A question or two... salt and communal fish

Hey people, wonder if anyone out their could help or adivise..

right currently unsing Kent Marine, seems decent enough, fish and invert set up at the minute...

Scootber Blenny, White cheek goby, clown fish and yellow tang...

I Noticed... my Yellow Tang is hiding, for nearly 2 days now... clown fish is swimming as always had clown for as long as ive been marine reefing and that's about 2yrs now...

also noticed my gobs tail... fins.. look like they bin bitten... he hides a lot from the clown, the tang too but not as much as the clown, but seems fine still siving the sand and eating as normal...

Scooter blenny, isn't fased by a thing! Great fish!

in all honesty with you guys.. ever sinse ive got the clown.. a number of fish have come and gone... or come stayed for a while then gone... ??

Any suggestions?? and don't say the obvious about maybe ive got a bully, its the "tang" I'm worried about... any ideas to help her?! shes adorable and so dosile and pleastant, really don't want to lose her ;o(

My other question is on salt....

when water evaporates the salinity increases.... generally creating enough space for me to simply add natural fresh r.o water.... but with no "salt".... after added, the saltinity slowly decereases... levels become normal??

is this ok??

Or does the tank require "FRESH" salt with the freshly added water on all occasions...

Ive always added fresh salt on every water add or change... but if I don't and just add fresh water, what's the negatives and positives?? on a fully established 40gal setup...

 

A quick update....

Salt hydrometer had a dodgy swing arm... salinity was very low? was this the cause of my tang going into hiding?

However.. as now been corrected... hydrometer now reads 1.021, but I was advised to buy a refractormeter because someone was measuring the salt with a hydrometer @ 1.025, but refractometere showed 1.020, scary stuff! So ive orderd a refractometer and waiting for its arrival.

Also.. as mentioned above, the bullying.. well I was watching my tank earlier and cuaght my clown attacking my goby so I said right that its.... I tried to transfer my clown into a another tank... connecting on to my main display tank... it uses the same water, however my clown was going crazy in this new tank and died. Now I feel like a murderer.

The only thing I can say is.... when I brought this clown... he was on his own with an anemone?! I was a newbie then... this was my 5th fish (had 4 chromis already in tank) and so they gave me a deal for the anemone and the clown together so me like a idiot went for it.... now what I ask myself is... "was this clown on his own with an anemone for a reason", the puzzle is fitting together.... *sighs*.

anyway the point I meant to raise was... he bully'd all my chromis, all went into hiding... he was king of this tank, swam where he liked, looked like he was restricting them to the corners.

I had a scooter blenny which died I caught the clown with blennys tail in his mouth draggin it... my angel fish, developed an eye infection and died, looked stressed, wouldnt eat, my cowfish seemed very resistent and un-bothered and spent the longest time alive with the clown but eventually died, ive no idea how, found him hitched on a rock above water level. strange. 2

 

Updates.....

Salinty was rediculously low... I had a dodgy swing arm on my hydrometer, when I used my back up to check and make sure my intial one was still ok.
could this be the reason for my tangs decline in health or reclusiveness?! (hiding games)...?

Sinse then I'm using another hydrometer... my salinity now reads 1.021, but from word of mouth apparently I should get a refractor meter because they are 10x's better and more accurate. He said to me.. his hydro was reading his salinity @ 1.025 when in fact his refractometer read it @ 1.020.... good gosh! So now I'm still worried that my salt is still to low..... but I have to wait a few days, maybe ill increase my salinity to 1.025 but every tank is differnt and mine looks fine.. as always apart from my tang.

Update 1:
My tang is STILL hiding. Blenny and gobby... fine, eating as usual.

Update 2:
Saw my clown attack my gobbys face, so I said right that's it.... set up a plastic fishstore bag-trap between rocks, waited for clown to enter bag at own accord, then I scooped bag shut with water and lifted out gently... emptied into a pre-tank that runs with my main, same water etc... live rock, live sand, mineral mud.. etc, shouldnt of been an issure... but sadly my clown didnt pull through, can't understand why. Now I feel like a murderer. *sighs*.....

Update 3: Salinity in normal hydrometer readings, gooby happier.. is not restricted to minimal space as clown is no longer, hes venturing out a lot more, blenny super as hes always been. they seem very happpy!!

Suspected clown could of bullied tang.... clown is no longer, but no change in tang apart from on the odd occasion, has turnt very very very timide and shy.... in actual fact tang use to swim very effieciently around and about with the clown, even had the odd tussle on occasions... could this of been a fight for dominance??? the clown and tang has been ok, well seemed to be ok... for a good 4 5 months or so... strange!

update 3:
my parameters.... Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0, ammonia 0, phosphate 0.5, Kh 8dkh, Ph 7.8 (time is - 12:30am) my ph floats between 7.8 & 8.1! Was the same on my smaller tank, which I had to take apart (leak). Copper 0.

Tanks pretty established about 10months now. I also have turbos that don't accept bad water quality in the slightest.

I also have a little story... that may interest some of you.... here goes....

