29 Gallon First timer Saltwater Diary

McNertney

Oh nice! should I rotate the rock to give it more light? Saltwater is so much more interesting.

Today I bought 2 Ocellaris clownfish. 5 "regular" hermit crabs, 2 "scarlet" hermit crabs, and 5 snails.
I feel like I could use more snails....
Im doing timelaps of the group with a GoPro. You'll see :)
pix pix pix

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aussieJJDude

Just in case you forgot, you need spare shells for the crabs

McNertney

Totally forgot :) thanks Aussie!

Theres nothing sadder than watching nemo die. I dont know whats wrong with my water. PH is 8.2
gravity is 0.026
Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite are all zero.
Nemo 1 died overnight and Nemo 2 died way slower on Sunday. He was panic breathing and laying on the bottom of the tank.

Im going to the LFS today to get a more broad test kit. Any other thoughts/suggestions?

Reefing Madness

Any number of things. High Alk? Temp? Redux low. Do you have your water surface broken up? Glass lids on? Were they eating?

McNertney

Is this a good way to test for Alk?
LaMotte Alkalinity Aquarium Test Kit - Bulk Reef Supply
Whats low redux?
water surface has lots of movement and no lid.
Temp is 75, a little low i think.. right?
They never ate the flake food I gave them.

Thanks for the help.

Reefing Madness

That ALK test kit should do ya nicely.
Temp is low yes. 76-82
If they never ate what you gave them, they probably starved. Gotta get them to eat. Try Mysis Shrimp, Squid Chunks, Brine Shrimp, things of that sort. I never feed any of my fish Flake. Redux would be the amount of O2 in the system.

RSully

Sorry about your fish. Hope you get things figured out.

McNertney

Thanks Sully & RM
Should I add an airstone?
Getting the Alk test kit this week.

I think my return pump doesnt return water fast enough for my heater to work properly from the sump. I think ill add another heater that I have laying around.

Crabs and snails are doing a great job housecleaning. LFS guy told me to try some corals instead of fish first. Any thoughts on that?

Reefing Madness

Your LFS needs his head checked out. You never go with Corals in a new tank, they don't fair to well.
I'd stick with the fish. When picking them from the LFS, ask them to feed thefish right in front of you, try and pick the healthiest ones, that will also eat. Also find out what they are feeding, you can get some of this to help you with the new fish.

Big Dogs Little Pigs

i'm pretty new at this and even *I* had the same thought!

i also agree with watching the fish eat before you purchase. it could be that these little guys were new to the LFS and hadn't even settled in before they sold them to you. really sorry you lost them!!

years ago when i had a tank, i was considering a gorgeous clown trigger. guy kept telling me he was a steal, on sale, and i should scoop him up. i went every day for 3 days to see if he was eating. every time the guy put food in the tank, the trigger ignored it. i passed on him. not long after that, i was in the store at the same time the woman who ended up with that fish brought him back. dead. said he never ate. :(