Added 2 clownfish to a week old 55 gallons tank

mariano · Mar 2, 2020

Good afternoon. my partner and I are new to saltwater aquarium. we bought a 55 gallon tank, about 45 pounds of live sand, Live Aragonite Natural Aquarium Sand and about 30 pounds of live rock( btw live rock came with 2 red emerald crabs, or they look like emerald crabs but red) on Feb 23rd, we set up the tank that same day and a week after ( Saturday 29) we went back to the local store to buy a heater and Fluval led light, the person helping us out told us if we wanted to get any fish to cycle the tank faster, so we bought two Percula clownfish, we put them on the tank that same day but they been swimming really fast on top of the tank from one end to the other, they stop for a little then they go back to swimming fast, if I want supposed to put them on the tank while the tank is cycling im going to feel really bad, im at work right now but in a little bit I can upload a picture of the tank and the clownfish.
Our last reading which was on Saturday
High Range pH 8.0-8.2
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

Not that I don't trust the local fish store but I want to know if I did something wrong because I don't want the clownfish to feel uncomfortable.
Any recommendations or advices?
If you need me to add more info ill happily do it.
Thank you so much in advance as we both are new to saltwater tanks.

fishguy242 · Mar 2, 2020

hi i think they will be fine ,just excited,pics or video would help,

when you have time post a thread in meet and greet forum meet the reef
great place /people

zapbap99 · Mar 2, 2020

i mean its ok but if they aren't QT'd wouldnt get your hopes up for no deaths

Glott3133 · Mar 2, 2020

The live rock and live sand will help push you through a quick ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle. Your clowns should be fine. They are pretty hardy. Lots of people cycle with clowns.

homer1475 · Mar 2, 2020

Back in the day we always cycled with damsels(clowns are in the damsel family). Now that we know a lot more about the biology of cycling tanks, it's generally frowned upon.

They will probably be fine.

sfin52 · Mar 2, 2020

Welcome. I would recommend a bottle of dr Tim’s one and only. That will get you through the ammonia and nitrite

brandon429 · Mar 2, 2020

Live rock does not need any help, its already cycled.

The recommend to add clowns is a disease risk, not a lack of cycle risk. Live rock brings in all required bac, and not any die during transfer tank to tank.

NeonRabbit221B · Mar 2, 2020

Stop testing with API as it always gives a non-zero reading for ammonia (just a guess) and I think you are fine. Monitor and observe but if the rock was wet during transport you should be fine.

mariano · Mar 2, 2020

Thank you so much for all of the answers, this is a really helpful forum. We will be buying a bottle of dr Tim’s, we also have a 10 gallon tank with a filter that we will now use as a QT for when the aquarium is fully ready for more fish, and we will keep learning. I will post a video and a photo of the tank/clownfishes when I get home. thank you again.

sfin52 · Mar 2, 2020

NeonRabbit221B said:
Stop testing with API as it always gives a non-zero reading for ammonia (just a guess) and I think you are fine. Monitor and observe but if the rock was wet during transport you should be fine.

Live rock may have some die off if out of the water for a time even wrapped in wet newspaper. Learned that the hard way. Now when I go for live rock I always take a bucket with water to keep lr (live rock) wet.

homer1475 · Mar 2, 2020

The problem with people calling it "live rock", most times it's just wet dry rock in a vat with no added bacteria. Not really "live rock" at all. Kind of like the marketing gimmick of "live sand" in a bag. That's actually laughable, and for another thread.

What I call live rock is the stuff like @liverock sells. Actual living rock. What you buy in an LFS vat thats just wet, dry rock I would only classify as "cured", yet the LFS will sell it as live.

Call me old, but thats the older hobbyist in me and what live rock used to be.

mariano · Mar 2, 2020

homer1475 said:
The problem with people calling it "live rock", most times it's just wet dry rock in a vat with no added bacteria. Not really "live rock" at all. Kind of like the marketing gimmick of "live sand" in a bag. That's actually laughable, and for another thread.

What I call live rock is the stuff like @liverock sells. Actual living rock. What you buy in an LFS vat thats just wet, dry rock I would only classify as "cured", yet the LFS will sell it as live.

Call me old, but thats the older hobbyist in me and what live rock used to be.

I will show you some pics ( maybe video if I can upload them here ) so you can see what we have, we basically went to the LFS and fell in love with the saltwater tank, we actually went there to buy a semi-aquatic crab for our freshwater, but when we saw the anemones/corals and the saltwater fish we got shocked of how beautiful it looked, we know its a slow process and we are also willing to respect that, so we listened to them and buy whatever they recommended us to start the tank. But this past Saturday we got a little concerned after we added the two clownfish they recommended.

brandon429 · Mar 2, 2020

don't buy Dr tims, that's for non live rock. your tank needs no boost, or your fish would already be dead. ammonia when free kills overnite, trust that you are ready, don't give $ to the man any further. pics are about to confirm this. I have kicked up a massive cycling thread just now, check it out. the microbiology of reef tank cycling, you'll never be unsure about what bac do after that reading monster.

simple live rock cycling verification: if you input clown fish in a non ready tank, they're dead overnite. but if overnite has passed, you're cycled due to using substrates already cycled. there is no in between, or partial cycle. its death, or go. ammonia is that consequential. its never a stuck partial amount, inconsequential where the tank looks normal and fish aren't dying, overnite.

brandon429 · Mar 2, 2020

we haven't seen your tests nor your tank, so how can all that be predicted above?

from the MBC thread, key terms you have already stated:
-live rock that carried in animals.
-wet pack sand, this is enough bacteria to carry two clowns alone.
-no reports of fish lethargy, breathing at the top, water smell or cloud (uncycled tanks are the opposite, fast) swimming fast doesn't mean much. ammonia burned fish are sideways/in stress plus the tank shows visual issues you wont need a test to detect)

the fact that .25 is the highest shown reading. that, or .5 sustained and not climbing overnite to solid green on the test is actual proof you used live rock, even without the other details in the tank. web searches show many thousands of mature reefs still showing .25 on that kit, so far all details align to fully cycled, not zero cycled (there is no in between, its done or not done)

mariano · Mar 2, 2020

homer1475 · Mar 2, 2020

Clowns look fine, and after seeing that rock, it actually has some life on it. Real live rock IMO.

brandon429 · Mar 2, 2020

merely the top growths alone, the light green algae. Completely done cycled tank. If you buy bottle bac Ill still like you but Ill lose sleep over it. Ill quit my job in sales, go to street busking

its important for you to not buy bottled bacteria, so that you can show others how we're being grossly grossly oversold on its use. This thread is now linked to a thread where someone was going to buy bottled bac, and then we stopped it. bottle bac sellers love me they do.