Oil_Fan

Ok, so my tank has cycled and then I bought a couple of green chromis' on Saturday. I've been checking everything and it all was good. Temp is sticking around 76F or so. salinity is 1.022 or so. pH is currently at 8.4. ammonia, nitrites, nitrates are all at 0 (API test kit). I even took in a sample of the water to make sure everything was good. Yesterday, I lost one of them.

The other one has been doing fine up until tonight. I went to the store where I bought them from and they replaced the one that I lost and I bought 3 more (plus a few emerald crabs). Now the one was doing well that I bought back on Saturday is up at the top of tank at gulping at the surface. The thing is that he would be at the top of the tank during the day but then go to the bottom during the night. Right now though he's up at the top even though it's after midnight (I need sleep).

The other ones that I bought seem to be doing fine right now. They're all hanging in a group. I'd think oxygen starvation but I have a sump pump and lots of bubbles are getting produced from it plus I have a air stone in there and a bubbling treasure chest (thanks Finding Nemo).

Does anyone have any ideas why this fish seems to be under stress?

Oil_Fan

I should also mention that I have a 65 gallon tank with 45 pounds of live rock plus 20 pounds live sand.

Mike

If you've slowly acclimated them and your tank has cycled it could mean they were overly stressed in shipping or exposed to something while in transport or in the dealer's tanks. The first time I bought green chromis, I originally purchased 5 for my tank and only 3 made it through quarantine. They were slowly acclimated, given frequent water changes and fed a mixture of foods - live, frozen and ocean nutrition flakes. I could never get the 2 that died to eat anything. The other 3 did great. It happens despite our best efforts.

At night mine like to find their spot in the rock work and stay there until the lights come back on the next morning. I hope your chromis pulls through this.

Wolfgang8810

mine hides int eh live rocks too when teh lights are off. I drip acclimate everything i get. sure it takes longer but im willing to take the extra time to give them a better chance

Mike

yep, drip acclimation is the way to go.

Oil_Fan

Wow...talk about fast replies (did I mention I should be heading to bed?). I took about an hour to aclimate him to the tank. I used a cup method where i slowly added my tank water to their's. I'm thinking now I need to learn the drip method.

Wolfgang8810

its pretty easy. you get a tupperware (new) and add the fish or whatever into the tupperware with his water too then start a syphon from your tank to the tupperware with airline tubing and either use a gang valve or tie the tubing in a not to slow the dripping down to about 1 drop/second. when the water is more than twice the origional amount that came with the fish the your good to add it. there are plenty of sites that explain it better i was just trying to make it conveinent

Oil_Fan

Ok an update on my chromis'. It's a good news/bad news kind of day.

The good news first. The one that was all stressed out last night made it through the night is now back to his same old self. He's swimming in his usual spots again.

And the bad news. The smallest of them died a little bit ago. He was quite small and I'm guessing that he was having a harder time dealing with the stress. He was fine this morning but then when I got home from work, he couldn't swim straight and his breathing was quite laboured. He made it maybe another 30 minutes before dieing.

My lesson learned from this....stay away from them if they're still babies. I'm going to try and get ones are a little bigger and can take the stress of a new tank a little better.

Wolfgang8810

im sorry to hear that but atleast you have one

Oil_Fan

Actually I'm now sitting with 4. I bought a total of 6 and lost 2 over the last few days. But the rest of them are doing quite well. Though they do tend to hide a bit. I have a feeling that has more to do with getting used to their new surroundings.

Wolfgang8810

yea ive had mine about a week and he still hides but be creaful with the feedings if you doing a reef tank nitrates are a big enemy there

Oil_Fan

No reef for me. That maybe an option waaaay in the future but not any time soon. Mine is FOWLR. I've been testing every couple of days to make everything is good. And it it's all perfect.

The only thing is that it's hard to guess how much to feed them. I love the package on the baby shrimp brine package. 'Only feed them enough that they can eat in 3 minutes'. How on earth are you suppose to guess that when they practically dissolve into the water?? lol

Wolfgang8810

its better to under feed