Clownfish died help

[Arjunviper365]

Hi everyone I just wanted to hop on here for a second to ask a question. My friend had purchased a 20 gallon saltwater tank about a month ago, the tank finished cycling 2 days ago. He put in his 2 clownfish after acclimating them and they proceeded to die in 20 minutes. We tested the water before and after and everything came out excellent and we tested the salinity too and that came out perfect. The fish were swimming perfectly for the first 8 minutes then proceeded to stop trying to swim and start lying on the ground and start breathing heavily. We just want to know why they died so we can fix this issue

 

[ZoWhat]

Define "tested the water"

Using what methods?

 

[Azedenkae]

Hi everyone I just wanted to hop on here for a second to ask a question. My friend had purchased a 20 gallon saltwater tank about a month ago, the tank finished cycling 2 days ago. He put in his 2 clownfish after acclimating them and they proceeded to die in 20 minutes. We tested the water before and after and everything came out excellent and we tested the salinity too and that came out perfect. The fish were swimming perfectly for the first 8 minutes then proceeded to stop trying to swim and start lying on the ground and start breathing heavily. We just want to know why they died so we can fix this issue

Yeah please do tell us exact numbers. A picture of the setup would be great too.

 

[Arjunviper365]

Define "tested the water"

Using what methods?

I used a api saltwater test kit and a refractometer

 

[Arjunviper365]

Yeah please do tell us exact numbers. A picture of the setup would be great too.

alright i will ask him for a picture

 

[Arjunviper365]

Yeah please do tell us exact numbers. A picture of the setup would be great too.

Alright these were the measurements and we have not added corals in the tank yet so it was just fish

Temp	78°F
pH	8.2
Alkalinity	10 dKH

and salinity was 1.022

 

[ZoWhat]

Your testing DID NOT include #s on Nitrate and Ammonia

Take a sample of your water into LFS fir testing, obviously smthg with your API is wrong. Out of date media perhaps

 

[Arjunviper365]

Your testing include #s on Nitrate and Ammonia

Take a sample of your water into LFS fir testing, obviously smthg with your API is wrong. Out of date media perhaps

Alright me and my buddy will head to my local aquarium shop sometime tomorrow when they are open. This is just so Disappointing we took the time to cycle the tank correctly and this happens.

 

[ZoWhat]

the tank finished cycling 2 days ago.

How did you conclude it was 'finished"?
Need details....

 

[Arjunviper365]

I tested my Nitrates and Ammonia and they scored at zero. This was after 6 weeks and my ammonia and nitrate spike had already happened. And from what i had read online that means that cycle was considered to be over.

 

[Shirak]

I tested my Nitrates and Ammonia and they scored at zero. This was after 6 weeks and my ammonia and nitrate spike had already happened. And from what i had read online that means that cycle was considered to be over.

You can not end with zero nitrate after going through a tank cycle. Nitrate is the end product.

6 weeks should be enough time but I am not certain the tank was cycled properly. It would be helpful if you listed out all the steps you took starting at the beginning.

 

[Azedenkae]

You can not end with zero nitrate after going through a tank cycle. Nitrate is the end product.

6 weeks should be enough time but I am not certain the tank was cycled properly. It would be helpful if you listed out all the steps you took starting at the beginning.

Yeah. Unless one has heaps of algae growing or something else taking up the nitrates, well nitrates should definitely be present after a cycle.