2 more clownfish dead!

tiger mike, are you saying that the clown is a docile fish that wont fight back? i have an ocellaris that is quite the little badass when the clarky comes around! maybe hes an exception though...

 

ok thank you all for your replies I think I have found the source of the problem, Well I think its a colaboration of soo many things. After testing my nitrates again they were in the 40's! which is high for a 16g.....I have tried vacumming sand bed and water changes but still nothing. I am hoping that after a water change today without disturbing water bed it will lower a little bit. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to lower nitrates?

I also think since nitrates were high it was the reason why clown fish maybe got diseases and died....Also the LFS told me yesturday that I need to vacum sand bed which I had never done since my tank has been up for 4.5 months. I have read alot of threads and think that my nitrates are not going down yet because I disturbed the sand bed....Does anyone think that could be a reason?

If anyone could give any advice it would be appreciated, Either way I will keep everyone updated and hopefully my tank will be nitrate free soon and I dont loose any corals in the process!!

 

Not at all. Each clownfish breed has their own personality traits. Ocellaris clowns are generally the most docile/friendly and will run and hide if it's picked on. A True Perc will generally stand its ground and protect what it feels is his. Maroons generally will attack anything that comes near it. There are exceptions to everything. As an example, my maroon is one of the most tolerant and nicest fish I have ever come across. Different species of clowns usually don't get along with each though.

 

40ppm isn't that high for a fish only tank. It's on the high end of tolerable, it won't kill a normal healthy fish nor will it create a disease. 40ppm will start to harm corals though, but that's a different discussion. Remember, 40ppm of nitrates in a 16G tank is the same as 40ppm of nitrates in a 200G tank, it's all relative, the concentration is the same in both tanks. What lowers NO3 is having a good anaerobic bacterial biological system, which only time can develop. You can help it along a bit by adding bacterial additives, like "Cycle" or something like that. I would strongly suggest against siphoning out the sandbed. You will be removing any anaerobic bacterial colonies that are present in the sand bed. The only time you really want to siphon out sand is when you have a cyano problem, or have an extreme amount of detritus built up on the sand. That is most likely why you are having a nitrate problem now, you have been removing the bacterial colonies seeded in the sand bed which is causing your tank to go through mini cycles everytime you siphon. My suggestion is to let the tank be and let the biological filtration system in the tank mature. Do not add any more fish in the mean time, or it will overwork what little biological colonies you have now.
The heavy toxic componants in water that will cause immediate damage are ammonia and nitrites, which generally show redness around the gills. Test those levels to rule it out. Another is heavy copper concentrations.

 

ok Tigermike.....should I do another water change tonight without disturbing the sandbed? I just added some NitroMax Marine Bacteria will that help as well?.....

Any suggestions as to what to do today?

 

I would hold off on water changes for now, for at least another 2 weeks or so. Test the water weekly to keep an eye on the levels though. You need to let the bacteria colonize on the rock and sand. When a tank is cycling, the last thing you want to do is water change, it removes the bateria too soon. That's why it's suggested to not do a WC until after the ammonia spike, and only after the nitrates drop to zero. Nitrates will drop to zero when the bacterial colonies can handle the bioload of your tank. The Nitromax will help seed your system, just give it time to grow. Aerobic bacteria (generally found where water trickles, i.e. wet/dry filters and sump inlets) will break down waste into ammonia, then into nitrites, then nitrates. Then the anaerobic bacteria (found inside the water, within the live rock and sand) will break down the nitrates into nitrogen gas that exits the tank safely when the surface water is agitated.

 

Thanks TigerMike...... I added bacteria yesturday and today my nitrates are slighty lower!.... Im suprised that my tank is not completly cycled... I thought it would be at 4 months of running already.

BTW what else should I do to keep up with my tanks maintainance besides WC, vacuming sand and cleaning filter? How do you clean rocks and how often should it be done? I really hate to disturb the reef especially every week...

Im still trying to figure out why so many clownfish have died...

 

i see you said your salinity was 32? do you mean 1.032 and if so that is to high it should be 1.025? just wondering?

 

I would agree with everyone else, place of purchase could be the problem and tank raised are hardiest. I don't think there is anything else wrong if you have a healthy wrasse and some corals.

 

Please can we just stop petco bashing?