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marine fish dying
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W10
Oct 10, 2002, 11:25:00 PM10/10/02
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Hi,
Why are the fishes in my aquarium dying? Even the tougher ones that have
been around for a year just die on me! But, my corals are doing great and
pretty. The prawns are growing well and getting big. What shall I do?
Why are the fishes in my aquarium dying? Even the tougher ones that have
been around for a year just die on me! But, my corals are doing great and
pretty. The prawns are growing well and getting big. What shall I do?
Mick Ohrberg
Oct 11, 2002, 5:46:08 PM10/11/02
to
The first thing is to check your levels. What kind of livestock do you have?
What kind of lighting? Size of tank? Do you have a sump? Protein skimmer?
What kind of lighting? Size of tank? Do you have a sump? Protein skimmer?
Sorry if I ask a lot of questions, but some of these details would need
answering before we can start diagnosing the problem.
/Mick
"W10" <w...@ntucip.org> wrote in message
news:ao5ga6$eod$1...@nobel2.pacific.net.sg...
DefLizard
Oct 12, 2002, 12:26:46 AM10/12/02
to
Judging water quality by one's most delicate and sensitive life forms is
a good measure, especially since most testing is unreliable. That leaves
us with nutritional insufficiency. Many, if not most fish have very
narrow food requirements, and even though they eat heartily what we feed
them, we neither have their appropriate foods or frequency to meet their
needs. Some fish are eating all the time during daylight periods, and
others only eat periodically, lying in wait for a meal. Some fish eat
from the planktonic stream that is carried periodically by varying ocean
currents, and some fish scour the substrate, sifting for prey. Some fish
only eat specific algaes, some are scavengers, etc. One has to do
specific, in depth research into each fish one keeps, and approximate
its nutritional requirements, otherwise, do not expect fish to live that
long, or for that matter, any other animal! As an example, my _record_
for longest kept fish was a White-Cheek Powder Brown Tang, a dedicated
herbivore. I had this fish for over 12 years, and, as far as I know its
still going strong (that was in Mar of 2001 when I dismantled my tank)
and it must have been several years old when I acquired it. What I did
was increase my lighting, to increase algae growth, discovering that it
ate algae (green), and diatoms (brown) and cyano (red). With increase
lighting, I also had increased Blue-Green (slime) growing on my
substrate, which I discovered my Annularis Angel and Hepatus Tang would
eat until the substrate was _white_! Supplementing my existing NO
fluorescents with PC's caused hair algae to grow at the top of my tank.
After having two (major) losses with Naso Tangs, I acquired a Blond
Naso, which absolutely _loved_ the hair algae, eating it as fast as it
grew. I also _always_ had 1/2 of a head of Romaine Lettuce in the tank
at all times, which almost all of my fish would chomp on, even my
HumaHuma Trigger! I even made my own fish food, using meat sources
close to what my carnivores ate, raw shrimp, raw crab-meat, scallops,
clams, fish meat, and even some shark meat, mixed with dried sea-weed.
Besides fairly sizeable, regular monthly water changes, and high degree
of water circulation, I would attribute my success with that varied
nutritional diet and frequent food availability. You could say my fish
were 'spoiled', but seldom would I lose a fish in less then 2 or 3
years, and closer to 5 to 7 years, on an average. Elevated nitrate
levels only increased algae growth and over-feeding increased phosphate
levels, which in turn promoted other slime/algae/diatoms/cyano which in
turn lowered nitrate levels and kept my fish fat, happy and healthy.
Yes, you could say I tailored my tank for my fish. If your not doing
that, or cannot, then don't expect that much success with fish, and
better stick to invertebrates, as their requirements are, in most cases
simpler. (NOT a criticism, just an observation :)) Ciao!
a good measure, especially since most testing is unreliable. That leaves
us with nutritional insufficiency. Many, if not most fish have very
narrow food requirements, and even though they eat heartily what we feed
them, we neither have their appropriate foods or frequency to meet their
needs. Some fish are eating all the time during daylight periods, and
others only eat periodically, lying in wait for a meal. Some fish eat
from the planktonic stream that is carried periodically by varying ocean
currents, and some fish scour the substrate, sifting for prey. Some fish
only eat specific algaes, some are scavengers, etc. One has to do
specific, in depth research into each fish one keeps, and approximate
its nutritional requirements, otherwise, do not expect fish to live that
long, or for that matter, any other animal! As an example, my _record_
for longest kept fish was a White-Cheek Powder Brown Tang, a dedicated
herbivore. I had this fish for over 12 years, and, as far as I know its
still going strong (that was in Mar of 2001 when I dismantled my tank)
and it must have been several years old when I acquired it. What I did
was increase my lighting, to increase algae growth, discovering that it
ate algae (green), and diatoms (brown) and cyano (red). With increase
lighting, I also had increased Blue-Green (slime) growing on my
substrate, which I discovered my Annularis Angel and Hepatus Tang would
eat until the substrate was _white_! Supplementing my existing NO
fluorescents with PC's caused hair algae to grow at the top of my tank.
After having two (major) losses with Naso Tangs, I acquired a Blond
Naso, which absolutely _loved_ the hair algae, eating it as fast as it
grew. I also _always_ had 1/2 of a head of Romaine Lettuce in the tank
at all times, which almost all of my fish would chomp on, even my
HumaHuma Trigger! I even made my own fish food, using meat sources
close to what my carnivores ate, raw shrimp, raw crab-meat, scallops,
clams, fish meat, and even some shark meat, mixed with dried sea-weed.
Besides fairly sizeable, regular monthly water changes, and high degree
of water circulation, I would attribute my success with that varied
nutritional diet and frequent food availability. You could say my fish
were 'spoiled', but seldom would I lose a fish in less then 2 or 3
years, and closer to 5 to 7 years, on an average. Elevated nitrate
levels only increased algae growth and over-feeding increased phosphate
levels, which in turn promoted other slime/algae/diatoms/cyano which in
turn lowered nitrate levels and kept my fish fat, happy and healthy.
Yes, you could say I tailored my tank for my fish. If your not doing
that, or cannot, then don't expect that much success with fish, and
better stick to invertebrates, as their requirements are, in most cases
simpler. (NOT a criticism, just an observation :)) Ciao!
marine fish dying
Group: rec.aquaria.marine.reefs Date: Fri, Oct 11, 2002, 11:25am
(PDT+15) From: w...@ntucip.org (W10)
http://community.webtv.net/deflizard/doc
regards, John
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