Month old tank help with stocking and other stuff

[adam2000]

Hello so I have got an 13.5 gallon fluval evo aquarium which I have had for a month, I purchased cycled rock. It is stock lighting, bundle came with a protein skimmer and also a wave maker which is just turn on and off.

So after a few days I added some clowns, cut to a month later I have a fire fish, 2 clowns , cleaner shrimp , fire shrimp, zoa coral, hammerhead coral , blenny and 2 narcissi’s snails or however you spell them. So in the past week a clownfish has died due to brooknellya I believe which I am treating the tank with poly p medic lab, a blenny has died and the hammerhead coral has died not sure why those two have died.
I will attach some pics of then and now, so there are some brown patches growing in the tank and some hairy stringy stuff both I think are algae but please help identify , also I have been told I have hydroids in the tank too. Also the Zoa coral is like partially red not sure why.
In the tank there is currently a cleaner shrimp, one clown , one fire fish, fire shrimp and 2 narcissus snails.

So this coming Friday the treatment for brooklynella will have reached 10 days which it says to do it for. I will then just leave the tank for a bit and see what happens. Basically I don’t know what to do at this stage , should I add some cuc to remove algae ? Should I add another fish in say two weeks? If so what fish? What would be good? I was thinking a blue green chromis, maybe a goby? I liked the blenny but it died So like what’s a good easy hardy fish? And corals ? What’s good there ?

Any help would be great thank you !

 

[JTP424]

What are your actual parameters?
What kind of salt are you using?
Where did you buy the cycled rock? When you say it was cycled, what do you mean? That's some pretty white rock.
What is your lighting schedule? This light works, but needs a longer run time I'm led to believe.
White stars on glass look like hydroids.

 

[JTP424]

Not being derogatory or accusatory, just need more detailed info!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

4 fish in a 13.5 is too much.... 2 clowns should be in a 20 gallon, so you already cut the tank size in half, and added more fish. its overstocked, and stocked too fast. Add 1 or 2 fish, then wait a month before adding the next 1 or 2. But a 13.5 is fully stocked with 2 clowns, clowns grow and live 25+ years, so they need their space.

As I mentioned on your other thread, you are going way too fast and not doing any research and that's why its not working out for you. Slow down, do some reading and watch some youtube videos.

 

[adam2000]

Not being derogatory or accusatory, just need more detailed info!

All good, this is the tank today, cycled well the shop said it means I don’t need to cycle the tank and fish are ready to go like it’s got biological bacteria in it, the lighting isn’t great like sometimes I turn it on before work sometimes I don’t so I’ll need to make that a better schedule what would you suggest?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I agree, slow down and take a step back before going headfirst. We are all here to help you out, but you are rushing into things, which is going to cause you more headache and cause troubles for your livestock as well.

 

[adam2000]

I agree, slow down and take a step back before going headfirst. We are all here to help you out, but you are rushing into things, which is going to cause you more headache and cause troubles for your livestock as well.

So should I add cuc or just leave the tank be for a good while

 

[Gumbies R Us]

So should I add cuc or just leave the tank be for a good while

I would add CUC if you are dealing with algae. Some snails should be fine for now!

 

[adam2000]

I would add CUC if you are dealing with algae. Some snails should be fine for now!

What snails would you suggest?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

What snails would you suggest?

Trochus, nassarius and bumblebee are good ones to get. Turbo snails are also a good pick as well!

 

[adam2000]

Trochus, nassarius and bumblebee are good ones to get. Turbo snails are also a good pick as well!

Thank you very much, any set number for this tank? Apologies very new to this

 

[JTP424]

All good, this is the tank today, cycled well the shop said it means I don’t need to cycle the tank and fish are ready to go like it’s got biological bacteria in it, the lighting isn’t great like sometimes I turn it on before work sometimes I don’t so I’ll need to make that a better schedule what would you suggest?

Until you put some corals in it i would focus on a consistent light schedule, grab an auto timer plug to help.
I'm not super familiar with that light bit I've seen some people do 12 hour periods on, 12 hour periods off. There may be some blue vs white periods you can run.
Agreed with the others notes regarding snails.
If you don't have a testing kit for parameters look into one. Without knowing some of that info we're not going to be able to help much if future problems arise. Additionally, you would be able to determine causes as they happen. People dislike API as they have issues being reliable, but they are a START/cost effective. immediately look into salifert/hanna/red sea.

 

[adam2000]

Trochus, nassarius and bumblebee are good ones to get. Turbo snails are also a good pick as well!

Also hello I had another question , so say in a months time when the tank is better and nothing crazy going one I already have a clown fish in this tank is it okay to add one more or would there be too much fighting ?

 

[JTP424]

Also hello I had another question , so say in a months time when the tank is better and nothing crazy going one I already have a clown fish in this tank is it okay to add one more or would there be too much fighting ?

Is it just the clown in this tank?
As someone mentioned above, 20 gal minimum for 2 clownfish is best.

 

[Kooma]

Rule of thumb is one fish per 10 gallons, so a single clown is really all I would do. if you have anything else in there, your already over full. Be sure to stick to LPS corals, the lighting on that tank is very low power.

Test your water and give us the readings.

Temp
Salinity
PH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Phosphate

The red on your zoas looks like Cyano. The green hairy stuff is green hair algae. You're likely overfeeding, which is easy to do. The cloudiness of the water looks like you might have a bacteria bloom. These bacteria will consume oxygen and the fish can suffocate. Get an air stone in there until the water clears, and make sure there's agitation on the surface or in the AIO sump to help oxygenate the water. Based on the brown on the rocks, it might be the start of a diatom bloom.

I would mix up a 4-5 gallon bucket to 1.023/78F and do a large water change. I am suspecting you have too much ammonia in the tank, and that the rock wasn't actually cycled rock, it looks like dry rock.

Edit: that zoa frag is also covered in bubble algae. See if you can clean that off and rinse with RO water then put back in the tank.

 

[adam2000]

Is it just the clown in this tank?
As someone mentioned above, 20 gal minimum for 2 clownfish is best.

Clown and fire fish, say I remove the fire fish is it then okay to add a clown? I read that it’s best to add 2 clowns at the same time whether the be a pair or not so if I was to add one clown later on as I already have one would this be an issue ?

 

[Tahoe61]

You don't want to add any more fish to a system with an active disease process going on. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. It's a hobby of patience. I wouldn't even add a snail to a month old tank, there is nothing to eat.
It's a nice little tank, it looks good. Just let it cook for a another month or so before adding anything.

:)

 

[JTP424]

Clown and fire fish, say I remove the fire fish is it then okay to add a clown? I read that it’s best to add 2 clowns at the same time whether the be a pair or not so if I was to add one clown later on as I already have one would this be an issue ?

There is potential for aggression. Really no way to tell. If you remove one of the fish it'll give the current clown free reign, which it'll then be territorial over the entire tank.

 

[adam2000]

Cheers thank you very much guys I won’t be adding anything soon just let the tank sit and do frequent water changes and get some more testing kits

 

[Kooma]

Buy Salifert test kits.

Don’t buy API.