Really need help with this one

[pavcio]

Nano evo 13.5.
Lost my clowns for a 3rd time
Each time after that occurred I waited with no fish in the tank for 8 weeks ..its no ick or velvet I put them in and thier dead within 48 hrs each time .. corals doing great and snails and crabs and star fish as well for a long time now
My parameters are steady and measured every 48 hrs for past 6 months since I add the fish and corals for very first time.
Salinity 1.025 1.026
Temp 79.0 to 79.5
Alk 11
Ph 7.9 to 8.0
Calc 460 to 490
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 to 10
Also running ps4 mini skimmer
Just want to have 2 clown fish with my corals I can't find the reason behind this at my level of knowledge. Any help be great
P.s doing 15 to 20 % water changes weekly

 

[OneOtter]

Do you drip acclimate the clowns each time by chance or do you just let the bag float in the water and then drop them in? I had this issue before when my tank was up and running and i realized changing from freshwater to salt i needed to drip acclimate.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Nano evo 13.5.
Lost my clowns for a 3rd time
Each time after that occurred I waited with no fish in the tank for 8 weeks ..its no ick or velvet I put them in and thier dead within 48 hrs each time .. corals doing great and snails and crabs and star fish as well for a long time now
My parameters are steady and measured every 48 hrs for past 6 months since I add the fish and corals for very first time.
Salinity 1.025 1.026
Temp 79.0 to 79.5
Alk 11
Ph 7.9 to 8.0
Calc 460 to 490
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 to 10
Also running ps4 mini skimmer
Just want to have 2 clown fish with my corals I can't find the reason behind this at my level of knowledge. Any help be great
P.s doing 15 to 20 % water changes weekly

The trouble is, the three set of losses may or may not be related.

The general rule is - if fish are dying, but corals are fine, it is a fish disease issue. However, for a fish to die within 48 hours of acquiring it, it was either very sick when you bought it, or it was an acclimation issue. The most common acclimation issue I see is dealers that hold their fish at a specific gravity of say, 1.020 and then people buy those fish and bring them home to their tank which is at 1.025. Fish do not handle a rise in salinity well. To take a fish up that high, you really need to take a couple of days - and that means having a quarantine tank (which would be a good idea for other reasons).

Jay

 

[OneOtter]

I have one store near me that's like this too I can't buy anything but inverts from them and maybe a coral whenever they get one in that looks okay. I get my water there because its a dollar each but I agree with Jay if it is an acclimation this can be why. I also heard it can be because of the copper difference from display tanks to our tanks the difference can cause some shock if the store uses too much in their display tanks.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have one store near me that's like this too I can't buy anything but inverts from them and maybe a coral whenever they get one in that looks okay. I get my water there because its a dollar each but I agree with Jay if it is an acclimation this can be why. I also heard it can be because of the copper difference from display tanks to our tanks the difference can cause some shock if the store uses too much in their display tanks.

Copper isn’t an issue moving in either direction. What you will find are dealers that run low levels of copper AND low salinity. This isn’t a good idea, but lots of them do it. In these cases, it is again the salinity rise that causes the problem.
Jay

 

[pavcio]

The trouble is, the three set of losses may or may not be related.

The general rule is - if fish are dying, but corals are fine, it is a fish disease issue. However, for a fish to die within 48 hours of acquiring it, it was either very sick when you bought it, or it was an acclimation issue. The most common acclimation issue I see is dealers that hold their fish at a specific gravity of say, 1.020 and then people buy those fish and bring them home to their tank which is at 1.025. Fish do not handle a rise in salinity well. To take a fish up that high, you really need to take a couple of days - and that means having a quarantine tank (which would be a good idea for other reasons).

