Greetings from a fish murderer. :(

[PeppiSwirl]

Well.. I just got a notification asking me to introduce myself... again... Unfortunately, today is not a great day for introduction. You will be meeting me at my lowest. As of today, I am no longer a reef-keeper, but a fish murderess.

I've had a few freshwater tanks for years now, and as of last fall, decided to take my chances with saltwater. Being at my spouse-proclaimed-limit of critters/habitats in the house, I opted to try my hand at a reef tank. I spent several months researching, Googling, reading articles, downloading pdfs and guides, watching youtube videos. I compared products and checked species and coral compatibilities. I bought Marco rock and built a negative space reef scape (ish). I went slow... I added water, and live rock. I waited for the tank to cycle. Until I finally added some corals. Not many, just a few to see if I could manage them. Then invertebrates, and eventually, a fish. Then another. Slowly. A fish or two every couple weeks... And things were going well, (expect for the anemone that got sucked up and sliced to death by my powerhead...all the googling I did and I was NOT prepared for that). I went through a Goldilocks type trial and error run of protein skimmers, until I finally found one that worked well for my set up. I check my water parameters every 3 days or so. I fought with algae. I fought with slime. I lost a couple corals, but others are still doing well. But today... on this tragic day of introduction re-request... I have been defeated by velvet.

So. Yes, Hello, but also, I recommend you shun me. And this is possibly goodbye... if everything dies, I'm not sure I have the heart to continue. R.I.P. Gobstopper (Midas Blenny - Victim #1). Prayers are requested for Bonnie and Clyde (Scopas Tang and Rusty Angel) BFFs whom are currently in quarantine- but the outlook is not looking good...

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello and welcome to the channel.

 

[SlugSnorter]

We all make mistakes, whats important is to learn from them. We have all been there,

Remember that velvet and ich cannot be treated by anything but copper.

What are your params?

do you use RODI?

how are the corals?

How old is the tank now?

 

[PeterC99]

Welcome to R2R!

We all make mistakes in this hobby. The important thing is to learn from them. Keep reading and learning from R2R!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Tamberav]

Velvet is nasty. Sounds like you are QT your fish now and probably will QT new ones here on out. It will get easier but there will always be some losses and some you can’t control.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Mhamilton0911]

Welcome to our forum, sorry it sounds like you're down and almost out, do you have any questions or are you looking for next steps? We have a great disease forum and loads of people ready to help if you need it.

Sorry about your losses, most will recommend you run your tank fallow (no fish in it) for a while to starve out disease while you treat the fish in a separate tank. How long depends on what your treating, I haven't had to do this so I'm not totally sure how long but I can certainly point you to the correct people to help if your still ready to continue on.

They are ups and downs with reefing so I hope you choose to continue on our fun little roller-coaster, the ride will get fun again, I promise.

 

[BanjoBandito]

TINY DANCER IN MY TAAAAAAANK. OH HOW IT FEELS SO REAL, DEALING WITH REEEEEEEFING PROBLEMS.....THEY COME SLOWLY, SOFTLY.......HOLD ME CLOSER TINY CLOWFISH. KILL THE LED LIGHTS IN MY WAY. LAY ME DOWN IN SHEETS OF NORI....HAD A BAD DAAAAAY TODAAAAY.


(welcome - it happens man, the experience is the pain in this hobby)

 

[Big Smelly fish]

 

[G Santana]

Welcome aboard and do not despair, the loss of a fish is tough but anyone who says they have never experienced a loss is a hobbyist that just started yesterday.

Hang tough, the fact that you took the time to research before hand rather than jump straight in tells me you have what it takes to succeed.

We are a community that can relate.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum!
We all make mistakes - if we didn’t, nobody would learn.
My first batch of fish all died to disease, it sucked, but if you keep pushing through it gets better.
You already have a qt set up now, which is already the best tool to keeping disease from ever getting into the tank.
Treat all incoming fish with copper and chances of velvet or ich making it in should be next to 0.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Well.. I just got a notification asking me to introduce myself... again... Unfortunately, today is not a great day for introduction. You will be meeting me at my lowest. As of today, I am no longer a reef-keeper, but a fish murderess.

I've had a few freshwater tanks for years now, and as of last fall, decided to take my chances with saltwater. Being at my spouse-proclaimed-limit of critters/habitats in the house, I opted to try my hand at a reef tank. I spent several months researching, Googling, reading articles, downloading pdfs and guides, watching youtube videos. I compared products and checked species and coral compatibilities. I bought Marco rock and built a negative space reef scape (ish). I went slow... I added water, and live rock. I waited for the tank to cycle. Until I finally added some corals. Not many, just a few to see if I could manage them. Then invertebrates, and eventually, a fish. Then another. Slowly. A fish or two every couple weeks... And things were going well, (expect for the anemone that got sucked up and sliced to death by my powerhead...all the googling I did and I was NOT prepared for that). I went through a Goldilocks type trial and error run of protein skimmers, until I finally found one that worked well for my set up. I check my water parameters every 3 days or so. I fought with algae. I fought with slime. I lost a couple corals, but others are still doing well. But today... on this tragic day of introduction re-request... I have been defeated by velvet.

So. Yes, Hello, but also, I recommend you shun me. And this is possibly goodbye... if everything dies, I'm not sure I have the heart to continue. R.I.P. Gobstopper (Midas Blenny - Victim #1). Prayers are requested for Bonnie and Clyde (Scopas Tang and Rusty Angel) BFFs whom are currently in quarantine- but the outlook is not looking good...

Can be :
Age of tank
False test readings
Spikes
Source from where you get your fish
Amongst others

Assure you’re utilizing reliable test kits and stocking slowly. At purchase, observe:
-Fish overall appearance
-No signs of disease
-How it interacts with other tankmates
- it’s eating
- breathing normally, not labored

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I'm sorry that it's been a rough day with your tank. We do all make mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from them. I hope your fish in qt make it and you can continue in this amazing hobby.

 

[BZOFIQ]

This is the only forum where people greet murderers.

Welcome aboard???

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry for your loss. I can relate to your heart ache. I recently lost 13 fish to velvet. Some were fish I had for years including 4 tangs, 2 yellows which I'll probably not be able to replace. I was so down l was just going to let all of them die and tear the tanks down (2 displays sharing a single sump). My family shamed be into setting up a hospital tank and I was able to save some including fish I had for 6+ years. I did tear one tank down and ran the other fallow and fish that survived are back in there. While I still feel like a fish murderer I feel like a bit of a savior also since I did save some really beautiful adult fish thanks to my families persistance. Welcome to R2R and if you choose to continue file this away as a learning experience. This is not a hobby for the faint of heart and while it can be heartbreaking at times I find it can be extremely rewarding also.

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R! Sorry for the problems you are experiencing but know that most of us have been there at one time or another. It does get easier as time goes on.

 

[blaxsun]

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome! Velvet sucks. Hopefully you will pull through