Never getting saltwater fish again

[Dburr1014]

I always considered them deadly from my freshwater days I would never add fish with nitrite present. I could wait the couple weeks to be sure the cycle was completed

Nitrite in freshwater IS deadly.
Welcome to saltwater where it DOESN'T matter. It's not toxic unless it's off the chart.

Don't test nitrite anymore. Throw that kit away.
You are cycled.
There is a reason you're fish died, there always is.
Can you list all your parameters?
Do you have a quarantine system in place for all new fish?
My best guess is disease brought in from your store. You will need to go fallow in the mean time.

 

[littlehermit0]

How did you cycle your tank? Mine took maybe 2 weeks using the Dr Tims one and only method

I had 4ppm nitrite and then instantly dropped to 0.2 ppm after 2 weeks with denitrol bacteria for saltwater

 

[Dburr1014]

I had 4ppm nitrite and then instantly dropped to 0.2 ppm after 2 weeks with denitrol bacteria for saltwater

You are good, you are cycled. Throw that nitrite kit away.

 

[Manpeckz]

The worst part of this hobby is taking it slow!

In my personal experience fish from conglomerate stores are just sick when you get them. I can’t do the PetCo thing anymore sadly, great prices… but in my humble opinion.. sick fish.

I actually let my tank run fallow for 3 months and didn’t add a single thing. Harder to keep up with husbandry because there’s almost a level of angst against the tank because it recently had a die off… But your inverts are great creatures too and we should care for them! If you can keep up with caring for water while it’s boring you can always do it

 

[littlehermit0]

Nitrite in freshwater IS deadly.
Welcome to saltwater where it DOESN'T matter. It's not toxic unless it's off the chart.

Don't test nitrite anymore. Throw that kit away.
You are cycled.
There is a reason you're fish died, there always is.
Can you list all your parameters?
Do you have a quarantine system in place for all new fish?
My best guess is disease brought in from your store. You will need to go fallow in the mean time.

Sorry I mean there is a reason, one had ich the other one was weird and with slime (brook?) and eyes disappeared then died, I don't have a qt but I'm setting up one and I'll wait like 2 to 4 months until new fish,
10 dkh
7.7 pH
0.2ppm no2
50 NO3
Po4 0.5
1.025
26c°

 

[littlehermit0]

You are good, you are cycled. Throw that nitrite kit away.

I knew it!! And people told me I wasn't ready

 

[littlehermit0]

If you want disease-free fish, let your tank run fallow for awhile, then buy fish from a reputable quarantined place. I particularly like FisHotel. Don't just buy something cheap.


Aren't nitrites nontoxic in saltwater unless present in huge amounts?

It was fallow for 2 months so and 2 weeks cycled I just remembered

 

[Dburr1014]

Sorry I mean there is a reason, one had ich the other one was weird and with slime (brook?) and eyes disappeared then died, I don't have a qt but I'm setting up one and I'll wait like 2 to 4 months until new fish,
10 dkh
7.7 pH
0.2ppm no2
50 NO3
Po4 0.5
1.025
26c°

Do a water change. The percentage of your water change will lower your nitrate by the percentage that you change the water.
In other words if you do a 50% water change your nitrates will lower by 50%.
I find that running alkalinity closer to 8 would be considerably better but you can run your tank anywhere between 8 and 11 is fine.

 

[littlehermit0]

Do a water change. The percentage of your water change will lower your nitrate by the percentage that you change the water.
In other words if you do a 50% water change your nitrates will lower by 50%.
I find that running alkalinity closer to 8 would be considerably better but you can run your tank anywhere between 8 and 11 is fine.

Yeah but someone told me that I Do too much water changes (10% everyday) so I stopped but I feel "addicted" to do it because I think it can help but it never does

 

[Dburr1014]

Yeah but someone told me that I Do too much water changes (10% everyday) so I stopped but I feel "addicted" to do it because I think it can help but it never does

Oh my, try 10 or 20% weekly, that's it.

 

[threebuoys]

While water quality is essential to long term success, I do not believe that is the cause of death in this case. Your tank had cycled, and although the nitrate is higher than nominal, I believe the odds are stacked towards infection, probably ich and/or velvet. You will not be able to add more fish to your aquarium until the parasites are eliminated. In situations such as yours, we recommend the tank be allowed to remain fishless (fallow) for 6 to 8 weeks. During this time, without hosts to feed on, the parasites will progress through their life cycle until they die off. The only other choice would be to completely sterilze your tank and equipment and start over from scratch.

