Newbie w/ dead fish

[Balz]

Well after waiting for 6 weeks and testing religiously, I added a pair of false percs last week, one made it a day and the other four days. Then I added a flame dartfish… he lasted 36 hrs. Test water before adding fish (and after they died) and all parameters (NH3, NO2, NO3, Ph, Alk, SG) were right in line. Drip acclimated both times for about 2 hrs until SG had equalized. I have had turbos and hermits living w/ no deaths for about four weeks now and all are still doing fine, and I am constantly finding new life on my LR (featherduster and such.) My question is could my tank be contaminated and still support the life I have, but not fish? I would think the inverts would be more susceptible to contaminates then fish. Or maybe I need to find better LFS’s (fish were from different stores) Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[drummereef]

Did you temp acclimate as you were dripping? Can you list all your water params as they are right now?

 

[Balz]

yeah I temp acclimated too
Parameters:
pH - 8.2
KH - 10.2 dKH
NH3 - 0
NO2 - .01
NO3 - 5
Ca - 380
SG - 1.025
Temp - 79

All tests with Salifert kits... that NO2 kit could be 0 I always question if I'm seeing more than is there of not on that one... either way it's damn near 0.

 

[Balz]

I also forgot to add that both LFS's said they had just got these fish in... I've done some reading and got the feeling this could be risky... should this be avoided in the future?

 

[drummereef]

Your levels look fine. The nitrate is neglegable, not to worry. Sorry, I was asking if you temp acclimated while dripping. Did the bag temp match the tanks temp before adding the fish to the tank? The fish being new can be an issue, yes. Sudden death from improper acclimation procedure usually from what I've seen.

 

[Balz]

Yeah after the sg's were equalized I would float the fish again for another 1/2 hour then add the fish but not the water. What do you consider "sudden death"? As all the fish I've put in have lived at least 36 hrs.

 

[drummereef]

I'm not questioning your acclimation method (sound like you did a good job), but the lfs's procedure. I've heard there can be unexplained death if the fish aren't acclimated properly at the store. The fish might last a couple days at home in your aquarium, but then die unexplained. Just a thought... sucks to lose fish.

 

[Balz]

no offense taken... that makes sense though about the LFS, both places I went are so so at best and they had said the fish had just come in. I'll have to hike out to a store I know is good this week and try again. Thanks for the help and the reassurance.

 

[drummereef]

Sure, wish I could have helped more. Hope you'll have more luck in the future.

 

[uscharalph]

Tank is too new??