What happened?

I am sorry about the Damsels. My guess is that those two little guys just couldn't handle the stress of the current cycle you are in. The tank, being only 5 weeks old probably had a spike of something that they could not tolerate.

Don't sweat it but be prepared for more of the same. It happens in new systems.

 

You definitely need the probe I hung mine in my overflow so I dont have to see it . There was a recall on the Korillia 2s a while back because of a electirical issue I would call the manufacterer on that and tell them what is happening and see if your particular powerheads are early models.That is too fast that the damsels died for it to be a water issue. I have 4 different korillias in my tank and I haven't had any issues but I do have the grounding probe installed.

 

Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20 the day before and the same the day after.

EDIT: There may have been a spike for a few hours that I didn't catch . . .

Same a week before that too.

A week before that (two weeks ago) it was Ammonia 0, Nitrite lowest number, I forget what it was, Nitrate 30.

It seems like they croaked later than I would have expected, if at all.

The anemones made very quick work of them.

EDIT: Crabby Jim, Any marking on the Koralia that I could use to see if it's an older model or newer that you know of?

 

Why did you use two fish anyways ? There is a reason to use only one fish well several reasons why not to use more then one fish actually ..

 

I actually used 4. 2 damsel and 2 clowns.

It was a FOWLR tank that I moved/got from a buddy - water, filters, et al came with it. Fishies came with too. Wasn't a start from scratch system. Added substrate, additional LR, and letting it go through the cycle this was sure to cause. The cycle numbers (over the past month) were seen, but remained low before going back to 0. The born on date refers to the date I moved it to my place, in truth. (And I don't plan on replacing the fishies or anything for some time yet).

 

I get it now.

It was either a short cycle. Maybe the the fish were stressed from the move and the mini cycle was the last straw?

 

A few points--cycles aren't short, or a few hours long. Nature does what it does, and doesn't own a clock. When it's finished, it's finished. (Didn't Yogi Berra say that?)

Sometimes there are variances from the norm, but usually not. If water conditions were bad enough at some point, it would have killed the clowns, and the damsels would have been hanging out in the corner smoking cigarettes. That's what damsels do.

I have no explanation for why they died, but something tells me it wasn't a certain parameter being out of whack, because clowns are worlds more sensitive than damsels.

If you haven't noticed yet, Tangster is usually right. He sometimes lacks the patience, will, or disposition to explain his answers, but I'll take the plate here. The reason one fish is better than two for cycling purposes, is because ammonia output is countered by bacterial growth, as is nitrite production. If the curve of output exceeds the curve of bacterial growth, you have terrible conditions for an extended period of time. Many times if your "test fish" are damsels, they won't care--but with more tender fish like clowns, you're taking an uncalculated risk.

Hope things work out well anyway.

 

That's what I meant to say ;D

 

This was not a fresh system. It was an established FOWLR that I moved to my house. Same rocks, same water (eight 5 gallon jugs were used to move), same filters, same livestock, same tank, same equipment. I did add 15 gallons water, substrate and additional LR. I am aware that the move and the addition of LR/substrate would cause a cycle of its own - but this isn't the same scale of a cycle as starting from scratch. And that is why I haven't added anything else (other than powerheads and lights this week).

My numbers reflect that. It went through a mini cycle and is now ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20. The clowns (and inverts) survived and the damsels didn't. I don't understand how we go from these facts to suggesting to move the clowns out of there and adding back one damsel (implying to let it cycle, I presume).

(and honestly, if the comment didn't come from the caliber of person it did, I would have ignored it - but it came from one of the people I listen to/trust).

I do not believe it is necessary to throw everything out and completely start over from scratch just because I moved it. Or is it? Is moving a tank just not an option without completely starting over? Are my parameters tricking or misleading me in some way?

I'm looking for an answer on what could kill 2/all damsels but not bother 2/all clowns or any of the inverts.

The best/most relevant answer, IMO, so far seems to be adding the Power Heads stirred up some stuff the damsels didn't like... it's rather vague, but based on the timeline and my parameters in the original post, it fits best.

 

My oversight. I didn't read that your ammo and nitrite were now zero and nitrates are starting to accumulate. Seems as if you're finished cycling. Above comment edited.