Help with saltwater tank
Carol
I am a new keeper of a saltwater tank. We set it up in April and have
slowly been adding fish, doing everything we have been guided to do.
After some misinformation from the local marine shop, we switched to a
new saltwater shop and got much better information.
The problem I am having now is, we added two new fish Saturday, a
puffer and a flame angel. We did this after testing the water
ourselves. We took the water back down to the fish store on Monday
because I was getting different readings and we were told everything
was fine and I trust this store. Well Monday the puffer didn't eat
and seemed a little weird and yesterday morning he was dead. The
store was closed so I called and left a message.
This is the fourth fish we have lost, the others were inexpensive
damsels so it wasn't too bad. I am checking the water pH regularly
and salt and everything seems to be going okay.
At this point I am pretty discouraged and ready to give up. I love
this tank and am just wondering does everybody have this kind of
problem? What am i doing wrong? We gradually introduce the fish
like we were told. I just don't know what to do anymore. I am afraid
to add more fish. I don't mind spending the money on the fish, but I
hate to have them die. The flame angel we bought at the same time
seems to be doing okay, knock on wood.
Any help anyone can give me would really be appreciated. Thanks.
Carol
Cam
Go over to rec.aquaria.marine.reefs
there are some saltwater Gurus over there that can better help you. They
really are the most helpful folk. Just make sure you have your tank stats
with you: ph values, salinity, tank size etc etc as this helps them better
assess your problem :) Good luck.
HTH
Cam
"Carol" <mslitt...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8f7ab5a7.03100...@posting.google.com...
Adam
I was going to suggest the same thing as Cam did about taking your question
to rec.aquaria.marine.reefs. Here are what they are going to want to know
at a minimum. Tank size, Fish Only (FO), Fish only with live rock (FOWLR),
or fish only with live rock and live sand (FOWLR/LS), substrate (if not live
sand), Filtration method, water temp, salinity/specific gravity, PH,
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, all critters living in the tank. This should be
a good amount of information to get started with. DO NOT give up. This is
a great hobby once you get the hang of it and there are some really great
people just waiting to help over at the reef. Make sure to compare info you
get from your local fish store (LFS) with input from the reef group because
the combined knowledge on the reef makes them a much better authority. Last
but not least, Welcome to the hobby.
Ed
> Hi Carol
>
> Go over to rec.aquaria.marine.reefs
> there are some saltwater Gurus over there that can better help you. They
> really are the most helpful folk. Just make sure you have your tank stats
> with you: ph values, salinity, tank size etc etc as this helps them better
> assess your problem :) Good luck.
>
> HTH
> Cam
>
~Vicki ~
many fish die before they even get to the LFS so my best advice to you
would be to make sure the fish is eating good before you buy it. Look
to see that the fish is full bodied and swimming normal. Look to see
that it is breathing normal and not gasping. And one more thing you can
try is having the LFS hold a fish for you for a week to make sure that
it will be ok. If you have a good relationship with your LFS they
should have no problem doing this for you. That way if it dies you are
not out any money and the LFS gets credit for the fish.
Vicki
Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com
Carol
I hope I have posted this right. This is my first time in a newsgroup
and I am not quite sure how it works so I hope you get this.
THanks so much for the help! I will most certainly go over to that
site. I guess my husband was right and they have newsgroups for
everything. I also talked to the fish store and I am going over there
tomorrow and they will spend some time with me. They also guaranteed
the fish, unfortunately, he had a burial and I was unable to bring him
in. What do you do with a dead fish when the shop is closed? I am
sure my kitty would have liked it.
Anyway, thank you again, I am sure I will be back with many more
questions and just to get some much needed information.
Carol
mslitt...@hotmail.com (Carol) wrote in message news:<8f7ab5a7.03100...@posting.google.com>...
Carol
to the news group and I am not quite sure how to post so everyone can
read it. I appreciate all the help and I hope to be here frequently.
THanks again!
Carol
"Cam" <s...@c.c.c> wrote in message news:<bm14bt$1ph$1...@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net>...
Tin-Tin
to get the good water conditions. Fish cost more than gold and they are
NOT easy to keep. 90% at least are very aggressive, like the damsels,
clowns, angels. Some are fished with cyanide and die after you buy them
Yellow tangs are readily fished this way, destroying reefs. Almost no
marine fish's breeding habits are known, forget breeding.
