Why did my fish die?!

[Foughter]

Ok, I killed my first two clownfish. But I can’t figure out why.
I built a tank from scratch. It has a 120 gallon display with a 55 gallon sump. I used RODI water to make my salt water. It has sand and dry live rock. And it’s all been set up and running for about two weeks.
I tested the water and my PH is 8.0 and my Salinity is 1.025. The temp is 77.
I need to cycle the tank so I grabbed 2 clowns from my LFS as well as a live bacteria additive.
I drip acclimated the fish for about 2 hours and then put them and the live bacteria. After about 30 minutes the fish started to act funny. So I adjusted a few things.
First- I noticed that I was getting a lot of micro bubbles. So I adjusted the depth of my rump return so that there were no more visible bubbles.
Second- I noticed that the fish seemed to be getting worked over by my power heads. So I turned them off.
The fish were running into the rocks and listing sideways. Then they angled up and down about 90 degrees. There colors started to transition to a more opaque hue.
I assumed they were just getting used to the tank so I turned off the lights and went to bed.
When I wore up one was dead at the bottom of the tank, so I got that one out. And I can’t find the other one. I haven’t had time to really look and find the other. But it is definitely not in the main display... maybe it is In my strainer sock. But I had to go to work so I will find out later.

Any thoughts on what could have happened?!
This is the first time I have added anything alive to my tank.

 

[HuduVudu]

Second- I noticed that the fish seemed to be getting worked over by my power heads. So I turned them off.

He was there for possibly two reasons, you burned his gills by cycling with him in it or your tank does not have a gas exchange and the cycling was exacerbating that.

Please find a person that you trust that is knowledgeable in the hobby and ask them to guide you through the process of setting up and maintaining your tank.

 

[Doglips56]

Cycling a tank with fish is cruel. I’m sure you didn’t know any better but you need to cycle your tank and check ammonia and nitrites at least daily. Bottled bacteria won’t neutralize ammonia or nitrites immediately. If you haven’t been checking your ammonia or nitrite levels the were probably overtaken by that. Imagine for a moment the smell of ammonia in a bottle and then imagine being immersed in it with no escape. I agree with the above answer. Find a local reef club and a mentor as soon as possible, before adding any more living creatures. We all learn by our mistakes. Very best of luck to you from here on out!

 

[rwreef]

Overall, the fish died from the ammonia in your new un cycled aquarium. Do some research around cycling an aquarium and understand how this is achieved before adding anything else to the tank. Fish cycling is an out dated method.

 

[Foughter]

Cycling a tank with fish is cruel. I’m sure you didn’t know any better but you need to cycle your tank and check ammonia and nitrites at least daily. Bottled bacteria won’t neutralize ammonia or nitrites immediately. If you haven’t been checking your ammonia or nitrite levels the were probably overtaken by that. Imagine for a moment the smell of ammonia in a bottle and then imagine being immersed in it with no escape. I agree with the above answer. Find a local reef club and a mentor as soon as possible, before adding any more living creatures. We all learn by our mistakes. Very best of luck to you from here on out!

What would you suggest for best practices for cycling a brand new tank?

 

[rwreef]

What would you suggest for best practices for cycling a brand new tank?

https://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/reefing/Fishless-Cycle

 

[Chrisfish]

Video of the Day: How to set up a saltwater aquarium - Episode 1: Reef tanks made fun and easy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwRvd5kS4wY&feature=pyv

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Texas Rick]

If I’m reading this right. Your tank is too new and it should be cycled without any fish for at least 30 days.

 

[Uncle99]

A bottle of Fritz 9, (for your sized tank) a Raw shrimp in a mesh bag, until ammonia zero, nitrite zero, then 50% water change and toss the mesh bag.
Then you can add your clowns...maybe 2 weeks if you add the nitrifying bacteria, maybe 3-6 weeks without.

