Found 2 dead this morning...

[Zombies026]

Everything was fine lastnight when I went to bed levels were great have had no problems for awhile now..But then I woke up turned the fish tank on and low and behold my Coral beauty and my nemo were dead...Everything is reading fine..My other fish our fine..wonder what had happened to make them die...

[ReelBigFish]

Maybe they were fighting? Maybe they had ich? Did they have broken fins when you saw them last? How about any white spots? I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

[Zombies026]

I never noticed anything out of the norm with nemo but the coral beauty she didn't look right I did see a few small white spots so I wonder if that might have been it..What would the white spots be??

[jimwat]

Sounds like Ich. You probably will want to do some searches.

[Zombies026]

will do....TY

[thrlride]

How long have they been in the tank? How did you acclimate them?

[Zombies026]

The coral beauty hase been in my tank for 3 months,the clown has been in it since the begining...I don't have a QT to acclimate I put the bag in the water for about an hr then spend another hr putting some of the water from the tank into the bag..So I take about 2 hrs 2 an a half hrs...Is that good or no??

[thrlride]

That's fine for acclimation. Has anything else changed in the tank? What about water chemistry, have you checked that?

[Zombies026]

I checked everything after I took them out..Nitrates were alittle hig but maybe that was from them dying in there and me not getting them untill I woke up..Nemo was half eatin and my beauty looked liked she died after I turned the lights out lastnight..I did do a 10 gal water change yesterday but nothing major....Same old same old stuff...I haven't done anything different untill after christmas(I promised the other half I won't buy anything for it untill after)..LoL...

[jimwat]

Originally posted by Zombies026
The coral beauty hase been in my tank for 3 months,the clown has been in it since the begining...I don't have a QT to acclimate I put the bag in the water for about an hr then spend another hr putting some of the water from the tank into the bag..So I take about 2 hrs 2 an a half hrs...Is that good or no?? Just as long as you do not transfer the LFS water into your tank.

[thrlride]

One note of advice that is very important. Never tell the spouse you won't buy something for a while. They'll come to expect it then! :lol:

[Zombies026]

never thought about that,I just dump the bag,I should no better from reading in here so maybe I put my fish in harms way when I did that..I haven't bought any fish for awhile so I wonder if they got sick from that little stunt I pulled...

[Zombies026]

LoL well I did bulid that Easy as pie skimmer now I am just waiting to put my sump together and get my 2 mag 7's so maybe I'll sneak them in sometime before X-mas..LoL

[thrlride]

You don't want to just dump the bag because it could have disease in it. That was three months ago though so I don't think that is the problem.

[jimwat]

Originally posted by Zombies026
never thought about that,I just dump the bag,I should no better from reading in here so maybe I put my fish in harms way when I did that..I haven't bought any fish for awhile so I wonder if they got sick from that little stunt I pulled... You can never be sure what is in the LFS water. Do not feel bad, I learned this the hard way as well. My LFS was treating all of their "fish" tanks with a copper based medication. I only figured this out after loosing many crabs and several shrimp. :(

[Zombies026]

Isn't copper in tanks bad all the way around??I have heard tanks treated with copper is something you don't want..Is that true??

[jimwat]

Originally posted by Zombies026
Isn't copper in tanks bad all the way around??I have heard tanks treated with copper is something you don't want..Is that true?? I have several LFS that I frequent. The one that uses copper does a lot a volume and only keeps their fish for a short time. The fish are on a separate system from the invertebrates and are mostly in convict tanks with no rock and very little sand (if any). The medication is a precautionary measure to keep the fish from infecting one another. As for home use, I have only heard of copper based medications being used in a quarantine tank for specific problems (I have never used it myself).

[thrlride]

Copper treatment is bad for inverts that's why you heard it was bad. It is decent at treating disease in a fish only tank. You cannot use it in LR tanks nor tanks with inverts.

