crash

Beans21 · 07/04/2014, 10:16 AM

So my tank isn't that old at 2 months. But my parameters were all good before I added anything to it I add 2 snowflake clown fish 7 days ago

Now one of them is on the verge of death and the other one is OK for now. My ammonia and nitrites spiked. I did a 5g water change on monday and another last night ( this time from an established tank). I still think I'm in trouble because the levels barely went down

Any suggestions. I hate to see my clown fish die

My tank is a 20g AIO. 10-15pds of dry rock that I cleaned for a week. 20pds of live sand, and 10pds of established rock in the back and carbon in the back (no skimmer)

Nothing else is in the tank but 2 mushrooms

Before putting the fish in my levels were good

scuzy · 07/04/2014, 10:21 AM

Was tank fully cycled?

slief · 07/04/2014, 10:27 AM

I wouldn't consider this a crash by any means. You have a new tank and with that comes the likelihood of casualties. Also, often new fish don't adjust well to being moved from wholesalers to fish store to a new tank. The stress of all that often results in their untimely death. Especially when moved into a new system that is not well established. Not sure what a spike is to you but with all that live rock and sand, two small fish causing a spike leads me to wonder if something else in the rock died or if your rock wasn't fully cured. That or you are overfeeding for the amount of beneficial bacteria in the system. Since you didn't have any bioload, the beneficial bacteria in your tank would have been at a minimum. It tends to build up as the tank matures and the bioload increases.

At two months old, with these being the first fish you could also are likely experiencing a bit of a cycle. I normally prefer to test a new tank with damsels since they are a bit more hardy and will help with the cycle. Others use the piece of shrimp method but a damsel or two is a great way to insure your system is healthy enough to support life. Once I feel comfortable I will either remove the damsels or leave them in the system. Yellow tail blue damsels are usually model citizens and as such are my first choice for fish to cycle and or test the waters with.

Also, when doing a 5 gallon water change on a 20 gallon system, I hope you are matching the water temp and salinity so you don't cause additional stress on the fish from a major temp swing or change in salinity. The temp change however would be my biggest concern. If you are matching those, then I think you are taking the right steps and just need to be patient and know that loosing new fish introduced into a new unestablished system is unfortunately all too often par for course.

triggreef · 07/04/2014, 10:35 AM

also make sure that you are letting the new water mix for at least 24 hours as it can burn their gills if you use new water that is not fully mixed yet.

look into quarantining everything it will save a lot of money and grief in the long run.

Beans21 · 07/04/2014, 10:50 AM

I did the shrimp approach and made sure of the salinity and temp were the same. I also made sure the first water change was mixed for 2 days before I added it

I also didn't feed them the much. Maybe 2-3 flakes in the morning and the same at night everything was always eaten

I've had saltwater tanks in the past and never had this issue only in my freshwater

This sucks possibly losing 2 black snowflakes.

07/04/2014, 10:16 AM	#1
Beans21 Motgage guy Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 208	crash So my tank isn't that old at 2 months. But my parameters were all good before I added anything to it I add 2 snowflake clown fish 7 days ago Now one of them is on the verge of death and the other one is OK for now. My ammonia and nitrites spiked. I did a 5g water change on monday and another last night ( this time from an established tank). I still think I'm in trouble because the levels barely went down Any suggestions. I hate to see my clown fish die My tank is a 20g AIO. 10-15pds of dry rock that I cleaned for a week. 20pds of live sand, and 10pds of established rock in the back and carbon in the back (no skimmer) Nothing else is in the tank but 2 mushrooms Before putting the fish in my levels were good

07/04/2014, 10:27 AM	#3
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	I wouldn't consider this a crash by any means. You have a new tank and with that comes the likelihood of casualties. Also, often new fish don't adjust well to being moved from wholesalers to fish store to a new tank. The stress of all that often results in their untimely death. Especially when moved into a new system that is not well established. Not sure what a spike is to you but with all that live rock and sand, two small fish causing a spike leads me to wonder if something else in the rock died or if your rock wasn't fully cured. That or you are overfeeding for the amount of beneficial bacteria in the system. Since you didn't have any bioload, the beneficial bacteria in your tank would have been at a minimum. It tends to build up as the tank matures and the bioload increases. At two months old, with these being the first fish you could also are likely experiencing a bit of a cycle. I normally prefer to test a new tank with damsels since they are a bit more hardy and will help with the cycle. Others use the piece of shrimp method but a damsel or two is a great way to insure your system is healthy enough to support life. Once I feel comfortable I will either remove the damsels or leave them in the system. Yellow tail blue damsels are usually model citizens and as such are my first choice for fish to cycle and or test the waters with. Also, when doing a 5 gallon water change on a 20 gallon system, I hope you are matching the water temp and salinity so you don't cause additional stress on the fish from a major temp swing or change in salinity. The temp change however would be my biggest concern. If you are matching those, then I think you are taking the right steps and just need to be patient and know that loosing new fish introduced into a new unestablished system is unfortunately all too often par for course. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476 Last edited by slief; 07/04/2014 at 10:36 AM.

07/04/2014, 10:35 AM	#4
triggreef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: East Hampton, CT Posts: 2,917	also make sure that you are letting the new water mix for at least 24 hours as it can burn their gills if you use new water that is not fully mixed yet. look into quarantining everything it will save a lot of money and grief in the long run. __________________ 200g DD Marineland. Acro and monti heavy with some birdsnest, LPS, and zoas. 125g FOWLR

07/04/2014, 10:21 AM	#2
scuzy Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 6,499	Was tank fully cycled?

07/04/2014, 10:50 AM	#5
Beans21 Motgage guy Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 208	I did the shrimp approach and made sure of the salinity and temp were the same. I also made sure the first water change was mixed for 2 days before I added it I also didn't feed them the much. Maybe 2-3 flakes in the morning and the same at night everything was always eaten I've had saltwater tanks in the past and never had this issue only in my freshwater This sucks possibly losing 2 black snowflakes.