Clown fish seems to be lethargic and not eating

[rygopu]

Hi,

I got a new 15 gallon tank and did a salt water aquarium setup 3 weeks back.

I left the tank idle for a week and treated it with beneficial bacteria liquid (seed) and also added food pellets and did measurements, I couldn’t see any spike in ammonia. It was constant 0.

so I went to the store and got a pair of clown fish. They have been in the tank for 2 weeks. I often take measurements and didn’t notice any spikes in ammonia or nitrite.

I feed them twice a day with hikari seafood pellets, and I noticed recently that my clown is seems to be very tired and doesn’t come up when I put food ( generally, they come up quickly when I open the lid)

All the parameters seems to be fine,

ammonia - less than 0.5ppm
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
Salinity - 1.025
Ph- 8.2 constant
Temperature - 78F

they breath fine and coudnt find rapid breathing. No white spots / red / purple gills and no stingy poop.

I don’t know what am I supposed to do now. Any help is appreciated.

thanks

 

[brmreefer]

The existence of ammonia is detrimental to the fish. Per the posted parameters there is some still in the system. Not sure what could be done at this point, but I would recommend not adding other fish until the tank has had time to mature more.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Definetly don‘t need to feed clownfish 2x a day. New tanks will have trouble breaking down that food waste because the tank is still maturing. Feed less and keep dosing bacteria. Also dry foods are much much easier to over feed than frozen, a large amount of frozen food is water and It’s a measured amount if you get the cubes.

 

[Reef.]

Definetly don‘t need to feed clownfish 2x a day. New tanks will have trouble breaking down that food waste because the tank is still maturing. Feed less and keep dosing bacteria.

I disagree, if the clowns are not eating well, reducing the food further is not going to help them.

sounds to me the tank wasn’t cycled correctly, I would do a couple of large water changes and go and buy some Fritz turbo start, add that after the water changes.

@ReefSquad

 

[LegendaryCG]

I disagree, if the clowns are not eating well, reducing the food further is not going to help them.

sounds to me the tank wasn’t cycled correctly, I would do a couple of large water changes and go and buy some Fritz turbo start, add that after the water changes.

@ReefSquad

It probably isn’t cycled fully that I agree with. Increasing food waste isnt going to improve water conditions though.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This tank in essence Never cycled and there is a likelihood of water chemistry issue and changes occuring. You really should not stock for a month and especially not be adding livestock if youre using bacteria. Nothing in saltwater is instant or goes quickly.
Seeing no spikes is an indicator you might be using API test kit(s). Right now, you are likely going to be or will have to change water regularly to frequently to manage water quality while tank continues to cycle. I would not add any livestock for at least 30 days.

What filtration are you using?
Are you using RODI water or tap water from faucet?

 

[Reef.]

It probably isn’t cycled fully that I agree with. Increasing food waste isnt going to improve water conditions though.

the water changes will and the turbo start will, reducing food of already weak fish is not good, nitrate won’t kill a fish or PO4 but not eating will.