Ready to quit

[GHill762]

I do believe when most people here on r2r say "bb" they are referring to "bare bottom". As in, no substrate.

Yep. Never heard beneficial bacteria abbreviated as bb. That's usually bare bottom.

 

[Diesel]

Didn't read all the post just the first page, but to me it sounds like Brooklynella
Well, what is Brooklynella?
Clown fish disease.

Clownfish Disease - Brooklynella Diagnosis and Treatment

 

[YHSublime]

I can't tell you if your fish was diseased, but some things that I might have missed:
You never explained your acclimation process. The reason i ask, is because jumping from 1.020 (your LFS) to 1.028 (yours) could shock your fish quite a bit, if not done over time.

I suggest a QT for future livestock, it's a great way to get your fish eating, as well as observe, and treat if needed. Also didn't see a lot on your flow, I would suggest pointing the powerhead pictured on the first page of this thread upwards.

If it was Brook in your tank, I would go fallow for 3 months (at a minimum) and get your water params straightened out in that time.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[ahtatt]

Don't feel too bad man, I've been reefing for several years.

Today, my purple tang died and I don't know why. :C

 

[Diamond1]

Sorry to hear about the second clown. If you suspect brook let the tank sit fallow "without fish" for a minimum of 30 days, that is the life cycle of the brook parasite. With no host in the tank you should be back to a zero population.
Here's a little reading
Aquarium-Related Articles

 

[kurtyboh]

@mole, thanks for that, in other forums I've been involved in its has meant beneficial bacteria, but I'll try to keep that in mind!

 

[Mmsetta]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I 'am going with brook. I did get a my tank grounded in case of voltage leak. Upped my temp to 82 and going to leave it without fish for a month. Started a qt and will try again with two more clowns in there for the first month and then try to put them in the dt. Going to trickle acclimate both introductions. Getting fish from a more reputable place - guaranteed tank bread . I'll update on how it goes.

 

[Mmsetta]

Of course will bring the temp down when adding fish and going to remove the magnum and add a powerhead and point them toward the surface.

 

[TheSaint216]

Ill tell ya if your looking for a good place to buy fish and dont mind driving check out Triton Marince in Macedonia. I bought my Orange spot file fish from them and its healthy as can be.

 

[rock_lobster]

I havent read everything but let me just give a few pointers
Your fish could very likely be dying from a mini ammonia cycle going on. from my experience fish that swim at the surface are looking for oxygen. If they look lathargic and swim around the middle/bottom then it is highly likely ammonia toxicity. You can carry a bottle of prime to instantly neutralize all ammonia, nitrite and nitrate it is very helpful and has saved fish many times for me while allowing the bacteria to catch up. It makes the ammonia more usable for bacteria to speed up the colonization. Also measure the parameters closely of the water from the LFS that you purchase the fish in and the further it is from you water parameters= longer acclimation time. Fish are hardy though much more so than coral and if they die from acclimation trauma it will usually be within 24 hours.

 

[Sflynn313]

Every fish I have bought from rms died within a week. I get all my fish from petco ( I know a lot of people look down on this store but I've never had a problem with a fish from them ) neptunes cellar, salty critter.

 

[Mmsetta]

Awesome advice. The first set of clowns that died might be from ammonia although I checked every three days or so. But the symptoms you described were dead on. The second set were definitely sick when I got them. I asked rms if they were tank raised and the didn't know!

Right now I have had my dt at 82 degrees for a week with just snails and little light. This has cleared up any remaining algae and I am sure the lack of food will bring down my phosphates. Just brought home another set is oceleris clowns from aquatic technologies (I trust these guys, their stuff looks very well maintained). Set up quarantine tank with half water from dt and half new. Threw a sponge in from dt too. Going to watch and monitor them for at least three weeks. Drip method to acclimate. They look to be doing well for day 1.

Hopefully my dt will settle and be rid of anything the other fish brought in in a week at high temps with no excess food. That will be 4 months since I started, cycle should be ok by then.

 

[Mmsetta]

Updates: new heater, higher powered powerhead (1200), added a ground, left tank empty with no lighting for about 2 weeks while I put two new clowns in a newly set up qt.

This was my big lesson- blow off your rocks when doing regular water changes! I never did that and suspect it lead to high phosphates, algae and ammonia spikes. Huge amount of waste material came off my rocks when I did this for the first time.

With the added water movement now with the 1200 powerhead, I feel like my tank is truly settled. I also added some bio max to my hot magnum for extra bio filtration.

The new clowns are in the dt and doing very well now for about a week. Can really tell a difference from the past fish. They are eating well and exploring the entire tank. So grateful for everyone's suggestions here.

Big lesson everyone - blow off your rocks and be sure to get your tank rocking with enough water flow.

 

[Diamond1]

Glad to hear your new clowns are doing well. I have also had very good luck with fish from Aquatic Tech. They're clowns are tank raised and that makes a huge difference.

 

[Mmsetta]

Ya. They have given me great advice too. You have to give the owner a chance. He's a little hard to talk to at first, but once he knows your buying stuff, he'll open up and share his experiences. He's very knowledgable.