My first fish and he died in a week...

JosephM · Jan 26, 2021

After doing months of research and spending lots of money I set up my very first saltwater tank. I used KPA live rock so I could get all the good that comes with it. Well I did not think enough about the bad. Fast forward a couple weeks and I purchased my first fish, 'Boo', an exquisite firefish. We named him Boo because he loved to play peek-a-boo, he was a skittish little thing but absolutely beautiful. Well this morning I woke up and he was laying on his side outside of his cave. I go out and come back a couple hrs later and he's upside down so I immediatlety pick him up with a net just to find a massive isopod latched right behind his fin. Of course with my carelessness once I got the isopod off it got back into my system. Well the firefish couldn't recover and passed away a few hours later. **** isopod. I don't even know what to do from here, this has been my dream and I've put so much work, time, and money into it. I don't want to take it all apart because I do have some corals that I like but I can't have a tank without fish, I love the action and personality they bring. Been a rough day

Only had him for 4 days and he was in perfect condition until this morning.

Rubberfrog · Jan 26, 2021

Dude... that blows. Someone will be along to tell you what wrasse or crab will eat that thing.

code4 · Jan 26, 2021

So sorry for the loss. We have all been there. Always sad. I am not sure but there could be a fallow period to be sure that any of them dang things still in your system are dead before adding more.

Shelley

Brandon3152134 · Jan 26, 2021

Being it was the first week and I assume your corals are healthy. It probably wasn't your fault. Alot of fish are wild caught may have just not made it to long in an aquarium. I wouldn't beat yourself up maybe try something like clowns. Fire fish aren't hard to keep but they can be finicky.

Jenuvio · Jan 26, 2021

A Valentini Puffer will eat that bugger.
If you have SPS I would do this with caution...

JosephM · Jan 26, 2021

code4 said:
So sorry for the loss. We have all been there. Always sad. I am not sure but there could be a fallow period to be sure that any of them dang things still in your system are dead before adding more.

Shelley

From what I've read the longer ones could survive up to 8months with just what's in the tank and I have my corals and pods that need to be fed along with filter feeders.

Jenuvio said:
A Valentini Puffer will eat that bugger.
If you have SPS I would do this with caution...

Might have to look into that one, I want those things to suffer, no sps, just some softies and a couple LPS.

Brandon3152134 said:
Being it was the first week and I assume your corals are healthy. It probably wasn't your fault. Alot of fish are wild caught may have just not made it to long in an aquarium. I wouldn't beat yourself up maybe try something like clowns. Fire fish aren't hard to keep but they can be finicky.

My corals are thriving, a ton of new growth on softies added a week ago. But that firefish had been at LFS for a while and was great I think it was solely that massive isopod that took him out

Jenuvio · Jan 26, 2021

If you can't find a Valentini Puffer another method I am thinking of is hunt him down at night... after lights out attempt to catch it.

JosephM · Jan 26, 2021

Jenuvio said:
If you can't find a Valentini Puffer another method I am thinking of is hunt him down at night... after lights out attempt to catch it.

For sure I'm planning on starting that tonight. Bottle trap and me with a net and turkey baster. That thing is gonna be out of my tank one way or another!

Brandon3152134 · Jan 26, 2021

Flip the top of a soda bottle inside out and put a piece of shrimp or something in there I use this trap for alot of critters

SaltyT · Jan 26, 2021

Sorry for your loss

I've had cirolanid isopods hitchhike on my gulf live rock a few times. I've found them in my filter socks and I even had one attach to my yellow wrasse 7 months after I set my tank up. You can try the bottle trap method with a piece of stinky table shrimp as bait. It worked for me.