Help identify my mistake.

[legrunt]

Ok, to be honest there are quite a few. Some time back I had a tank crash. lost 5 clownfish in one go. Sand star and turbo snail survived, but the star was out of the sand and had arched arms (which if I understand correctly is a last ditch resort hoping for waves to carry it to a better location?)

So here's the story. It was a small 20liter tank. Thats about 6 gallons. Salinity seemed a bit low, so I dumped some salt directly into the tank. (Mistake #1). PH also seemed on the low side (I'm guessing from the low salinity) so I dumped about a capful of reef buffer 8.3 (Mistake #2)

I found some Aiptasia in the tank, so I got a syringeful of some al-cheapo vinegar from my pantry and squirted some (ok, quite a bit) onto the aiptasias. (Mistake #3)

I also thought since I had put in some acid into the tank, I should balance it out, so I dumped another capful of the 8.3 buffer. In retrospect, the measurements were 1 cap for 40 liters. (Mistake #4)

Two hours later all 5 fish were dead and I was heartbroken. I tore down the tank and started anew.

Which of the mistakes do you think were the most likely to have killed all 5 in one go? Or would all of them, singly, have done the same thing?

 

[homer1475]

In 6 gallons of water, the vinegar would be my guess. But seeing as you dumped enough buffer for 20 gallons, it very well could have been that too.

Cascading effect if I had to guess. The constant swings in Alkalinity, PH and salinity more then likely hammered your biological filtration, which in turn killed the fish via ammonia poisoning.

 

[MabuyaQ]

pH buffer would be my guess. Please look into how increasing pH will convert nontoxic NH4 into toxic NH3.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow wow wow...…...
First thing to consider, NOTHING goes fast when it comes to saltwater. You at least recognized the mistakes made and Never add anything other that RO water directly to the tank. Buffers rarely work and are slow release, so will not raise anything quickly. Salt must be diluted to temperature.
For aptasia, use kalk powder mix into a past and just enough to squirt into core.
This action that got you is known as " Chasing Parameters". Never chase but be pro-active, not reactive.

Right now, A water change of over 1/2 is needed, addition of carbon such as chemi Pure Blue and a full water test to assure your tank is safe for future stocking.......ALL THIS AT MINIMUM !

 

[legrunt]

Don't worry, the tank is now empty and completely tore down. This was some time back.
My current tank is a 60 liter one. (16 gallon) and while I'm currently facing some low salinity levels due to a miscalibrated refractometer, I am taking it very very slowly and gently raising the salt over days/weeks.

 

[Dom]

In my opinion, you tried to go too fast.

As an example, if you have a problem related to pH, dosing additives to raise the pH may get you to your desired pH level in an hour. But it may be days before the tank inhabitants respond to the change.

I recently posted about an unhappy Anemone. It was related to low Alkalinity. I raised the ALK up over 4 days, but it took another 5 days for the Anemone to respond and look happy again.

My point is this: Make gradual changes and expect tank inhabitant responses to be gradual as well.

Dom

 

[stacksoner]

5 clownfish cannot survive in a small tank, let alone a 6 gallon tank. They will eventually end up killing each other until only 2 are left. Who recommended this?

 

[MombasaLionfish]

5 clownfish cannot survive in a small tank, let alone a 6 gallon tank. They will eventually end up killing each other until only 2 are left. Who recommended this?

+1

 

[legrunt]

In my opinion, you tried to go too fast.

As an example, if you have a problem related to pH, dosing additives to raise the pH may get you to your desired pH level in an hour. But it may be days before the tank inhabitants respond to the change.

I recently posted about an unhappy Anemone. It was related to low Alkalinity. I raised the ALK up over 4 days, but it took another 5 days for the Anemone to respond and look happy again.

My point is this: Make gradual changes and expect tank inhabitant responses to be gradual as well.

Dom

Noted... Thanks!

5 clownfish cannot survive in a small tank, let alone a 6 gallon tank. They will eventually end up killing each other until only 2 are left. Who recommended this?

I could take the easy way out and say "The LFS"... but the plan was to move them into a much larger tank. It was really sad that they didn't make it to that stage, however the point of this post is not about the 5 clownfish living together, but what the heck I did to kill them so that I won't ever again repeat it.

 

[MERKEY]

A mix of unfortunate events.

With all that went on I doubt you will be able to ever say it was just 1 thing.

I wish you luck in with your new tank!

