I'm new and and STRUGGLING.........HELP!

[Troylee]

Ok all, I have an update. Fishies are in the DT with mixed results. The clowns are doing ok, sticking to one corner and I am still seeing the rapid breathing as before. I'm hoping that will pass after the initial transfer shock has worn off. The royal gramma didn't fare as well. She hit the water, sunk strait to the bottom and immediately swam straight into a rock and got herself firmly stuck. I mean stuck stuck. I thought I was going to have to break it stuck. Once I brought it up out of the water she freaked and wriggled her way mostly out and I was able to get her the rest of he way out and now she had glued herself to the back of the same rock. She looks rough. I'm feeling so sad for them at the moment, I really wanted to do better than this. Here are pictures of both my tank and the fishes. The royal is really hard to see.

Clowns will be fine… they will find a corner and spend most of their lives there lol.. just how they roll..

 

[Schulks]

The royal gramma didn't fare as well. She hit the water, sunk strait to the bottom and immediately swam straight into a rock and got herself firmly stuck. I mean stuck stuck. I thought I was going to have to break it stuck. Once I brought it up out of the water she freaked and wriggled her way mostly out and I was able to get her the rest of he way out and now she had glued herself to the back of the same rock. She looks rough.

royal grammas do that! they find a place to wedge themselves and hide. The tighter the better.

 

[Roeshelle]

royal grammas do that! they find a place to wedge themselves and hide. The tighter the better.

That's good to know, hopefully I didn't hurt her trying to get her out of the rock. I'm just going to leave them be for a while and let them get settled. Hopefully everything will be fine. I've named them, I'm attached lol.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Ok all, I have an update. Fishies are in the DT with mixed results. The clowns are doing ok, sticking to one corner and I am still seeing the rapid breathing as before. I'm hoping that will pass after the initial transfer shock has worn off. The royal gramma didn't fare as well. She hit the water, sunk strait to the bottom and immediately swam straight into a rock and got herself firmly stuck. I mean stuck stuck. I thought I was going to have to break it stuck.

That's normal behaviour for a royal gramma.

Don't try to rescue it. It'll hide for a long time (maybe weeks).

 

[Schulks]

I think they will make it as long as the temp is good, the salinity jump wasn't bad, and you have some surface disruption to keep the water oxygenated.

My next concern would be getting some ceramic media cycling in your tank so if/when they get sick you will be ready. Not sure what your QT tank looks like but you might need something like a seachem Tidal HoB filter to put the cycled media in once you use it. (The tidal filter comes with media that will not absorb copper(or other medications) and I will only use it to make sure my copper stays full therapeutic levels. Maybe consider just buying one of them )

I'd have the medications prazipro, copper power and metroplex on hand and try to know how to use them. Hanna instruments copper checker was a life saver, really reliable. That's important, if copper gets too high fish can die too low and treatment is not successful.

I struggled with disease for awhile. It put me within sneezing distance of quitting the hobby. Now I have cured my fish of all the big diseases except velvet and my fish have all been healthy about half a year. I think a fresh aquarium with all new rock and sand takes awhile to mature enough to really support the fish and their immune system so the beginning is the hardest part. Stay on top of those water changes

 

[jabberwock]

I only do vodka dosing on myself

The ratios for this vary according to body size and practice...

I dose about 1.5 liters every 4 days.

 

[jabberwock]

I would not add any thing else to the tank right now. No meds, no bottled bac, no vinegar, no vodka (maybe a bit for your self), no livestock, no CUC... nothing.

Feed well (high quality, some variety, and the correct amount), make sure the water is moving, make sure the surface is agitated, water changes are your friend. Try doing DAILY 2 gallon water changes. An air stone would not hurt. Get them eating high quality foods. Pumps and wave makers usually have a feeding setting where they shut down for 5 to 10 minutes. Your fish will learn that when the water stops moving, it is time to eat. If that RG does not come out to eat, make a spot feeder and gently land the food right next to it.

 

[jabberwock]

Also, stress is what makes fish susceptible to disease. Leave them alone, keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. They are going to need some time to settle in and get comfortable.

I sympathize, I just lost all four of my fish to ich. Keep us posted!

 

[jabberwock]

I am going to double down on the spot feeder. My fish always learned to eat directly from it. You can maximize the amount of food that gets consumed and minimize the amount that generates ammonia in your system.

 

[jabberwock]

Gramma is right where it should be. Normal RG behavior. Give it some time.

 

[xiongsy]

The ratios for this vary according to body size and practice...

I dose about 1.5 liters every 4 days.

All hail! I'm still dosing 132 ml per wk smh

 

[Seansea]

Cool rock work. Let them chill. Fish can be resilient.

Beginning is always a little rough but once you get hang of it not so bad.

One thing i want to ask is do you have a fuge or algae scrubber. Want to get a place to get nutrient uptake before you start getting algae blooms in tank. Also pulls out carbon dioxide and puts oxygen in your tank.

 

[Rmckoy]

Hi Rachel first things first .
welcome to r2r
As you have already experienced , this hobby can be stressful , but you will soon see it’s far more rewarding .

any time I’ve ever set up a qt I used water from my dt . Tested daily and did large 50% water changes to control ammonia .
But not having a cycled or mature system to take media or filter cloth from can slow the process making it more stressful .

if you can …. I would personally purchase some sort of nitrifying bacteria to instant cycle the system .
which in turn will help process ammonia

or even easier . When you’re at the lfs buy a few pieces of live rock . (must be wet and in a running system)

happy reefing . Please keep us posted

 

[Schulks]

@Rmckoy
Great Idea, Fritz Turbo Start can cycle a tank nearly instantly. I have fired up 3 tanks and fritz turbostart was reading clear on ammonia tests within a few days. The catch is the stuff has to be refrigerated and expires quick so it is hard to find in store and expensive.
If your store doesn't have it regular nitrifying bacteria will work

 

[Rmckoy]

Being in Canada years ago we didn’t have many different options .
there was one sold at the large franchise lfs called colony .

a few others are now available nit it’s been years since I’ve had to buy any

 

[Rmckoy]

@Rmckoy
Great Idea, Fritz Turbo Start can cycle a tank nearly instantly. I have fired up 3 tanks and fritz turbostart was reading clear on ammonia tests within a few days. The catch is the stuff has to be refrigerated and expires quick so it is hard to find in store and expensive.
If your store doesn't have it regular nitrifying bacteria will work

 

[Rmckoy]

Another one

 

[Rmckoy]

This is the one I’ve used

 

[Roeshelle]

Cool rock work. Let them chill. Fish can be resilient.

Beginning is always a little rough but once you get hang of it not so bad.

One thing i want to ask is do you have a fuge or algae scrubber. Want to get a place to get nutrient uptake before you start getting algae blooms in tank. Also pulls out carbon dioxide and puts oxygen in your tank.

I don't, not yet anyway. I was honestly a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out what all I really needed to get started and at times felt like I was in way over my head. I am interested in an algae scrubber but they are a bit spendy for me right now. I appreciate the advice though. I will do more research about setting up a fuge, my tank is an AIO so the sump is relatively small and I opted not to do the under cabinet sump just yet so I don't have a ton of space. But I will see what I can do.

 

[Roeshelle]

@Rmckoy
Great Idea, Fritz Turbo Start can cycle a tank nearly instantly. I have fired up 3 tanks and fritz turbostart was reading clear on ammonia tests within a few days. The catch is the stuff has to be refrigerated and expires quick so it is hard to find in store and expensive.
If your store doesn't have it regular nitrifying bacteria will work

Can I use Fritz if fish are already in the tank?