 

[brandon429]

Im aware we want to jump on the ammonia death mode, aware


but 50 gallons dilution ya'll think will kill two clowns in 30 mins>

no


something else here, acclimation. salinity, something. opening a shipping bag and adding prime...something

 

[HuduVudu]

something else here, acclimation. salinity, something. opening a shipping bag and adding prime...something

Yes, but do you think it would be safe to say that the OP needs a little help?

 

[Privateye]

Hang on, do you have ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits to test your cycle status? People may be jumping to conclusions. Running into rocks after 30 minutes isn't a typical ammonia poisoning symptom, but I can't rule it out without a water test either.

I'm curious, what sealants did you use when building your tank?

 

[brandon429]

Hudu don't think I didn't think of ammonia right off the bat

and my fish in cycling thread, and the timing~~


but they get out usually a day before the doom, and cloudy water is a requisite outcome of ammonia non control.


and, no patterning as well found online. finding failed fish in cycles is hard, hard, not another recent one I can find.

For sure the right balance here is keep the tank as-is, don't do new fish but do an adjusted ammonia test to see if the bottle bac worked.

once ammonia is verified under control, then before fish are added I recommend choosing a disease prevention protocol but we can start with some basic clean up crews and a couple zoanthids as no big deal. this is assuming all water prep modes are verified safe, and that no contaminations are occurring or untreated tapwater, so many basic variables to nail down before adding fish.


verifying temps, salinity control. the way salinity is even measured is in question so far, swingarm bubbles....


I truly think ammonia wasn't the culprit here/too fast.

but yes fish in cycling is risky its also a coming wave we cannot stop, so why not scan them for patterns I say.

how many thousands of fish ride for three hours home from Petco in a bag of Petco water and nothing else, this was fifty gallons and bottle bac and instant doom.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Hudu don't think I didn't think of ammonia right off the bat

and my fish in cycling thread, and the timing~~


but they get out usually a day before the doom, and cloudy water is a requisite outcome of ammonia non control.


and, no patterning as well found online. finding failed fish in cycles is hard, hard, not another recent one I can find.

For sure the right balance here is keep the tank as-is, don't do new fish but do an adjusted ammonia test to see if the bottle bac worked.

I think that adding the bacteria at the same time as the clowns depleted the oxygen. Turning off the wavemaker(s) made it worse. Ammonia probably didn’t play a part.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Im aware we want to jump on the ammonia death mode, aware


but 50 gallons dilution ya'll think will kill two clowns in 30 mins>

no


something else here, acclimation. salinity, something. opening a shipping bag and adding prime...something

Yeah I really, really doubt a 175G of water had so much ammonia release from 2 clownfish that it killed them.

 

[ichthyoid]

Unless I missed something, 2 clowns died after less than 1 day, in a new/uncycled ~175 gallon system?

Cycle or no cycle, I doubt that it was ammonium poisoning, unless you dosed ammonium chloride or hydroxide.

Did you?

 

[brandon429]

they died in 30 mins, both fish, which is why the crowds assessment is suspect


that's too fast for ammonia to build up. even with zero bottle bac added its too fast.

 

[brandon429]

edit


the sump was 50 gallons plus what Legendary said 100+ more. Im sure nh3 didn't do this.


adding this to my fish in cycling thread

I do not know what killed these clowns however, but as a self appointed nh3 hack I don't think my nemesis did it

 

[LegendaryCG]

It sounds more like you have toxins in the tank or the fish had a rough transition into the tank.. Maybe run carbon to help clear the water and do some water swaps.

 

[brandon429]

per a cycling chart, two weeks time establishes some degree of basic filtration though Im not claiming the whole caboose

but its not sterile rocks and sand at 14 days, per any chart. those were written in 1940s I think, before we sold bottle bac as the only way to cycle on earth.


curious to know if bottle bac was added at all before the fish, or just with them


few use dry sand

likely this sand was caribsea wet, written on the label to have bacteria just like bottled bac, and that sat for two weeks prepping @Foughter ?


I see this thread as an exercise in post pattern predictability its not a standout ammonia event to me, yet.