jpcemc
New member
Hello everyone. This is my first post here, so I will give you a bit of information on my level of skill (not much). I have been in the hobby a few months now and I have a 75G SW tank and a 30G FW tank. Originally I just had the 30G as a SW tank but when a 75G came up for sale, I went for it as it gave me much more room for growth and options for fish. So with that said, as mentioned above, my skill level is fairly low but I have a very good friend who is very knowledgeable and who offers me advice as needed. I was doing very well with my tank up until about two months ago when I could not figure out what was killing off my fish (I lost a blenny and two Anthias). I was very demoralized as I did not get into the hobby to kill my fish and so with the help of my friend, I determined I had ich. The only place this could have come from was from the Hippo Tang I added to my tank without using a quarantine tank. As I stated, I am a novice and I made a stupid mistake and it cost me 4 fish in total. I have had my tank empty (of fish) now for two months and my fish are now at my friends house and all doing very well, but I want to start rebuilding my tank. I cycled the tank again and cleaned it out very well and have done a huge water change recently with RO water. My salinity is at 1.024, no ammonia or nitrites and nitrates are barely readable. I'd like to get my fish back in the tank, and add a couple more over time.
So with that said, I now have a 10G quarantine tank with a hob filter (sponge filter only), a heater, an ammonia spike alert sensor, thermometer, and a desk lamp for my ability to check on my fish. I have the tank running at 78 degrees and am doing a 20% WC every 3 days. Currently I have a Flame Angelfish in the tank doing very well but I wanted to know if you all had any suggestions of ways I can improve the care for my fish/ensure I don't make some of the same mistakes twice. I'm in the hobby to enjoy the fish and my two small kids get heartbroken when I lose fish. I know some fish loss is to be expected but I want to make sure I am not the cause of it.
So with that said, I now have a 10G quarantine tank with a hob filter (sponge filter only), a heater, an ammonia spike alert sensor, thermometer, and a desk lamp for my ability to check on my fish. I have the tank running at 78 degrees and am doing a 20% WC every 3 days. Currently I have a Flame Angelfish in the tank doing very well but I wanted to know if you all had any suggestions of ways I can improve the care for my fish/ensure I don't make some of the same mistakes twice. I'm in the hobby to enjoy the fish and my two small kids get heartbroken when I lose fish. I know some fish loss is to be expected but I want to make sure I am not the cause of it.
