New to Salt Water.

I got a 29 gallon nanocube 2 months ago. Tank was doing well. Got 2 clown fish. One died in 2 weeks. Went and got a firefish and he lasted about 2 weeks and died inside one of my live rocks. Couldn't get him out so I went to Aqua Tech ( the fish tank store ) and asked them if i needed to worry about the dead fish. They said no that all the living organisms on the live rock would take care of that. Went and got 3 small hermit crabs to help out. Now the clown fish is acting super weird. When it is feeding time the clown fish is normally all over the place eating everything and now he is just poking his head out and will dart over to a piece of food and put it in his mouth and then spit it out. Also had a royal gramma die. I have been to the fish tank store 4 times in ther last 8 days to have them check my water and they keep saying that everything is fine. I don't think everything is fine. Any suggestions ???????????

 

Welcome to 3reef.

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Please post your temperature, specific gravity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate numbers.

 

suggestion 1 you might consider finding a new store

other than that, tell us more about your system
simply put, your adding to many fish to quickly and they are probably dying due to what is commonly called New Tank Syndrome

the tank is probably not ready for higher life forms such as fish at present
the crabs and snails would be a good idea

test kits? have you tested for Ammonia , Nitrites and Nitrates?
better getting your own test kits IMO

do not add anything to replace the dead fish
if the clown does not make it, do not replace that clown

leave the hermits for another 3 or 4 weeks, and in the mean time monitor ammonia and Nitrites


Steve

 

+1 on finding a new store. You should really try to get that fish out of there. It's causing a cycle in your tank. Any store that tells you not to worry about it is being irresponsible IMO.

Do you have test kits? If not definitely pick some up and start testing your tank regularly. Spend the money and get good kits too. Many of the less expensive ones can give false readings or aren't sensitive enough to show what's really going on.

At 2 months has your tank fully cycled? Are you getting ammonia or nitrite readings above 0?

Go slow and let the tank mature and stabilize. There are a lot of unhealthy fish being sold out there. If you want success you almost have to have a QT tank. Any of those fish that died could have introduced diseases to your tank that could impact everything that was already in there. Not worth all the pain and agony watching everything you worked so hard to build go down the drain. I've seen velvet wipe out huge tanks with thousands in fish in days because the person didn't quarantine. Even a small nano tank set up as a 2nd display tank can offer big benefits as a QT tank. You can put new additions in there for a few months to watch and see if they have any issues. It's also a good spot to give them to get used to eating in your tank without the stresses of competing with other stuff in your tank.

What is your acclimation procedure for new fish?

 

Thank you for all of the help !

I do not have a test kit that is why i have been going to the fish store so often . I will get one today. The temp. is 78. the salinity is 1.025. That is about all i know. They said my nitrates were good. I am not over feeding them. I did notice my temperature was around 70 last week so i bought a heater and it did raise the temp to about 78 in 3 days. I turned it down this morning to about 76. So right now in the tank I have about 12 snails, 3 hermit crabs , one clown fish and and 2 PJ cardinal fish. I am not going to buy anything else. What do you guys mean by QT tank ? Thanks for all of your help !!!!

 

QT means Quarantine Tank. it is a place to put animals until you are sure they are healthy enough to add to your main tank.

 

a QT tank is a Quarantine Tank

its a tank you set up and put new fish in, so you can check them for any parasites or problems before you add them to your existing tank

that way, you dont risk all of your old fish, by adding a new fish with a parasite problem

Steve


with a clown and 2 cardinals in the tank already, you possibly very close to the tanks stocking capacity anyway
the general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish, not including tail, to every 4 gallons of salt water
so in 29 gallons - you could keep maybe 7 inches of fish

which at adult sizes, you would exceed, with 2 clowns and 2 cardinals

what filtration do you have?
do you have a protien skimmer? if so what type/ brand/ model number?

Steve

 

A quarantine tank (QT) is a separate tank that you keep new fish in after you purchase them in order to make sure that they are not sick before adding them to the main tank. You need to keep in mind that the ocean is huge. There is very little variation in temperature or chemistry. It is very important that you get your tank as stable as possible before adding sensitive ocean species to your aquarium. I would strongly suggest ignoring the advice of your local fish store and doing your own research. Please let us know when you have tested your water so we can provide informed advice. And don't get discouraged. Nano cubes are good tanks that should be able to support a few fish and certain corals.

 

I do not have a protein skimmer. I do a water change about every 3 weeks.

 

btcole333

not having a skimmer on a 29 is not a big deal IME - unless you want corals in the future that is?
It would possibly allow you to stock a little over the general standard that I gave before

but providing you do not overstock, and continue changing water, you should be fine without a skimmer

leave the clown and 2 cardinals
and next thing on your shopping list should be test kits

I would not bother with ammonia and nitrite now ( they will come, and they will go and as the tank is now stocked testing these levels would be akin to bolting the stable door)

they may be worth buying as at least if you have them, you can test your water at any future signs of fish problems and possibly eliminate Ammonia and Nitrites as the issues

I would get - Nitrate and PH as both of these are going to be more important going forward in your monitoring of water quality

if you intend to add corals at some point in the future I would add test kits for
Phosphate, Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity ( which are important parameters for coral but not so important if you only want to keep fish)

Steve