Emergency Help

[clownfish123321]

my tank has been getting cloudy gradually but it has come to the point where i cant see anything please help i have a bta in the thank and i really don't want it to die http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/JoeA_2010/Bacteria%20or%20algae%20080.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/JoeA_2010/media/Bacteria%20or%20algae%20080.jpg.html)

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/JoeA_2010/Bacteria%20or%20algae%20081.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/JoeA_2010/media/Bacteria%20or%20algae%20081.jpg.html)

[thegrun]

What are all your water parameters? Are you dosing anything? We need more information if we are going to give you good advice.

[rfgonzo]

^^^ Same question and what do you have for filtration?

[clownfish123321]

Not dosing anything
Nitrite:0
ammonia:0
Nitrate:8

[Reef Frog]

Can you tell if it is particulate matter, suspended algae or is it milky white?

White may indicate a bacterial bloom. Are the fish breathing normally. Any gasping, fast respiration or breathing from the surface layer,,

Are invers like hermits, snails & shrimp behaving normally. Also describe condition of RBTA.

It looks like algae or diatoms to me unless it's been a while since you cleaned your glass. GL.

[clownfish123321]

I have a 8” x 8” x 1” Plate MarinePure Ceramic Biomedia
And a maxi jet 600 with pre filter and hydor rotating head

[clownfish123321]

The bta couldn't care less looks amazing
Same thing goes for the marroon clown

[clownfish123321]

have no snails or hermits

[rfgonzo]

No LR? do you do water changes? look like a Bloom.

[clownfish123321]

yes water change 10% every three days
The bio media act and is better than live rock

[clownfish123321]

alot more surface area

[clownfish123321]

what kind of bloom
And how do i get rid of it

[rfgonzo]

HMMM, what are you feeding and how much? how long has tank been running?

[rustyjames]

What size tank and what are you feeding it?

yes water change 10% every three days
The bio media act and is better than live rock

Judging by the tank condition maybe it's not better than live rock, just sayin. Unless there's something else going on.

[clownfish123321]

been running 6 months
Haven't fed in 2 days trying to get rid of outbreak
Here is a thought the problem started after i dosed some micro organisms that perform the nitrogen cycle the product is called "Nite-Out" Labeled as nitrifying bacteria and i over doesed

[rfgonzo]

Do you know PO4 levels?

[clownfish123321]

10 g

[clownfish123321]

no...

[clownfish123321]

i cant imagine why it would be high i don't over feed and do water changes every three days

[Vapour1ze]

Why were you dosing bacteria? Was the tank not cycled? That tank looks empty... Looks like a tank with water...

I would do a 50% water change. Add some LR, YOU NEED LIVE ROCK!

I would also make sure you have a skimmer, while not required it certainly will help clear things up.

Start running some carbon as well. Good luck.

[clownfish123321]

My nitrite where high
the bta is in the corner but you cant see it due to the foggy water and marine pure is like live rock look it up
The maroon is in a three way breeder due to him being to rough on the bta

[Reef Frog]

yes water change 10% every three days
The bio media act and is better than live rock

What size tank? My guess is an algae or diatom bloom.

Bio media is not as good as live rock, not even close although they both colonize with denitrifying bacteria. I'm not 100% sure but my bet is that is the root of the issue somehow. It may not be enough, it's not able to host enough bacteria, it's leaching nutrients or maybe even phosphates are involved.

I've never heard of an algae bloom in the water killing stuff right away but I may be wrong. I would start by running some mechanical filtration like floss or a sock to see if I can filter some out. Then a large but not crazy big water change, siphoning up any detriis in the tank.

Beware that Anenomies tend to move around after big environmental changes. Make sure it doesn't move into your power heat and gets sliced & diced. GL.

[clownfish123321]

i have been doing water changes like a boss over the last few days have chage over 50% of water in less that a week

[clownfish123321]

10 G tank

[rustyjames]

been running 6 months
Haven't fed in 2 days trying to get rid of outbreak
Here is a thought the problem started after i dosed some micro organisms that perform the nitrogen cycle the product is called "Nite-Out" Labeled as nitrifying bacteria and i over doesed

There's your answer. Your solution isn't in a bottle. What kind of light are you providing that bta?

