# fish dying can someone help



## hamidz (Jan 28, 2008)

i have 2 butterfly and two demsil and two marble shrimp i bought them few 3 days back one butterfly fish is active but not taking any feed and other one seems to be sick although first day it was taking normal feed second day it started rubbing itself with rocks but was still eating today it has stoppes eating and is moving near the surface of the tank can someone tell me what to do?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Can you please provide us with enough information to help you? Here are the things we need to know to offer help:
Water test results (exact numbers) for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and calcium
What size is the tank?
How big are the fish?
How much live rock is in the tank?
What type of substrate are you using, crushed coral or live sand?
How long has the tank been running?
What is your water source... tap, DI, RO...?
How often are you feeding the fish and what foods? how much each time?
How often have you done water changes? How much water each time?

I know this may seem like a lot, but its all needed for us to determine what is causing the problem and then how to fix it. This could be a number of things but it wouldn't be safe for me to give specifics without the above info.
I'll keep an eye on this thread and help as quickly as I can.


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## hamidz (Jan 28, 2008)

i have not done any tests yet but my old results like 1 week back were ph:8.2 nitrite=1 my tank is 30g i have one live rock one butterfly has died today but the other one is also not eating since 3 days its size is almost 2 inches rest demsils are eating well and there is another problem i have bought a marble shrimp in the morning it was lying upside down on sand i thought it died but it was moving little but now its is still sitting in one corner how should i make sure that shrimps eat something? thanks for reply please do help me cuz in our country not many people know abt this hobby and even shop keepers are also not very aware of the exect problems


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

did you add all the fish at the same time?


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## hamidz (Jan 28, 2008)

yes i added all togeather


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

For starters, 1.0 nitrite is highly toxic. Butterfly fish tend to be very difficult fish to keep. They are very sensitive to water quality and can be hard to feed. These are not a good beginner fish.
What kind of damsels? Most damsels will be quite aggressive, and in 30 gallons can be expected to harrass most other fish.
You really need to get your water tests done asap. Most of the answers will be found there. With saltwater, especially a new tank, expect to test water quite frequently for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and calcium. All of those tests are needed to determine the exact problems (to which it sounds as if there are many) and to tell us how best to fix it.
If water quality is a problem, which it sounds as if it is, then small water changes (25%) every other day can help a lot while we're trying to figure things out. When doing water testing, always test water before a water change, never after. I hate to say it, but I really don't see a lot of hope for that butterfly, or the shrimp, under these circumstances. The sooner we know your test results to all of those I mentioned above, the sooner we can help you and your fish.


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## hamidz (Jan 28, 2008)

thanks betts i have seargent demsil they are eatign well but today i have noticed one of them is swimming near the upper surface of the tank today i will buy the test kits and do the tests and let you know mean while any advise how to keep i mean feed marbled shrimps and dancing shrimp?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Shrimps are scavenger fish, and they tend to feed mostly during dark hours. It is likely that if they are going to eat, you're not going to see it.

Please keep in mind that poor water quality will cause the fish to not feel well, and a fish who's feeling sick isn't going to be very interested in food. Focus on the water quality, no fish or shrimp is going to starve in a few days. Once the water quality is in good condition, the appetites should improve, aggression levels will start to show, and you will have something entirely new on your hands. The fish near the surface is probably suffering from high ammonia and/or nitrite levels. Can you add an air stone to the tank? Do you have power heads in the tank? Keeping up circulation, especially when it breaks the surface, will help to increase oxygen in the water, which should help the fish at least a bit. Be careful with this due to salt creep, good idea to make sure you have a securely covered tank before adding air stone or aiming to break circulation at the surface. 
I'll wait to see how your water tests out and we'll go from there.


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