My friend used to be into marine but hes said it required too much
monitoring and was too high in running costs. Go for freshwater and
enjoy breeding them. Plus, you don't help destroy reefs and pay less.
I believe the sea is too complex and perfect for us to try to recreate
in an aquarium.
Tin-Tin
Adam
Don't listen to this kind of stuff. Saltwater isn't as hard as many make it
out to be. The worst of it is in the initial set up and cycling. After
that it's a lot less monitoring and testing and just learning who can live
with who. Most folks over at the reef run multiple tanks with multiple
types of life forms. I've only been in it for a few months and am starting
to get the hang of it well enough to answer questions on the groups for
newer folks than myself. As for cost, it can be quite an expense but it is
again the initial set up that is the worst part. after that most things can
be bought a piece at a time. I still have much to buy but enjoy two tanks
that are part way finished. The building is most of the fun. Once you get
set up and have asked plenty of questions (over at the reef where you won't
be discouraged) you will find that there is no better hobby than this.
Everyday is a new adventure. One last item of interest. I also have two
fresh water tanks and the expense and care of those tanks is only slightly
less than my reef set ups. As I said before DO NOT give up. Come on over
to the reef and ask a question every time you make a move if need be. We
will be more than happy to help
Ed
PS: MOST of the folks on this group will help you all that they can too.
"Tin-Tin" <mart...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:7V3hb.11976$oO4.8...@news20.bellglobal.com...
Adam
You did just fine. Do you know how to set up your mailer to go to
rec.aquaria.marine.reefs ? If not let us know and someone will guide you
through it.
Ed
"Carol" <mslitt...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8f7ab5a7.0310...@posting.google.com...
~Vicki ~
set up. With a fish only tank the only additional cost is salt. This
tank can be run quite successfully with out all the bells and whistles,
just weekly water changes. Than there is a fish only with live rock set
up which is a little more pricy. Than lastly is the reef tank with all
the stuff. So as you can see this hobby can be as cheap or expensive as
you want.
Adam
"~Vicki ~" <a-sham...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:6179-3F8...@storefull-2196.public.lawson.webtv.net...
Thanks Vicki,
Glad to see you are back with us. Like I was saying you can add a little at
a time after the initial set up. This is how my 30 gallon tank has went
from fish only, to fish only with live rock, to fish only with live rock and
live sand. Currently this tank is up to about 30 lbs of live rock (added at
a rate of 5-10lbs at a time), two bags of live sand (added one at a time), 3
fish - 1 blenny and a mated pair of Yellow Striped Maroon Clowns (some
marine fish WILL spawn in captivity), a small cleaning crew including 6
hermit crabs, 2 turbo snails, and six other snails that I don't recall the
name of, and the newest member of our family, a bubble tipped anemone. All
of my critters were bought 1 or 2 at a time. I bought my set of 65 watt
compacts from my LFS rep. Not from the store but from him. Got the entire
set up with brand new bulbs and a ballast that works for 2 lights up to 95
watts each for $100.00. I get stuff from rummage sales and everyone I know
knows to buy anything fish for me if they see it somewhere cheap and I then
buy it from them. You don't even need the lights to start out with. Just
the one that comes with the tank will work for starters. After you show up
at your LFS two or three times a week for a month or so you might even get
discounts reserved for "special" customers (that would be all of us reef
folks...:-) ). I get live fiji rock now for $4 a pound. The point is that
if a factory worker with five kids (me) can afford this hobby most anyone
can. For initial set ups think "income tax" or something of that nature.
If you really want to do it you can think of ways.
HTH
Ed
Cam
"Carol" <mslitt...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8f7ab5a7.03100...@posting.google.com...
Tin-Tin
> "~Vicki ~" <a-sham...@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:6179-3F8...@storefull-2196.public.lawson.webtv.net...
>
>>I totally agree with Adam here. Also cost is different depending on the
>>set up. With a fish only tank the only additional cost is salt. This
>>tank can be run quite successfully with out all the bells and whistles,
>>just weekly water changes. Than there is a fish only with live rock set
>>up which is a little more pricy. Than lastly is the reef tank with all
>>the stuff. So as you can see this hobby can be as cheap or expensive as
>>you want.
