adding clown fish and foxface same time??

cardi09 · 12/30/2012, 06:58 PM

Hey guys, so i have a 75 gallon reef (in the works lol) that has been running for about 2 months, 1 month with fish. I started with 2 clowns that were doing great then after only 7 days of having them, each died, one right after the other. I think they were sick, both lost color, stayed behind the rock in the sand and my water is testing perfect for everything.
as they both got sick i had added 2 bangii cardinalfish. they have been in there just over a week now and both doing great. fingers crossed for them!

So i don't really trust buying anything from petco anymore after my clownfish died and i only have one LFS that specializes in saltwater but their prices are sky rocket high, slim selection of what i like, and no guarantee.
I found vivid aquarium online and they offer a 15 day guarantee. With shipping at $30 i could get 2 clowns for the price in my LFS without the guarantee. Buttt vivid aquarium also has a foxface for only $29 which is super cheap! Would if be too much for my tank to handle if i got 2 clowns and 1 foxface at the same time?? I'd rather save on my shipping instead of paying $30 twice if i can. Thanks!

cardi09 · 12/30/2012, 07:01 PM

Also, i have about 90lbs of LR but 50lbs of it is base rock. My LR is my main filtration. So does the base rock serve any purpose in my filtration right now, or not until it becomes live? I don't wanna kill my bio load if my tank can't handle it until all my rock is live

input80 · 12/30/2012, 10:00 PM

Gonna hang around this thread, am in almost the same boat. 3 Clown fish died for me.

Gregs138 · 12/30/2012, 11:36 PM

Hey cardi, foxface is a good starter fish(sorta), they are very hardy, but very shy and can be skittish for many weeks when you first put them in=freaks alot of new owners out.

But, BEFORE you put another fish in, let's figure out why your other one died. Are you keeping a log for your cycle? You should give us your water parameters and know where you are in your tank cycle before you add anything else or you are just throwing your money away and killing another fish.

2 months in is a very iffy time if you are not sure where you are at. Do you have any nitrate? Phosphate? have you gone with 0 ammonia for at least a week? Tell us your :

Temp
PH
DKH
Amm
Nitrite
Nitrate
Temp

For last few weeks.

cardi09 · 01/01/2013, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregs138

Hey cardi, foxface is a good starter fish(sorta), they are very hardy, but very shy and can be skittish for many weeks when you first put them in=freaks alot of new owners out.

But, BEFORE you put another fish in, let's figure out why your other one died. Are you keeping a log for your cycle? You should give us your water parameters and know where you are in your tank cycle before you add anything else or you are just throwing your money away and killing another fish.

2 months in is a very iffy time if you are not sure where you are at. Do you have any nitrate? Phosphate? have you gone with 0 ammonia for at least a week? Tell us your :

Temp
PH
DKH
Amm
Nitrite
Nitrate
Temp

For last few weeks.

my temp is around 74
PH was a little low just got it up to between 8.0 and 8.5
Nitrite and Nitrate are both 0
Salinity is good as well
As for DKH (idk what that is) and Amm idk what they are. I only have a 5in1 test, but I've been bringing it in to stores for weekly water tests and they tell me every things perfect every time.
there is one test on my strip (KH carbonate hardness ppm mg/L) what is this for?

msaba · 01/01/2013, 09:31 AM

Cardi09,

your temp for a reef tank for most should run 78-80 degrees, based on the most common stocking list of fish/corals. KH is also referred to as alkalinity, there are lots of good posts you can search on for this. Stability of ALK is most important, and usually people aim to keep between 8-10 in their tanks

MrTuskfish · 01/01/2013, 10:47 AM

If you don't use a QT; fish from any source can carry disease or parasites into your DT. If the clownfish you lost had any common parasites, forms of those parasites are still in your DT. If the clowns came from Petco, you can almost bet on it. Parasites are not always visible on fish. They may take a while to show up on your new fish. I hope this isn't the case; but if you don't start to quarantine every new fish, you'll have a huge problem sooner or later.

