bjhubb

I have a new tank that I set up about a month ago. About 1 week ago everything tested zero except for nitrates which were about 20ppm. I had added crabs, snails, and a couple of mushrooms a few days earlier when the nitrates were about 30ppm. Everything was going great so I added 3 damsels when the nitrates dropped to about 20ppm. Everything was good until about 5 days later when I found one of the damsels dead. The night before he had looked a little stressed (gasping a little). It has now been about three days since and one of the other damsels has been gasping since the other fish died, but the other damsel has looked great and is very active. Everything is still testing the same. Any suggestions?

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!

its a great place for some awesome help...

I have no SW experience but wanted to ask what test kit your using? maybe you are getting false readings? hopefully some sw experts will help you in no time

bjhubb

I am using API test strips which I know aren't the best, I had them left over from my freshwater set up. I was concerned about their accuracy so I have been double checking and taking a sample to my LFS about every 5 to 6 days and it has been very close to their #'s.

Shawnie

hmm maybe they use the strips also? most do as its easy and fast... id invest into the liquid kit to be totally sure and to not have to rely on anyone to give you test results...I hope things work out and again, we have some great sw people here that might see something going on that I cant...do you have any pics? we LOVE pics here

bjhubb

The LFS uses the drops. I was wondering if I needed some more water flow. All that I have moving water is my cascade filter. I have plans to add 2 Hydo Koralia water pumps and a Aqua C skimmer in the near future.

defcon11

Could have been that the damsels were already stressed at your LFS and you just got the rotten end of the stick. Happens sometimes.

sgould

Look at improving your water flow and adding a skimmer as soon as you can. For effective bio-filtration, you should have strong continuous movement through/around your live rock. Since you don't have much circulation right now, and with your test results coming back good, I am wondering about oxygen levels in the tank. Low oxygenation can also cause the gasping you are observing. Steps you can take to improve oxygenation are to keep your temperature from getting too high (79 should be ok, if your aquarium info is accurate), and increasing water circulation at the surface of the tank (usually by aiming a power head to "blow" across the underside of the surface).

Shawnie

fishrule101

Your suppose to wait at least four months or so until you add corals. About your damsels they might have died fro fighting each other.

sgould

Depends on the specific corals. Some are hardier and have very easy requirements...no need to wait. On other, pickier ones, you are absolutely right.

Mike

I agree with sgould about water flow and getting a protein skimmer asap. The protein skimmer will help removed dissolved organics lessening the bioload and it will help with oxygenating the water too. Also, maybe you already answered this but did you take the dead fish out of the tank?

bjhubb

Yes I took the dead fish out of the tank as soon as I found him. The other fish that seemed stressed has now stopped gasping and is alot more active. Should I add a fish to replace the one that died?

Triple Helix

Did you check your pH I had a problem in the past with the same systoms?

TH

sgould

If I am reading correctly you have only a couple of damsels in a 75 gallon tank? If I have that right, you definately have opportunity to add fish...though you might want to wait for a couple of weeks, monitoring parameters regularly, just to be sure everything has stabalized since you have been having problems.

bjhubb

Yea, I plan on adding fish slowly. I'm in no hurry. Plus I didn't want to add alot of fish till I bought a protein skimmer. Thanks for the help.