I did the bad...

[Katrina71]

@bbones Please update us today. We are all in your corner. You have some incredibly smart folks here with tons of experience. Mistakes happen. Let's work on damage control. Don't get overwhelmed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your clowns!

 

[Crabs McJones]

^^Yes, please let us know how it's going and how the little ones are doing

 

[W1ngz]

I think everything's been said, but just to try and deflect away from the little side-show that has likely already scared this poor reefer away I'm gonna repeat what seems to be the wisest course of action for a novice. Take the animals back, or find a friend or more experienced reefer locally that can hold them for you. A lot of us keep quarantine media ready in sumps, if not a full on quarantine tank, so they might have a plug-and-play emergency solution while your tank cycles.

Sure, there's other methods that could be used by someone more experienced, but suggesting a bunch of 'stuff in a bottle' is just going to reinforce the idea that there's a magic bottle of stuff for every problem. Some of them work, but right now, this person doesn't have the knowledge to decide what might or might not work for them.

 

[BestMomEver]

I’m thinking about you today @bbones. I have done the exact same thing as you. When all is said and done, you’ll have a tank to be proud of. Then one day you’ll find yourself giving advice to another newbie that needs help. My suggestion.... read, read, read, research, ask questions, and chart the best course that fits your tank, your situation, and your water pets. There are many REALLY experienced people here and they are always willing to help. You’ll find this to be the kindest group of folks too. There are many ways to do this. Personally, at your stage of learning, I would try to return the clowns and anemone, by bacteria in a bottle, order Red Sea or Salifert test kits for ammonia, ph, nitrate and nitrate (if you can’t get them locally.. try to stay away from API kits), and let your tank sit for a few weeks.

Going forward, tell us what you have.... what size tank? The clowns you got are maroon clowns. They’re beautiful but pretty aggressive. They’ll get about 6” long and will bully other fish. You’ll also need a little bit bigger tank if you want other fish... it’s all about territory for clowns.

What lights do you have...anemones typically need advanced lighting. There are lots of great lights out there in all price ranges.

What filtration are you using? You will be more successful if you use something other than a canister or hang-on-the-back type filter. Here again, there are many ways to do this.

What are you using to move water around? Water movement is probably one of the most crucial things in saltwater aquariums.... think ocean currents and waves.

Consider what you want to keep and build your tank around that. I would recommend saving your money if need be, and buy what you need to make your future tank work. I have a huge collection of stuff that I bought in a rush or because it was a good deal or because I thought it “would do for now.” I’ve wasted gobs of money through the years.

The only way to figure all this out is to research.... look at pictures of tanks and find what you like, then work towards it. There are as many absolutely beautiful four gallon reefs out there as there are 400 gallon systems. You’ll find something that fits your lifestyle and budget.

We’re all here to lend advice. Some here are lighting experts, some specialize in chemistry, some fish diseases and others things like anemones, wrasses or predator tanks. Ask away and best of luck!

 

[bbones]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

 

[basement reefer]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

50%+ water changes now and every second day for the next 2-4 weeks I would imagine. (Until you think the tank has cycled, continue to monitor ammonia daily and change water as needed)

 

[Greg Gdowski]

Welcome to R2R!
If you are migrating from a freshwater background, you will find salt water to be a very enjoyable hobby. The first step is to read a lot -- there is a lot of good information here.
There is a lot of advice already posted.
Anemones are very beautiful but they really have to be put in an established tank that is well beyond cycling. If the store won't take it, post it for sale either here or on a local FB group. Somebody will be able to help you out.

On the other hand, you will find that most of us quarantine our fish before putting them in an established tank. The quarantine doesn't have to be a cycled tank. It can also be relatively small in this case (10-20G).
I would cycle your tank (with one of the methods suggested) and move your fish into a quarantine. Keep them in the quarantine until your display tank has cycled.
Alternatively, take them back to the store. I'm guessing you didn't tell them that you were just starting a tank? Get yourself connected with a local group. You will need to bounce ideas off of friends in the hobby (we all do). Good reefers realize it is a team sport. No one is immune from making mistakes.

