Trying to zero in on where it went sideways.

[blasterman]

A single damsel in a 90gal tank cannot produce enough ammonia even if the tank had a totally dead bio filter to kill itself.

If the tank has snails or other inverts that's enough to keep a bio filter moving so that a single fish like a damsel wont impact much.

Ammonia poisoning will make fish sluggish and hug the surface. The description of the damsel behavior the OP have is something I've seen before and it's a common parasite that affects the gills.

API test kits stink.

 

[LoveReefer]

A single damsel in a 90gal tank cannot produce enough ammonia even if the tank had a totally dead bio filter to kill itself.

If the tank has snails or other inverts that's enough to keep a bio filter moving so that a single fish like a damsel wont impact much.

Ammonia poisoning will make fish sluggish and hug the surface. The description of the damsel behavior the OP have is something I've seen before and it's a common parasite that affects the gills.

API test kits stink.

Interesting. I have always been under the impression any amounts of ammonia can be lethal. Is that not the case? The CUC arrived after the addition of the damsel. There was nothing keeping the bio filter moving for 3+ months.

Ammonia poisoning will also cause a fish to become weak and lay at the bottom of the tank. I am very well open to the idea that the fish could've had parasites, but refuse to believe ammonia couldn't have been the underlying factor for a stressed damsel being more susceptible to them or not being able to fight them off. Before we get too deep into the fish symptoms and what it could have been, the fact is that there was an ammonia spike after adding the fish, and raised concerns about the bio filters ability to process the bio load.

API test kits are not great. I agree. If I can watch a cycle process happen from start to finish with it then it's done it's job in that respect. The numbers may not be the most accurate but it WILL measure rise and fall of ammonia. Pinpoint accuracy isn't something I'm measuring when I'm watching a cycle process. This is where I will agree with Brandon...The cycle process is very much predictable. If my testing is resembling anything close to what it should be doing, then I'm going by it. I trust it enough to believe an ammonia spike with the 0.5 color being quite a noticeable difference over the 0.0.

 

[brandon429]

Can you list the corals your tank is currently supporting, is that top left one an acro frag and below it a Bali slimer
Is there a green trachy brain in there

Is that purple rock up front a chunk of live rock being used as seed for the tank? If so, has it been in there three mos

 

[LoveReefer]

The corals that are in the tank are:

GSP

unknown zoas

unknown favia

Green plating monti

Sonic Galaxia

Mystic sunset encrusting monti

Green goblin anacropora

Yellow tip acro

The purple rock was a piece of live rock from a LFS, yes. It was added at the same time I started the cycle (~5 days after filling)

 

[brandon429]

It's a great looking set up and it's gonna continue to look better as the weeks go by keep feeding it and changing water to guide it into perfection

 

[LoveReefer]

Thanks man! I'm learning a ton here on R2R. Not to bash the "other big site" but my first impressions over there were not great. I got a lot of rude snobby replies on just about everything I said. It came to a point where I was afraid to ask any questions. It's a much different atmosphere here and I'm enjoying it a lot.