My clown was the 5th fish in my tank (smaller tank @ the time) which already had 4 chromis in them, fs recommended at least 4, it was our first lot after cycle and we didnt know how they would react so we hardly was going to go big spending, buying fewer was logical in my eyes. Of course were very prepared for trial and error. But actually the chromis were fine..... So back to my origonal story.... the clown.... was our 5th fish, we saw this clown in a tank on its own housed with an anemone... the fs guy offered us a deal on the clown and the anenmone.. and me like a idiot, saud "sure thing"... I was a newbie, maybe even some exp fisheads would of fallen for it too, seemed so innocent!
So had my anemone and clown.... what I didnt realise was my tank wasn't matue enough to house an anemone... (the fish guy was aware of that because I told him it had just finished cycling and he insisted the clown was a good hardy fish would be ok with my chromis). But I had no choice but to stick the anemone in.... anemone lasted 2 of 3 months, until a t5 popped, he was doomed by the time I could get a replacement. Anemone dissapeard in my tank never to be found again. Now I was waiting for the toxic wipe-out, luckily never occured.

By that time... my chromis were also gone... *sighs* what I saw was my clown hogging the whole tank, swimming around willy nilly like he was the only one allowed. Chromis were stuck in a small corner or behind my rock face in darkness.. *sighs*.... they died.

I didnt really know what to think... I was learning, and researched about fish stress, dominent fish etc... So back to fish store and came across a hovercraft fish aka cowfish which my girlfreind fell in love with and of course we brought it, thoe I did have a turbo snail already that was doing great but was told as long as I feed my cow he'l be ok, and he was he pecked the shell a few times but this is because of the algae growing on the snail shells because my tang does it as well, any way my cow was fine and fine also with my clown.... well so it seemed!! month later I decided I needed some sand sifters, and clean up crew so I come back with a scooter blenny and my chalk face goby... and bout 10 turbos, added them... 2/3 days passed... all was good, my scooter couldnt give a **** about clown, seemed un-bothered, gobby was abit cautious thoe.... use to run alot... but didnt seem scared to come out and try to eat and siv sand, was like he enjoyed running/teasing my clown. Month or two passed... I lost my blenny, I caught my clown pulling it by its tail.... it died!

Again the culprit was the clown.... the Gobby is still here today.... cow fish going strong... I added a angelfish to the mix.... who wasn't eating initially.. then started eating.... but seemed to be bullied by the clown over food in the current... she'd stop trying and go behind a rock... my clown was very greedy eater *sighs*.... about a month later my angel developed and eye infection I treated the tank but I couldnt save her... she died! Had stopped taking food a good 2 3 days before I noticed her eye as well, and was itched up in the famous chromis corner! argh. I might invest ina circular tank next time, serious.
Cow fish and Gobby still going strong... I added another scooter blenny exactly the same... all was fine, seemed to be a decent little community, gobby was still iffy of clown.. cowfish unobothered, blenny also unbothered but I was watching my clown and blenny closely for the obvious. But I saw nothing. One morning.... my cowfish... was hitched up out the water on a rock.... "how?! only god knows?!" so that was that.....

Enter... 2 yellow dotted boxfish, seeing as the were from the cowfish family and seemed to be very happy with each other in the fs's tank my girlfreind brought both of them... I personally didnt really want to, but hey ho.. what could I say!

They didnt look like they were adapting well in the slightest... one was dead by night time, the other seemed to pull through... lasted about 2 weeks before I found him stuck between to rocks... hmm freak accident?! or suicide?! ive no idea. But I know my clown... didnt make it easy for them, they seemed bothered and scared, recluse.. very unsure... kept backing up, not trying to swim. We then manage to convince the fs that one of the boxfish were ill and for an extra fiver we brought home.... the yellow tang because it was a bigger fish then the clown... I though maybe the tang could hold its own sort of thing, the tangs that's still here today... all seemed okay, and for once quite happy. Gobby busy siving and playing hide an seek... but as long as he was eating I wernt fussed.

So the next fish was a dog face puffer.... he lasted 2 or so days, one friday night I popped out at 11pm by 3am when I got back in, he was gone.. lights were out I assumed he was asleep somewhere... mornign came, fish were out.. no dogface.... and was never to be seena again! Check for the thread I posted at the time. The strangest dissapearance ever!! But again the clown didnt seem to make it easy.... he seemd to hover around all the new additions time and time again... and they all seem to react in the same manor, scared & recluse.

Ive alos noticed my gobbys tail.... has been bitten off.... he seems ok thoe! I saw my clown go for my gobbys face too. As ive mentioned above... my clown is no longer here, I feel sad, but now at least I can move on..... and see if this pattern of fish-loss can be redeemed.... I couldnt pin-point the problem being anything else.... call it pinning the blame, well if I found another possible answer maybe I wouldnt!!

Before you go.... ive just seen my tang peck a rock..... would much rather see her dashing around like she was before, but its a start maybe!!

Sorry if ive bored you... but I just wanted to give you all more of an insight into the happenings around my marine life lol!

Any suggestions... answers.... ideas... are much appreaciated?!

thanks for your time and reading x

 

Some questions;
1.) What size tank is it?
2.) How long ago did you get the yellow tang?
3.) Is your clown a true percula?

 

90g tank..

had yellow tang about 8/9 months now.... update: shes more then fine. I treated the tank with medicen, saw her flicking and gobby rubbing on sand. that's seems like its stopped now. Blenny tang gobby... doing great!

The clown died.. think e was an ocelaris if I member correctly... heres a pic of him..... and them!

Obviously I no longer have the clown cow and angel and this one now is my 2nd blenny. gobbys bin in tank the longest then blenny, then tang.