Bi-Color Angel hard to keep?

[rman]

hell yeah man.

[solefald]

You should probably put the rest of the fish into your friends tank for now, before they all die. I'm not an expert, but no tank magically cycles in less than 24 hours.

[hydrahawk]

Since you are using cured LR and LS it will still probably go thru a mini cycle, around 2 weeks. I would take all the fish to your buddy's house or back to Tri-City and have them hold it for you. Test the water after 2 weeks to see if it has gone thru the cycle. When it has gone thru the cycle, do not add all the fishes in at once because the tank might go thru another cycle. Do add a CUC. If all 5 are still alive, add them in the span of two weeks and keep up with the water changes.

[jillcaps]

46 gallon bow. About 24 hours now.
I know, I know....!!
Picked up scripps water, about 30lbs of live rock from a buddy's fuge, and 40lbs of livesand... i figure it should be good to go....???

I dont think that was a smart move! hopefully the fish are okay!

[JohnnyAirtime]

46 gallon bow. About 24 hours now.
I know, I know....!!
Picked up scripps water, about 30lbs of live rock from a buddy's fuge, and 40lbs of livesand... i figure it should be good to go....???

You "figured" incorrectly.

It'll be "good to go" once it spikes (cycles), but anything you put in before hand... will have a ticking time bomb strapped to their chest. Just understand, that it'll more then likely die. You need to allow the tank a few weeks to cycle... use something like SeaChem Stability to help speed up the process.

... and your right, you should know better!! Shame on you.

[drainbamage]

I highly doubt it was an acclimation issue, dripping is not really a vital step for majority of fish, however its a good idea to do (though remember to check temp if you're doing a drip, many drip into an external container that rapidly cools off during the long drip duration.)


I'd imagine the reason the angel didnt do good is an ammonia spike due to the recently set up aquarium. While its true you can have a very fast cycle using live components, its still at least about 5-7 days of a cycle, especially with live sand. The fastest cycle tends to be mature rock kept in water (transporting it dry will start to increase the cycle time to some degree, how great is all based on how much it may/may not dry out,) along with some dry sand. I've found this because when most people get live sand off a friend, they're also getting all the accumulated debris that comes with it. If a super fast cycle is your wish, the rock will have more than sufficient bacteria on it to break down waste, and your sand will turn live over time.

I'd also recommend against scripps water for a fast cycle, lately been testing a decent amount of phosphates in it which again, wont help your fast cycle out any.


Now that its said and done though, best thing is just let it settle out for a week or two, if any fish are still alive minimal feedings to them, a water change in a few days (no more than 25%) couldnt really hurt and you should be good to try again soon.

[rman]

Yup, all my rock is out of an old fuge, transported in old water.

Small daily water changes are on the agenda.


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[rman]

Just had my water tested, was pleasantly surprised that everything looked good!

The only thing I am not sold on is my pre-packaged live sand. But I have faith in 25% established water, ~30lbs established live rock, Scripps water, and a little mixed salt water.

I picked up more water today and will be doing small daily water changes


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[scubasteve]

It will pull through- with work. Did an instant setup on my 46gal bow front! Lol get ready for the red slime outbreak soon.... Took a month of extra powerheads, and water changes, plus reduced lighting... It's a pain! Lol

[rman]

Ha! I got a 46g bowfront also

Last tank I did the same thing. Didn't get the red slime, got some weird red hair. For the life of me I dont remember what I did to get rid of it


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[afitzwater]

I have never acclimated any fish or coral and I have never had anything die on me... FYI

Guess im just lucky!

[rman]

I think it was just a fluke, something stressed it out.

Water tested fine and the very next day I added a yellow tang and CBB, who eats like he's stoned!

10% daily water changes thru this week, no skimmer, and more fish on the agenda.

Last tank was a 26g bow, skimmerless, fugeless, sumpless. All my corals were growing and splitting.

Just a little paranoid this time around since they're fish, but I'm comfortable now.

Thanks for the replies, I'll keep everyone updated as this au natural tank goes!


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[scubasteve]

I got a protein skimmer on mine- it shocks me how much it pulls out daily! -great investment for us 46 bowfronts! Lol

[LotsaFishies]

I would guess you have a water-quality issue rather than an issue with the fish itself....ammonia/nitrite, PH wrong, incorrect salinity, etc

[rman]

That was my guess as well, however it was tested immediately and everything was within range. It'll be interesting to check again and see if anything has spiked, everything seems to be thriving


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