-If you really want a marine tank, I didn't say it was a bad idea. Its
true I've been a bit too radical in my last message. Just meant to say
that unless you are very very patient, have enough money and enough
basic fishkeeping experience, you should think about it twice. I'm so
used to seeing people spend fortunes and give up on the whole hobby
because of unsuccessful saltwater setups! I firmly believe that this
branch of the hobby should be reserved for the more experienced
fishkeeper. If you know what you're doing, heck go for it. But don't
be surprised if you have major setbacks. Keeping live rock,
invertebrates and fish healthy is of capital importance as most marine
life can't stand standard treatment for parasites or other illnesses.
Everything is harder than in a freshwater setup. Dick Mills, Baench and
other well known experts agree on that.
Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin
myfullname
rules ...
you didnt give much info like filtration a skimmer age of
tank ..has the tank properly cycled ..what is the
ammonia/nitite levels ..should be 0 ...any trace of nitrite an
id say that your filtration is not right an or your tank
is not cycled properly ....give a few more details ill try to
help you out ..
On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 22:45:00 -0400, Tin-Tin <mart...@sympatico.ca>
wrote:
~Vicki ~
rules ...
you didnt give much info like filtration a skimmer age of tank ..has the
tank properly cycled ..what is the ammonia/nitite levels ..should be 0
..any trace of nitrite an id say that your filtration is not right an
or your tank is not cycled properly ....give a few more details ill try
to help you out ..
I agree that many salt water fish are easy to keep. Don't know why it
took my 20 years to start either. But the argument was cost, and I
mentioned that cost could vary due to the type of set up. Take for
instance my damsel tank. It has a filter on it and besides 20% weekly
water changes, the only cost is the salt. In my area damsels run $5 so
they are not any more expensive than tropical fresh water fish.
Now my other tank is another story. It is a FOWLR (fish only with live
rock) set up and is a bit more expensive to set up and run than the
damsel tank.
But after saying that, a good test kit is imperative to keep them
healthy and happy. One more thing is frequent water changes, which
there are varying opinions. Read, read, read, read, read and then read
some more. Information is changing all the time so keep up with what is
new.
~Vicki ~
There ya go Ed,
I did the same thing, picking up one thing at a time. I started out
with a spare 20g tank when I got my 55g tank for my fresh water fish.
Now the fresh water fish are back in the 20 and the marine boys took
over the 55 LOL. When I started the tank I bought some crushed coral,
salt and 3 damsels, which didn't really set me back all that much, also
I was given about 2lbs of live sand from my LFS to cycle it. A few
weeks later I bought a skilter (skimmer/filter combo) for better
filtration and it did not cost any more than a good hang on filter.
Now three months later I am running a 10g tank with some crushed coral,
a regular filter and my three damsels in it and I change 20% of the
water every week to keep my doc's down. I also run a 55g with the
skilter, another filter and power heads in it. I pick up a pound or two
of live rock every couple of weeks and plan on adding a full sized
skimmer some time in the future. As for the fish I have a snowflake
moray eel, three pajama cardinals, a coral beauty dwarf angel fish, a
scooter blenny, a sebee clarks clown fish and a lot of snails & blue leg
hermit crabs. I still do weekly water changes in it and look at it as a
labor of love, carefully mixing the salt in the water and checking to
make sure the density is perfect before adding it to my tank.
In the future I plan on adding one tang and more variety of
invertebrates to round out the set up. I have loftier goals for my 10g
tho as it has better lighting and I would like to try a soft coral or
two. But not until I pick up the new skimmer for the big tank and I can
put the skilter it it.
Vicki
Not to bad for a substitute teachers salary either....LOL
Tin-Tin
> rubbish..keeping fish marine fish is easy
-What? It is not easy. Baench and Mills as well as other authors,
professionals and experienced hobbyists clearly state that the marine
branch is quite difficult and that one should always have a solid
freshwater background to keep marine. Just a question, how do you treat
velvet disease in marine tanks? Most fishes in store are contaminated
or weakened. How do you treat marine ich without killing the fish and
bacteria in your tank? Invertabrates on live rock dying from some kind
of ailment? How to get good livestock as it is not so good in most
stores... Anyway, I'll stop here. Do whatever you like.