[clownfish123321]

Dual t5 Ho 4.8 wats per gallon

[clownfish123321]

dual t5 Ho 4.8 watts per gallon

[rfgonzo]

i have been doing water changes like a boss over the last few days have chage over 50% of water in less that a week

So were you doing WC on a regular basis before the outbreak, or did you just start doing water changes since the outbreak. I'm sure overdosing bacteria in a bottle has something to do with your issue.

[clownfish123321]

regular wc before outbreak

[clownfish123321]

then increase after outbreack

[rfgonzo]

What about water source, tap or ro/di

[clownfish123321]

What should i do?

[clownfish123321]

Ro di

[Reef Frog]

Yup I think RUSTYJ got it. But your tank looks brown/green to me. Bacteria blooms are typically milky white - but I'm no microbiologist.

If it is a bacterial bloom it will probably pass. Some bacteria in huge huge quantities can strip the water of enough oxygen to kill fish, probably an Anenomie too if it's bad enough. . Removing the fish to a QT tank is one idea if you sense an impending disaster but that is probably unlikely, but if breathing changes as I described earlier. You have a problem.

I'd move the power head close to the surface so as to agitate the surface water as much as you can as a precaution. Water changes won't hurt and while you're doing them try to pick up any slimy bacteria colonies that may be clinging to the glass. And run your skimmer if you have one. For the future I strongly recommend getting some live rock and let it seed naturally, you don't need bottled bacteria. Keep a sharp eye on things. Good,lick.

[rfgonzo]

I would keep doing WC with salt and ro/di water, test PO4, get a CUC, add LR, and stop using bacteria in a bottle.

[clownfish123321]

ok as i said earlier i just dosed kent marine pro water clarifier i have read in many place that it will clump up the particles so it can be removed by the mechanical filter

[clownfish123321]

i have read NO negative reviews on it

[clownfish123321]

Any objections?

[Reef Frog]

Clarifier is another bad idea. For many reasons I learned years ago.folks are giving you good information here. Bottles - bad unless:

- It's food
- you're testing for it

You are going to need live rock, the proper lighting which you have, and excellent water conditions to keep an RBTA anen. alive & happy. Your tank is also too small for what you are keeping as well, at least for the long term.

[clownfish123321]

I want the Why its bad not just say its bad

[CStrickland]

I want the Why its bad not just say its bad

one reason is it tends to lead to more, like a vicious cycle.
you added a bottle of bacteria, now your tanks messed up, so you add a bottle of "high tech polymers" but you still havent gotten to the root of the problem, its just weighing down the crud. i hope no more cloudy comes back, but if it does youll be back in the same place. cloudy water is a symptom of some issue in your tank, it is not the issue itself.

It might be easier to ask for objections beforehand next time.

PS Thats a pretty small tank for the clown. i guess its not so bad cause he has a lot of swimming room without the rocks in the way, but he might like a little cave or something to go into once in a while to feel safe and give him something to do. he must be going bonkers in that box

[clownfish123321]

Im plan on trading him in for a percula because he is to rough on the bta
He is about 3 Inches

[kissman]

My nitrite where high

This is proof that you need Live Rock. 6 Months after tank is running you should have zero nitrites! IMO you should take the Nem and Clown back to the store. Do some research and start over.

[Vapour1ze]

This is proof that you need Live Rock. 6 Months after tank is running you should have zero nitrites! IMO you should take the Nem and Clown back to the store. Do some research and start over.

+1 Agree completely.

[srva80]

+1 Agree completely.

+2.. does not look good

[hotelbravo]

I would do a 50% water change. Add some LR, YOU NEED LIVE ROCK

I agree with this. Why you wouldnt want to have live rock is beyond my comprehension. Yea you get more surface area. But your sacrificing the chance to add more beneficial bacteria increasing the overall health of the aquarium. Which right now doesnt look good

[stingeragent]

+3 to the live rock. Are you using any kind of filter at all or do you just have the marine pure tossed on the bottom? If you had a nitrite spike 6 months in, I would guess your tank never fully completed a cycle and has been going back and forth.