[Zombies026]

Okay so I did mix it up a bit,I thought it was bad for fish...Well I did another testing of my water and all is fine except my Nitrates they are between 20-40,I know it says okay but still ain't that alittle to high??O well maybe I am just scaring myself,I bet all will be fine by later tonight or tomorrow...I just don't wanna see anymore dead bodies in my tank,I haven't had anything die for sometime now,and now to see 2 dead ones makes me a bit twitchy...LoL...Its hard not to be a worry wart when you have alot of money in yer tank and u see a few dead fish makes ya crazy....LoL

[thrlride]

20-40 isn't bad for fish. Hard to say what it is, I have a clown that is going downhill, not sure why either...

[Zombies026]

how long have u had yers???

[thrlride]

15 or so months. Long time.

[Zombies026]

wow..mine was a baby compared to yers then..I never understood why it was so small it seemed like her never grew any...But I did hear they do grow but it takes them awhile,is that true??

[thrlride]

I suppose so, mine didn't grow much at all in the time I have had them. I'm trying to feed a little more to see if he just needs more food. I think clowns live 20+ years so I imagine they grow slowly.

[Zombies026]

wow that is a long time..I can't even imagine what a tank would look like after 20yrs...Holy crap...LoL...I posted a question in the DIY room but I was wondering I have a 10 and a 30 gal sitting I have a DIY skimmer and the acrylic sheets to make a sump but I was wondering should I go with the 10 or the 30 for a sump???

[jimwat]

My Clarkii (the Queen of the tank), has been with me since the beginning (2 years in February). She grew rather fast for the first year, but has slowed down since. Thinking back on all the mistakes I have made over the last couple of years, it is amazing that I have not killed her. She is one tough "B".

BTW - One other thing to avoid is sudden changes in temperature, Ph, or salinity. Water changes and/or top-offs should be done slowly and away from the fish.

[jimwat]

Originally posted by Zombies026
wow that is a long time..I can't even imagine what a tank would look like after 20yrs...Holy crap...LoL...I posted a question in the DIY room but I was wondering I have a 10 and a 30 gal sitting I have a DIY skimmer and the acrylic sheets to make a sump but I was wondering should I go with the 10 or the 30 for a sump??? Use both! Use the 30 for the sump and the 10 for a refugium (lets see if we can blow that "not until next year" promise out of the water) :D

[thrlride]

Bigger is always better. More water volume and more room for equipment. You can even set up a refugium in the 30 along with the skimmer and return section. Here is a photo of how my 30 long is setup.

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/thrlride/Salt%20tank/plumbingplansa.jpg">

[Zombies026]

Kinda late for that she saw what u wrote jim and wow did I get the look of death...Hmmm wondering how cold its gonna be tonight cause the dog house might be my room tonight..LoL...Thanks thrlride I looken it over and my tank is not reef ready so I don't know about drilling holes in a glass tank,but running hoses would be fine just wonderin how I can get them to stay in the tank...

[thrlride]

You might have to sneak an overflow box in if you want to have a sump without a reef ready tank. Just tell your wife you had it all along. ;)

[Zombies026]

LoL...good idea...Hey I was snooping around my tank and now mind u I have 6 hermits 3 red 3 blue...I found 3 dead bodies that I just took out,now mind u again I have 6 hermits well now I still have 6 hermits..How does that work???And what is an overflow box???BTW...

[Zombies026]

Nevermind I know what an overflow box is.I had to think fer a second....LoL

[thrlride]

Hermit crabs molt as they grow and you probably found that.

[Zombies026]

Cool,okay I should just leave my tank alone I am geekin out to much..LoL

[jimwat]

Wait till your emerald molts. I swear it looks a complete crab. I would love to know how they can shed their exoskeleton completely intact (legs and all). Very weird.

[Zombies026]

I use to have a Arrow head crab that did that,untill 1 night he was molting and the fish would not leave him alone and after he was done he only had 1 claw and 3 legs needless to say he died shortly after...That was weird looking...I wanna get another one but they grow so fast..