Three dead so far...

>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
Last Friday, the apartment complex I live in had someone come in to spray for bugs (only in the kitchens and bathrooms). I covered my tanks and turned off all the air pumps as a precaution, just in case. Well, when I came home that day, everything in my tanks was fine. The snails in my saltwater set up weren't looking so hot, so I did a water change and cleaned the filter. Uncovered the tanks and turned everything back on. The snails did alright for a few days, but they died on Tuesday. I tested the water, but the levels looked fine, so I figured the snails crawled above the waterline and somehow got the bug spray in their systems.

Last night, I did my regular water change, everything looked great, except my usually greedy fishy wasn't hungry. Woke up at six this morning and went to feed the tank, and the damsel was laying on the sand, panting. I mixed up some fresh saltwater, heated to match the big tank at 78 degrees, mixed in some of his tank water. I had to go to work, so I tried to acclimate a little and moved him there with a filter on low power. Came home and he was dead.

The damsel was my only fish. I have three tiny hermits, and they're all fine. Water in both tanks tested at:

ph 8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 15
*oh, salinity is at 1.020*
Anything I'm missing? It's a week after they sprayed, so I figured if he was going to die from the spray, he would have done it sooner. How can I tell if he was poisoned?
 

MATTHEWS

Feeder Fish
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Feb 18, 2008
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Spring Texas
I used to spray and even let off foggers in my house when I had a saltwater tank going and never went beyond covering the tank and the wet dry filter/sump. I never lost anything due to my insect exterminations. Not sure what happened in your tank but damsels are cheap, go out and buy some more and move on. There will be plenty of other creatures to experiment with. Don't worry too much, this gives you a chance to try something new :)
 

>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
Actually, there is this one super cute scooter blenny I've had my eye on at the lfs, but I couldn't get him as my tank is small and I only have room for one fish. He was playing peek a boo with me when I went to get some seaweed for my crabs. Aw.

But, If there's something wrong with my tank I don't want to kill him!
 

>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
MATTHEWS;1837134; said:
How big is your tank?
Ten gallons. I know, I know, I said I would upgrade if things went well, but I'm unexpectedly broke right now (stupid car). Plus, I've had the tank running for a while now and these are my first deaths. All in one week, it's suspicous. I mean, I'm vigilent and careful so the parameters have been always consistant with what I posted earlier. I wonder why the sudden deaths.
 

>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Elsinore
Ok, scratch the scooter blenny. I've read that they only get to about 3 inches, but I saw some that were way bigger at the lfs today. I ended up picking up some cool coral, which I think I will post about in the inverts/coral section because of some hitch-hikers. I do have a question now, though. Without a fish, will the tank stay properly cycled, or is there something I should be doing?
 

ctenopoma

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 14, 2008
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Canada
I think you can add a small amount of food once and a while to keep the tank cycled
but I'm not 100% sure
 

princess

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 13, 2007
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England
good choice for not getting the scooter blenny you would have to be a complete idiot to get one of those because it WILL die in a 10G tank.... :D

anyway just keep doing weekly waterchanges and after a month get another fish....but choose wisely. also IMO your nitrate at 15 is at the highest.....i would do water changes to bring it down to 5
 

>:(

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
236
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Elsinore
Yeah, it seemed a bit high to me. The only problem was that I read all over the place that 20 ppm for nitrate was considered ok with anything less being good. It's misinformation like that which makes saltwater tanks hard for beginners. I'll definitely lower my nitrates.
 

princess

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 13, 2007
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well they say under 20....but at 20 my fish seems not as active...if you can get your water down to 5 then i deffo would! just because they can live at 20 ppm doesn't mean its good practice to do so. you are correct i have read a few sites that say less than 20 but i would never let mine get that high. my tank 15gallon ( 13gallon useful ) stays at around 5-7ppm i do a water change once a week to keep it at around this. ( 30% a week )

2 hermits
2 snails
1 randalls goby
 
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