[jaybfresh]

Is this a quarantine tank or your display tank?

[oblio]

Not trying to be abrasive here, BUT, you are doing something that is clearly outside what most here on RC consider to be acceptable practice, IE. live rock, water changes, RO water, no "miracle bottles" Regardless, you did something and it obviously "went south" on you. You came here to ask advice, good idea, but then when people start to attempt to help you then you are defending practices that are clearly not carried by most of us here. And if you would open your eyes, are not working. If you expect the community to help you then embrace the advice and move forward, believe me this group of people definitely know how to run a salt water tank.

[kendrid]

Is this a quarantine tank or your display tank?

You bring up a good point. Behind me right now is my 29g QT tank with a kole, yellow watchman and cherub angel. It cycled in a few days seeded by my DT.

It has a few pieces of PVC and some plastic caves to hide in.

It is completely cycled with no ammonia or nitrites and has been this way for months. I have no live rock and no other media so to those suggesting that is his issue, I don't 100% agree. Sure he should get some but a 6 month old tank should be fully cycled live rock or no live rock.

Something else is going on here....maybe that magic bottle of stuff messed up your cycle.

[clownfish123321]

This is proof that you need Live Rock. 6 Months after tank is running you should have zero nitrites! IMO you should take the Nem and Clown back to the store. Do some research and start over.

+1 Agree completely.

+2.. does not look good

I sorry i didnt mean Nitrite:lol: i ment Nitrates and yes i am not stupid enough to add a nem and clown with nitrites

[clownfish123321]

And i added live rock yesterday

[clownfish123321]

Its my qt

[killinit123]

do you have sand or any type of substrate? it looks as though you do not.. sand is also a biological filter and without any LR this could also be cause you to not have sufficient filtration.. also are you using RO water when doing water changes? seeing as though you do water changes 3 times a week which is a little excessive to begin with you may be leaching phosphates from tap water. also where is your media bag placed? do you have a hang on back filter? if so that should be cleaned weekly. also you may want to consider cleaning the glass that might help in being bale to see into the tank a little better.

apologies i did not realize this thread had 3 pages im sure some of my questions and concerns have been answered already

[clownfish123321]

i use ro di water from lfs no sand since its my qt i have an internal filter

[killinit123]

i use ro di water from lfs no sand since its my qt i have an internal filter

could you explain internal filter or me im not familiar with those? also, you say this is your qt but for some reason im not buying that.. why? because you only mention that this is your qt after someone has pointed out the fact that qt's do not need live rock. you also ealier said that you do 3 water changes a week and have no mention what so ever of a DT. also seeing how you have very little knowledge of cycling and how to properly maintain a reef tank leads me to believe that this is your DT and your saying its your qt to get people off of your back about this whole situation.. not to mention that fact that if this was indeed your qt why would you have an anemone in there with your clown fish for so long? when things started to go south you could have put both in your Dt drained your qt and started that over from scratch... people are here to help you and not to bash you but when you give misleading and false information and on top of that do not listen to what people have to say it becomes pretty much impossible to help..

[kissman]

i use ro di water from lfs no sand since its my qt i have an internal filter

I would invest in your own RO/DI. You have no idea other than the LFS word of when they changed the filters in the RO/DI unit. Are they running zero TDS? who knows. with your own you know

[clownfish123321]

could you explain internal filter or me im not familiar with those? also, you say this is your qt but for some reason im not buying that.. why? because you only mention that this is your qt after someone has pointed out the fact that qt's do not need live rock. you also ealier said that you do 3 water changes a week and have no mention what so ever of a DT. also seeing how you have very little knowledge of cycling and how to properly maintain a reef tank leads me to believe that this is your DT and your saying its your qt to get people off of your back about this whole situation.. not to mention that fact that if this was indeed your qt why would you have an anemone in there with your clown fish for so long? when things started to go south you could have put both in your Dt drained your qt and started that over from scratch... people are here to help you and not to bash you but when you give misleading and false information and on top of that do not listen to what people have to say it becomes pretty much impossible to help..
The nem and clown have been in there for long because i have ahd problems with parasites in my past dts, and i do 3 wc a week because its a small tank and it can go downhill really fast what if the nem and clown are sick and i put them in my 40 g dt then i risk my Whole tank
I couldn't care less about people being on my back if i would i wouldn't have started this thread