 

[Captain Quint]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

Man, I am so sorry. Again this is not your fault. Can you either get some saltwater from an LFS, or some boxes of NSW (Natural Sea Water) from Petco which is kind of pricey, but good water. (It is still Catalina water...premium NSW) or get some RODI fresh, or Distilled water...grab a small box of Instant Ocean or whatever you have access to...mix it to about 1.023 as to not shock the system too bad for now...You should do at least a 50% water change as soon as you can.

Have you considered returning the clownfish so they do not suffer...or see if they might hold them for you until you go through a cycle safely?

Please keep us advised.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

It's okay, its a learning experience that we have all been through. When I first started in 93, I lost +300 in fish due to ich out break. Made me almost give up. I learned, yes the hard way and moved on. Back when I started there wasn't any internet, just advice from the LFS and books. I became a reading junkie, learning everything I could because I wanted a tank like they had at the LFS before I tried again. Research and reading everything you can will give you insight on how to proceed. It reduces failures, save you money (BIG ONE, because this isn't a cheap hobby) and more importantly helps us keep these amazing creatures in our home.

Patience and learning will serve you well. Trust me, I know, as others before you know as well.

Hang in there!

Now the clowns. .25 ammonia is most likely background noise with the test kit, because the tank is so new. One of two things will happen, the added bacteria will consume the available ammonia the clowns produce and will start to show nitrite. Nitrite is less toxic than ammonia, but it's toxic. The nitrite will then be consumed and those levels will start to drop. That's when you will see nitrate start to rise. Nitrate is way less toxic to fish, corals and inverts. Once this shows and the ammonia and nitrite reach zero and all you see is nitrate, your most likely cycled.

The other thing that can happen is the bottle bacteria consumes the ammonia the fish are producing, but there isn't enough ammonia to keep the bacteria alive and then the cycle stalls. At this point you may have to add more bacteria to keep the cycle going.

Test for all three at least once a day for the next week. If the cycle stalls and ammonia climbs with little nitrite showing, add more bacteria. You can, if this happens, do a water change to remove some of the ammonia and keep the levels down.

Hang in there, we are pulling for you!

 

[BestMomEver]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

Do a substantial water change. Very few things can survive with ammonia levels at 0.25. Also, the anemone probably poisoned the tank a bit. I wouldn’t suggest another anemone for at least 6 months. Some people have been successful adding one sooner but they typically have lots of experience.

Your nitrite and nitrate levels are showing 0 because your tank is not capable of processing the ammonia yet. It takes time to develop a good amount of bacteria to move that process along. Please consider finding a home (even temporary one) for the clowns. Ammonia like that will stress them a lot...I’ve seen clowns with no fins because they were burned off by ammonia in a new tank.

The biospire will help but it will take longer than a half hour. Spend the next few hours mixing some new water and do a substantial water change. It might save your fish. Typically I wouldn’t recommend doing a water change in a tank that is cycling but your fish should be a priority. I LOVE maroon clowns. If I were closer, I’d hold them for you. Ask your fish store folks if there is a reef club in your area and try to contact someone.

Your tank will go through an ugly stage at some point. You’ll have hair algae, red cyanobacteria, and who knows what else. It’s normal and all part of the process. Wait it out. People here can help you through it. During that time, your nitrate and phosphate levels will be very low or maybe even nonexistent. That’s because all that stuff is eating it. Once you get rid of the algae, you’ll be better able to track the water parameters.

Keep us up to date...we want to help. I wish this forum had been around when I started my first tank in 2002. There are sooooo many mistakes I made then that I could have avoided.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

Sorry to hear the nem didn't make it Get the nasty water out and replace it with fresh saltwater in small amounts

 

[Katrina71]

On a positive note, your tank is wet, and you have a beautiful pair of Clowns! Congrats for that!

