Help

[Nellreel]

I'm new to saltwater completely. I raised and bred freshwater angles for several years. My tank has been up for 3 months and i have lost all of my fish but 1 wrasse, sand sifter star, and 1 shrimp. I have begun some soft coral and they seem to be doing fine. My question is: Should I keep trying fish or just stick with a reef tank? Following are my tank readings:

55 gal

25 #'s live rock

Coral base bottom

3 soft corals

PH 7.8-8.0

Nitrate <20

Nitrite 0

Buffer 120-180

Ammonia .2

[birdman204]

What kind of fish have you been trying?

Ammonia shouldnt produce a reading in an established tank. Was that reading there when the fish were introduced?

[Nellreel]

I had bi-angle, percula clown, foxface, banded coral shrimp, and a yellow wrasse. I have lost all but my shrimp and wrasse. I'm trying to find out what is going on with my tank before i spend more money on fish.

 

No, all levels were good when I stocked the tank. I introduced 1 maybe 2 fish at a time (usually 2-3 weeks apart). My latest add was the soft coral and im thinking i may have gotten reef disease from them and introduced it into my tank. The PS told me they clean all there coral before they sell it to the public.

 

Thanks for your help:)

[tinyreef]

Originally posted by Nellreel

The PS told me they clean all there coral before they sell it to the public.

this caught my eye. whaduthey mean they 'clean' the coral before they sell it? ???

 

could be a iodine dip i guess, but for a healthy coral that's just a stress event.

 

for a diseased coral it could help but the diseased flesh still needs to be excised (if it's even external).

 

parasites/predators can still cling-on or hide in nooks/crevices or even in body cavities.

 

just not a statement i'd think i'd hear from my lfs. i'd call him out on that on the spot. i'd be wary of any/all future statements from this pet-store. jmo