Help Needed!!!

beedyb220 · 09/13/2007, 10:56 PM

Hello,

My 55g has be up for about a year and I just returned from a 10 day trip. The problem I encountered is.. the person who fed my fishies seriously overfeed my tank. I vacuumed my sand bed and changed 20g worth of saltwater. My cleaner shrimp passed last night.

I have 2 clowns who seem to be fine. I have a zebra damsel who also appears to be fine. I also have a Coral Beauty who has retreated to a cave area and doesn't come out to eat. (2 days) I also noticed a white spot on the side of the Coral Beauty.

Besides changing the water, I cleaned out my sump with a damp cloth since it had fish food all in it. I also added some Nitromax to the water as well as install a Hydor Turbo pump.

My readings are:
Ammonia 1.5
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 2.5
PH 8.5

I am going to perform another water change tomorrow.

Caliloaner · 09/13/2007, 11:00 PM

I would check for any desease? It may have something like itch but not nessessarily... Sometimes that can happen from overfeeding and throwing your levels off in tank...

beedyb220 · 09/13/2007, 11:03 PM

How do I check for disease?

nctommy · 09/14/2007, 12:00 AM

Right now your ammonia level and pH are high. The excess food is most likely the cause. I am not familiar with the nitromax so I don't know what it does. However, you need something to deal with the ammonia level. Continue with the water changes and the cleaning of the sand bed. If you don't see any improvement you might have to go to a larger water change to get the readings down.

As far as the coral beauty, it might be affected by the readings or it may be getting sick. The white spot on the fish is not descriptive enough. If there are many white spots that look like dust it could be ick. However, it could be a physical injury if it is isolated in one spot. I have seen fish before get stressed out because of tank conditions and run into rock work and injure themselves.

MinnFish · 09/14/2007, 04:53 AM

Could the vaccuuming of the sand? Did more harm than good.

Savas · 09/14/2007, 05:59 AM

I would also run carbon. Seachem makes a product called Purigen that I have had success with. I would run that also if you can, but carbon should work. Change as much water as you can, as fast as you can but allow for acclimation for each water change. I know others feel differently, but I have changed 20% per day for several days straight with no ill effects on my livestock. If you think this is a true emergency - death is imminent, than changing as much water as you can, as fast as you can can probably due no harm.

09/13/2007, 10:56 PM	#1
beedyb220 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 157	Help Needed!!! Hello, My 55g has be up for about a year and I just returned from a 10 day trip. The problem I encountered is.. the person who fed my fishies seriously overfeed my tank. I vacuumed my sand bed and changed 20g worth of saltwater. My cleaner shrimp passed last night. I have 2 clowns who seem to be fine. I have a zebra damsel who also appears to be fine. I also have a Coral Beauty who has retreated to a cave area and doesn't come out to eat. (2 days) I also noticed a white spot on the side of the Coral Beauty. Besides changing the water, I cleaned out my sump with a damp cloth since it had fish food all in it. I also added some Nitromax to the water as well as install a Hydor Turbo pump. My readings are: Ammonia 1.5 Nitrite .25 Nitrate 2.5 PH 8.5 I am going to perform another water change tomorrow.

09/14/2007, 04:53 AM	#5
MinnFish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Home of 10,000 lakes Posts: 917	Could the vaccuuming of the sand? Did more harm than good. __________________ 33G Long, 4x54 watt T5, Tunze 6025, Tunze Osmolator ATO, Tunze Streamfilter 3163 Posts about moving an oversized fish to a bigger tank. Is like hearing every stripper is just working to pay for colle

09/14/2007, 05:59 AM	#6
Savas Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Maryland / St. Thomas once a month Posts: 764	I would also run carbon. Seachem makes a product called Purigen that I have had success with. I would run that also if you can, but carbon should work. Change as much water as you can, as fast as you can but allow for acclimation for each water change. I know others feel differently, but I have changed 20% per day for several days straight with no ill effects on my livestock. If you think this is a true emergency - death is imminent, than changing as much water as you can, as fast as you can can probably due no harm. __________________ If you can get your wife hooked into reef keeping, you can spend all the money you want! Current Tank Info: 24 gallon Aquapod Nanotuners 4.32 T-5 lighting upgrade; 24 gallon Aquapod with stock power compacts and actinic lighting; 12 gallon Aquapod with stock power compacts and actinic lighting. Last edited by Savas; 09/14/2007 at 06:18 AM.

09/13/2007, 11:00 PM	#2
Caliloaner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: California Posts: 174	I would check for any desease? It may have something like itch but not nessessarily... Sometimes that can happen from overfeeding and throwing your levels off in tank...

09/13/2007, 11:03 PM	#3
beedyb220 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 157	How do I check for disease?

09/14/2007, 12:00 AM	#4
nctommy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 181	Right now your ammonia level and pH are high. The excess food is most likely the cause. I am not familiar with the nitromax so I don't know what it does. However, you need something to deal with the ammonia level. Continue with the water changes and the cleaning of the sand bed. If you don't see any improvement you might have to go to a larger water change to get the readings down. As far as the coral beauty, it might be affected by the readings or it may be getting sick. The white spot on the fish is not descriptive enough. If there are many white spots that look like dust it could be ick. However, it could be a physical injury if it is isolated in one spot. I have seen fish before get stressed out because of tank conditions and run into rock work and injure themselves.