Rapid mouth/gill movements and not eating. Specific gravity is way too high! (PLEASE HELP)

[Angelwolf21203]

How long was the dead fish in the tank when it died? All night long? That is likely the source of the ammonia. You definitely need to do a large water change. Also, when you moved the tank, did you move the water, too? Or did you drain the tank and start with new water? That may have also thrown the entire ecobalance out of whack. I would not use spring water or drinking water from the store. They tend to add minerals and salts for taste.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I hope we can help. I agree to get to a store and get a hang on the back filter, air pump and airstone.

 

[Intense37754]

When I bought a tds meter I tested the LFS water, bottled water and tap. Aquafina and other name brands had tds and Walmart brand purified water had 1 or 2 tds.

Long story short is that if you have to use bottled water for now great value ain’t so bad

 

[greatestgrandma]

How long was the dead fish in the tank when it died? All night long? That is likely the source of the ammonia. You definitely need to do a large water change. Also, when you moved the tank, did you move the water, too? Or did you drain the tank and start with new water? That may have also thrown the entire ecobalance out of whack. I would not use spring water or drinking water from the store. They tend to add minerals and salts for taste.

The fish was alive in the morning and I saw that it had died at night. I took the fish out right away and buried it. When we moved the tank, we moved all of the water from the previous tank.

 

[Angelwolf21203]

No I do not have any powerheads or airstones. I have been cleaning the canister filter as instructed and I changed the carbon bags and filter pads during my water change on sunday.

This is probably a contributing factor. You probably don't have enough circulation in your tank. Another water fan/circulation pump will help a lot, by moving the water more efficiently into the filtration system. The brown slimy algae comes from stagnant water, too. Also, by adding another fan, it will ripple the top of the water, breaking the surface tension and allowing oxygen to enter the water column. Also, a skimmer is a must when it comes to reefs. That's what will remove much of the organic pollutants. It's the organic decay that is causing the nitrite, which is lethal. Your tank took a big shock, so now it's like having a brand new tank, all over again.

 

[greatestgrandma]

Several suggestions.

Run to Walmart and get a battery operated pump that comes with an airstone (sporting goods area). Grab a CLEAN Bucket. Mix new water in it at 1.024. and to temperature. Get fish into that bucket. run air stone.
Give the tank a good siphoning going after the cyano bacteria and refill with distilled or RO water which most pet stores will sell. Clean and repack the canister filter. Actually while at Walmart, also get a hang on power filter which will add surface movement, added filtration and carbon for polishing.
After tank is repacked, test water or have a trusted LFS test it for you and see where your ammonia, nitrate, ph and salinity are at.
Below is a chart you can refer to assure you are in range in the future.

Power filter:

So sorry I am a little confused about the process. When you say a battery operated pump that comes with an airstone, do you mean like this one? "Uniclife Aquarium Air Pump Battery-Operated with Air Stone and Airline Tubing Portable Outdoor Fishing Oxygen Pump" And when you say mix new water in the bucket at 1.024, do you mean mix the water from the tank and new distilled water in the bucket? And should I run the airstone while siphoning the tank itself? Also, when you say refill with distilled or RO water, how much of the water should I actually replace and how would I know if the salinity is too high and how should I control that?

 

[Angelwolf21203]

The fish was alive in the morning and I saw that it had died at night. I took the fish out right away and buried it. When we moved the tank, we moved all of the water from the previous tank.

Moving the water was definitely a good move. What was the reason you did the water change in the first place? The cyano?

 

[greatestgrandma]

Moving the water was definitely a good move. What was the reason you did the water change in the first place? The cyano?

I did the water change on sunday because it was time to change my filter floss pads and carbon bags in my canister filter as well as cleaning up the cyano but I have been attempting to clean the cyano for a while now.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So sorry I am a little confused about the process. When you say a battery operated pump that comes with an airstone, do you mean like this one? "Uniclife Aquarium Air Pump Battery-Operated with Air Stone and Airline Tubing Portable Outdoor Fishing Oxygen Pump" And when you say mix new water in the bucket at 1.024, do you mean mix the water from the tank and new distilled water in the bucket? And should I run the airstone while siphoning the tank itself? Also, when you say refill with distilled or RO water, how much of the water should I actually replace and how would I know if the salinity is too high and how should I control that?

Mix a new batch at 1.024. This is only temporary while you fix issues in display tank and adjust salinity and siphon, etc.
Battery Pump:

 

[DeniseAndy]

IF you have not done so, read this. It should help you get a handle on some of your issues. If you have read it. Well, done, read again and again and again. When I first set up my tank, I was constantly reading books to get info on ways to set up. Ideas. You can always adapt it, as in every recipe I ever cook, but you have to have the basics.
Good luck. I hope the fish hold out while you get things going in the right direction.

 

[JustAReefer]

What you have done is called hypo salinity most fish will tolerate this as long as they are not under these conditions for days your fish should be ok as long as ammonia and nitrate are ok just be cautious and monitor everything daily