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Worst Month Yet.
Ok i will start by saying there will be a lot of people that will blame me for all the problems i have had. For the most part i would have to agree.
So my tank was running really well for about 3 months, no ich nothing, everything healthy and eating, mated pair of clowns, 4 chromis, koran angel, coral beauty angel. So I wanted two fish, a powder blue, and kole tang, and my buddy picked them up for me from JL and he gets them home and the powder blue has ich on it, and right away i thought ****, but i dont have a qt tank and ich was already in my tank so i put them in, it only took them a couple days to start eating and it had appeared the ich had went away, so then I added a clown tang about 2-3 weeks later, and i was so excited i had all the fish i wanted and i could just let my tank sit and grow. Then about 3 days after the I added the clown tang, My powder blue broke out with a couple spots, still eating so i thought he could fight it off, over the next couple days it got worse and worse, and after about a week, it died, then shortly after the kole went, and my clown tang died a week after that, all the fish died within a week period. This was about 2 weeks ago, then since then both my clowns died. Now i am at a loss, it appears i am over the ich, cannot see any spots on any of my fish, but i just feel broken and i do not even know where to go from here. I just feel like if i put any fish into the tank, they are just going to get ill and die. I am contemplating upgrading to a bigger tank in my basement and using my 90 as a hospital. Then i can also leave my 2 angels in it so they wont touch my corals. What I posted all this for is I am sure all of you out there have went through the same **** i just did, i just dont know where to go from here. Thanks for your time, and i would like to thank the guys at oceanic and gobytron for their help. Tony |
only 2 things to do.
Quit the hobby. or Learn and keep going, which will feel like throwing money into the fire but eventually it'll work out. It seems like though, that you knew what you SHOULD have done. Maybe be a little more patient. I know how u feel. I've lost lots of fish and corals. I don't even want to think about the losses I've had. but I also know I'm stubborn and impatient and it costs me. |
OK so you realize you rushed the stocking of your tank and didn't take precautions that you should have. BUT, when I was reading the fish list, I assumed you at least a 180 or bigger. That was WAY too many fish for a 90!! The clown tang is aggressive, the powder blue is very sensitive, the angel needs a bigger tank even without all the other fish. The Kole was fine and the clowns, of course. But, unless you have some serious filtration and do water changes a LOT, like twice a week, you were going to have losses.
Research more and have more restraint on stocking and you will have more success. |
Tony you have been a member since May and there have been tons of threads on this forum on stocking, tangs, angels, ich and the patience necessary for this hobby.
And, no most reefers do not go through what you went through because they read the forum posts and learn from the experience. The decision for you is: You have ignored the experience of others. Are you now going to learn from your own experience? So, what are you going to do? |
Don't you love all the positive feedback and support you can find here Tony...
don't let any of these bleeding hearts get you down, everyone has a learning curve when they first get into reefing. Some people really enjoy and excell at research and its application...others simply have to learn as they go and maybe even thats part of the attraction for a lot of reefers...trial and error. Many people go through this same thing or very similar situations...even if they don't post it up for fear of people who are so intensely wrapped up in their small world of beliefs and false morals that they dress their fish up and photograph them...just to make some statement that they have somehow given themelves the right to police the industry...lol Don't sweat the crybabies and learn where and when you can, whichever way suits your M.O. This is a good community for the most part and not everyone will jump down your throat for making statements like this, so take note of the people who just want to preach and avoid them when looking to ask questions. You should definitely consider setting up a temporary tank for your remaining fish and letting the illness run its course in your tank with no hosts for reproduction you should be worry free in 2 - 3 months and in the meantime, you can add a coral or two and let your tank settle and establish itself. You can also use the other tank (I have one you can borrow) to treat your remaining fish with a simple hyposalinity treatment to ensure they dont just reintroduce the Ich to your tank when things are safe in your display again. This is all really easy to do, it will just take a little patience... |
Both powder blues and clown tangs are pretty hard to keep, lots of people have gone through the same thing. I'd avoid those fish and go with something a little easier until you're a little more experienced.