[killinit123]

The nem and clown have been in there for long because i have ahd problems with parasites in my past dts, and i do 3 wc a week because its a small tank and it can go downhill really fast what if the nem and clown are sick and i put them in my 40 g dt then i risk my Whole tank
I couldn't care less about people being on my back if i would i wouldn't have started this thread
all I'm saying is that the truth goes a long way in this hobby in order for people to give you accurate and proper advice, if this truly is your qt I apologize. its just that your replies to peoples advice and questions seem to be questionable in terms of accuracy that's all. people are here to help but they are not able to when being misled. also could you explain a internal filter for me?

[clownfish123321]

all I'm saying is that the truth goes a long way in this hobby in order for people to give you accurate and proper advice, if this truly is your qt I apologize. its just that your replies to peoples advice and questions seem to be questionable in terms of accuracy that's all. people are here to help but they are not able to when being misled. also could you explain a internal filter for me?

The internal filter is usually not in use but i put in in the tank to filter out the particles its a standard tetra internal filter
And im planning on upgrading my qt to a 29 with a sump and protein skimmer (right now it seems the qt is doing more bad than good:lolspin:)
I followed you guys advice and added lr about 10 pounds

[clownfish123321]

should i do wc?

[CStrickland]

I still don't think a whole bunch of LR or sand would've made a dif with this issue. There's tons of 6 month old tanks with nitrates way higher than 8ppm. It's one reason they don't recommend adding a nem for the first year or so, another being that inexperience leads to mistakes like this and nems are less resilient.

What I think might've happened is the bottle bac is packaged with preservatives that keep it dormant so it can live in the solution. the dosage is calibrated to add enough bac to start a cycle while diluting the preservative such that they "wake up" and start eating ammonia. By overdosing a tank that already had a functioning biofilter, it makes sense that your cloudiness was too much, sleepy, bacteria. Like a bloom. Another reason not to resort to quick fixes is that one must read and follow the directions carefully. It doesn't suprise me that less than a week of waterchanges didn't get that cleared up, but hopefully the clarifier did the trick.

What is your plan for the qt? Is the nem just sitting on the floor? If this doesn't clear up soon I think it would be best to get the nem into your DT, or back to the LFS. If the cloudy water doesn't tick it off, all of these changes might. Perhaps they will hold it for you until you have a stable qt for it, or give you a credit that you can use to buy something more suited to being experimented on.

It's easy to believe all of the marketing pitches, but it's good to remember that unlike posters here, they are selling you something.

ETA just saw you added LR, I would get some Prime and test frequently for ammonia in case you get a bit of die off.

[clownfish123321]

the bta is looking great the tank went from green cloudy to whitish and its starting to die of

[clownfish123321]

I am glad to announce that it is 50% less cloudy:dance:
but my bta is moving around:deadhorse: would it be ok to dose some prime because my nitrates are at 12?

[clownfish123321]

My bta looks pretty bad
Maybe it doesn't like high light because when the qt was cloudy it was thriving but now that it is clearer it is trying to hide under rocks?
Plz help

[tidus10]

I am glad to announce that it is 50% less cloudy:dance:
but my bta is moving around:deadhorse: would it be ok to dose some prime because my nitrates are at 12?
no dosing anything youre not testing for..

if you need to change your levels more water changes..RO/DI water..

[CStrickland]

Prime isn't a dose you can test for, it is a buffer that detoxifies ammo / trites/ trates to give the bacteria a chance to catch up on them.
12 isn't that high, nems don't like fast changes. Can you dim the lights for a while to make the change more gradual, or point them less directly at the tank till he adjusts?

[clownfish123321]

ok Thank You

[killinit123]

why dont you just start acclimating the nem to your DT I would assume your DT has better parameters than your QT at this point at least I would hope so given the status of your qt

[clownfish123321]

I don't think its the parameters
I think its to much light to soon
Its expelling zoo

[CStrickland]

Now that the water is clear can you post a pic?

