Clown Fish Died in 2 Hours

[Chuck4]

So I'm new to this, I have a 5 gallon tank that I started up April 1st, I have tested the water pretty much every day since then and graphed it. It appears my tank has been cycled for some time, 3 weeks ago I put 3 hermit crabs in there and they are doing fine. Today I added a clown fish, it was fine for about 20 minutes before it started trying to jump out of the tank, then sank to the sand and laid on it side eventually dying all in a span of 2 hours. I had zeros across the board this morning when I checked my water. What could have caused this?

 

I have ~3 lbs of live rock and about 3" of sand in the tank

 

Also attached a pic of my graph, X- Axis starts on March 29th.

[HarryPotter]

Do you have a picture of the tank?

 

To me it sounds like you did not acclimate the clown at all, so it was immediately shocked by the parameter change and died. Did you acclimate/do you know what acclimation is?

[k4ndyk1ng]

if you didnt acclimate it that is the reason.

This happened to me with many pairs of clowns from different shops. no idea, the longest they lasted was 12 hours. i waited 3 months of my tank with no clowns in case it was a disease. 3 months on no problem. clowns went in fine.

[Chuck4]

I thought I had, I replaced about 25% of the water in the bag with my tank water and let it float for about 30 minutes in the tank before adding him in. Did I screw this up?

[Benny314]

No that's not a bad acclimation routine for fish.

Can you give us more detail on your setup, might be lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.

[GTi]

I thought I had, I replaced about 25% of the water in the bag with my tank water and let it float for about 30 minutes in the tank before adding him in. Did I screw this up?

 

Yes, I think you did. You were on the right track but not enough water transfer. Take a look here:

 

http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=157

[Chuck4]

I also had the lights on when I did it, I think I just shocked him to death which sucks after reading the above link.

[HarryPotter]

I also had the lights on when I did it, I think I just shocked him to death which sucks after reading the above link.

 

 

Bummer, Im sorry for your loss. In the future, try to check every livestock purchase either on LiveAquaria or here on Nano-Reef.

[lkoechle]

I usually just drip acclimate for a minimum of an hour no matter what it is. It isn't hard to set up a drip acclimate system, just get some airline tubing and an irrigation system gate valve. That way you don't have to worry about too much too fast. Aside from a basic system (which I use when I am acclimating several things at once) I prefer to use my reef gently which pulls out old water as it is adding water from your tank.

[GTi]

Try not to feel too bad but you know where the resources are now. People on here are quite helpful and Liveaquaria has a good resource centre too. Perhaps keep an eye on ammonia too - any is too much.

[reefernanoman]

Was the clownfish from the LFS or was it shipped? I know that if it's shipped, you have to be very careful.

Always read read and then read again if you are not sure about something. That's what I did when I was starting out. Much of my knowledge was learned right here in NR. That's how my clownfish pair has survived since 2006! Hang in there and just try to learn from your mistakes. We all make them, even after years in the hobby.

[clownfitch]

Fish are fairly easy to acclimate. The main thing is trying to match the salinity and temperature in the bag to your tank water. Most of my local fish shops keep there tanks around 1.020 where my tanks are 1.026. It usually takes me about an hour to get it within .001 of my tank water.

[Chuck4]

I'll have to be a little more careful next time, on a bright note to corals I added seem to be doing ok but it is only day 2

[HarryPotter]

I'll have to be a little more careful next time, on a bright note to corals I added seem to be doing ok but it is only day 2

 

Can you post a picture of the entire tank?

 

Also, what corals?

[Jarak200]

I had 2 baby clowns arrive today one was dead on arrival and with 30min drip acclamation the other died 15min later.

Gutted but I think coming from Surrey to Edinburgh was to much for the little fellows. 

I will purchase locally the next time I think. 

[Jarak200]

I bought a frag rack today but I seem to be having real problems getting any suction cups to stick to the inside glass in my tank,  I had the same problem with the seachem ammonia tester. 

Can anyone give me any tips on how to get them to stay stuck,  I don't want to use glue. 

[ef4life]

2 minutes ago, Jarak200 said:

I bought a frag rack today but I seem to be having real problems getting any suction cups to stick to the inside glass in my tank,  I had the same problem with the seachem ammonia tester. 

Can anyone give me any tips on how to get them to stay stuck,  I don't want to use glue. 

Magnetic frag racks are best. 

[Tamberav]

3 minutes ago, Jarak200 said:

I bought a frag rack today but I seem to be having real problems getting any suction cups to stick to the inside glass in my tank,  I had the same problem with the seachem ammonia tester. 

Can anyone give me any tips on how to get them to stay stuck,  I don't want to use glue. 

Suction cups suck, I would buy some reef safe magnets and superglue them to it. 

 

Sorry about the clowns 😞 I am not sure about shipping there but here they are sent overnight in LOTS of water in a styrofoam box with heat or cold packs. 

[ef4life]

1 hour ago, Jarak200 said:

I had 2 baby clowns arrive today one was dead on arrival and with 30min drip acclamation the other died 15min later.

Gutted but I think coming from Surrey to Edinburgh was to much for the little fellows. 

I will purchase locally the next time I think. 

Babies were probably too stressed out from shipping, and they might not have been in great shape before shipping. And ammonia could have build up in the bag too depending how long they were bagged up. It’s really sad to lose fish, I always try to buy them locally to make sure they eat, look healthy, see their personality etc. dealing with live animals there is always variables. But there are plenty of good online venders to buy from.

[ksadam]

I used to waste hours on acclimation when I first started this hobby, for the last 6 years or so I "slam dunk" all my livestock both fresh and saltwater. I take corals out of the bag, dip and then they go into the tank. Fish and inverts I float for 15 min or so to equalize temperature and then they come out of the bag and go into the tank. Fish, invertebrates and coral all have biological systems to help them with osmoregulation. I have not lost any livestock due to my lack of acclimation since I started doing it. One thing I will say though is I do set up a quarantine system matching the parameters of my tanks, typically 1.026 SG and 78 degrees F, if the livestock is going into a system that already has livestock. I know everyone does not agree with me, but this is what I do and I haven't had any issues.

[patback]

5 hours ago, Jarak200 said:

I had 2 baby clowns arrive today one was dead on arrival and with 30min drip acclamation the other died 15min later.

Gutted but I think coming from Surrey to Edinburgh was to much for the little fellows. 

I will purchase locally the next time I think. 

Ammonia gets more toxic with a rise in ph.  Fish that have spent extended time in shipping bags should be temp acclimated with the bag closed and then transferred imo. 

[HarryPotter]

 

 

@patback I was surprised to get a “like” on a 4 year old post LOL