HELP ME! No one seems to know what is killing my fish!

[Myka]

Originally Posted by fishytime

10 pounds of LR simply does not have enough surface area to biologically filter out that many fish, no matter how deep the sand bed is....I would suspect this is your issue....the way I see it you have a couple options, 1) you could do 10-20% water changes every couple days to keep ammonia down, 2) you could (and probably should) pick up some more LR( if you do add it slowly...a couple pounds at a time), 3) reduce your bioload( I would start with the tang...shouldnt be in a tank that small)....in the meantime pick up a bottle of Prime, it can be used to reduce ammonia in an emergency and run carbon if you have the means....hope things turn around for you...

I'm in agreement with Doug.

Personally, I have seen white slime/film appear when ammonia present in a tank. I think that is a direct result from the ammonia, and is a bacterial film. I wouldn't change the temperature or salinity at this point...neither are at a point of causing damage. If I was in your position I would follow these steps:

Find a new home for the tang asap.
1. Do a 50% waterchange today, with water that has been mixing for at least 6 hours (in emergency), and matches the temperature and salinity of your tank.

2. Use Prime to neutralize the remaining ammonia. Add the tank's full dose to the water change water.

3. Do a 25% water change tomorrow.

4. Buy 30 lbs of live rock, and put it into a Rubbermaid container with a powerhead and a heater and allow it to cycle in the tub for several weeks. After the cycle is over you can add it all to the tank without worry.

See where you're at after that.