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Hi, Im a new tank owner, trying to learn how to have a marine aquarium.
I just joined hoping to find some advice, a friend of mine is a memeber here and loves it, so he recomended joining.
My tank is 55 gal Live rock, live sand. 10 gallon sump and protein skimmer.
The water was cycled for 5 weeks and tested so it was ok before adding some fish.
We added 13 fish ( now I learned we should've just added litte by little, but our fish guy didnt advice against this)
Turns out one fish began having cloudy eyes and his fins looked like eaten and died. Before he died I asaked my tank guy and he recomended to use Pimafix and to give them garlic extract with the food. I have been doing that since Nov 23.
Now my 2 blue tangs are scratching as so is the coral beauty and one clown. And the butterfly has white spots on his tail.
The water seems to be ok, i just tested it.
ph (7.7)
NO2 (0.3)
NH3-NH4 (0)
KH (8)
Water temp was 78 - 80 (a friend adviced to raise it to 82)
I turn the light on around 9 am and it goues off at 8
They all eat fine.
this is the stock list:

1 reef breauty
3 clow fish
2 blue tang
1 black and white butterfly fish
1 Eiblii
2 bleeny
15 snails

1 flaming angel (died)

What should I do?
How long does light need to be on?
what is the best temperature?
Is it possible to save the fish?
I appreciate any help, Im very very new at this and want to learn.
Kind regards
Chava

First off, welcome to fishprofiles.

Now...

Take a big, deep, breathe...

I'm not sure exactly how to attack this so I'm just gunna go...

Your tank is very overstocked. There is not enough oxygen in there for all those fish. Even if they're juvies now, they'll outgrow it quickly. The tank has been stocked way too quickly and what you're seeing are some clear signs of stress.

You need to stock slowly and carefully. In a healthy system, marine fish can battle ick on their own.

Stop altering the temperature, this will only make the ick worse if it's not done gradually.

You need to decide which fish will be your permanent residents in this tank.

You also are going to need to medicate if you wish to save any of these animals. Most effective medicines have copper, which harms inverts. I dont know if you're better off treating everyone, or bringing back the fish you aren't going to keep and then treat the ones you are.

I dont feed my fish unless it has been soaked in a garlic extract first. This is not a medication, but a flavor enhancer that doubles sort of like a vitamin. It tends to keep fish healthier and stronger. I recommend feeding with it all the time.

Basically, you've made the easy mistake of rushing into things too quickly, and know you have catastrophe on your hands. With a little time, patience and TLC I think you can pull through this.

Do you add any marine buffers? Your pH should be around 8.3 so I recommend deciding on a way to raise it.

Make sure to keep posting your thoughts and concerns.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Thanks for the welcome and the tips I appreciate them so much. I feel sad that no one gave me correct advice on this.

How many fish can I have in a 55 gal tank? and how should I do the adding fish procedure?

what would be the best way to medicate the fish without affecting the live rock?

I want to understand why the PH needs to be increased? how do I increrase the ph? what is a marine buffer?


Thank you sooo much
Chava

First off ...your "Reef Beauty" ... would this be the Coral Beauty Angelfish, Centropyge bispinosus, by any chance?

If so, then you had three Dwarf Angels in your 55 (the other two being the Eibli and the Flame Angel). That alone was pushing the envelope dangerously. Centropyge angels may be more tolerant of each other than large Angels, but even so, they're still territorial, and sticking three Dwarf Angels in a 55 is not something I'd recommend even without any other fish.

Second, whoever sold you a Butterfly Fish of any species as a beginner wants shooting. Butterfly Fishes are best left until you've had at LEAST a year's experience with less demanding species, plus several species on their own grow big enough to need that 55 all to themselves! They may be drop dead gorgeous, but they have all manner of foibles and idiosyncrasies that make them fish for the experienced marine aquarist.

Next, your "Blue Tang". Which species of "Blue Tang" are you talking about here? Only there are two - Paracanthurus hepatus, also known as the Regal Tang, and Acanthurus coeruleus. Both of which grow to be over 20 cm long, and consequently just ONE of these fishes needs a 75 gallon as a minimum setup.

It's beginning to look as though whoever sold you that setup was more concerned about getting his hands on your cash immediately than launching you into marine fishkeeping in a sustainable manner.

Next, your Blennies. What species are they? Only there's a LOT of different Blenny species, some of which are perfectly peaceful community inhabitants, and some of which are anything but! Get an ID for your Blennies - preferably a scientific name - and that will also go a long way toward helping people here to solve your problems

In a 55, you're looking at 4 small fishes as your TOTAL population. 10 fishes, including two that can reach over 8 inches body length, belong in a considerably bigger setup than a 55.

Solve your stocking problems with the help of someone responsible, and then you'll be in a FAR better position to tackle disease. And in a FAR better position to prevent it from striking in future!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Hi, Chava asked me to upload this photos for him.


Falstaf attached this image:

another one

Falstaf attached this image:

Hi thanks Falstaff, and thanks Calilasseia for your reply, here are the species that are in my tank:
-(1)Heniochus acuminatus
Common name: black and white heniochus, long-fin bannerfish
-(1) Centropyge bispinosa
Common name: coral beauty
-(1 died) Centropyge loricula
Common name: flame angel
-(1)Paracanthurus hepatus
Common name: hippo tang, palette tang
-(3)Amphiprion percula
Common name: true clownfish, percula clown
-(2)Amblyeleotris randalli
Common name: Randall's shrimpgoby

The photo attached is the only one I cant find the species it is.

