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Bad luck with fish

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Acrid View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 28 2009 at 12:26pm
I seem to have the worst luck with fish. Seriously, almost every single fish I have ever picked for our tank has died.

- Blue Reef Chromis (tried twice, for a total of 5)
- Scissortail Dartfish (tried 3 separate times)
- Blue Gudgeon
- Bluespot Jawfish
- Yellow-Eye Kole Tang (twice)
- Dusky Jawfish
- Lamarck's Angelfish
- Queen Anthias (2, knew this was unlikely going into it though)

Yay fish. I am so over this. The only fish I still have is my Possum Wrasse.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Savage Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 12:35pm

It can be difficult to get a healthy specimen with most of those fish including the Possum Wrasse.

Mike


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Turbostud653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 12:56pm
why don't you try a clown fish?
Here is what a customer said while on hold Oh my gosh! Did you open the door? I told you not to open the door. Dre is in here completely naked and he's got freak'n Macaroni and Cheese in his hands.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jeremyw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 1:06pm
so funny thing Acrid. I was thinking the exact same thing this morning and was going to do a post about it too. Im in the same boat I can only keep 2 fish alive....clowns and sixlines. I have been through tangs, gobys, chromises you name it they all die about 2 - 3 months in.. they have no ick they eat up till the day they die! I dont know if its there lfs where im getting them from or my tank! All levels are fine.... so i dont know what to do! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 1:12pm
Originally posted by Turbostud653 Turbostud653 wrote:

why don't you try a clown fish?


Um, I do have two. I have also had 4 others that all died, and at least two of those were from jumping out of a quarantine tank.

And that still has nothing to do with the fact that half of the fish I've lost are supposed to be hardy and easy to keep.

Oh, and I forgot to add:

- Blue Assessor Basslet
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adam Blundell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 1:14pm
The bad news = this is very common in the hobby
 
The good news = it means you are not alone
 
Many a lengthy discussions I've had with club members on this topic (Heil I'm lookin' at you, and Will).  Why is it that I can't kill some fish even when someone gives me a sickly diseased fish?  While at the same time a perfectly healthy animal can roll over and die?  I have many many thoughts (but no answers) on this, so next time we're sitting around chatting asking me about it.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cl2ysta1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 1:36pm
We've had very few fish die when put in our tanks.. i think part of it is the quality of the specimen you buy/recieve. Then it all boils down to:
-water quality
-DO(dissolved oxygen) in water
-good water flow
-good air exchange on top of the tank
-STABILITY in not only temp but also things like alkalinity etc.
-adequete food in the beginning. Many fish arent fed after they collected so they dont mess their bags during shipping. so if they are collected. held five days... then shipped to your store.. then you.. it could of been weeks before they have eaten. It is very important to get the new guy eating and offering him all sorts of food!
 
things you cannot control
-amount of stress from other tankmates.
-ability of the fish to rebound from this stress
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aquarium Creations Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 1:46pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kdinkel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 2:37pm
I have had the same issues.  My solution was buying established fish from people off the site.  The only fish I have lost have come from petstores.

Edited by kdinkel - May 29 2009 at 5:20pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jeremyw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 2:57pm
Thats what I have done to kdinkel and all fish from the site have lived! I dont think ill be doing fish shopping at stores anymore online or intown! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 3:02pm
Dana -
 
1) How long (in general) do you have these fish when they die? Have the survival times varied alot, with some dying after only a day or 2 and some lasting weeks / months - or do they all seem to drop dead after a similar time period?
 
2) Do they exhibit any symptoms at all - even if it is just "looking crappy" - the day before they die? Or, do they look great / eat great / etc. one night and the next morning they are belly up?
 
3) Are they all going into the same tank or has this happened in multiple tanks?
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 3:05pm
Originally posted by woottonjeremy woottonjeremy wrote:

so funny thing Acrid. I was thinking the exact same thing this morning and was going to do a post about it too. Im in the same boat I can only keep 2 fish alive....clowns and sixlines. I have been through tangs, gobys, chromises you name it they all die about 2 - 3 months in.. they have no ick they eat up till the day they die! I dont know if its there lfs where im getting them from or my tank! All levels are fine.... so i dont know what to do! 
 
What are you feeding your fish? (List ALL foods)
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 4:11pm
All except a scissortail were within a week or two. And I think for the most part they all look great and then... Dead.

I also forgot and left a
- Sailfin Tang
off that list.

We feed Emerald Entree, Cyclopleeze, 2 kinds of Plankton, seaweed, PE mysis & regular mysis, zooplankton, pellets, etc.

I'm frustrated and done for awhile, I think.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cl2ysta1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 4:42pm
dana. how are you tank parameters? and the only fish in the tank now is the wrasse?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 4:44pm
If the majority of your fish are dying within the first 2 weeks you can rule out food as a cause (provided they were eating something, of course)
 
I'd look at 2 overall possible factors / causes:
 
 - Shock / acclimation / environmental stress / water quality (especially swings in temp, pH, alk) / O2 and ORP (maybe declining at night? Do you run your fuge lighting opposite display lighting times or concurrently?) / predatory stress from other fish in the tank...
 
 
 - The quality of the fish you are buying. Online? LFS (all / most from the same store)?
 
 
- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -

* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 4:55pm
All the fish were bought locally from 5 different stores.

The other fish in the tank now are: 2 ocellaris clowns, purple firefish, juvenile bangaii, swallowtail angelfish, blue hippo tang, scopas tang, velvet wrasse, yellow coris wrasse, possum wrasse, tailspot blenny, lawnmower blenny.

I don't know about the parameters, Scott does the maintenance. The refugium is on an opposite time cycle, we have UV and an ASM2. All our corals look fantastic.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 4:57pm
Also, we acclimate for about an hour and in the bag floating in the sump.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cl2ysta1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 5:23pm
Try cutting down acclimation to 30 mintues, and see if scott can test the water
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nick801 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 6:49pm
Originally posted by Acrid Acrid wrote:

I seem to have the worst luck with fish. Seriously, almost every single fish I have ever picked for our tank has died.

- Blue Reef Chromis (tried twice, for a total of 5)
- Scissortail Dartfish (tried 3 separate times)
- Blue Gudgeon
- Bluespot Jawfish
- Yellow-Eye Kole Tang (twice)
- Dusky Jawfish
- Lamarck's Angelfish
- Queen Anthias (2, knew this was unlikely going into it though)

Yay fish. I am so over this. The only fish I still have is my Possum Wrasse.


What kind of time frame are we talking with this many fish dying?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Acrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 28 2009 at 7:12pm
4 within the last two weeks. The others were quite awhile ago, but not all at once. 
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