Can't keep fish alive

[Nano Reef]

Two things that I'm wondering if it could be. I've had cleaner shrimp that are a little aggressive and the fish won't let them clean them or maybe won't let them clean the more sensitive areas like the gills where ich can be (and you wouldn't notice) and of course will kill the fish eventually. The other thing I'm wondering is if you are only feeding brine shrimp they could be dying from malnutrition because they don't have much to them. Mysis shrimp are much better but I would get some frozen meaty food to be on the safe side, every little bit will help since you are having such a hard time.

Another thought is to turn off the lights when you add a new fish and don't turn them back on until the next day, it just gives them more time to feel safe and acclimate to the new tank. Also make sure your lights are not on longer than 12 hours, you might want to bring it down to 10 hours for the first few weeks.

[prixmo67]

I have had the 2 clowns 17 days now...fingers crossed! I did switch to Mysis shrimp, and they will eat New Life Spectrum pellets. The clowns like to swim around the cleaner shrimp and bug him, it doesn't look like he cleans them. The clowns sit in the sand in the same spot of the tank quite a bit, first it was there sleeping spot at night, now I always find them there. They seem normal at feeding time and swim all over. Good idea about introducing fish when the lights are off, I will do this next time I get a fish. Right now lights are on 12 hrs, off 12 hrs. Thanks everyone for the great advice!

[prixmo67]

Ok, one clown is dead...the other was very stressed. My roommate says it looked like the cleaner shrimp was attacking the living one, she didn't see what happened when the dead one died. When I got home from work, we scooped out the live one and took it back to the LFS. They said he looks good and will try to reacclimate him to there tank or something. Is it possible to have a killer cleaner shrimp? Could that be why everything is great, but I can't keep fish alive? Apparently clowns are tough and a great first fish, well hey I can kill anything

[Mr.Peanut]

Sorry to hear about the clown.

I dont know if a shrimp can kill a fish.

[aquawolf]

Sorry to hear about the loss of the clown fish.

What kind of a "cleaner shrimp" is it?

[Maverick07]

It could also mean that you have copper or something in the tank

[prixmo67]

The LFS people have decided that the clownish I took them to save has black spot. They have the fish quarantined to get it well again. What does that mean for my tank? Is this parasite living in my tank and how would I get rid of it since I have LR/LS/snails/a cleaner shrimp and a starfish? From what I have read treating the tank will screw up the biofilter and is not a good idea and that snails can be a carrier and the parasite can live in the substrate.

[YLChik]

bump

[fishfarmer]

I may have missed it somewhere but what temp do you keep your water at?
Does your water temp fluctuate much through the night?

[prixmo67]

78 F, my heater keeps it constant as far as I know, it is always 78 when I look at the thermometer different times throughout the day. My cleaner shrimp has had the tank to himself for several months, anyone know if they get territorial?

[Dragonist]

Im unaware if they are territorial is it a skunk cleaner shrimp?I recommend purchasing a copper test kit to see if thier is a trace in the tank.

[foundnemo]

I don't know if anyone else has said this, but to reduce stress during initial acclimation, you should leave your lights off for at least four hours (some recommend even longer) after introducing the fish to the tank. You should keep room lighting to a minimum during this period as well. Wait 24 hours before feeding them... and make sure that they are feeding at the store. You can ask them to feed the fish right in front of you and they will. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Where/how are you making your RO/DI water?

[kv2wr1]

Have you checked your tank for stray voltages?

You can do this with a voltmeter. Plug one end into the ground (bottom round one) on an outlet and the other in the water.

I saw that a guy on another forum had his fish stress out and die and his corals weren;t doing as good as his other tank. He did this and found that he had a stray voltage of 54 volts. It was caused by his heater and powerhead which were both relatively new.
If all else fails, you could buy a grounding probe and plug that into a GFCI outlet or buy a plug in GFCI to make the outlet that the tank is powered on safe along with the grounding probe.

I'm going to test my tank when I get home. If I find a stray voltage, I am going to get a grounding probe.