New member, Havin' trouble.

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Tyler.R

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Okay so I'm going to start off with an introduction. My name is Tyler and I've never had a salt water aquarium before and early today I was at a local pet store (for exotic reptiles) and a guy was asking the owner if he could take these salt water fish (Flame Hawkfish, strawberry crab, purple dotty back, and like 10 really small hermit crabs. The hermit crabs are the size of a dime. Well he said if the owner didn't take them he was just going to toss them and well, I couldn't let him do that... Soooo.... Guess who ended up with new salt water fish?! The problem is I don't have an established tank. I set-up an aquarium today and spent around $100 on all the goodies I need. I'm really needing to know when I will be able to place the fish in their new home and what would be safe for them. Currently I have them in a small aquarium with a bubbler in it (with their original water) will they be okay in there, and if so how long can they stay. It's a bit crowded. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
WWC
Its a gamble but I admire you for saving these guys. Maybe they will survive if the salinity is okay.
 
Welcome to the site and the hobby! The biggest thing you want to watch with a new aquarium is the ammonia and nitrite levels. If those spike they can kill the fish. To prevent this you will want to do water changes until the natural nitrifying bacteria in the water increase enough to offset the load the fish place on the aquarium. This is also refereed to as the tank cycling. Established tanks have enough bacteria that whatever waste is produced by the fish is quickly turned into less toxic nitrates.
 
ReefBot Lab, Automated Water Tester
good on you sir i believe a persons true charactor can be determined by how they treat animals i hope it all goes well for you..
 
Their water that they are currently in is near the .5 range for the nitrite, how far can it go until it becomes dangerous? 1.0-3.0? I know I shouldn't place them in the in-established aquarium but is there anything I can do to try and fix their water or help it? I have a ten gallon that I'm trying to set-up for them how long should that take to establish?
 
Also I bought a bag of "live" sand and after reading about it, it seems kinda stupid that I bought it. If the organisms are all dead will some come back or will the sand possibly still be living. The store is a large and busy place so it might not have been on the shelves for too long.
 
Avast
What brand of live sand is it? You will be surprised at the shelf life of some of the critters in the sand lol. While it is normally not the best to get fish before a tank because of the circumstances I understand. You are going to have to check ammonia levels constantly and do water changes on your holding tank. You may want to get one of those in tank ammonia alerts for the container they are in now? Is it heated? I would get the sand and any live rock in the new tank, put a small amount of food in and then wait a day or two and test the ammonia. If there is no ammonia you can move the hermit crabs. Then keep testing ammonia and nitrite. Always be ready to do a water change if these lvls get too high. You want a tiny amount to help cycle but not enough to harm the livestock. Once ammonia no longer rises with the hermits and some food you can move over a fish and repeat. However if you can not keep the container they are in now stable you can move them to the new tank at once. You will just have to do water changes from the get go and the cycle will be very long.
 
CaribSea Arag-Alive! Fiji Pink. I'll try placing a bit O' food and checking the levels first then if their holding tank nitrites/nitrate/ammonia levels get to high then I'll just place them in their other tank. On the water changes, a lot being once a week, twice a week, or just when levels get higher? Like I said I'm new to salt water fish and there are many different things to it than the fresh water I used to do.
 
Oh !! Get ready to do come learning!!!
Welcome to Reef2reef... they are awesome here....
Read - read and read some more
:-)
 
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View ReefStash's latest YouTube video!
That will be full of critters. If you ever cycle a tank the usual way with it you will see! As for water changes anytime the levels rise near harmful. You don't want them to get to dangerous lvls but need some to cycle. Cycling used to be done this way it is just not as friendly to the fish. Of course it is a far more friendly fate than they would have had if you hadn't taken them. Oh I would change the holding tank water daily though. Try to match parameters like salinity, temperature and pH the best you can.
 
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Welcome to the hobby. You will need to watch your ammonia and nitrite levels closely. Like everyone else said you will have to do water changes while the tank cycles to keep your level as low as possible. I would also buy a bottle of sea Chem prime just in case your levels shoot up. Good luck.
 
Sadly when I woke up today the flame hawk had passed and the dotty was laying on it's side a bit. I checked all the levels in the aquarium and they were all in the safe and the nitrite was in the stress zone. I moved them into the aquarium and they seem to be doing better. The crab is still very active as are the hermits. And the dotty back just kinda hid in the rocks, she seems to be doing a bit better now though. But I'll still keep a sharp eye on her.
 
Tidal Gardens
Ammonia is what you need to be checking. It is far more deadly than nitrite.
Get a bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only nitrifying bacteria, the saltwater one. Use immediately. This will establish the nitrogen cycle almost immediately and keep your fish safe from deadly ammonia and nitrite. You could use Bio-Spira, but it takes longer to work and I don't think you have that kind of time.
 
Get some atm colony and you can put them at once one light feed and then no more feeding until cycled .. Make sure you turn off your skimmer.. Uv ... Ozone if you have it and make sure you get atm colony marine...(not freshwater)
 
Nutramar Foods
saltykisses said:
Get some atm colony and you can put them at once one light feed and then no more feeding until cycled .. Make sure you turn off your skimmer.. Uv ... Ozone if you have it and make sure you get atm colony marine...(not freshwater)
Click to expand...

saltykisses said:
Nitrifying Bacteria: Proof That ATM Colony Works - YouTube
Click to expand...
Colony is okayish, but after having used it twice I can easily call it an inferior product to the two I mentioned. If you do get it, use at least double the recommended dose. Which reminds me, you really can't OD these particular products, so use the entire bottle you buy even if your tank is smaller than the bottle's rated for. Make absolutely sure it's the reef and nano or reef-pure formulas if you buy the Dr. Tim's, because they also come in freshwater versions, and make dead sure it's the One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria product, as it's easy to grab the wrong one.
 
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Oh wow ... You mean theirs something better out there.. We have nothing like this in uk...

B4 you had to wait 6 weeks ( I waited 10 weeks for my first tank)...

Fantabulous wow!!!
 
Nutramar Foods
At this point any bacteria in a bottle product will be useful. The dr tims one that eienna mentioned would be best (from what I've read, I've never actually used it). A bottle of prime would be a good investment too.
Like everyone is saying, water changes are key at the moment. Try to get some well established live rock from the LFS or someone on here who may be able to help you out. Being a 10 gal just 1 or 2 decent sized pieces will be enough.
When ammonia and nitrite drops to zero for a few days in a row and you have some nitrate readings your almost in the clear.
Do you know someone who could fish-sit them for a few weeks?
It's a relief to see there are people who still care for animals enough to take in some who would have otherwise been killed and learn to look after them and provide a happy environment :)
 
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