Identify please strange!!

[buddah001]

I set up my tank a couple of weeks ago with 90lbs of live rock bought from 3lfs. All of them are very reputable in my area and all they deel in is saltwater. Well when we bought live rock from this one place we noticed a small red-brown polyp on a peice and left it. We bought a several green chromies 2 days ago to get the tank up and cycling.Every day one fish has died but ammonia is somewhat low at.025. Well I noticed a nother fish swimming erraticlly and of course he died. After closely looking this red-brown polyp has fish bones scattered around it. It is about an inch tall and I touched it and it immediately sucked in. Also saw these tw,o what looks to be feather duster tubes with these long clear tentacles coming out and moving all around. The fish that was swimming erraticlly looks like it was stung on both side of his body. Any idea what they can be? Should I take out this piece of live rock. When I touched red-brown polyp kind of gave a slight tingling sensation in my finger. Any ideas.

[steelerguy]

If you have ammonia, then the tank is cycling and it is not ready for fish and that is most likely why they are dying. I think the culprit of their death is most likely you and not the polyp.

[buddah001]

The ammonia in the tank is a small trace amount. I would think that if it was significant they would all be dead. The two shrimp that were put in are still alive and very healthy.

After closely looking this red-brown polyp has fish bones scattered around it

[cpl40475]

Its never a good idea to ue fish for cycling a tank. Its considered harsh and rough on the fish, and as you are finding out it can and will kill fish due to the very high amonia.Take the ones you have back to the LFS and go to Krogers and buy one shrimp to use as a cylcing additive.One other hing DO NOT use any of the additives LFS sell that will supposedly help boost your cycle.As far as the polyp goes I have no idea what it could be without a pic. Try and take a pic of it and someone will tell you what it is

[buddah001]

Just rechecked ammonia and it is at 0. It ha sbeen steadily dropping the past few days.

[Aquabucket]

The polyp thing you have could be a palythoa or a small anemone of some type. I doubt it is the cause of your troubles. The bottom line is your tank needs at least 4 weeks to cycle. Adding any fish before then can result in the deaths you are experiencing. Even though you may have low ammonia now your nitrite levels might still be too high.

[seapug]

the fish swimming erratically and looking like they have been stung sounds like ammonia burns/poisoning. There is no such thing as "somewhat low" ammonia. It should be undetectable with a test kit, as in 0. Anything else is too much. The polyp is probably a palythoa, not a fish eating sea monster.

Slow down, take a breath and quit panicking and poking at things for a while or you are going to be in for a rough ride with this tank. Above all, don't add any more livestock to the tank for a few weeks.

[buddah001]

what about the marks that I seen on the side of the fish

[seapug]

like I said, AMMONIA BURNS. It will peel their skin and disintegrate their gills and fins.

[petoonia]

Your live rock is enough to cycle your tank. There is no need to add live animals. At this point just be patient, and wait out the cycle. After your tank goes through its cycle, you can start by doing a water change. Then add your clean up crew (snails, hermits, etc...) Once you see they are doing well then add a fish, or maybe a hardy coral. You dont want to add to much at one time. I know waiting is the worst part, but being patient is the best thing for your tank.


Now is a good time to start looking at fish, and corals that you might be interested in having. Make a list and then do research on everything on your list. Make sure they are compatible with each other, and compatible with your tank size, and lighting. Good luck with your new tank!!!

One word of advice no matter how good an LFS seems always double check everything they tell you. I have learned this myself the hard way of course!!

Here are a couple of links with some good info...

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm

http://www.peteducation.com/category...ls=16&cat=1986

[buddah001]

Here is the little bugger

[buddah001]

little larger may help

[jdieck]

Looks like Aiptasia or palythoa, they might sting corals they get in touch with but harmless to fish.

[jdieck]

Double Oops

[jdieck]

Triple Oops Do not try to click more than once when the system is not responding

[ACBlinky]

I agree with what's already been said here - it's really unnecessary to cycle with fish, the fish you bought likely died of ammonia poisoning, and the polyp is probably a zoa, paly, or aiptasia anemone (without a good picture, we can only guess - the 'sting' isn't really much to go on, as most corals and nems can sting in self defense).

A tank full of live rock, even 'cured' rock, will cycle without any assistance. Dieoff (worms, bacteria, pods and all sorts of tiny life you can't see) creates more than enough ammonia to jump start the tank.

After a month or so you should see zero ammonia, zero nitrites and rising nitrates. If you have a good nose, you can actually smell when a tank is finished cycling - what once stank now smells like the seaside. At that point the tank will be ready for a water change and a few small critters - start with a couple snails and hermits, no fish. You can bring one or two fish home, if you're planning to quarantine them in a separate tank for six weeks; by the time they're ready to go into the tank, the tank will be ready to house them.

From that point forward, you can add a new fish every once in a while (best to wait a good month between additions), and more crabs and snails as you need them. Don't bring too much home at any one time, or you may cause the tank to go through another (mini) cycle.

Something I realize now that I didn't know when I started is just how fun starting up a tank really is. Don't rush to get to the end - enjoy all the steps along the way. It's neat to watch a tank cycle slowly, seeing all the pods, worms, crabs and macroalgae appear, and then watching the successive microalgae blooms appear and recede. Adding the first fish is a rush - finally, something to really watch! Placing your first corals and getting the flow pattern just right takes practice but it's fun in its own way. Every step along the way there's something new to learn -- that's why I find the hobby so rewarding.

In the initial cycling phase while there are no fish in the tank you can play with the arrangement of your live rock until it's perfect, and stare at the tank by flashlight at 3am. Soon enough you'll have a well-established tank full of fish and coral, and you'll start wanting to start another one so you can experience it all over again! Enjoy your tank and have fun, that's what it's all about

[ihavtats29]

id get rid of that aptasia before it spreads it will take over your tank, and be patent master pieces were not built in a day, let your tank completely cycle and slowly add live stock and you will have a sucessfull tank

[buddah001]

thanks everybody. I will slow it down and let it all happen by itself

[petoonia]

Thats good to hear!!!

[Nicholas89]

yes, remove that anemone before it spreads....I've been fighting them for a long time now.

It's been over 5 months and I haven't bought a single fish or anything because i have these pests.

I got joe's juice now though

[ACBlinky]

Originally posted by buddah001
thanks everybody. I will slow it down and let it all happen by itself

So many people are too stubborn to do this, way to go! I'm really happy you're going to go slower, you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of the hobby now