New tank. First fish dying? Normal?

[madtownguy]

It is risky to put fish in right away, I did put a clown in right away in my tank so the wife wouldn't bug me a lot. Damsels are pretty strong if you checked temp and salinity and slowly introduced the fish, I'm assuming you know not to just dump the fish in the tank, then you should have probably been ok. A lot of people will disagree with putting a fish in that quick though. With live rock and live sand I would think you would be fine.

 

[Tahoe61]

Ammonia levels have never gotten anywhere near high. And the very first damsel I put in is still going strong as are the rest of my fish and corals. Most of them all wild caught

There is always the exception, that is not the rule, hence new tank syndrome.

If you start out with LR (preferably cured) then yes tanks cycle rather quickly.

Damsels are resilient when it comes to elevated ammonia and nitrite levels, but they should not be used to cycle a tank IMO, they do not grow on trees.

It's a proven fact backed up by the science in this hobby that NSW does not carry enough nitrifying bacteria to establish a tank.

I am glad you've had success with your system though. :)

 

[Aussie paul]

In

Ammonia levels have never gotten anywhere near high. And the very first damsel I put in is still going strong as are the rest of my fish and corals. Most of them all wild caught

In saying that my live rock and sand also came out of my 72" tank I had previously set up so it probably helped

 

[scardall]

patience grasshopper

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

In In saying that my live rock and sand also came out of my 72" tank I had previously set up so it probably helped

In a case like that, you are fine. When rock is purchased from a store, you don't know what condition it is in most of the time. I feel it is best to test first (dose with ammonia and see how fast it goes to zero) prior to adding live creatures.