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Old 04-11-2009, 08:26 AM   #1
prixmo67
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Question

Can't keep fish alive


I have a 29g biocube with LR and LS. I have been able to keep 7 snails and a cleaner shrimp alive. The cleaner shrimp molts every 2 weeks and seems happy. Every fish I put in the tank dies. The tank has been going since the end of January, I had a diatom bloom, all the normal stuff. I acclimate the fish, then they eat like champs and die...my cardinalfish lasted 9 days...that is the record! SG - 1.0023, PH - 8.2, ammonia, nitrate, nitrates are close to zero. Should I be testing for other things? I do a 5 gallon water change every week. Any suggestions? My LFS aren't very helpful. I want a reef tank someday, but can't even keep fish alive. Help!
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Old 04-11-2009, 08:42 AM   #2
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You need to waite till your tank is cycled!Once the Ammonia and nitrites are 0,I'd still waite a month to make sure!
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Old 04-11-2009, 09:42 AM   #3
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My numbers have been good for at least a month already. I have lost two fish, they seem normal but then develop heavy breathing...one gasped for air at the surface, the other gasped at the bottom of the tank. I have a Koralia1 powerhead in there, do I need airstones or something to increase the oxygen? I don't have an ammonia problem, what could be causing this?
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:09 AM   #4
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take your water to your lfs and ask them to test for anything that would be causing your problems
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:13 AM   #5
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What fish? Cardinals are horrible at shipping, acclimation and change. May just be the type of fish your adding?
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Old 04-11-2009, 11:41 AM   #6
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Any white spots on them before they died?
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Old 04-11-2009, 03:30 PM   #7
prixmo67
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First fish was a green chromis...it ate very well and was dead the next morning...no spots on it. Bangai cardinalfish lasted nine days...great appetite until the last day...it seemed stressed/heavy breathing after acclimation but recovered within a few hours. The last day it didn't eat and was struggling for air and at the bottom of the tank...no spots on it besides what it already had.
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Old 04-11-2009, 03:33 PM   #8
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How are you acclimating and what are your parameters? I know you said close to zero, but how close?
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Old 04-11-2009, 04:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prixmo67 View Post
no spots on it besides what it already had.
What do you mean? The pattern on the cardinal or an external parasite?

Was there any erratic behavior? Were the fish darting around or were they relaxed?
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Old 04-11-2009, 11:30 PM   #10
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did u do a water change or any cleaninng?
like the tank wall or anything like that?

i do this in my bio 14 and my royal gamma gets very stressed!
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Old 04-12-2009, 08:37 AM   #11
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To answer everyones questions...
I did a water change on Monday, the Cardinal died Saturday...I didn't do any cleaning or anything unusual to the tank during that time. He just hung out like they do, except for feeding time(frozen brine shrimp),then he went wild eating. The heavy breathing and decreased appetite is all I noticed as a change in behavior.

The cardinalfish didn't have any spots, just the spots it was born with.

I acclimate over a two hour period with a slow drip into a bowl that is filled with water from the LRS that the fish was in.

I have a saltwater test kit (test tubes, drops to watch change color) The colors I get are close to the colors on the charts for zero. For example: Ammonia...zero is a certain shade of yellow, the next color bar on the chart is more orange-yellow. My ammonia looks more like the yellow one, maybe just a hint darker. Should I get a more accurate kit? I thought this was better than test strips.

It's all very frustrating. I have a medical background, I hate to see anything die. I have done alot of reading, but nothing replaces experience. Thanks for everyones advice, this group is awesome!
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Old 04-12-2009, 10:51 AM   #12
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It could just be that you are getting bad fish from the LFS. Try a hearty fish from another store. Something like a chromis or other easy fish.
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Old 04-12-2009, 12:47 PM   #13
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Do you feed brine shrimp exclusively?
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Old 04-12-2009, 03:26 PM   #14
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Do you feed brine shrimp exclusively?
Very good question.
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Old 04-12-2009, 04:00 PM   #15
prixmo67
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I already tried a chromis...it lasted one day.
Yes, I fed frozen shrimp only...I tried flakes but it spit them back out. I got the chromis at the fish store at the mall, the cardinalfish at Petco...those are the only saltwater fish alternatives here. I'll take a water sample for testing, how big of a sample does a LFS need?
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