple fish, then has to be something global, like my acclimation or the water quality. I am going to get a TDS meter today and test everything on my own, and then if all good do a large water change.

I have a dual tds meter on my ro/di unit. I test the water leaving the membrane and the water leaving the Di chamber. I also have a Dual pressure guage. one on the water main and one leaving the membrane. The one leaving the membrane is most important. If its pressure drops you have a filter getting clogged....
If i do not have 0 tds water i do not use. it...
Change out sediment filter once a month the carbon filters every 3 months di resin about every 4/6 months (color change resin) I Have dual membrane so not sure how long they will last so far i am about 7 months and still holding at 85 psi ....
making Ro/di water is not cheap and a Ro/di filter is a instrument that must be kept in perfect running order.

We have all been where you are. Mistakes only make us stronger and more knowledgeable . Just be sure to use them to improve your skills . Sometimes fish just die for no apparent reason even when we do everything right...

 

[I MD]

Any update on this?

So, the clown didn't make it...really bummed me out. He died yesterday. I did do a water change and seems like the other clown may be turning the corner, as he ate some today and swam around a bit more than yesterday, but still not at 100%. The neon blue goby and scissortail seem to be doing just fine.

I went and rechecked my RODI water that I still had in a bucket from before changing the membrane, and guess what - 0.0 TDS on 2 different meters. Ends up that the LFS that checked my water probably checked the wrong sample, as I also took in some of my tank water to check with their test kits to make sure my ammonia, nitrite, etc was accurate on my test kit.

So, seems like contaminants in RODI was not the issue. All my test kits are accurate and checked out the same as my parameters. So, probably either my acclimation or just the fish got too stressed. They were both captive-bred clowns, so not sure if they just weren't strong enough for the acclimation I put them through.

Next time will acclimate better and quarantine for at least 2-3 weeks.

In any case, I plan to get a TDS monitor - anyone have any recommendations?

 

[Marchillo]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I wouldn't add anything for a while. Id keep and eye on it and make sure your other clown gets to 100%. Research qt procedures. 2-3 weeks isn't really enough. I'm in the process of qt right now. They've bee in there since May 31st. I'm actually doing TTM for 12 days and about 3-4 weeks of additional observation for a total of 6 weeks(ish)

 

[gone fishin]

I to am sorry to hear you lost the clown. In the future if you QT then get your QT salinity the same as the bag water. Then the only acclimation you need is to float the bag for temperature. I wish you good luck with the rest of your critters.

 

[Jason S]

I wish I had seen this sooner. With your RO unit being defective, you were basically putting pure tap water in your tank. The symptoms you were describing sound completely like your clowns were not receiving enough oxygen, however, the it was not your water that had low oxygen. Since you were putting tap water in, it was likely treated with Chlorine or Chloramine. Either of these chemicals cause cell death in fish, and since your fish's gills are in direct contact, they are where the tissue starts to die first. This causes their gills to stop functioning, and they do not get enough Oxygen. Since you were only topping off with the tap water, it was a small amount, and it took time.

Lesson learned the hard way I am afraid. If there are fish still in that water, treat it with a dechlorinator as soon as possible to try to reverse the effect. Everything else I wanted to add has already been mentioned above. Good luck, my friend.