The solution isn't a bigger tank, just start out with some easier fish rather than the super finicky ones. Also when you're starting out a decent size UV sterilizer can help avoid problems with ich, for example if you had one the ich MAY not have come back. |
im tempted to buy a powder blue even though everyone is telling me not too :(
dont listen to shelps, bigger is always better, thats why my gf says (wait i dont have one). hehehe. I have a 180g and im already thinking of upgrading to a 600g so i can have a sohal and a powder blue and 3 pairs of clowns. everyone is right about "decide on what fish you want first" problem with that statement is I didnt know what I wanted until I had the tank running for 3 months. Thats when I started finding all these other cool fish such as the powder blue, sohal, Achilles. so if you can find me a great deal on a 600g peninsula, ill sell you my 180g for a decent price :) |
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Firstly, don't be upset with the Powder Blue, they are very difficult to keep, prone to ICH. I even lost mine to it. I would not recommend this fish, unless the tank is BIG and very well established (couple years old or more). And even then maybe it won't survice. They are beautiful, but too many people lose them. In this hobby, you have hiccups/hurdles, you just learn to work through them. I myself had a major coral loss (hundreds/thousands of dollars gone), as I lost about 35% of my corals (frags and big colonies). I could not explain it, LFS tested things, they also had no explanation. So what gives? Things happen, so don't feel bad, just move forward. As long as you do your best to provide the best environment for your inhabitants, that is all you can do. How old is your tank? Maybe it is just that you are going to fast. The best thing about marine aquariums is PATIENCE! It is hard sometimes, but take your time. With aging in the tank, it gets even better. Just have fun! Don't worry! |
Wow
Well thanks for all the feedback guys, for the most part all of you are nice and being helpful for the exception of the one or two who just did not get enough love growing up lol.
Anyways, I know i had a bit too much fish in the tank, but i was told by a couple of people with a lot of experience that it would be ok for the time being, (i am upgrading to a bigger tank just as soon as i figure out exactly what i want) but even so, at the small size they were, i think you guys are right, it is too small, and i did rush into it, I just thought it was all running so well, it couldnt hurt, but clearly it did. My bad, but after all i am in this hobby for something to do and if nothing ever went wrong and i did not have anything to learn, what would be the point, (although i do feel very bad for the fish I killed). Also like i said i am upgrading soon, it has nothing to do with money or anything, you can ask goby, Ive got the money and no problem spending it, i Just want to do it right this time and figure out exactly what size i want, i have had 3 tanks over the span of nine months(with this one ive had for about 7). But yeah just figuring out exactly what i want. One question i would like to ask, i have been thinking of a uv sterilizer, I am just not sure what one i should go with, i will probably be going up to a 150-200 gallon so i would like to get one to go with that, and also, Is there any negatives to having one? Does it kill any beneficial stuff? Thanks again to everyone who responded even the people that try to act badass over forms. Tony |
You'll want a large inline UV sterilizer, avoid submersible ones or smaller units that promise they work as well as larger ones. Also you'll want to be careful of some of the ratings UV sterilizers come with as there are two types, one for clarification and one for sterilization. Typically a UV sterilizer that can clarify 1000 gallons is only good for sterilizing 200 gallons, very few units actually present both ratings. A good brand to go with is lifeguard, the 40W unit would be a good choice and remember it can't really be too large. For a cheaper alternative look at some pond units, they usually cost a little less and do the same thing.
UV sterilizers don't really have a down side IMO other than the extra cost and maintenance, they won't effect your bacteria population and won't really have an impact on other beneficial organisms either but if you're overly concerned about pods and whatnot run the UV during daylight hours only since the free swimming organisms are more active at night. |
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Bigger is not always better, in fact if your tank was larger you would have likely had more fish and lost a bigger investment. |
As much as I enjoy the idea of trail and error (As our fish tanks are practically giant experiments) learning from others experience is a highly valuable tool in this hobby. Not only will it save you money and headaches but more importantly it will save the lives of the animals we care for.