Gregs138 · 01/02/2013, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardi09

my temp is around 74
PH was a little low just got it up to between 8.0 and 8.5
Nitrite and Nitrate are both 0
Salinity is good as well
As for DKH (idk what that is) and Amm idk what they are. I only have a 5in1 test, but I've been bringing it in to stores for weekly water tests and they tell me every things perfect every time.
there is one test on my strip (KH carbonate hardness ppm mg/L) what is this for?

Hey Cardio Happy New Year!

DKH is alkalinity/water hardness. It is imoprtant to help maintain proper PH. Actually if you alk/DKH is correct, your PH is practically a no brainer. read up a bit on reef buffers etc. Think chemistry sophomore year of highschool lol.

Amm=Ammonia sorry.

One thing worth pointing out, is that 0 nitrates is sort of subjective. If your tank was 6 months old and full of fish, 0 nitrates would be great. Since your tank is new and nitrates - 0. It sort of tells me you might not be cycled at all. Nitrates are bad because they are waste. But they are also good because they show you that your bacteria are alive and doing their job. That fact that you have 0 nitrates in a brand new tank with barely anything in it is suspect because you might not have any bacteria yet. If this is the case then here's what happens:

Fish goes in tank
Fish poops-ammonia is created
fish dies since there is no bacteria to eat ammonia
No nitrates ever produced because ammonia is still there.

cardi09 · 01/05/2013, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregs138

Hey Cardio Happy New Year!

DKH is alkalinity/water hardness. It is imoprtant to help maintain proper PH. Actually if you alk/DKH is correct, your PH is practically a no brainer. read up a bit on reef buffers etc. Think chemistry sophomore year of highschool lol.

Amm=Ammonia sorry.

One thing worth pointing out, is that 0 nitrates is sort of subjective. If your tank was 6 months old and full of fish, 0 nitrates would be great. Since your tank is new and nitrates - 0. It sort of tells me you might not be cycled at all. Nitrates are bad because they are waste. But they are also good because they show you that your bacteria are alive and doing their job. That fact that you have 0 nitrates in a brand new tank with barely anything in it is suspect because you might not have any bacteria yet. If this is the case then here's what happens:

Fish goes in tank
Fish poops-ammonia is created
fish dies since there is no bacteria to eat ammonia
No nitrates ever produced because ammonia is still there.

Well i have plenty of algae growing, does that mean i have bacteria? Like my base rocks are already turned a yellow color, as well as my sand. I also have what i believe is hair algae on all my rock as well. I used this stuff called special blend when I was cycling my tank, box says its a form of bacteria.

Do they sell anything to test for alkalinity and ammonia? I haven't seen anything.

On a good note, both my cardinalfish are doing great still, as well as my 3 corals (feather duster, whisker coral, leather). So lets say everything is ok with my tank and those clown just happened to be sick. Would it be too much to add 2 clowns and a foxface the same time? or should i really do them separately?

borderreef · 01/05/2013, 10:51 AM

I agree with MrTuskFish. You need to qt these new arrivals fo at least 8 weeks. While they are in qt, you can cycle your dt. Monitor both the qt and the dt. As long as there is no sign of disease in the new fish, and the dt has cycled, they can both go in. put them in after lights out helps them to not be so freaked out and stressed by the move.

cardi09 · 01/05/2013, 10:54 AM

I dont have a qt nor do i have the room for one

borderreef · 01/05/2013, 11:02 AM

Qt is just a bare bones tank. Petco in my area is having a $1/gallon sale. If you can get a 20, you can get both fish. If a 10, just one at a time. This tank can be set up anywhere. Kitchen table, bathroom floor, any little nook or cranny where you can run an extension cord. If you can not fit a qt anywhere, you are playing Russian Roulette, and are better off putting one fish in at a time. But, as was stated before, I don't think your tank has had nearly enough time to cycle, and are better off keeping what's in there healthy for at least the next 8 weeks or so. Patience Grasshopper.

