amandamechelle

I have had my 28 gal tank for around a month. (It is a nano and came with the lights, filters, etc) It has about 8 lbs of live rock, snails, hermit crabs, a 3 striped damsel and a blue damsel. Everything has pretty much been o.k. up to this point. All of the parameters of the tank are where they should be. The 2 fish usually keep to themselves. This morning they both went to the same spot in the tank at the bottom. neither of these fish have ever stayed at the bottom of the tank. Neither one of them ate the flakes that I put in. Tonight the blue damsel finally did move from where the 2 fish were at, but she scooted across the live sand and shells in the tank. she never came up from the bottom. She is now back to the spot with the other damsel which is completely on the opposite side from where she usually stays. She also looks a little bloated. Anyone know what is going on? I am new at this fish business & I may be over-reacting, but I want to make sure everything is o.k.

amandamechelle

well I guess nevermind this post...the fish have now died. I have no idea what happened.

aquarist48

Hello Amanda.

Sorry to hear about your fish loss. Hopefully some of the salt members will chime in today and try to help you figure it out.
Welcome to Fish Lore....I wish it were under better circumstances.
Ken

Shock

Hi, sorry to hear about your loss. Do you know by any chance the parameters of your water? ammonia or Nitrites might have been too high. Also, how did you cycle your tank? I noticed that your aquarium info shows you don't know about the nitrogen cycle.

amandamechelle

Shock - I just tested all of the parameters a couple of days ago and everything was fine. I am now seeing little white bugs on the walls of the tank. I think that this might be ICH, but nothing that I have read so far says anything about the parasite being anywhere but on the fish. I turned up the temp in the tank to around 82 degrees. this seems to be what every article i have read says to do to kill off ich. I tried to call the local pet shop to see if they have any suggestions and no one who is there knows about salt water aquariums. This is so aggrevating. We went in for a small tank for my 3 year old and ended up with a huge project. I don't mind the work if I end up with great results, but in the last month it has been 1 problem after another and the pet store is not any help at all. sorry to vent, just feeling a little aprehensive to this whole tank experience now.

David C

When things don't work out how we want them, it can be very frustrating. How much research did you do prior to setting up the tank? SW tanks are a lot of work but worth it in the end. I hope you don't give up on the tank. With a little more research, I'm sure you can figure out what went wrong and fix it. I wish you the best.

Dave

amandamechelle

I haven't given up. I have invested about $800 in this tank already. I didn't research alot. The kid at the store has been very helpful, but the problem is that he is the only one there that knows sw tanks and he has been off so my only hope is the advise found in this forum and the internet.

charzar-g

Hhrmm. Ick wouldn't normally be on the glass - so that could be copepods (came with your live rock, its a good thing they're there!)
It could be your parameters - but if you say they're fine then prehaps its overfeeding?? Or maybe underfeeding - are you sure that the fish ate the flakes normally? some fish don't take to artificial foods easily.
I'm really not sure - sometimes its just one of those things, but for both to die at the same time is a bit strange i must admit.

Etcetera

The white things are copepods, usually when they show up in large numbers it could be a sign that you are overfeeding. The copepods themselves aren't dangerous at all though, many fish love to eat them. What are you feeding them? How much? Ich only shows up as white spots when it's actually on your fish, like a mosquito bite. When they are free-swimming, they are completely invisible.

Also, don't necessarily believe what people in pet stores tell you. I have had several bad experiences with misinformed ignorant salespeople--keep in mind that their bottom line is to sell you products, not save your fish.

charzar-g

Another thought: It could be a lack of oxygen. I had a tang recently that died, the LFS said that it could be due to lack of oxygen. I'm not sure if i believe it though, because all my other fish are fine