Clown Fish Unhappy?

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by reeftankgirl, Mar 4, 2009.

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  1. reeftankgirl

    reeftankgirl Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2009
    Messages:
    27
    Location:
    Miami, FLorida
    Hey everyone, I have had my 16g bow front tank up and running for about 3 months now. Throughout the time I have slowly been buying fish and corals... Everytime I get a clown fish it looks vibrant and happy, eating and a couple days later it gets whitespots and then dies:(. I dont know what is wrong...Ive always gotten 1 clown fish with another different kind but this last time I got 2 clown fish, this morning I noticed that one of them is getting whitespots again. What can I do to prevent it from dying....why is this happening..? Any help or recomenendations anyone... I measured water and all facts are listed below.

    PH: 8.4
    Nitrate: 5.0
    Nitrite: 0
    Amonia: 0
    Salinity: 32
    Temperature: 78 degrees
    Live Rock: approx 25pounds
    Live Sand: yes
    Corals: 5 small ones
    Current Fish: 2 clown fish and a 7 line...
    Feed: once a day
    What being Fed: variation of food every day between Brine Shrimp, Frozen Nutritional blocks, Formula 1 and Formula 2 pellets.
     
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  3. tigermike74

    tigermike74 Panda Puffer

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    2,116
    Location:
    Southern CA
    3 months is too soon for heavy stocking in a tank, especially one that small. Corals should be added later on, 6-8months after cycling is done. 5ppm of nitrates shouldn't harm your clowns. What I'm confused about is your salinity/specific gravity reading. by 32, do you mean 1.032? If that is the case, that is your problem. SG of marine tanks should be within 1.022-1.025. You also have to consider what the Alk of your tank is too, as that will tie into your pH. What type of salt mix are you using? Also, cut back your feeding to every other day to every 3 days. Feeding everyday will result in elevated nutrients in the water that will lead to algae problems down the road, and possibly an entire tank crash.
     
  4. coldshot

    coldshot Blue Ringed Angel

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2009
    Messages:
    1,577
    Location:
    Somewhere in the hill's.
    Good info here thnx...my ex LFS said to feed daily...I feed freshwater 3 times a day...I thought once a day was not enuff now its to much...thnx again..