Jay

Thank you for your response.. last time around I did check the gravity and yes it was 1.021 and mine is 1.025 ..I did 2 hrs drip acclimation .. don't currently have qt tank since only can put 2 clowns in small tank like that .. can I use a plastic gallon container ,heater and air stone for those 48 hrs to slowly raise the gravity? What about feeding new stock ? Should I wait I day ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for your response.. last time around I did check the gravity and yes it was 1.021 and mine is 1.025 ..I did 2 hrs drip acclimation .. don't currently have qt tank since only can put 2 clowns in small tank like that .. can I use a plastic gallon container ,heater and air stone for those 48 hrs to slowly raise the gravity? What about feeding new stock ? Should I wait I day ?

Drip acclimation needs to be monitored during the process for salinity change and temperature. The fish also need to be aerated during that time. Two hours may not be long enough for that much of a rise. I wish dealers would keep their tanks nearer to their customers in terms of salinity. You could use the bucket method.
That said, there could be other issues that caused your fish loss. I worry that with fish dying that soon after purchase, that there might be a quality issue.
Jay

 

[pavcio]

Drip acclimation needs to be monitored during the process for salinity change and temperature. The fish also need to be aerated during that time. Two hours may not be long enough for that much of a rise. I wish dealers would keep their tanks nearer to their customers in terms of salinity. You could use the bucket method.
That said, there could be other issues that caused your fish loss. I worry that with fish dying that soon after purchase, that there might be a quality issue.
Jay

Parameters of tank water seem to be spot on and using ro/di ..can u explain the bucket method of acclimation I will try that have spare small pump and heater and monitoring is not an issue .

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Parameters of tank water seem to be spot on and using ro/di ..can u explain the bucket method of acclimation I will try that have spare small pump and heater and monitoring is not an issue .

It is basically the same as drip acclimation, but you aerate and heat the water to allow the process to go a bit slower, allowing the fish to adjust to the salinity rise. You use your hydrometer and add tank water to the container (removing the excess as needed) so that the salinity rises over time to match that of the tank. You need to proportionally add more water each time because the process slows down the closer you get to the target salinity.
However, I always quarantine my new fish, so it is much simpler to adjust the salinity of the empty quarantine tank to that the fish are arriving at and then just give them the normal 30 minute acclimation.
Jay

 

[pavcio]

It is basically the same as drip acclimation, but you aerate and heat the water to allow the process to go a bit slower, allowing the fish to adjust to the salinity rise. You use your hydrometer and add tank water to the container (removing the excess as needed) so that the salinity rises over time to match that of the tank. You need to proportionally add more water each time because the process slows down the closer you get to the target salinity.
However, I always quarantine my new fish, so it is much simpler to adjust the salinity of the empty quarantine tank to that the fish are arriving at and then just give them the normal 30 minute acclimation.
Jay

Thank you I will try that and go for 24 hrs in the bucket going to raise up .01 every 3 hrs

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you I will try that and go for 24 hrs in the bucket going to raise up .01 every 3 hrs

I do understand that people need to sleep, but if you can do a couple of additions at night, it will help smooth out the transition…
Jay

 

[pavcio]

I do understand that people need to sleep, but if you can do a couple of additions at night, it will help smooth out the transition…
Jay

Thank you very much I will plan to purchase at 10 am on my day off and start the process at 10 30 am at 1.021 reach 1.022 at 1pm than 1.023 at 5 pm 1.024 around 9 pm and final 1.025 around 2 am release them in the tank and feed when I wake up very little ..I will use prime in the bucket and I also have seachem stress guard if that is any help during the process in your opinion.. if this not going to work out than I will have to look for some more detail water analysis.. thank you again

 

[pavcio]

Thank you very much I will plan to purchase at 10 am on my day off and start the process at 10 30 am at 1.021 reach 1.022 at 1pm than 1.023 at 5 pm 1.024 around 9 pm and final 1.025 around 2 am release them in the tank and feed when I wake up very little ..I will use prime in the bucket and I also have seachem stress guard if that is any help during the process in your opinion.. if this not going to work out than I will have to look for some more detail water analysis.. thank you again

Just for additional info tank is upgraded in protian skimmer ..pump upgraded to sicce .5 .light upgraded to AI 16 HD..filter have media basket in second chamber media upgraded top of the line filter floss , chemipure elite and Marine pure bio media