# Dying fish?



## Guest (Nov 18, 2007)

Hi there! My mom has a 30 gallon saltwater tank that has been cycled. She went and bought some kind of dragonet and a snail from petco. About a week later she added a Valentini Puffer. 
Since then the dragonet and snail have died, and the puffer is still alive. Her parameters are Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, and nitrates < 40. 
We can't figure out if the puffer stressed out the dragonet, or it was something else. And what makes me more confused is why did the snail die? I have pictures of this algae she has, could it be that? Please help.....


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

the algae is just a sign of the cycle ending, what kind of dragonette was it, and did she acclimate any of the fish of the snail at all?


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2007)

leveldrummer said:


> did she acclimate any of the fish of the snail at all?


Actually the dragonet and the first snail she didn't acclimate, like I told her to with the puffer. And as for the type of dragonet I have no idea. It was brown and tannish and it used it's little fins as feet. That's all I know.

And how do we get rid of that algae, I thought snails would take care of it, but it didn't... any advice?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

It will leave on its own. Just keep up with the waterchanges.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Your dragonette died because it was a dragonette in a new tank. They need very well established tanks with lots of live food swimming about or they'll starve every time. 
The snail died because you put a puffer in the tank. Puffers peck at snails. It's what they do.
The puffer should do fine.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Obviously the people at your petco have no idea what they are talking about... support someone that does... check around at your local shops. If they say you can have a dragonet with your tank being so new, skip that shop as well.


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2007)

Well my mom's puffer died yesterday. We have no idea what's going on with the tank. My mom refuses now to put any fish in there until we can figure out what's going on, and I agree. 
She's been testing her saltwater with my freshwater kit, and that's the only thing I can figure what's screwing her up. But everytime she used my kit it had readings on it that seemed correct (we did a fishless cycle). 
But I am so confused. Please can someone give me something?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

keep the tank running for a month, let it stabilize from everything that has died and other problems that might be going on, get a decent salt water test kit, test her ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, specific gravity, temp, calcium, alkalinity and give us some figures, if everything seems ok, try a hardier fish and acclimate it well before introducing it.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Waitaminute... I don't see any mention of quarantining any of these fish at any point.
Saltwater fish MUST be properly quarantined. Period. If they aren't, this is what happens. To ensure their survival in the vastness of the ocean, saltwater disease organisms reproduce at a phenomenal rate in the hope of just a few offspring finding a host fish. In the confines of the aquarium, these teeming masses have no problem finding the fish, which have no escape.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

I agree ....all fish need to be quarantined first to ensure that nothing harmful is introduced into the tank....you might find that it's not your tank thats causing the fish to die....It could be the fish!!! The source where the pet store is getting them from, the fish could be weak, and doomed to die because of the collection methods from divers @ the fish origin. Make sure your fish goes into a hospital tank for atleast two weeks before introducing it to your main tank to ensure you are putting a healthy aqautic animal in your display....Aloha


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## Zanekiller (Dec 16, 2007)

wait a month then put in a damsel they are really hardy


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

Zanekiller said:


> wait a month then put in a damsel they are really hardy


Stay away from Damsels! They are horrible fish to put in a tank because of how aggresive they are. Also just because a fish is cheap doesn't mean you should use it as a possible sacrifice to make sure your tank is ready to keep livestock in.


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2007)

CollegeReefer said:


> Stay away from Damsels! They are horrible fish to put in a tank because of how aggresive they are. Also just because a fish is cheap doesn't mean you should use it as a possible sacrifice to make sure your tank is ready to keep livestock in.


I resent the anti-damsel message that is constantly sent out. In the proper tank and with the right tankmates, they make fascinating and gorgeous additions. 
They're actually very fun to watch too. 

But I do support not adding a damsel to this tank and not putting one in with the attitude that "it will survive anything because it is hardy and it doesn't matter because it is cheap."


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

I didn't mean to come across as anti-damsel for i don't want to be a speciest. They are beautiful but very agressive fish and should be one of the last fish you introduce in your tank. This is why haveing a stocking list is a great idea before you set up your tank. The list will allow you to make sure all of the fish are compatable with eachother, but also tell you what to add first. You always want to add your more passive fish first and your agressive fish last.


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