Why can't i keep fish alive?

[lutebro]

Why can't i keep any fish alive?
It seems I have a ton of problems keeping fish alive. Nothing I buy stays alive for very long and i have no idea why. Here's what i have:

**Hardware**
29 Gallon All-Glass Tank
100 Watt visa therm heater
65 Watt Smartlight with hood
Aquaclear 300 Filter
Hagen 301 Powerhead
Powersweep 214 Powerhead
About 30lbs of Live Rock
30lbs of sand – $21.99
Lee’s Medium Protein Skimmer

Levels:
PH 8.4
nitrites 0
Nitrates 2.5
Ammonia 0
Salinity 1.025
Temp 79


All my levels are perfectly fine but i just can't keep anything alive.

I've gone through 4 chromis, 2 percs, and now a watchman goby. What should i be checking to see what is killing my fish. I'm at a loss right now. My tank is completely empty besides my green stars, leather coral, and sebae. I'm at a loss and just hate this hobby right now.. any help would be good. I am going to buy a CPR Bak Pak 2R soon, could that be my problem?.... that i just have a crappy skimmer or what? The two percs lasted about 2 months with one dropping at the one month mark. the chromis lasted about a week and the watchman goby about the same. They were all at differetnt times.... none at the same time. The brittle star taht i had accounted for most of the deaths but the goby's and the last perc weren't so i'm at a loss. Help please!

[ October 31, 2001: Message edited by: Dusty ]</p>

 

[Colonel]

Was the temp 89? That is way to hot! Cool down to 79 - 81.

 

[lutebro]

SOrry i meant 79 let me fix that

 

[tazdevil]

Dusty, have you added any additives?
Do you use ro/di water or tap?
If no, there may be a heavy metal present, possibly from original tank design, that would kill your fish, although the inverts should be dying as well. I had a similar problem several years ago with a 30gallon that was pre-wet/dry days, and it finally took taking the whole thing apart, trashing all the crushed coral, and thoroughly rinsing every piece of equipment and starting over with new substrate. I wouldnt say this is necessary yet, but it is an option. If your adding additives, what are they?

 

[Colonel]

I have experience with chromis, and they are hard to keep alive (read don't transport well) for the first couple of weeks. I have three that have grown from 1 inch to over 3 inches in a year. I started with 6 and lost 3 in the first week.

As for the clowns, I don't know. They are usually very hardy. If they made it over a month you should be home free. I would watch the fish closely they act different if something is wrong with the water quality. If they show a change run carbon, or better yet a Poly-Filter and do a 10% water change. I swear by Poly-Filters. I have had fish go down hill quickly and all parameters are perfect. I add a Poly-filter and do a water change and it had always corrected within a few hours. (This is not a common occurance however)

 

[afss]

Do you buy all you live stock at the same lfs.. could be a problem there, or a problem at the supppliers, or even the place and method used to catch. The problem may be thousands of mile from your tank.
Just a thought
Scott
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Ifa Forum

 

[Rich-n-poor]

did you say you have a green brittle star ? If so he may be the problem they are predatory starfish and I had one that would grab small sleeping fish

HTH

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Bone Disorders Forum

 

[Billan]

I am having the same problem as you are. My tank is a 44g Pentagon with a CPR Aquatic Inc. Cyclone Bak-Pak 2 Protein Skimmer. I have 70 lbs of live rock, 45lbs of live sand. I run a MH and have mushroom corals and star polyps. I have a cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp, feather dusters, a long tentacle anemone, hermits, snails, sea cucumbers, etc.. I have never lost an invertebrate but almost all of my fish die 1 by 1 after a month or two. My water is at 79 degrees, 0 Amm, 0 Nitrites, >10 Nitrates, PH 8.3. Please let me know if anyone has any info regarding our problems. Thank you.

 

[lutebro]

I caught him!!!!! He's got red eyes and is hairy and he's a crab. He's about the size of a dime now. Could he have eaten my percs and a couple damsels? I don't know... but all my fish have dissapeared and my levels are all fine so what do you think? Let me know.

 

[wnfaknd]

If he is red and hairy you may have a "dardanus megistos" hermit crab. that crab is very very aggressive, it will eat fish and whatever else he can get a hold of. Not reef safe.
On the plus side it eats aiptasia.

 

[Mouse]

I would also cahnge that pony skimmer of yours to something venturi driven at least. Lees have to be the worst excuses for skimmers i have ever seen in my life. If however you had some other type of nutrient export such as an algal refugeuim then it may surfice, but as soon as your bioload starts to increase then you will have to ditch it, or go with additional nutrient export. Just MO.