 

[amazongb]

How long had the tank been setup before all of these events? How long had the fish been in the tank (all six) before the event?

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

I could take the easy way out and say "The LFS"... but the plan was to move them into a much larger tank. It was really sad that they didn't make it to that stage, however the point of this post is not about the 5 clownfish living together, but what the heck I did to kill them so that I won't ever again repeat it.

Five fish in a six gallon is likely part of what you did to kill them. That many fish in such a small water volume would produce a lot of ammonia that can kill fish. Either the pH buffer or the vinegar by itself could have killed them, plus the ammonia. It was just a deadly combo of things that went into the tank as a whole. Plus the salt could’ve done the job.

 

[legrunt]

Five fish in a six gallon is likely part of what you did to kill them. That many fish in such a small water volume would produce a lot of ammonia that can kill fish. Either the pH buffer or the vinegar by itself could have killed them, plus the ammonia. It was just a deadly combo of things that went into the tank as a whole. Plus the salt could’ve done the job.

That's something to munch on... Thank you.

 

[legrunt]

How long had the tank been setup before all of these events? How long had the fish been in the tank (all six) before the event?

Canister filter and sand had been running in a tub for about 1.5 months with a rotting shrimp and daily doses of Stability.
Filter and sand transferred to the tank and filled with water a 2 weeks prior, along with the rotting shrimp. A week later, out goes the shrimp and in go 2 fish, and that day itself, 3 more from the same batch as the first 2 from the LFS.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Best thing you can get for a small system is an ATO, it will stabilize your salinity.

 

[amazongb]

Canister filter and sand had been running in a tub for about 1.5 months with a rotting shrimp and daily doses of Stability.
Filter and sand transferred to the tank and filled with water a 2 weeks prior, along with the rotting shrimp. A week later, out goes the shrimp and in go 2 fish, and that day itself, 3 more from the same batch as the first 2 from the LFS.

Okay, so I'm thinking that too many fish too quickly caused an ammonia spike which took out the fish. I've seen this too many times in this his hobby... going forward, test, test test, add one fish and test some more... You'll figure out what your bioload can handle...

 

[legrunt]

Okay, so I'm thinking that too many fish too quickly caused an ammonia spike which took out the fish. I've seen this too many times in this his hobby... going forward, test, test test, add one fish and test some more... You'll figure out what your bioload can handle...

Hmm could be ... I had an ammonia badge, but i guess the spike was too fast...
Thanks.

 

[BeejReef]

Not to pile on and beat a dead horse, but dumping salt directly in the tank is also a really huge no no.

 

[Infidel]

Moving forward... Please ask questions here, plan carefully, go slow, and research what will work best for your new system. Always plan for the "maximum" size of a fish and what your life support can handle.

Good luck!

 

[MERKEY]

Hmm could be ... I had an ammonia badge, but i guess the spike was too fast...
Thanks.

These badges are not that good and most of the time you have to hold a light behind them to show the true color.

You're going to drive yourself nuts trying to find the 1 thing that killed all of these fish when in reality it was multiple things combined that caused the deaths.

There are some things you did learn how that you can apply.

1. Dont ever add salt to a tank directly. Most salt mixes want you to mix the salt for at least an hour and in most cases it is best mixed between 4-6 hours. BRS has a whole video on just salt mixing.

2. Get proper test kits.

3. Dont add buffers, vinegar, or chemical additions or dose your tank until you actually need it. Ask here WITH your parameters and we will help guide in the best direction. Your tank should not need any of this for months on months until established. You need to let your biological load build enough and adding all of these things too early does not allow that to happen. Which leads to #4

4. Don't stock fish in a tank no matter the size to "move" to a larger tank, most of us are guilty of this to some point but that many clowns in any tank would have issues but especially in the size you have.

5. Stock fish slower. Your tanks biological matter needs time to build depending on how much live stock you put in. Starting with 1 fish is the best as it gives your bio load time to adjust to the NEW addition. About a week later you can add another fish. Smaller tanks have a smaller bio load and cant handle a large amount of fish poop. It is overwhelmed and all of the poop turns toxic instead of the bio load processing it correctly. Result is your fish die. To help this process you can add more rock but there isnt a lot of room for more in your case.

6. To speed up the process you can add a bottle of instant bacteria from fritz or dr. Tim's. This will just start the bio load and help handle the ammonia.

When you get your next fish let us know. And also let us know what test kit you went with. Api is not a good one to use...try one of these if you can

Salifert
Res sea
Giesemann
Hannah