 

[Rob Biederman]

Nitrite in freshwater IS deadly.
Welcome to saltwater where it DOESN'T matter. It's not toxic unless it's off the chart.

Don't test nitrite anymore. Throw that kit away.
You are cycled.
There is a reason you're fish died, there always is.
Can you list all your parameters?
Do you have a quarantine system in place for all new fish?
My best guess is disease brought in from your store. You will need to go fallow in the mean time.

My point was more along the lines of without the ammonia test in a new nitrite was all I had to go on. The OP listed no parameters up front fairly new tank with sudden fish death.

 

[Dburr1014]

I always considered them deadly from my freshwater days I would never add fish with nitrite present.

Nitrite is deadly to fish

Nitrites should be 0

Oh okay, I misunderstood what you were saying.

 

[Dom]

If the tank is new? The tank is 2 months old and is that enough time for fish? The cycling is complete I think, my nitrites are always between 0 and 0.2

Take a breath and pull back. Let the tank be as is and you will see that your feelings at the time you made this post will have dissipated. Then you can start again.

I would suggest that you listen to advice you receive here as your information authority in the hobby before moving forward with anything.

I wouldn't mind seeing a full tank shot of your display and a list of all your hardware. This will allow us to start figuring out where you went wrong and set you won a successful path.

FWIW: That fish looks to have disease. Maybe Brook?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

+1 to see a tank pic and have a list of your equipment.

Lets make sure you have the best chance for success, a salt tank is set up differently than freshwater tank.

 

[littlehermit0]

Take a breath and pull back. Let the tank be as is and you will see that your feelings at the time you made this post will have dissipated. Then you can start again.

I would suggest that you listen to advice you receive here as your information authority in the hobby before moving forward with anything.

I wouldn't mind seeing a full tank shot of your display and a list of all your hardware. This will allow us to start figuring out where you went wrong and set you won a successful path.

FWIW: That fish looks to have disease. Maybe Brook?

Ich, brook too but you're right maybe this isn't so dramatic now, I don't have to work for hours in my tank and I can do things in peace, btw I'm doing a QT right now, can I cycle it? I feel like new water in quarantine tanks are dangerous to fish (ammonia), by the way here's a picture of the tank

I added these pipes because lots of people add them, I don't really know why but they look good, yeah it's a small tank but it was with more space before the clowns died

 

[Dburr1014]

Ich, brook too but you're right maybe this isn't so dramatic now, I don't have to work for hours in my tank and I can do things in peace, btw I'm doing a QT right now, can I cycle it? I feel like new water in quarantine tanks are dangerous to fish (ammonia), by the way here's a picture of the tank

I added these pipes because lots of people add them, I don't really know why but they look good, yeah it's a small tank but it was with more space before the clowns died

QT they add pipes INSTEAD of rock. Copper gets sucked up into rock so pipe is the new hiding spots for fish.

 

[littlehermit0]

QT they add pipes INSTEAD of rock. Copper gets sucked up into rock so pipe is the new hiding spots for fish.

I thought it was for crabs because my LFS uses these pipes everywhere

 

[threebuoys]

Yes, you will need to cycle your QT before adding fish. If you have a sponge filter in your display tank, move it to the QT and you should be ready to go. The sponge should be adequately seeded with bacteria to process ammonia to nitrate. When you treat the QT with copper, you will eliminate any parasites that transferred with the filter. Do not place any calcium-based rock or sand in the QT. Calcium will absorb copper making it difficult to maintain a consistent dosage. If needed, you can add a dish of quartz-based sand in the QT for wrasses and other fish that bury. See the link below for more details about the QT protocol.

 

[littlehermit0]

Yes, you will need to cycle your QT before adding fish. If you have a sponge filter in your display tank, move it to the QT and you should be ready to go. The sponge should be adequately seeded with bacteria to process ammonia to nitrate. When you treat the QT with copper, you will eliminate any parasites that transferred with the filter. Do not place any calcium-based rock or sand in the QT. Calcium will absorb copper making it difficult to maintain a consistent dosage. If needed, you can add a dish of quartz-based sand in the QT for wrasses and other fish that bury. See the link below for more details about the QT protocol.

All the things inside are pipes, I'll add filter media but can I add a bit of water from my tank too? I'll need more bottled bacteria anyway