newbies always die...

[nemesis]

so sian recently all my recent purchases always die one by one. yet my 4 mth old false clowns survived for 4 mths liao. amonia ok, nitrite and nitrate ok. just dunno why new purchases like blue tang, cleaner wrasse, sabae clowns, shrimps always die. so sianz. feel like giving upz.....

[sinner]

dun give up... rule of the thumb is doing partial water change... i always carry out mine every 2weeks... 10-15%...

you might wanna find out why your stocks are dying one by one... it might be stressed or not introduced correctly... might be sickness if so you will want to find out the cure..

may the force be with you bro

[Achilles Tang]

Maybe you can report back the FULL tank parameters and your husbandry routine before we can help you nail down the problem?

[nemesis]

dun give up... rule of the thumb is doing partial water change... i always carry out mine every 2weeks... 10-15%...

you might wanna find out why your stocks are dying one by one... it might be stressed or not introduced correctly... might be sickness if so you will want to find out the cure..

may the force be with you bro

did 10 percent water change every 1 week.

some did not eat some did. but those that eat also die later. did soak various food like flakes, brine and mysis in garlic juice...

[nemesis]

Maybe you can report back the FULL tank parameters and your husbandry routine before we can help you nail down the problem?

well amonia level is yellow in colour from seachem ammonia alert.

from tetratest 5 in 1 test strip, nitrite 0, nitrate 10 , GH>16, KH 10, ph 7.8, salinity, the ideal amount as shown by the hydrometer.

[BarraCudaTM]

yr pH is way too low

[nemesis]

yr pH is way too low

but my old clowns no prob leh. i added seachem marine buffer but cannot raise it to 8.3

[CalciumReef]

Ionic imbalance?.A big water change might just set things back properly

[nemesis]

Ionic imbalance?.A big water change might just set things back properly

big water change? anyway, i am moving my tank out of my room soon, so there will be a complete water change. if things still fail, i will quit... wonder any other guys experiencing the same things...

[arcanehacker]

but my old clowns no prob leh. i added seachem marine buffer but cannot raise it to 8.3

you can't include clowns.. they are hardy. They dun need much attention.

Thanks for telling us about seachem buffer.. I wanted to buy that today.. hehe... now I going to source for other brands..

[nemesis]

you can't include clowns.. they are hardy. They dun need much attention.

Thanks for telling us about seachem buffer.. I wanted to buy that today.. hehe... now I going to source for other brands..

hey how u explain my new clowns which just died when i bot them 3 days ago? my anemone still surving, 2 flame scallop also surviving for months.

[Achilles Tang]

Simple.

You probably didn't acclimatize your new additions.

Your existing livestock may have gotten used to your very low PH... but the clownfishes may have been kept at 8.5 and for a sudden exposure to 7.8 it may have stressed them.

Or the shop's tank water was at 1.010 instead of 1.023?

Always take the time to acclimatize your fish to your tank.

AT

[nemesis]

Simple.

You probably didn't acclimatize your new additions.

Your existing livestock may have gotten used to your very low PH... but the clownfishes may have been kept at 8.5 and for a sudden exposure to 7.8 it may have stressed them.

Or the shop's tank water was at 1.010 instead of 1.023?

Always take the time to acclimatize your fish to your tank.

AT

i did that. top up tank water into the bucket they are in every 10 min. 30 min later i realease them to the tank. is that too fast?

i read from somewhere that fish dun really need to be acclimatised, but i did it any way.

[alanseah]

err may i know how big is your tank.. and how many kg of LR u have...

also what is the temp..??

how is your feeding habbit...

[Achilles Tang]

That's pretty ok... hmmm....

The only thing then could be that the clownfishes were not the best of specimens.

Disease, shipping stress, cyanide poisoning are other possible causes.

[nemesis]

err may i know how big is your tank.. and how many kg of LR u have...

also what is the temp..??

how is your feeding habbit...

not much live rock . my 110 g tank has only about 10 kg. but i did check water para. they are maintain at healthy level by water change, so dun thnk thats the problem.

temp, around 25-30

[kschew1498]

Mind if you can tell us where you buy your fishes?

I have lost faith to some LFS....in fact in particular one!

[alanseah]

not much live rock . my 110 g tank has only about 10 kg. but i did check water para. they are maintain at healthy level by water change, so dun thnk thats the problem.

temp, around 25-30

one thing it can be also due not not enough hidding place that add more stress to the fish...

also your temp can range for so large... 25 to 30...

lastly did u buy alot of fish like e.g. 3-6 fishes and add them in within a day or u slowly stock up one..?

[RAV-65]

Are your newbies small in size? i heard from somewhere dat if you keep small fish, they may be attacked by the crabs living in the rocks while they are sleeping....

Vincent Ho

[nemesis]

Mind if you can tell us where you buy your fishes?

I have lost faith to some LFS....in fact in particular one!

mostly from PR, the one which has has a 5 ft display tank at entrance.

i buy in 4-5 fishes each time.

i remove most of the crabs and worms by soaking all live rocks in fresh water for 20 mins.

[danano]

mostly from PR, the one which has has a 5 ft display tank at entrance.

i buy in 4-5 fishes each time.

i remove most of the crabs and worms by soaking all live rocks in fresh water for 20 mins.

5ft tank at the entrance... that doesn't sound like PR to me... hmmm... could it be R****n? If so... you may just have found your answer.

Besides, adding 4 or 5 fishes at a go would significantly increase your bio-load thus compromising your water quality. How much and how often do you feed your fish?

Soaking LR in fresh water for 20 mins Unlikely that you'll be able to get rid of crabs or worms that way... nevertheless, may I ask your intention for removing the crabs and worms? It's not a good idea to soak your LR in fresh water... probably does more harm than good by killing off the beneficial organisms on the LR.

[nemesis]

Besides, adding 4 or 5 fishes at a go would significantly increase your bio-load thus compromising your water quality. How much and how often do you feed your fish?

Soaking LR in fresh water for 20 mins Unlikely that you'll be able to get rid of crabs or worms that way... nevertheless, may I ask your intention for removing the crabs and worms? It's not a good idea to soak your LR in fresh water... probably does more harm than good by killing off the beneficial organisms on the LR.

i buy 4-5 cos i see lots of ppl buying min of 5.

by soaking lr i did get rid of lots of worms, crabs and shrimps. i prefer it this way cos i dont want my fish to be food for these vermin.

anyways points taken. thanks

[danano]

It's highly unlikely that the tiny creatures that come with your LR would pose a threat to your fish. In fact, some fish feed on those same "vermin" you mentioned. If anything, it's more likely the cyanide (used to catch the fish) that's killing the fish.

Ideally, net caught fish are the way to go. Even if you have to pay a slight premium, it's well worth it.

[ryz]

most likely thermal shock. they need to adjust to the tank temperature.. if not properly acllimatised to the temperature, it will die in few days. however usually not showing any signs of distress initially.

[RAV-65]

Are your water parameters in good condition? i was too lazy to measure my no3 last time and it rocketed sky high.... and lost a few fish in the process... so u may wanna check all the parameters and do proper acclimatization...

Anyway, Dadano, how to know if the fish is net caught?

Vincent Ho