# dead yellow tail damsel and enginear goby acting strange!



## zachhay11 (Dec 27, 2008)

okay a little while ago my yellow tail damsel died and he wasnt acting weird before he just died! and i had him for over a year so i didnt think much of it. a small loose. then this morning my enginear goby was swimming weird he keeps swimming on the surface. and sticking his nose in the air. i also have 2 clowns. and no one has been eating very well i dont think. i really need help quick!


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

what size tank, how much flow, what do you feed, whats your exact water params (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate,pH,SG,alk,calcium,mag,temp) FOWLR or reef, how often do you water change, how much?


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## zachhay11 (Dec 27, 2008)

its a 20 gallon PH is 7.7 nitrite is 0.4 and amonia is .0. the temp was cold. i turned the heater on. fish only. I feed them a frozen mix. for omnovors. thats all the info i got sorry.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

a few things, with a nit*rite* reading this means your tank has *not* fully cycled yet. your going to want to mix up a decent amount of salt water (outside of the tank) to preform water changes. you dont know your SG?! (sg=specific gravity)
is it possible to return the fish to the store for store credit? i honestly think you need more reading and research to approach this properly to offer the best interest for the livestock. please feel free to ask any questions.


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## zachhay11 (Dec 27, 2008)

oh specific gravity! oh yes i'll give that to u a little later i'm not at my tank now although i believe its a tad bit high i havent yet added water and evaperation has taken an inch or 2. and are u sure its not cycled yet because it has been set up for some time now. about 6 months


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

well, if your having nit*rite *readings your tank is not cycled yet. it goes ammonia, nitrite, then nitrate. it is possible to have a "mini cycle" esp from overfeeding, decaying fish and so forth


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## darrelljonesdc (Jan 12, 2009)

you should check all levels with a glass tube testing kit,you will have to do a water change to lower your nitrite levels and ammoina if you have nitrite problrms then ammonia follows dont feed your fish for a few days and make sure your protein skimmer is working proper if you dont have one you should get one. another thing dont place your hands in your water when dirty lotion, dish washing liquids etc,check water condition daily a assume small water changes until your at 0 nitrite


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

it goes ammonia, then nitrite then nitrate.

if your going to get a protien skimmer check reviews before buying, some are garbage and some are golden.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

If you do multiple waterchanges it'll cause your Nitrite to take longer to cycle out of the tank. Now if it's a Nitrate issue then that'll be fine. I doubt the nitrate would kill your fish or cause your goby to start acting wierd

When was the last time you topped your tank off. That could very well be the issue. In smaller tanks, when you evap a small amount of water say .5in, the salinity goes up significantly. If you have evap'd almost 2in then your salinity is going to be sky high. Please top your tank off daily or use an auto top off kit. Online is cheeper then at a LFS. www.autotopoff.com is a good place to start. I pump water into the tank rather then use a top off, but it does get topped daily and in a small tank, it needs to occur more often.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

Kellsindell said:


> If you do multiple waterchanges it'll cause your Nitrite to take longer to cycle out of the tank. Now if it's a Nitrate issue then that'll be fine. I doubt the nitrate would kill your fish or cause your goby to start acting wierd


this is 100% true granted they are in acceptable range. in a FOWLR i would personally not let them exceed 10-15 (20max) ppm but all depending on species kept.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

Right sorry, i assumed the #'s. Thank you for your rebuke


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

The pH is a huge problem, not only because of the reading, but because of what the pH levels tells us about other major salt ions that make up saltwater. If the pH is 7.7, then your alkalinity is a mess. Which means your Calcium is low, and likely means your magnesium is low. 

Lets talk about your maintenance routine during the 6 months this aquarium has been set up. First, how many water changes have you done? And what size? Second, what brand of aquarium salt are you using? Third, are you testing alkalinity and are you adding a buffer to ensure the alkalinity remains >8 DKH?

I suspect this is the source of your problem.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

>8 but <12


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

onefish2fish said:


> >8 but <12


LOL

Agreed.
Kind of. Just for laughs, i will say >= 8 but <=14. But that is another debate altogether, which I won't win on this forum! ;-)


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

lol, well just wanted to clarify so anyone reading this thinks that it has to be anywhere above 8 so they dump a bottle of b-ionic in and call it a day.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

Pasfur said:


> LOL
> 
> Agreed.
> Kind of. Just for laughs, i will say >= 8 but <=14. But that is another debate altogether, which I won't win on this forum! ;-)


LOL, prolly not...


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## ajmckay (Oct 28, 2008)

I agree that the PH is much too low... I maintain my PH at 8.3 (with fairly little effort beyond a 10% water change) I use Instant Ocean and Red Sea Salt brands, and my corals are even thriving despite insufficient lighting conditions (soon to be fixed though). Another thing that concerns me is that you never mentioned your temperature beyond "cold". Your fish are tropical and the temperature should be safe around 78-80 degrees. Another thing you might want to do is increase the aeration in the tank... If your goby is hanging around the top the oxygen content in your water might be low. Good luck!


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

you use 2 different brands of salt?

i think its best to pick a salt and stick with it being consistent.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

I don't think there's an issue with mixing salts. In a sense it's like balancing the goods and bads (depending on brand of course). i don't think it's a bad thing at all.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Another thing that just came to mind... fish often hang near the surface when bullied or picked on.

Also, have you tested the pH of the salt mix prior to adding it to the tank? You may have a bad batch of salt. It happens.
In fact, how old is the salt? Does the salt flow free from the bag, or is it clumped and moist?


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