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Ammonia spike when adding live stock

673 views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Geoff 
#1 ·
So last night I went and picked up a 6 line wrasse and a mandarin (hindsight says this was a poor choice) for my 125 gallon tank. I currently have a damsel and lawnmower blenny and a foxface lo. The tank has been cycled for 3 weeks I've been checking ammonia weekly because I'm paranoid and it's such a young tank frankly, I don't want to lose any fish. I added the wrasse and mandarin after drip acclimating them for about an hour. I fed the tank mysis shrimp to try and help comfort them. They seemed fine however, the damsel did chase the 6 line and mandarin off so I'm planning on getting him into another tank. Anyway, this morning I found the mandarin dead. I checked the water I had .25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10ppm nitrates. I'm assuming that the added fish and feeding was just too much for my tank to handle? I forgot to mention I also added a handful of Cheto to my refugium. I'm also under the assumption that the .25ppm ammonia is what killed the mandarin. Although, he did seem a little too willing to get caught at the LFS. Part of me is thinking he was sick but then I could just be trying to blame the fish store for my poor judgement and adding too much too quickly. I've read in other threads that this can happen. I added a cap full of prime to protect the other fish.
 
#2 ·
There is not much telling.
The mandarin may have been starved pretty well before you got it. The additional stress, being caught, moved, chased may have done for it. It may have been at least partially responsible for the ammonia spike.
I know it is hard but leave your emotions at home when you step into a fish store.
Only get what you know you can support, is compatible and know what it looks like when it is healthy. I know this is a little late but, there it is. Impulse buying is hard not to do, when the urge to buy something you have not researched pops up, pull out your phone and take a look. It will at least give you a little time to reflect on it.
 
#3 ·
How can I prevent an ammonia spike like this from happening again. I've read to not add more than double your livestock per week. so if you have two fish you can add between one to four fish safely assuming you're tank is large enough and you're bio filter is handling the two fish you have now. I had three fish added two and now I have four... and why couldn't have been the $4 fish? Joking, I wouldn't want my damsel to have died, but it's funny how it's never the cheap fish. My gut told me to wait on the mandarin but like you said you have to leave your emotions at home.
 
#4 ·
Generally adding 2 fish to a 125 would not be too much for it to handle, how long since you added the first three fish?
It is quite possible that the mandarin dying caused the ammonia spike. However .25 in 125 is a bit of ammonia.
Let it go a while after the ammonia is gone before you add more.
You could try increasing feeding to increase the bio-filter before adding new fish, this should not be necessary if you add one at a time. Just slow down and let everything get settled before adding anything else.
 
#5 ·
Even though the tank has cycled it's still fragile. You may have just added too much in a short period of time and overloaded the system. If anything is still alive just stick with that for at least 3 weeks or so. Develop a routine during this time and stick with it. If all is well after then you might want to add something else. Go slow. GL.
 
#8 ·
How mature do you think would be best? I know the mandarin only really eats pods but I figure, if I have pods now and wait a month the population wouldn't be sufficient for sustaining a mandarin? I guess I still have a lot to learn!! Thanks so much for the advice.
 
#9 ·
Mandarins eat about a pod a minute.
They will normally eat baby brine shrimp, but they have to be in something to keep the down close to the bottom as they will swim towards the surface but the mandarin won't.
If you want to know what it takes to keep one talk to Paul b.
 
#10 ·
I agree with Jerry, It’s likely the mandarin died and kicked off the ammonia spike. It could’ve been that it was starved and the stress was too much, or it could be that it was an easy target for the damsel to pick on. Mandarins are slow, and it wouldn’t have been able to get away from a mean, quick damsel picking at it. I would highly suggest removing the damsel before adding anything else that is peaceful.

I also agree with waiting on the mandarin. New tanks always have a pod population explosion early on. Many people think this means its mandarin time - its not. Once your tank levels out a good percentage of that poplulation will die out. I’d suggest waiting around a year for your tank to mature and being sure you want to run the type of tank a mandarin can survive in. Pods thrive in dirty conditions, so if you’re afraid of algae or want SPS you likely won’t be able to run a tank that can support a mandarins diet. You could supplement with baby brine shrimp and a feeder, but think about that for a while before you jump in - it’s not exactly hard but it is a constant every day chore, so it takes serious dedication.
 
#11 ·
sometimes even the biggest tanks can not handle a mandarin. the problem is the amount of nutrients needed in the system to support the pod population. i would not consider a mandarin for any tank that is not a softie tank. softie tanks will need higher nutrient levels to support the corals and this gives just enough nutrients to support a decent pod population.

i would not even think about a mandarin in my 300 SPS system. i know i will not have enough nutrients to support a pod population for it.

G~
 
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