help me with my marine tank please! need help!!!

[mads4]

Salinity test strips??? I was not expecting that.
Please get yourself a refractometer or salinity probe (Like the Hannah) for a more accurate measurement.
Like mentioned before, take a sample of your water to a LFS and see what their numbers test at.
Where are you getting your water from? RODI? Store?
What about your salt?

i’m so sorry it wasn’t testing strips i’ll show you the things i used now, as well as bringing it into the store where they tested the water themselves. have no idea where i got testing strips from so tired.

 

[mads4]

May have eventually become too much for the cardinal. Often it’s a lot of nips and then the clown decides it doesn’t like the fish around anymore. There isn’t always a mark, sometimes the stress is just too much.
All fish are different, and clowns have an enormous spectrum, some are harmless and others are evil, so what works with some didn’t with others. I remember seeing that black clowns are meaner, my mocha certainly fits the bill.

oh no i’ve got a murderous clown! i did see him chase her quite a lot but only small nips. what do i do now? should i keep him by himself or get him another friend?

 

[T-J]

One last question, how are you handling evaporation? Do you have an ATO or are you adding RODI water by hand?

 

[mads4]

To answer your question briefly, if nothing has change and all your parameter are stable, the shrimp might have bought in some kind of bacteria with it, or in the water it was in, and it killed the shrimp and then the cardinal.

As someone else said, you do have a deep sand bed. With those, it’s either you disturb it regularly, or you don’t. If you wait many months and suddenly disturb it, it might kill your fish.

As was also said, you need more water agitation. Aim the powerhead at the surface and aim one of the two nozzles so it also disturbs the surface.

Try to think about what you have done in the past few days. Did you forget to rinse your hands before putting them in the tank, or put hand lotion ? Use chemicals close to the tank ?

If I were you I would do a WC today and add carbon to one of the chambers, as a precaution.

Maybe even do another one tomorrow.

(if you could please insert paragraphs when you write, it would be easier to read your posts).

thank you so much. i do a 10% water change each week and then slightly move the sand around to remove any of the algae from the bottom.

been doing this for a year and had my fish since april and may last year and has not seem to hurt the fish in any way. is there anything you would suggest about the sand depth and what i can do to help it?

when i stick my hands in the tank or even feed them i make sure to thoroughly wash my hands and then dry them.

will aim the nozzles closer to the surface tomorrow as it is quite late where i am and about to sleep soon.

i’ve done nothing that i haven’t done for the past year. i have dont think anything from my hands could of gotten into the water.

thank you so so much for all of your feedback and i really do appreciate it as i want the best for my fish (they’re my babies haha) was very upset about my shrimp and cardinal.

sorry about the paragraphs hopefully this will be easier for you to read, thank you!

 

[mads4]

Test strips are known to not be too accurate, especially in saltwater, so it may not be showing properly.

 

[mads4]

To answer your question briefly, if nothing has change and all your parameter are stable, the shrimp might have bought in some kind of bacteria with it, or in the water it was in, and it killed the shrimp and then the cardinals

What (and how often) have you been feeding? Did you observe them feeding recently?

That's a pretty deep sand bed, have you disturbed it recently? I understand deep beds can be dangerous.

Also suggest moving the power head slightly higher/pointing at the surface. More surface agitation will improve gas exchange. Doubt that's the issue here given you've been ok for a few months, and are running the skimmer.

feed them once a day with proper marine fish food, not flakes. been doing this since i got my clown in april and has never been any problems. could i be over feeding them or under feeding them??

the sand bed has always been like that and it’s never seemed to cause a problem. you can see on other posts i’ve commented how i handle the sand. is there anything you would suggest about it? anything i can do to make it not dangerous like take some sand out?

i will try and point the filters more upwards but will have to do tomorrow as it’s late where i am from. has the tank for around a year and never been a problem except for the past week.

thank you so much for your feedback i really do appreciate it a lot!!

 

[mads4]

To answer your question briefly, if nothing has change and all your parameter are stable, the shrimp might have bought in some kind of bacteria with it, or in the water it was in, and it killed the shrimp and then the cardinal.

this might be right! when i bought the shrimp and let him adjust to the water i noticed a tiny little thing (like a worm) swimming in the bag.

when i let the shrimp in the water the tiny thing got out and i tried to look for it but it had gone. i didn’t think too much of it at the time because i thought it could just be the shrimp pooing or something like that.

then about three weeks i saw a worm curled up in the bottom of the tank. i had no clue what it was but i took some pictures.

i remove it immediately and we checked the water and everything was fine, so didn’t think too much of it. this was about a month ago and shrimp and fish died this week, so i don’t think that they’re related?

did i make a mistake taking the worm out? thank you so much for you feedback.

 

[Sharkbait19]

That looks like just a bristleworm. They are a harmless detritivores common in reefs.
I didn’t think about the possibility of the shrimp bringing in a disease, it is a likelihood, though I’d have expected it to present itself by now.
In the event of a mean clownfish in so small a tank, tankmates are still possible. The trick is just picking things that don’t occupy its area (no open water fish), and can hold their own in a fight (or can stay out of one). Most sand or rock dwelling gobies fit that description.
I see your test is the api liquid test kit. It’s the best for freshwater, but in saltwater, not so much. It’s just not accurate enough for the precision needed (bad often misreads), though it is still widely used.

 

[Jubei2006]

Where you had a fish and shrimp die, I'd be looking for toxin, oxygen depletion, and trauma. Aim that powerhead toward the surface to break water tension and allow for better oxygen exchange. API is known for inaccurate tests as mentioned above. Ammonia spikes can kill both fish and inverts. Check for exposed metal in the tank, swollen magnets, screws and such, rusting screws on powerheads. Metal toxicity will kill both inverts and fish. Use GFCI or a ground plug for the tank for stray voltage. Watch that clown. Bought a 29 gallon biocube to separate a rogue maroon clown that would murder anything in its territory. Get a quality refractometer to ensure salinity is good. I have two refractometers and two different calibration solutions just to check. Also had a hydrometer as a backup just see if they were all close. Sorry for the losses, hope this info helps some.