Nems want low trates and stability. If your DT is not having all these drastic changes and chems cranked into it, the nem probably would have a better chance in there. How long have you had it qt'd?

[kissman]

6 months you dont need to add Prime you should have enough bacteria to control the nitrates especially doing 3 water changes a week

[CStrickland]

Nevermind

[CStrickland]

Double post, I hate my phone

[kissman]

Did you catch that they added 10# live rock yesterday? I was thinking depending on transport they might lose a couple critters in there, so having Prime on hand to dose if there's an ammo spike could keep a mini cycle from contributing to the problem?

No actually i didnt see that. There will be die off from transport. Prob will be a ammonia and nitrite spike and nem will die. Best thing to do is just add it to the "DT".

[killinit123]

Now that the water is clear can you post a pic?

Nems want low trates and stability. If your DT is not having all these drastic changes and chems cranked into it, the nem probably would have a better chance in there. How long have you had it qt'd?

+1

No actually i didnt see that. There will be die off from transport. Prob will be a ammonia and nitrite spike and nem will die. Best thing to do is just add it to the "DT".

Agreed, nems could care less about cloudy water IMO. if they are getting too little or too much light they will simply move to where they are comfortable... the unstable water parameters are whats going to kill the nem not the light. if you are in fact worried about the well being of the nem then move it to you DT where it is stable you really have nothing to lose especially seeing how it is not doing very well in its current situation. this will also give you an opportunity to tear down your qt and start over with that.. and if the nem is still doing bad in your dt the you can try transferring back to qt after you have that stable.

[clownfish123321]

No actually i didnt see that. There will be die off from transport. Prob will be a ammonia and nitrite spike and nem will die. Best thing to do is just add it to the "DT".

I got the lr from my dt had some left over sitting by the corner of the tank

[kissman]

Some left over? By the corner of the tank? So it was dead rock sitting outside the tank? Thats not the same as live rock

[killinit123]

why not just listen to the people who are trying to help you on this forum and put the nem in your Dt its not rocket science.. this is now making me still question the fact that you even have a dt.. its a simple solution and you are just disregarding it at this point.

will you at least post some pics so we can see whats going on with the nem?

[clownfish123321]

Some left over? By the corner of the tank? So it was dead rock sitting outside the tank? Thats not the same as live rock

corner IN the tank like a little island that i was looking frags for

[clownfish123321]

why not just listen to the people who are trying to help you on this forum and put the nem in your Dt its not rocket science.. this is now making me still question the fact that you even have a dt.. its a simple solution and you are just disregarding it at this point.

will you at least post some pics so we can see whats going on with the nem?

Ok i will post a pic tonight

[clownfish123321]

[QUOTE=killinit123;23565820]why not just listen to the people who are trying to help you on this forum and put the nem in your Dt its not rocket science.. this is now making me still question the fact that you even have a dt.. its a simple solution and you are just disregarding it at this point.

will you at least post some pics so we can see whats going on with the nem?[/QUOTE i would rather the bta die then it having some disease and putting the dt in risk

[CStrickland]

Clownfish, did you research nem quarantines before you started and develop a solid plan for this, or was a more like a "better safe than sorry" situation? like is there a particular disease you are worried about and you have a timeline for its life cycle based on some threads or something?

I'm asking cause I thought a lot of people qt nems less rigorously than say, a tang.
i dont know a lot about it, but i thought they weren't the most likely to carry something into the tank that could hurt other critters, so I want to make sure you arent making this harder than it needs to be.

[clownfish123321]

Clownfish, did you research nem quarantines before you started and develop a solid plan for this, or was a more like a "better safe than sorry" situation? like is there a particular disease you are worried about and you have a timeline for its life cycle based on some threads or something?

I'm asking cause I thought a lot of people qt nems less rigorously than say, a tang.
i dont know a lot about it, but i thought they weren't the most likely to carry something into the tank that could hurt other critters, so I want to make sure you arent making this harder than it needs to be.
I was more concerned about the maroon and since i know that bta is the natural host for maroon and wanted to add them both at the same time:fun2:

[killinit123]

Clownfish, did you research nem quarantines before you started and develop a solid plan for this, or was a more like a "better safe than sorry" situation? like is there a particular disease you are worried about and you have a timeline for its life cycle based on some threads or something?

