# i need some help.



## fishkeeper1289 (Feb 20, 2007)

I just started my saltwater fish tank. its a 55g. and every time i put fish in thay seem to get ick and die and i was wondering what i can do to stop that. Is there any way to stop getting ick with out killing my live rock and corals?


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

has the tank been cycled? Tell us more abou the tank itself? The main reason for something like this is pure stress to the fish. What is the water perams, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, and temp for staters. how were the fish acclimated?


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

to add on to the questions..... where are you getting your fish from? What kind of fish are dieing? How old is your tank?...... we need to know more


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2007)

It would help if you quarantined the fish before adding them to the main tank. This way you can check to see if ich develops and cure it without the danger of harming any organisms on your liverock.


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## fishkeeper1289 (Feb 20, 2007)

ive had my tank for 3 mounths now and i had a lion fish,niger triger,moon wrasse, a fire fish and a royal gramma. thows are the ones that died and now i just have a yellow tang with a skunk cleaner and its doing fine.all my perams, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, and temp are all fine ive hade my water tested and all. the temp is at 78-79. and i am getting the fish from my work. and i acclimate my fish by floting them then adding a little bit of my tank water every 5-10 min for 20 min.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2007)

ok, we are going to need more information than all the params are fine. that doesnt say much


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## fishkeeper1289 (Feb 20, 2007)

like what kind of info do you guys need?


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## fishfingers (Apr 10, 2006)

Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
Alkanlity
Salinity/Specific Gravity

We need you to actually list each value for us.

How much live rock do you have?
Are you using any other filtration?
What circulation do you have?


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

I would try acclimating a little slower or try adding a UV sterelizer to your QT tank and QT the fish for a few weeks before adding to the main tank. You know they could also be dieing because of being mistreated. Some fish also need hiding spots once introduced into a tank to feel secure (such as the lionfish & wrasse). Also the Lunar Wrasse is more sensetive to water parameter changes which would mean it needs slower acclimation. How about trying more simple fish before you go on to the slightly harder to keep.

Also usually its on the LFS part and many times its on the consumers part. Make sure you dont allow your fish to get stressed as much as possible. If the fish still show signs of ich then i would consider not buying your fish from where you usually do.

Another thing, are you sure its ich thats killing them?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

leave the tank fishless for 6 weeks, it will kill all the parasites in the tank, that is the lenght of thier life span, after that, try a hardy fish, make sure your tank is cycled, quarantine them, and acclimate them better.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

First off let me just say this: Research the fish you buy. Long term those fish would not work in any tank much less one that small. It isn't a wonder that all your fish have gotten ich... your firefish and royal gramma probably started it all from being in the same area as an aggressive wrasse and trigger, and a preditor such as the lionfish. 

Secondly: slow down, too many fish at once, and having too many fish period can throw your tank out of wack, making the fish vulnerable to disease.

Third: get your fish from a reputible source... sounds like that might be half the battle.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You have a tang in the tank. Tangs have another name, namely, "ick magnets." They carry it like crazy.

I suppose you should have learned your lesson by now about the necessity for quarantine when it comes to saltwater. Everybody hears about it, but nobody ever believes it until they actually try to get away without using it, at which point they get burned every time. 

A strong UV sterilizer is probably your only real option now, since you have reef rocks and fish in the tank. Get a GOOD one and most of your problems will be solved, but you'll still need to slow way, way down and learn what mistakes you've been making before you'll finally have it licked.


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## fishkeeper1289 (Feb 20, 2007)

yeah i really had no idean what quarantine tank was till last week. i was thinking of getting a uv sterilizer but what kind would you recommend ? and also what size quarantine tank would you recommend?


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

10G tank is good as a QT. Get a 10G starter kit @ Walmart and you get everything you need for the set-up. Except of course, you'll need to get a sponge filter with an airline. Paint the sides and back black and put in a PVC tube. A QT can be used for aclimating & treating sick fish/inverts.


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## Kyoberr (Dec 6, 2006)

Possibly because it is a new tank, or because maybe you have the wrong salt level. I haven't had much experience with saltwater so I wouldn't know too much.


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## fishkeeper1289 (Feb 20, 2007)

my salts fine its at 1.023


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

I would say go with a 30 gallon for a QT tank. Throw in a heater and the fish. Of corse make sure the water is at the temp you want in the QT before adding the fish.

As far as the UV sterelizer goes, i would suggest something like an Aqua UV 15 watt. If you buy one used make sure that the bulb is new. Its almost all about the bulb.

I would also riase the salinity to around 1.025


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Don't mess with the salt level just yet. When dealing with parasites, the lower the better. ( up to a point, of course )

15 watts is fine, but don't stop there..get a 25 watter at least. You can't over-zap, but you can certainly under-zap, so get the most power you can. One of those turbo-twist types which maximize the contact time between the light and the water would be good. In any case, Harif87 is right about the bulb, make sure it's clean and new, and replace it every six months.

10 gallon setups work fine for QT'ing most small fish, but that tends to not be enough over time when you want bigger fish. Your QT should be as big as you can get it, but your hospital tank can be smaller, in order to save money on medicines, which need smaller doses in smaller tanks.
Note the difference- you don't need both a QT _and_ a hospital tank, but you might find it very handy sometimes. It would also save you some hassle when you have to change treatments but don't want to have to break down and change the hospital tank; you could just move the fish to the other QT for the next phase and get back to the first one later at your leisure.


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