beginner needs some help or luck?

Hi,
My daughter and I just got started w/ a Bio Cube 29, this is our first aquarium. Following the stores advice, we set the unit up and had in running for a week before adding a pair of true perculas on Saturday. It's now Tuesday and neither fish has accepted food and the bigger guy has picked on the little guy. The little guy doesn't appear to have any physical injuries but is now constantly treading in an upright position with its nose at the waters surface. He's been in this position for at least 8 hours. Doesn't look good. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Todd

 

First thing that concerns me is that the LFS store recommended perculas, damsels are the usual starter fish to help cycle the tank, the next thing is that they sold you a pair. Percuals do not get along in a confined space, they will establish dominance. Hate to say it but you will probably lose the percula. Hang out here in the forums and you will get some really good advice too.

 

First, do you have any test kits? You are most likely going through you cycle right now. You should not have added any fish until your cycle is finished, unless you planned to cycle with a fish, in which case you should add 1 yellow tail damsel. You need to test your water for Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and let us know.

Another cause could be low oxygen in the water, fish will tend to hand at the water's surface when this happens. Do you have much water movement in the tank? Do you run a protein skimmer? Is the surface agitated?

What types of food are you trying to feed them? You should try a variety of frozen and flake foods to see what they will accept.

New Reefer is right in that the clowns will establish a dominance, the larger one will usually become the female and the smaller one the male. This could result in the death of one of them. A

 

TAKE YOUR TIMEEE!!! saltwater takes alot more time than freshwater it can take up to 6 weeks for your tank to cycle...then you will be able to add fish....my 2 cents is just take your time and dont rush things or you will be throwing $$$$ out the window...trust me lol everyone does it

 

So true. . . . . . . .

 

beginners rush

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like we rushed the process and may have picked the wrong fish to start out with as beginners. We don't have test kits yet but did take samples back to the store several times before putting the fish in the tank. We started the tank with 15 lbs of live sand and 10 lbs of live rock and were told this would speed up the introduction time. We've tried feeding w/ prime reef flakes by Ocean Nutrition and yesterday started frozen shrimp. Within the hour, we put some shrimp in and the little one seemed very interested but it looked like he spit out most or all what he took. The big one did not touch it. The Bio Cube is a self contained unit so we're using what it came with plus a heater, there is no skimmer. The water seems to be circulating nicely and is moderately turbulent at the surface. At this point, we would like to do what's best for the fish. Yesterday the store offered these suggestions in addition to giving us some frozen shrimp to try. One, be patient and give it several more days before trying something else. Two, bring one or both fish back to the store and let them acclimate the fish before we reintroduce to our tank. Three, try adding another fish. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks again.

 

what did your lfs test for? ammonia,nitrite and nitrates are the main tests when initially setting up your tank as it cycles. they should rise and spike, then gradually come off to zero or so. if you dont want a damsel in there , you can use a piece of raw shrimp to get your cycle moving along. once all your reaedins go to zero, then you slowly add a few small fish. plus after finished cycling you will also want to get a combination of snails and hermits.

guy

 

Todd,

Welcome to 3Reef!!!

It's possible that your tank is too new and not well established enough to handle the Ammonia from those fish. Did they give you the readings after testing or did they just say you could buy the fish? It would really help if you went back to the store and retested so we would know the following;

Temperature
Salinity
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

Then we can best advise you on what steps to take next.

Did the store tell you that even though the fish are small now, they will eventually outgrow a 29 gallon?

 

If he is willing to reacclimate the fish for you, GO FOR IT. that would be best for the fish.
Get 1 one damsel any type to put in the tank, this will help with the cycling process, the clowns were the wrong fish for the job, probably another month should do it, get a test kit. and SG too. very important. Be patient, we all want our tanks to look great RIGHT NOW. your not doing anything the rest of us havent already done. I dont throw nearly as much money down the drain now compared to when I first started...But the last thing would be to just add another fish.