As abrasive as these "people who didn't have love growing up" might be in the end they are the ones supporting proper aquarium husbandry. These are not rocks we are talking about, in the end they are living breathing animals just like ourselves. For fear of starting an ethics debate back onto topic :lol:, UV sterilizers can be useful tools but it depends on what you want your final result to be. You are sterilizing the water of life so you will be killing both the beneficial and detrimental in one sweep. I personally don't run one as I'm using both Bio pellets and bacterial supplements to combat nitrates. Also a healthy reef is full of life, if you have ever seen tank water under a microscope you would be blown away (There is a massive amount of diversity in just a drop). Adding a UV sterilizer will destroy this, I personally think they are helpful for setting up FOWLERS but should be avoided in a reef tank. If you are looking for an actual fix instead of a band-aid ensuring healthy plump fish is your best bet, Ich and most marine parasites take advantage of stressed fished because of their diminished slime coats. Adding fish slowly, ensuring they are healthy before they come home and feeding them a highly varied diet soaked in a vitamin supplement will ensure there health. Quote:
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Just a little bit of extra info before you run out and spend more money. Levi |
+1 with zeolite. UV sterilizer ive stayed away from. im doing zeobak + biopellets
actually my first question when someone told me about a UV sterilizer was, WTF wont that kill the good stuff? |
What does zeobak have to do with anything, is this guy using it?? If you're supplementing with bacterial type additive a UV will obviously interfere but if you're just starting out like I mentioned it's a good tool to have especially when a QT isn't being used. You don't have to use it forever, just when you need it.
Yes a UV will kill virtually anything that passes through it but yet what exactly would be considered beneficial? The amount of free swimming bacteria compared to the bacteria that attaches to surfaces is minuscule so it won't have an effect on your tanks ability to cycle waste. Other organisms are virtually useless to someone starting out and is just trying to get a fish population established. Sure once you have an established reef and want to start keeping fish and other animals that require these micro-organisms you don't want to run a UV very often but until then it's a good tool to have. It also obviously won't cure a fish with ich but talk to anyone who's had problems with ich and you'll learn it usually comes in waves. The fish will get ich and recover fine but it recovered by the use of it's slime coat which is now depleted. The second wave comes and the fish cannot usually recover. The UV HELPS prevent the second wave and other fish from being effected. |
You surely learned a good lesson there...QUARANTINE EVERYTHING!!! Especialy when you have a lot of fish, the risk of losing them all is much more. Because the ich can reproduce to huge proportion the more fish there are in the tank, the more potent it become.
If you lost all your fish from a disease that is SOOOO easily cured, imagine how fast you would lose them all if you had velvet??? Honestly though, you should have treated them. I feel very upset when I hear people say it's just ich it will go away on its own, but it does NOT. The fish might seem to be cured but their gills are infected, make no mistake and forcing them to live with that is not cool. When ever there is any sign of ich in an aquarium, I would take all the fish out, all of them, and treat them with hyposalinity for 4 weeks minimum and leave the display empty of fish for 8 weeks. I am looking forward to the day where people will realize that fish don't have to live with parasites and something must be done about it, if that ever happen :( I do a very long quarantine in hyposalinity to make sure my fish are clean because I don't want my fish to start to cover with ich parasites at the first sign of stress..and I don't want a potential disaster in my tank waiting to happen. Enough for the moral lesson, I would take all the remaining fish out and treat them with hyposalinity and leave that display tank fishless for at least 8 weeks. Each time you get a new fish make sure you do a minimum of 4 weeks quarantine in hyposalinity because the fish still might have ich even if it does not show sign of it. Only exception I would say is a mandarin, which need pods, but I would still quarantine that fish and take the opportunity to train it to eat frozen food. I did that with both of mine. Quote:
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are you still mad i said bigger is better? its really how you use it that counts.... |
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As someone else already mentioned...the only sure way to eliminate it completely is to remove all fish from the tank for (12 weeks?), and treat/QT any fish that is going into the tank. |
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