Why new fish die

[Ernie C]

I don’t have an exact science for acclimation other than floating the bags for several hours and then slowly adding tank water to the bag and observing. For the most part it usually all goes well. A few weeks ago I added 4 blue green chromis and dotty back. One of the chromis died on the second day and now over a week later the dotty back. The other three chromis are doing just fine. They were all eating fine and the dottyback had even found a hole/home and was swimming in and out of it. There was no massive aggression by the other fish just a little darting if they would swim by. I don’t add fish too often and only have some damsels, coral beauty and sail fin tang that I’ve had for quite a long time. Trying to add a few more small fish cause I’m struggling to keep nutrients at readable levels. Any thoughts on how I can safeguard any future additions?

 

[EmdeReef]

Quarantine is the only solution I can recommend.

Also don’t float bags for hours. Best thing to do is usually float for 10-15min to adjust temperature and then add tank water.

Any wounds or anything on the dead fish?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Yes, as @EmdeReef stated, float for temp only max 15mins. Into a bucket and add some water from the DT. 5 mins later, remove water from the bucket and discard. Repeat this process for max 20-30mins. Then into the tank with lights off.

Quarantine your fish before adding to the DT. Gives you time to react to disease or parasites and keeps the DT free of them.

 

[Ernie C]

Not that I could tell. The back fin was a little frayed. The other fish seem to be doing ok. I do have some emerald crabs and a coral banded shrimp although the dottyback was quite large. I don’t know how long it was at the lfs it might have been a recent arrival. I bought an acclimation box for any future additions. I don’t have a quarantine tank though. I do have an unused little 5 gallon cube thing but it has no filtration. Or anything.

 

[Flippers4pups]

If you can , invest in a QT set up. You may need it sooner or later.

Ammonia builds up in bags, but really climbs once the bag is opened. Damage is irreversible.

 

[4FordFamily]

Honestly disease is everywhere these days, it’s more important than its ever been to quarantine and treat everything. It’s not a great state of affairs.

 

[reef lover]

A small 10 gal with a lid and hob filter is all you need. Can get the tank for 10$at a petco $ per gallon sales.

 

[sfin52]

I second qt. If not just for observation and getting them to eat

 

[Ernie C]

Should I have it running all the time? The five gallon I have has a built in filtration chamber along the back side but it’s just empty. What would I have to keep in the qt tank to keep it cycled if it is to be up and running the whole time?

A second tank is a crazy temptation for me. Lol

 

[Baldguy]

Aside from acclimation issues, the chromis might have gotten an early start on eliminating each other till there is only one.

 

[Ernie C]

I forgot to mention I have a pair of clowns but they tend to all school together with no aggression.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I usually float then dump into a QT tank. I never drip acclimate. The ammonia burn risk is too high. The pH in the bag drops as CO2 builds up. This makes ammonia not toxic. As soon as you open the bag, CO2 is released, the pH comes back up and all of a sudden all that ammonia that built up in the tiny bag is now very toxic.

Float for 15, then I pour the water into a bucket thru a net, then the fish goes into QT.

 

[cancun]

Hi! I don't buy fish online, but I buy from 2 different LFS that are both 45 min away. I also drip acclimate for about 45 min or so, and every 10 min I add a 1/2 cup of tank water to the acclimation container. Also make sure you check the salinity of the bag before you start at acclimate. A lot of online retailers and LFS keep some fish in salinity as low as 1.015.