Fish died one day into tank cycle

[Reefering1]

I wonder if it more of a oxygenation issue? Can we see a full tank picture? Is there a skimmer?

 

[jabberwock]

People are trying to help you here. You have received a lot of bad information so far.

 

[Mbernal]

I see that you're upset. Please know that all the replies are very well meaning Most of us here would do it differently, but doing a fish-in cycle is "a thing", and you've got the right fish for it if you're going to do it.

It's not possible to register nitrite or nitrate without seeing something for ammonia, unless you used so much real, wet live rock from your fish store that your tank is basically instal-cycled, and if so, then all the talk about adding fish is moot. What kind of rocks did you use? Could you post a pic of the tank? Sometimes that tells us a lot

Thanks, I believe the brand is real reef. Attaching photos.

 

[Mbernal]

Dont stress it too much. IMO, you did what you had experienced before with success.....
Now since the fish are all out (I assume), you can buy all the Fritz stuff and complete your cycle that way, or just throw a raw shrimp in the tank for a awhile and wait a week or so to complete your cycle......what media will you use for filtration? You can throw that into your other tank while you wait for it to get seeded quickly......just IMO.

Running a forza Fz9 canister filter on the tank. I had it in this tank before when it was FW.

 

[Dom]

I quickly move them to my QT tank and they IMMEDIATELY come fully back to life, color and all.

Doesn't this seem like an Oxygen issue?

You can avoid cycling all together by buying a piece of live rock and seeding the tank with bacteria that way.

I've cycled one tank during my years in the hobby; my first one.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

There is no rock in the tank. If fish can’t hide they get stressed. Rock also provides the surface area for beneficial bacteria. Rock is a super important part of the tank for many reasons, should be close to the neighborhood of 1 lbs per gallon. I don’t know if you plan to add more rock or not, if you will have difficulty going forward.

Adding damsels as the first fish in the tank is also a bad idea, damsels are very territorial and aggressive , when they are the first fish into the tank they claim it to themselves and often will kill new additions.

Despite how great your LFS is, I’m just trying to give you pointers that I believe will really help you and your fish.

 

[Mbernal]

There is no rock in the tank. If fish can’t hide they get stressed. Rock also provides the surface area for beneficial bacteria. Rock is a super important part of the tank for many reasons, should be close to the neighborhood of 1 lbs per gallon. I don’t know if you plan to add more rock or not, if you will have difficulty going forward.

Adding damsels as the first fish in the tank is also a bad idea, damsels are very territorial and aggressive , when they are the first fish into the tank they claim it to themselves and often will kill new additions.

Despite how great your LFS is, I’m just trying to give you pointers that I believe will really help you and your fish.

This is going to end up being a predator tank. There are rock in the tank and I plan to add more.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks, I believe the brand is real reef. Attaching photos.

I agree with Mr. Mojo above, that rock is like a dry shelf rock, and not what we mean by "live" rock that has been running in a mature system for some time, and is therefore populated with all kinds of helpful critters from microbes to macro creatures.

Additionally, you're going to need more rock to both act as your biofilter and to provide habitat to fish for long-term success, though I don't think this is what killed your fish inside 24 hours.

I still think low O2 or you have a disease.

Are the fish in the QT tank now, and are they doing well?

 

[Mbernal]

I agree with Mr. Mojo above, that rock is like a dry shelf rock, and not what we mean by "live" rock that has been running in a mature system for some time, and is therefore populated with all kinds of helpful critters from microbes to macro creatures.

Additionally, you're going to need more rock to both act as your biofilter and to provide habitat to fish for long-term success, though I don't think this is what killed your fish inside 24 hours.

I still think low O2 or you have a disease.

Are the fish in the QT tank now, and are they doing well?

Yes, they’re doing well in the QT tank

 

[Reefering1]

Yes, they’re doing well in the QT tank

Safe to assume the canister filter was clean and dry when you started the system?(not sitting for any length of time, full of water/ filter from last use)

 

[Mbernal]

Safe to assume the canister filter was clean and dry when you started the system?(not sitting for any length of time, full of water/ filter from last use)

Canister was in use for a cichlid tank. I emptied it, cleaned it and changed media before using it for this tank.

 

[Fish Fan]

Yes, they’re doing well in the QT tank

That's good! Do you have any other aeration or water circulation besides the canister filter?

 

[Mbernal]

That's good! Do you have any other aeration or water circulation besides the canister filter?

I had JUST the canister filter before, which is what makes me think it was an aeration issue. I have since added a hugger wave maker this afternoon.

 

[Fish Fan]

I had JUST the canister filter before, which is what makes me think it was an aeration issue. I have since added a hugger wave maker this afternoon.

I think that might be the culprit You need a lot or aeration, and a lot of circulation in marine tanks, typically more than in a freshwater system.

 

[Mbernal]

I think that might be the culprit You need a lot or aeration, and a lot of circulation in marine tanks, typically more than in a freshwater system.

So, now that I have the movement, what do I do? I can’t add the fish in with the readings where they are. So leave them in QT, cycle the tank then add them?

 

[KrisReef]

I added the fish after the salt was dissolved and tank was running for a full day. This is what I was told to do with my previous tank and that tank is doing well. I didn’t just throw in sand and water and ad the fish in.

What this tank needs is:

Jesus.

I hope the remaining fish pull through. Not the first tank start up that went sideways. The Devil is that sometimes I add new fish to my healthy tank and they die just in about the same time frame. Fish suffer a lot of stress and exposure to pathogens in their trip from the wholesaler to our tanks.

Lord have mercy.

 

[Fish Fan]

So, now that I have the movement, what do I do? I can’t add the fish in with the readings where they are. So leave them in QT, cycle the tank then add them?

If it was me, I would probably fish-less cycle the tank first, or use specifically Fritz TurboStart if you want to add your fish back right away. I think with the water volume and the Fritz product specifically, you'll be alright. Use the Fritz product, not Dr. Tims, Seachem, etc., it works faster than all others.

 

[TheNative192]

So, now that I have the movement, what do I do? I can’t add the fish in with the readings where they are. So leave them in QT, cycle the tank then add them?

Honestly with cycling products + live sand it sometimes can only take less than a week or two to cycle. I always dose up to 2ppm ammonia with Dr. Tims ammonia chloride and then Tim's one & only or any of the other beneficial bacteria products. As others mentioned beneficial bacteria mostly lives on the live Sand & rock in reef tanks and is not living mostly in canister filters or HOB filters.

For reference you can see how much Live rock this person uses in comparison to the size of the tank as it is not only almost the height of the tank but also from side to side. A lot of people mention to add more live/dry rock so that bacteria can colonize it as adding it after the cycle may delay the cycle. I do think it sounds like an oxygenation issue and I would also make sure the PH is close to 8+ as it is vital to have a high PH in saltwater tanks.

 

[Lavey29]

Not sure where some get their info and question the LFS as well. Fish in cycles are cruel to the animals. No way around it period. They get ammonia burns on their gills. Some may survive but may not be healthy long term. Others just die from ammonia poisoning. With all the simple cycling tools available now, it makes no sense at all to do fish in cycles. There are multiple things that could have caused the OP situation here and some of you already highlighted them but I can guarantee those fish weren't happy being tossed into that new uncycled tank and that LFS is giving put bad info for a new reefer.

 

[MODZISTER]

I would deff cycle with fritz and use DR. Tim's ammonia chloride I just cycled a 100g system in 9 days but I also had a ton more rock but I had good success with Fritz and the ammonia method.