Bicolor Blenny death - what did I do wrong?

[Rhetoric]

My tank was doing well and I decided to pickup a Bicolor Blenny yesterday. I've got a Sixline and 4 Chromis in the tank now (as far as fish go).

I found him dead this afternoon. I'm sure I screwed up somewhere so hopefully someone can tell me where so I won't do it again.

Tested Ammonia & Nitrite before getting him and both were 0.

Acclimated him for about an hour and 15 mins. Floated the bag and poured a quarter cup of my tank water in the bag every 5 mins for 45 mins or so. Poured out most of the water in the bag and continued pouring 1/4 cup in the bag for another 25 mins. Poured out most of the water and released the little guy.

He seemed ok last night after release. He appeared to be "breathing" hard but I thought he was just acclimating. He tried out a variety of holes in the rock.

This morning, I found him peeking out of a hole. He seemed ok though I couldn't see most of him. He moved a few times back into the hole when he got scared.

Went to lunch and when I came back around 3pm, found his body on the bottom...

Did more tests since then:
Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate are all 0.
PH is 8.0.
SG is 1.022

All my other fish are still fine. I noticed he was slightly discolored in spots but he definitely didn't look like that in the tank at the LFS.

Can anyone point me to where I may have gone wrong? Acclimation? Other tests I should run?

Thanks!

 

[Rhetoric]

I'm pretty clueless too. Now the question is, should I go ahead and try another one? I was thinking of taking more time to acclimate and moving slower during that process.

 

[bleedingthought]

If your parameters are fine, and all your other fish are also fine, then it was probably something wrong with the fish. You seem to have acclimated him right. Wait a little longer making sure everything is doing good (corals/inverts and fish) and your parameters stay at 0 and then try another one. Ask the LFS how long they've had the fish (you can usually have them hold the fish for you for a couple of days in order to see how he's doing before you buy him and he perishes at your hands) for and ask for him to be fed also. You might even want to try a different LFS just in case.

Also, many here will tell you to quarantine your fish due to diseases and parasites that can be introduced to your established tank. Going that route is the safest and probably the best way.

HTH

 

[Rhetoric]

Thanks for the info. I keep reading about quarantining so I am now working on setting up an old 10g I have for this. Hopefully I can upgrade this soon to a 30g or so.

My LFS won't hold the fish for me even if I pay for it ahead of time. I don't get that but that's their policy. Otherwise, they have been a great place to deal with and have been honest with me steering me clear of fish & coral that they are concerned about. The only other LFS in my town has a very limited selection...

I've never asked for a fish to be fed for me but I'll start doing that.

Thanks again!

 

[Anonymous]

Well, perhaps he was not doing so hot at the fish store and the stress of the transition was too much for him. If they had not been feeding him (some stores are very bad about keeping the fish fed) and he was very malnourished from being there a long time, there is not much you can do.

Also, I see you keep your sg at 1.022. That is a bit on the low end, (I keep mine at 1.025-6) and I will tell you my LFS keeps their fish tanks at 1.030. Now, I have no idea why they do that, I think 1.030 is stupidly high, but I have tested it with two calibrated refractometers and numerous box hydrometers over the years and that is where it always is. I just bring that up because if you had bought your fish from a place like the store I go to, your fish would have a huge jump in sg to get used to. I always test the sg and temp of the water in the fish store bag before acclimating, just so I know what I am up against.

Blennies are normally hardy fish, if you get another, I would see if they can feed him in the store for you and you can see him eat, that will give you some indication how healthy he is before you bring him home. Sometimes it can be hard to see on those little fish if they have pinched bellies or something, especially if they keep the tanks of little fish up higher than eye level. If the employee gives you trouble and doesn't want to put a wee pinch of flake in the tank then don't buy the fish.

Anyway, that's just some thoughts on the matter. You never know what happened to a fish before you bring him home!

 

[Rhetoric]

Thanks for the insight Laura. I am actually in the process of raising my SG now. I tested it about 2 weeks ago and found it was 1.020. I want it at least at 1.025 so I have been topping off with 1.025 water. It is now at 1.022 but I am continuing to raise it slowly.

I definitely will have them feed the fish for me. I appreciate your and everyone else's comments.

 

[Rhetoric]

Is it possible to use your sump for quarantine? I have a 38g sump that has a 10g middle section that could be used. It is meant to be a refugium eventually but haven't done that yet. Can diseases be spread from the sump to fish in the display tank?

 

[bleedingthought]

Can diseases be spread from the sump to fish in the display tank?

Yes. The purpose of the quarantine tank is so that there won't be any contamination to your display tank.

Here's a good place to start reading:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bestquarfaqs.htm

 

[bleedingthought]

P.S. I didn't QT my fish, which was a gamble, really. All of my fish were introduced before I had corals in there, and that was my excuse - if anything went wrong, for example, I could treat the tank. I was lucky.