 

[Crashjack]

I don't think anyone has mentioned, but you've got to have at least decent flow for oxygen (preferably flow that creates a lot of surface agitation). Not only do the fish need oxygen, but so does the bacteria that is going to consume ammonia. I have cycled my quarantine tank many times with Biospira with the same results every time. I have a lot of flow and an oversized sponge filter connected to a powerhead in my QT (lots of flow/surface agitation and a lot of oxygen pulled through the filter). I use bottled ammonia (Dr. Tim's), adding a little over 2 ppm based on the bottle's instructions for adding drops, not by testing measurement. I add 2 more ppm ammonia on day 3 and day 5, and always in well under 24 hours after the day 5 ammonia addition, my (2) Seachem Ammonia Alert badges register 0 ammonia. However after the day 3 addition, my ammonia badges always show .25+ ppm ammonia (I don't even put the badges in until the day 3 addition of ammonia).

My point is, Biospira will help and fish aren't going to drop 2 ppm of ammonia in one shot every other day, but the bacteria still has to grow into sufficient numbers to match whatever input of ammonia. Therefore, there will be resident ammonia during the process, but no one can really say how much... might be tolerable by the fish, might not. Also, nitrite is not usually toxic to saltwater fish, at least at levels typically generated during cycling. I don't remember the chemistry behind it, but if you search, you will find it.

 

[davocean]

Bummer to hear about the anemone.
A dead anemone can nuke even an established tank easy, so right now I would have some concern for the surviving fish.

Personally I would get them in an established tank or back to fish store and explain what happened and maybe they will hold them for you or give store credit, this would be my primary suggestion.

If you are really set on keeping them, then large water changes would be in order, and the store may have premixed water that might help.

Some salt mixes will even give an amonia reading immediately after mixing, some require some time before adding to display.
You really want to try to have 0 amonia before adding animals.

You may find it more frustrating trying to resolve these issues and keeping these animals alive.

 

[Gonebad395]

@bbones first off welcome to R2R now that that’s outta the way lol. You did one thing correctly you came here and that’s a huge plus. Like most things on the internet there are right ways, wrong ways and all the ways in between. For the next few months you should spend a lot of time here reading and asking questions you will begin to decipher between them. Glad the fish made it through the night the nem never had a chance tbh. Remember nothing in this hobby happens fast except mistakes and we are all here to help ya through this one.

 

[Greg Gdowski]

A bit of irony:

I pasted the link to the most recent article. It oddly pulled up some other page. Sorry folks.

 

[SurfTrack]

Hey guys. Unfortunately I woke up to a dead nem. it smelled so foul, and I feel awful.

clowns are doing alright.

I got a test kit and nitrate/nitrite levels were at 0, p.h was between 8 and 8.2, and ammonia was 0.25

I put the bio spire in and waited probably a half hour and tested again.. same levels. I have Kent ammonia detox, should I try that? how do you guys lower your level?

Sorry to hear that your anemone died. Don't feel too bad. You are already doing the right thing by asking on the forums and doing your best to correct your mistakes. Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[bbones]

after switching some water out, I tested again and ammonia was at 0. I think I was stupid earlier and didn’t wait the appropriate time for an accurate reading. my dad got in touch with one of his salt tank buddies and he was able to spare 3 decent sized live rocks covered in algae and some already cycled tank water in the baggie, which I tested before putting some in, all at good levels. I took another two gallons out and turned the filter out and I’m putting small cups of water in every so often as to not shock the fish and also so the heater can quickly fix the off temp(it’s super cold in MI) question is should I start up the filter after I’m done adding the already cycled water? should I pour in a small batch of IO or wait?


What led up to this, is that my dad and sister “surprised” me by bringing me another anemone because mine died. I was so furious! ask someone before you bring them a pet?!! THANKFULLY I called the lfs while my dad went home real quick to grab me more tubing so I could at least run an airstone to the bag- and they said they seldom reject a return(no refund) so my dad was able to take it back and actually got me store credit. I think he felt really bad, so he contacted his friend. he’s more familiar with freshwater.

WHEW.

 

[Katrina71]

The mature rock will be a blessing to your little guys!

 

[Katrina71]

I'm glad to see your tank heading in the right direction.