Green22
New Member
My boyfriend and I are new to the saltwater life. We set up our 13.5 gallon tank almost 4 weeks ago; dry rock, live sand. After having the water checked on Sunday 1/24, the guy we've been working closely with at our LFS said our levels were good (all 0) and suggested we add a pair of clownfish. We were so excited to finally have something to look at besides sand & rock!
By Monday morning (about 12 hours after we put the fish in) they were both covered in white spots. About two hours later, the spots were gone, but they were swimming weird & one was breathing hard. I called our LFS & they said it sounded like ICH, so I went & picked up some medication (the guy working recommended imagitarium parasite remedy). By the time I got home, one of the fish laying in the bottom of the tank, only moving his fins. Within an hour, he died. We called the LFS & spoke with the guy we've been working with & instructed me to bring in another water sample (all the levels were at 0 except the ammonia, which he said was a little elevated, likely from the fish dying.) He said the ICH likely came from the sand, & recommended I buy API's Melafix to treat in addition to the other medication. The remaining fish seemed to be getting better throughout the night, however he hadn't eaten since Sunday night.
Today, the remaining fish is looking like the first one did before it passed (laying in sand, breathing hard, unable to swim) & he's veery pale. Things are not looking good. We bought an at home test kit & todays levels are as follows: Ammonia 0, GH 180, KH 120, pH 8, Nitrate/Nitrite 0. We also bought a biological booster, but we haven't added it yet.
We are confused & disheartened. Where did we go wrong & where do we go from here? PLEASE HELP!!
By Monday morning (about 12 hours after we put the fish in) they were both covered in white spots. About two hours later, the spots were gone, but they were swimming weird & one was breathing hard. I called our LFS & they said it sounded like ICH, so I went & picked up some medication (the guy working recommended imagitarium parasite remedy). By the time I got home, one of the fish laying in the bottom of the tank, only moving his fins. Within an hour, he died. We called the LFS & spoke with the guy we've been working with & instructed me to bring in another water sample (all the levels were at 0 except the ammonia, which he said was a little elevated, likely from the fish dying.) He said the ICH likely came from the sand, & recommended I buy API's Melafix to treat in addition to the other medication. The remaining fish seemed to be getting better throughout the night, however he hadn't eaten since Sunday night.
Today, the remaining fish is looking like the first one did before it passed (laying in sand, breathing hard, unable to swim) & he's veery pale. Things are not looking good. We bought an at home test kit & todays levels are as follows: Ammonia 0, GH 180, KH 120, pH 8, Nitrate/Nitrite 0. We also bought a biological booster, but we haven't added it yet.
We are confused & disheartened. Where did we go wrong & where do we go from here? PLEASE HELP!!