12/30/2012, 06:58 PM	#1
cardi09 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 30	adding clown fish and foxface same time?? Hey guys, so i have a 75 gallon reef (in the works lol) that has been running for about 2 months, 1 month with fish. I started with 2 clowns that were doing great then after only 7 days of having them, each died, one right after the other. I think they were sick, both lost color, stayed behind the rock in the sand and my water is testing perfect for everything. as they both got sick i had added 2 bangii cardinalfish. they have been in there just over a week now and both doing great. fingers crossed for them! So i don't really trust buying anything from petco anymore after my clownfish died and i only have one LFS that specializes in saltwater but their prices are sky rocket high, slim selection of what i like, and no guarantee. I found vivid aquarium online and they offer a 15 day guarantee. With shipping at $30 i could get 2 clowns for the price in my LFS without the guarantee. Buttt vivid aquarium also has a foxface for only $29 which is super cheap! Would if be too much for my tank to handle if i got 2 clowns and 1 foxface at the same time?? I'd rather save on my shipping instead of paying $30 twice if i can. Thanks!

12/30/2012, 10:00 PM	#3
input80 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Surrey BC Canada Posts: 28	Would Like To Know Too Gonna hang around this thread, am in almost the same boat. 3 Clown fish died for me.

12/30/2012, 11:36 PM	#4
Gregs138 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Mission Viejo Posts: 90	Hey cardi, foxface is a good starter fish(sorta), they are very hardy, but very shy and can be skittish for many weeks when you first put them in=freaks alot of new owners out. But, BEFORE you put another fish in, let's figure out why your other one died. Are you keeping a log for your cycle? You should give us your water parameters and know where you are in your tank cycle before you add anything else or you are just throwing your money away and killing another fish. 2 months in is a very iffy time if you are not sure where you are at. Do you have any nitrate? Phosphate? have you gone with 0 ammonia for at least a week? Tell us your : Temp PH DKH Amm Nitrite Nitrate Temp For last few weeks. __________________ Current DT: 125G Some LPS, Reef Octopus Skimmer, 2 Hydor 1050's, 130+ Lbs LR, 25 Gal Sump, 2 x 210 w BridgeLux LED's. Current fish Stock: Black Volatin Lionfish, Kole Tang, Powder Blue Tang, Foxface, Cleaner Wrasse, Jumbo 7" Hermit Crab, 1 Blue Velvet Damsel.

01/01/2013, 10:47 AM	#7
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	If you don't use a QT; fish from any source can carry disease or parasites into your DT. If the clownfish you lost had any common parasites, forms of those parasites are still in your DT. If the clowns came from Petco, you can almost bet on it. Parasites are not always visible on fish. They may take a while to show up on your new fish. I hope this isn't the case; but if you don't start to quarantine every new fish, you'll have a huge problem sooner or later. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

12/30/2012, 07:01 PM	#2
cardi09 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 30	Also, i have about 90lbs of LR but 50lbs of it is base rock. My LR is my main filtration. So does the base rock serve any purpose in my filtration right now, or not until it becomes live? I don't wanna kill my bio load if my tank can't handle it until all my rock is live

01/01/2013, 09:31 AM	#6
msaba Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 160	Cardi09, your temp for a reef tank for most should run 78-80 degrees, based on the most common stocking list of fish/corals. KH is also referred to as alkalinity, there are lots of good posts you can search on for this. Stability of ALK is most important, and usually people aim to keep between 8-10 in their tanks

01/05/2013, 10:51 AM	#10
borderreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: east brookfield, ma Posts: 572	I agree with MrTuskFish. You need to qt these new arrivals fo at least 8 weeks. While they are in qt, you can cycle your dt. Monitor both the qt and the dt. As long as there is no sign of disease in the new fish, and the dt has cycled, they can both go in. put them in after lights out helps them to not be so freaked out and stressed by the move.

01/05/2013, 10:54 AM	#11
cardi09 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 30	I dont have a qt nor do i have the room for one

01/05/2013, 11:02 AM	#12
borderreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: east brookfield, ma Posts: 572	Qt is just a bare bones tank. Petco in my area is having a $1/gallon sale. If you can get a 20, you can get both fish. If a 10, just one at a time. This tank can be set up anywhere. Kitchen table, bathroom floor, any little nook or cranny where you can run an extension cord. If you can not fit a qt anywhere, you are playing Russian Roulette, and are better off putting one fish in at a time. But, as was stated before, I don't think your tank has had nearly enough time to cycle, and are better off keeping what's in there healthy for at least the next 8 weeks or so. Patience Grasshopper.