I'm asking cause I thought a lot of people qt nems less rigorously than say, a tang.
i dont know a lot about it, but i thought they weren't the most likely to carry something into the tank that could hurt other critters, so I want to make sure you arent making this harder than it needs to be.

I cant speak for others but whenever I have introduced a nem which is a only a handful of times I have never qt'd them and I never had a single problem

[clownfish123321]

Clownfish, did you research nem quarantines before you started and develop a solid plan for this, or was a more like a "better safe than sorry" situation? like is there a particular disease you are worried about and you have a timeline for its life cycle based on some threads or something?

I'm asking cause I thought a lot of people qt nems less rigorously than say, a tang.
i dont know a lot about it, but i thought they weren't the most likely to carry something into the tank that could hurt other critters, so I want to make sure you arent making this harder than it needs to be.

And i have read alot of Orions threads and he has lost some nems due to not quaranting

[clownfish123321]

Please help what do i do!!!!
Should i treathttp://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/JoeA_2010/Anemone%20Dead%20019.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/JoeA_2010/media/Anemone%20Dead%20019.jpg.html)

[CStrickland]

Idk, but you got the clown out of there right? I don't think all the prime in the world will let him survive that.

[clownfish123321]

yeah clown is not in the qt

[clownfish123321]

i want to save it

[footyreefer]

Yeah its starting to melt... not looking good. Not sure what your ammonia level is at but I'd say that's your culprit

[clownfish123321]

I know this should be in the anemone/clownfish forum but it needs attention

[kissman]

All the advice you need is in the thread already

[footyreefer]

Seriously take action and get the nem out.

[clownfish123321]

Out into the dt?!

[Martini5788]

Are you seriously surprised that everyone is still recommending that you remove the anemone from the qt? Take a minute and reread EVERYTHING that has been said so far. And then read it again. I think that this nem is probably way beyond the point
If anyone being able to save it. And just so you know, from my understanding from a lot of Orion's posts is that he has multiple nem's in the same tank and he treats a lot of them for diseases and injuries and infections. And that is normally what he is referring to when he says he qt's them, and I also doubt that anyone would recommend qt a nem with the setup that you have.

[CStrickland]

Out into the dt?!

no, i think a melting nem will endanger your whole tank. im not sure what you can do, but i dont think thats good advice.

ETA - on second thought, i don't really know enough to say. i want to help you fix this, or at least learn from it, but i should probably stay in my lane. it just seems from this thread that you can get a little panicy and make rash choices. if others think it isnt too late for him you should go with that GL :)

[footyreefer]

If it keeps melting like in the pic it's not gonna end up good. what is your ammonia and nitrates and nitrites at?

[TheDouda]

I've been following this thread since it started and i have not been in this hobby long so I didn't have confidence to respond but it seems like everyone has done everything to help I'm sry this is happening my friend but I think you need to take him back to the lfs and hopefully they can help him I know it's a lose of money but you can always try again when better prepared

[Wings6010]

It's a goner... A few things about this thread that's bothering me.. 1. I'm still not convinced this is a qt and you don't need to admit it, but please don't let that clown suffer and take him back to your lfs or find someone who can properly take care of it.. 2. All these additives your adding are compounding on your already dismal situation, the 4 years my tank has been setup I've never had to add any bacterial supplements, prime etc 3. You need some liverock that filter that you have really doesn't do anything the more liverock the better, and a better filtration system (skimmer, sump, refugium). This hobby isn't cheap I suggest spending money on good equipment from the beginning or you're going to be spending extra money down the road.. Good luck

[killinit123]

It's a goner... A few things about this thread that's bothering me.. 1. I'm still not convinced this is a qt and you don't need to admit it, but please don't let that clown suffer and take him back to your lfs or find someone who can properly take care of it.. 2. All these additives your adding are compounding on your already dismal situation, the 4 years my tank has been setup I've never had to add any bacterial supplements, prime etc 3. You need some liverock that filter that you have really doesn't do anything the more liverock the better, and a better filtration system (skimmer, sump, refugium). This hobby isn't cheap I suggest spending money on good equipment from the beginning or you're going to be spending extra money down the road.. Good luck

I agree to all of this thank you for backing up my claims as well

[VisionsOfSalt]

Not sure if this has already been asked but if this is a qt.... Has copper ever been used in the tank?