What is the best way to treat them for the ich? I understand the stocking issue that I have in my hands now, but they are sick and dont know what to do right now. I ve been treating them with the Pimafix, but doesnt seem to work.
hope you can help
Kind regards
Chava

Hi There,
there is an excellent product for saltwater
ICH called Kent Marine RX-P.
Its safe for reefs, and for more invertebrates,
including feather dusters, anemones, and snails and shrimp.
Works for freshwater too so handy to have around.
Works excellent.
Safe for all fish too.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
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Your unidientified fish is a Tang - one of the members of the rarely seen Genus Ctenochaetus. As to Which species of Ctenochaetus you have, that is likely to be a major source of headaches until the fish becomes adult, because the Ctenochaetus Tangs all change colour dramatically as they mature. Your specimen has the angled dorsal and anal fins that would normally be associated with the rare Ctenochaetus tominiensis, but TOTALLY the wrong colour pattern (for a juvenile anyway). However, since tominiensis is the only one I know that has that distinctive pattern of dark spots on the caudal peduncle (unless one of the other species exhibits this trait during later colour changes) then I'm minded to say that you could have a Ctenochaetus tominiensis. If you do, again, it is NOT a beginner's fish - you would be doing the fish a great service by finding an experienced aquarist to take it off your hands. Which, upon learning the identity of your fish, some will do so for quite a nice premium, to make up for yourrecent woes!

Basically, all Ctenochaetus Tangs are rare in the hobby, but Ctenochaetus tominiensis is the rarest of the lot because it's a deep water dweller. How much did you pay for this fish? Only if you got it for less than $50 you were doing very well indeed! Don't sell it to anyone for less - it's easily worth that if you sell privately ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Pleas no one yell at me if my information is slightly wrong.

After you get rid of this case of ich maybe you should invest in a pair of neon gobies because they are a cleaner goby and will actually eat the ich off of your fish. Most likely, you will not have to treat your tank for ich after that if the gobies get rid of it for you.
I read this information in a book that was highly recommended by FP members. There are many well informed members on here that gave me the information so I trust what they have told me. I wish Nate or Liana would get on here...


Christina

Thank you all for your replies and information, I will take some measures and see what happens.
I appreciate all the input, it helps a beginer as me.
Kind regards
Chava

Am taggin here, but did i see one can only have four fish in a 55g reef/SW tank?

Again, this is contingent on the size and activity level of the fish, but in SW, the stocking levels are of necessity a LOT lower than in FW.

Now if you could find some tiny Bryaninops gobies, chances are you could have more than four of those in a 55, because they only reach 3cm in length - they're the Neon Tetras of the marine world. But since most of the popular marine fishes are closer to 10cm in length (and many are considerably larger) this places fairly severe constraints on stocking. Big, active fishes like Tangs need more than a 55 on their own, let alone with anything else. Even a Yellow Tang would need a 6ft aquarium to be reasonably happy (though it could live with a few other fishes in a 6ft), while the bigger Tangs and Surgeonfishes need 8ft or more of aquarium to be truly happy.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yea completely understand that, i'm just getting at you can have multiple clownfish in there and small school of firefish in there few other things be just fine, aren't limiting yourself to five fish, if your running a refugium and skimmer with plenty of liverock, not going to have problems.

But i wouldnt be going to put tangs in a tank that small either lol.

In which case, you'd love the video clip someone linked here a couple of years ago from an American TV show - about the time that the Nemo film came out. The clip showed two women popping various marine life forms in a 10 gallon (yes, a 10 gallon - and that's 10 gallons US).

The unfortunate inmates of that aquatic "Vietnamese tiger cage" included:

1 brittle star (which was yanked out of the bag and just tossed in)

2 Percula Clowns

1 Stoichactis aneomne

1 juvenile Regal Tang

I gather they received a fair amount of mail from the FPilians after that fiasco. Lots of finger wagging ensued.

I didn't know a great deal about brittle stars at the time, but I was told here that [1] they must NEVER be exposed to air or they'll die [2] they need drip-acclimatisation lasting twelve hours.

In any case, i wouldn't put a Regal Tang in anything less than a 125. Not if I wanted it to grow. Plus, Regal Tangs, Paracanthurus hepatus, are if I recall correctly, one of the few popular Tangs that can be kept in groups, and if at all possible should be, which ups the size of their eventual home to over 300 gallons.

As an example of how it should be done, when Liverpool Museum still had its aquarium section running, it had a marine display aquarium. The livestock for this included:

1 Harlequin Tuskfish
1 Acanthurus blochii Surgeonfish
1 Pygoplites diacanthus Angel
1 forcipiger flavissimus Butterfly Fish

plus a couple of other fishes I can't recall at the moment.

Anyway, they were all sizeable inmates. However, the aquarium they were residing in was two thousand gallons. And that's UK gallons - which equals 2,400 US gallons. Which means they had space.

Now not everyone can construct a mega-aquarium like that. But it shows that it can be done with some planning and forethought. As a matter of fact, David Saxby has a monster reef aquarium in his home with about 50 Anthias in it, which is about 1,200 gallons coupled to a 2,400 gallon sump. It takes him a week to make enough RO water for a 10% change! I gather his maintenance logistics are pretty awesome, though he has one beautifully thriving reef. It looks crowded, but when you have an aquarium that can take a ton of live rock and still have swimming room for all those fish, you can create a display like that!

Now all I need is a Lottery win so I can go ahead and construct that 10,000 gallon mega-reef I've always promised myself ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002