[nickru6843]

hello i have a 29 gallon tank with carib sand, live rock, fluval. very new to salt water but i set the tank up slowly and kept checking the levels every day of pretty much everything and then added over the course of two weeks the following: 3 false clowns, 5 snails, 4 damsels, 3 peppermint shrimp and i have two small green anemones that i dont know what exactly they are called. but over the past week all of my damsels have died but everything else in the tank is fine.... i dont quite get what is happening someone help

[Reefland]

Hi nickru6843,


Can you tell us what your tank parameters are and how you are acclimating the fish? If everything else in the tank is fine, I would guess that the damsels were "on their way out" before you even bought them.

[nickru6843]

paramaters? im not exactly sure what that would entail as far as info. like salinity or ph?

[Reefland]

Yeah, salinity, temp, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. The age of the tank, equipment used, etc. might also be helpful.

[leebca]

nickru6843,

"Slow" means different things to different people. You went too fast. Too many organisms, too soon.

To get an idea on how fast you should have gone, review this post: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

After you read the above reference and some of the links in that reference, and you provide all the information about your aquarium (see: Get The Most From Your Post - Read This First) we can discuss what is going wrong.

[redvipe2010]

Too much too fast. Your tank is also not ready for an anemone. You should wait 6 months or more for your tank to become established before attempting an anemone. Once you have a solid understanding of their requirements and your water parameters, it is safe to add an anemone.

[nickru6843]

my ph is 8.2 salinity is 0024 temp is at 78. ammonia is undetectable and the nitrite and nitrate levels are under the "safe" areas of my test strips. i brought a water sample to my lfs (not a petco, experianced guy with insane reef setups) which turned up fine as far as metals and etc. the tank is pretty new i had freshwater in it first and then washed it out thoroughly with baking soda and again and again with just regular water via a pressure washer. i dont know the specs on my filter or my heater as i am not at my house but i purchased them from the store where they were recommended by the guy aforementioned for use in salt water. i know the filter is a fluval i think the heater is 120w? the lights are a dual halide and were purchased for the purpose of introducing anemomes. (btw i didnt add the anemomes myself they grew out of the live rock on thier own) i have 10lbs of live rock on top of 15lbs of base rock. 30lbs of carib live sand. i used instant ocean to mix the salt water. i let it cycle for 2 weeks after i put the sand and live rock (three weeks total) then i added the 4 damsels and the 5 snails. the following week: the three clowns and 3 peppermint shrimp. by the time the clowns were added they were two tiny anemomes on the live rock which have continued growing. it is now three weeks after i added the clowns and shrimp and all the damsels are dead they died within a 4 day period of each other and the clowns and shrimp and snails are all fine and seemingly energetic (haha energetic snails) and i would like to get more damsels in and need to know why they are dying if everything else is fine and if maybe i need to change something? hopefully i have provided enough details

[leebca]

Good information. Thanks!

Unfortunately, what isn't explained to learning marine aquarists is that, in addition to the nitrogen cycle, the tank has to go through another cycle. I call it the Secret Cycle. You can read about it here: The Secret Cycle

Your aquarium microbes can't keep up to the marine life you are adding. That is to say, you are adding fish too quickly. Add about one fish every 6 weeks. That is the correct 'rate' of additions.

Next, test strips are not adequate for keeping track of ammonia and nitrites. You're trying to take short cuts and at this particular point in the aging of your aquarium, this isn't good. The test strips can sometimes show a 'major problem' but not the kind of subtly you need right now. Do the chemical tests.

Lastly, what you may be calling anemones coming out of the rock could be polyps of some soft corals, or it could be the thing most aquarists don't want in their aquarium: Aiptasia. You can search for that word to learn more about it.

You're just starting off, but you don't seem to be given any good advice or guidance. I suggest you read my reference: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium and rethink the procedures you're using.

If you can stick to the above suggested plan, you will probably find the fishes living. I also recommend a quarantine procedure in order to keep disease out of your tank. Besides not having a properly aged aquarium and putting in too many marine lives in too short of time, you want to prevent disease from killing your fish. Please read both of these references:
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com
and
A Fish Quarantine Process

[nickru6843]

ok so i understand that the tank is not fully cycled but why do the damsels die and not the clowns? are the damsels not a hardier fish? the clowns seem very healthy and they are always hungry as they come to the top of the tank everytime i stand near it. also how is the anenome a bad thing? it is very bright green color almost flourescent and i havent had to do anything to it and it continues to grow

[leebca]

You're probably asking about the anemone to the other poster (redvipe2010). That isn't my area.

Anemonefish are Damselfishes. So you're asking, 'Are Damsels hardier than Damsels?' You can see the problem with the question.

What does happen is different species have their own general 'hardiness' or (more appropriately) the ability to manage environmental changes. Also, newly introduced fishes are under more stress than the 'old' tank mates. The added stress can lead to a fish unable to adapt well to environmental changes. Then to top off all we know, an individual fish within that species can be more or less sensitive than the 'general' or average fish of that same species. There are many variables.

When new fish are introduced, they are under stress. If the ammonia and/or nitrites spike, the new fish often takes the hit. The new fish hasn't acclimated, it finds itself facing enemies and competitors (other Damsels), and it's in a new environment that is changing. These stressors mean the new fish is more likely to suffer the effects of 'off' water quality, than the old fishes. The old fish aren't safe from water quality issues, but events can and do happen like you witnessed.

If you're interested in learning more about stress and stressors, this is a long post devoted to that:
Stress (and the Single Marine Fish)