[hotelbravo]

I dont know if I believe him when he claimed he has a DT I assume he made it up when he found that everyone ganged up on him for thinking a tank without liverock was a good idea.

[Vapour1ze]

This entire thread should just be a lesson. Research is key. Anemones are delicate creatures and should be kept by novice hobbyists. Another thing, don't ever substitute live rock for something else. You need it! Unfortunate and preventable loss.

[stingeragent]

Agree with everyone here. Clownfish, whether you really do have a DT or not is irrelevant. If you are going to be able to keep stuff in this hobby alive and well, you need to do your research. You can't get impatient and just buy the things you want, toss em in the tank and plan to fix things later with bottle additives. If I was you, and you do have an established DT, i'd move the clown over if you haven't already. That or return him to the LFS as well as the bta. I'd then dump every bit of water in that "QT" outside, and start from scratch with it. Get you some sand, live rock, and let it go through a proper and complete cycle. Don't throw in all kinds of chemicals to hurry it along, just let it do its thing. If you try and rush everything, or chemically solve your tank, your just going to lose all the livestock you have, wasted your money, and you'll be putting everything up for sale on craigslist. If you do want to stick with it, start over, and do it right from the get go. There's a million and one threads on here about setting up a tank on here the right way.

[CStrickland]

I was suspicious about the QT too, so I took 3 seconds to check their post history before I went off calling them a liar. If its a lie it took some effort, as they have posts from the second week of February where the same nem is struggling in the same QT before they got piled on. It seems more likely that they just didn't explain themself well because they were freaking out. They've been asking for help for a while, and trying to figure out what to do but they've made some mistakes that they will hopefully learn from.

OP - if your nem doesn't make it, I hope you dust yourself off and keep trying. Just not for a little while until you are sure you're ready. There's some lessons we learn the hard way, but it's nice to avoid if you can.

[rEeFnWrX]

I'd then dump every bit of water in that "QT" outside, and start from scratch with it. Get you some sand, live rock, and let it go through a proper and complete cycle. Don't throw in all kinds of chemicals to hurry it along, just let it do its thing. If you try and rush everything, or chemically solve your tank, your just going to lose all the livestock you have, wasted your money, and you'll be putting everything up for sale on craigslist. If you do want to stick with it, start over, and do it right from the get go. There's a million and one threads on here about setting up a tank on here the right way.

I completely disagree with the part that I have highlighted in bold....

a QT should NOT contain anything that cannot be sterilized after quarantine has completed.... If your QT has live sand and live rock etc that never gets sterilized, you are do nothing to remove disease and ailments from the tank which will eventually affect new fish you QT and then your DT.

[bluekoi]

It's sad and very unfortunate that the animals have to pay the price for our lack of research and preparation. Having said that, yes I will call myself out and admit that I have gotten in over my head and out of my league and I lost an animal.

Please research, research, research and listen to the advise of those who have been there.
Don't let these poor fellas have gone in vain.

[TheDouda]

Lol I hate to say it but I've lost two clowns recently due to my stubbornness they lasted a week then died bec they had ick witch spread to my tank then I finally realized I needed a qt and put my damsels In the qt and had to treat the tank def no fun all because I didn't listen just take this as a lesson and don't let it ruin this amazing hobby

[GilliganReef]

Lol I hate to say it but I've lost two clowns recently due to my stubbornness they lasted a week then died bec they had ick witch spread to my tank then I finally realized I needed a qt and put my damsels In the qt and had to treat the tank def no fun all because I didn't listen just take this as a lesson and don't let it ruin this amazing hobby

Yeah but how will we learn our lesson?

[stingeragent]

reefnwrx.
I mistyped. I was typing it under the impression that the "qt" tank is the "dt".