Help! New Coral owner!

[ivanlm78]

Hi all,

I am in desperate need for advice. I am new to the marine tank world.

I've had a small 40L tank for over 3 months now, with 2 (African) clown fish, a bi-color blenny and a prawn. Tank was cycled, and water parameters fine (salinity 1.026, no ammonia, nitrate or nitrite, PH = 8.0-8.5).

Last week, a so called professional tank cleaner came to do a water and tank clean. A day later, I decided to test the salinity, to my horror it had dropped to 1.020, the day after the blenny and one of the clown fish were dead. I assume they were killed by the salinity drop, and/or they introduced some deadly parasite.

I slowly put it up salinity to 1.025-1.026 over the course of two days. All seemed fine so a week after the deaths I got another African clown fish and my very first coral from a shop. When I got home, I tested the water they came in from the shop, salinity was 1.014!!!!!! I did the usual water temperature alignment and then introduced both to the tank.

The African clown fish died within 10h (I suspect was already sick from the shop), and the soft coral looks as in the photos, falling on its branches.

I tested the water, all seems fine, but the water looks cloudy all of a sudden. I am crying for help!


1. Does the coral look like can be revived? perhaps I didn't allow enough time to acclimatise? It's been 24h since I introduced it to the tank.

2. Have I somehow created a bacteria explosion in the water?

Please help!

 

[timmyrules]

What lighting are you using? What are other parameters (alk, mag, ca,)?

 

[TX_REEF]

A few thoughts from my perspective

• To each their own, but I would not hire out maintenance for a 40 liter tank, it’s small enough to handle on your own without much physical difficulty, and doing it yourself will help you learn. I’d seek compensation from whoever you hired in this case.
• 1.020 SG will not kill clownfish, or any fish in my experience. The fish store keeps salinity low to save salt and discourage pathogens. This is not a problem, it just means you need to acclimate them to your tank salinity when you introduce them, and do not add any of the fish store water to your tank because it may contain copper or other medications.
• How much of a water change was done? What exactly did the cleaning entail, what product or additives were used? Sudden deaths like that make me think of chemical contamination, ammonia spike or bacterial bloom.
• The coral does not look beyond saving to me. Maintain stable parameters and give it time.

 

[Tahoe61]

It looks like a hardy soft coral, it should come around once acclimated.
Many fish stores keep their stock at a lower SG to combat common disease.
It's more stressful for fish to have experienced an dramatic sift up in SG (osmotic shock). Fish handle the lowering of SG better.
How are you testing SG?
What is an African Clown?

 

[ivanlm78]

A few thoughts from my perspective

• To each their own, but I would not hire out maintenance for a 40 liter tank, it’s small enough to handle on your own without much physical difficulty, and doing it yourself will help you learn. I’d seek compensation from whoever you hired in this case.
• 1.020 SG will not kill clownfish, or any fish in my experience. The fish store keeps salinity low to save salt and discourage pathogens. This is not a problem, it just means you need to acclimate them to your tank salinity when you introduce them, and do not add any of the fish store water to your tank because it may contain copper or other medications.
• How much of a water change was done? What exactly did the cleaning entail, what product or additives were used? Sudden deaths like that make me think of chemical contamination, ammonia spike or bacterial bloom.
• The coral does not look beyond saving to me. Maintain stable parameters and give it time.

Thank you so much! I will give it time then. You are right I should have done it myself, I wasnt present when the guy cleaned the aquarium unfortunately.
What is the best way to acclimatise a reef in your experience, with such a small set up as mine?

 

[ivanlm78]

What lighting are you using? What are other parameters (alk, mag, ca,)?

I have no test for that, I'll get one tomorrow, thanks! do you know the name of this coral?

 

[ivanlm78]

What lighting are you using? What are other parameters (alk, mag, ca,)?

A normal yellow light, cheap one. I was told that's enough for this coral. BTW - do you know the name of the coral?

 

[ivanlm78]

It looks like a hardy soft coral, it should come around once acclimated.
Many fish stores keep their stock at a lower SG to combat common disease.
It's more stressful for fish to have experienced an dramatic sift up in SG (osmotic shock). Fish handle the lowering of SG better.
How are you testing SG?
What is an African Clown?

Thanks for the reply, I am using this gravimeter for testing SG: https://petsqtr.com/products/gravimeter.

The African Clown fish is the one one my profile photo.

 

[Tahoe61]

I would just double check it by calibration. Ask the individual servicing the tank specifically what the SG of their replacement water is. Or better yet make up your own replacement water. You're absolutely right to do a slower acclimation. A fish going from 1.014 to 1.025 is not safe.


Those are beautiful clowns.

 

[BryanM]

Did they vacuum the sandbed when they did the water change?

When I get test results back that dont seem right, I do them again. I also vote on calibrating. I have a fancy milkwakee salinity tester, and its routinely reading very low. calibrated refractometer and tested... Milkwakee was saying 25ppt, refractometer after calibration, 36, which makes way more sense (i've been in hyper maintenance mode battling dinos, so my milkwakee readings just seemed wrong).

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

A normal yellow light, cheap one. I was told that's enough for this coral. BTW - do you know the name of the coral?

A normal yellow light will not work, it has to be a reef light.

The coral is some kind of soft coral, I can't tell if it is cepatulinaria or Kenya tree or something else. But it needs a reef light and some water movement in the tank.

 

[ivanlm78]

Hi all,

I am in desperate need for advice. I am new to the marine tank world.

I've had a small 40L tank for over 3 months now, with 2 (African) clown fish, a bi-color blenny and a prawn. Tank was cycled, and water parameters fine (salinity 1.026, no ammonia, nitrate or nitrite, PH = 8.0-8.5).

Last week, a so called professional tank cleaner came to do a water and tank clean. A day later, I decided to test the salinity, to my horror it had dropped to 1.020, the day after the blenny and one of the clown fish were dead. I assume they were killed by the salinity drop, and/or they introduced some deadly parasite.

I slowly put it up salinity to 1.025-1.026 over the course of two days. All seemed fine so a week after the deaths I got another African clown fish and my very first coral from a shop. When I got home, I tested the water they came in from the shop, salinity was 1.014!!!!!! I did the usual water temperature alignment and then introduced both to the tank.

The African clown fish died within 10h (I suspect was already sick from the shop), and the soft coral looks as in the photos, falling on its branches.

I tested the water, all seems fine, but the water looks cloudy all of a sudden. I am crying for help!


1. Does the coral look like can be revived? perhaps I didn't allow enough time to acclimatise? It's been 24h since I introduced it to the tank.

2. Have I somehow created a bacteria explosion in the water?

Please help!

Update:
1. The coral was dead by the morning, completely ripped apart.
2. I went to my local aquarium shop with a sample of my water, it tested over 1040+, it was so high the refractometer wouldn't give an exact number. This is most likely what killed the coral and clown fish I bought 2 days ago.
3. I learnt from my wife the tank cleaner did a 50% water change in one go. This removed the good bacteria from my tank and was the cause of death of the benny and clown fish I had until last week.

Next:
1. Doing 10% water changes daily to bring SG down and not shock the clown fish left in the tank, though by now this fish has proved to be incredible resilient.
2. I've been recommended to add this stabilizer to boost the creation of good bacteria: https://www.seachem.com/stability.php

Lessons learnt:
1. Never to use a gravimeter, especially this one: https://petsqtr.com/products/gravimeter, they don't work well.
2. Never let anyone do more than a 10% water change at once. Kills the good bacteria.

Thanks to everyone for you amazing contribution!