Okay so here’s the deal I have a 55 gallon salt water tank. It has been setup and running for well over a month. Just a few days ago I purchased 3 yellow tailed blue damsels. Well the very next day one of the fish was lifeless at the bottom of the tank and the other two just swimming away. Checked all the levels and everything seemed normal. The very next day another one dead. The other fish acting normal and healthy. It’s been a few days since and now the once happy fish is now hiding. What could possibly be wrong? I though damsels were soposta be hardy? I’ve come to the conclusion that my one damsel is a murderer. But what could be wrong with him?
I feed him a mixture of live and frozen brine shrimp. And now he’s hiding.
I don’t have live rock, is it a agood idea to get a few pieces even though I already have a fish?
Damsels are very Territorial fish and generally are very hardy.
It could be that the surviving fish simply killed the other two.
I’m assuming you are trying to start your salt water tank so that you may add better fish.
And i say this again Damsels are mean critters so when you upgrade,get rid of him.
If all your levels PH,Ammonia are good then it was probably just territorial issues
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
Were there any wounds on the dead fish?
When you checked the water parameters, what readings did you get? pH? Ammonia? Nitrites? Nitrates? Salinity? Temperature?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
I’m wondering how you cycled your tank if you had no fish or liverock. Did you use decaying food to raise the ammonia level? Did you get some sand or rock from an established tank? If you didn’t raise the ammonia level somehow then nothing really happened that first month. Check your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels to see what they are at. Also, damsels are very aggressive and will kill each other, although yellow tailed damsels are supposedly one of the least aggressive. That is probably what happened.
It is always a good idea to have liverock. Since you already have a fish, only introduce about 10 to 15 pounds of fully cured liverock at a time. Wait a week or two between adding more.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
Alright i’ll prolly get a thumbs down for saying this but im gonna n e ways. Okay, From my personal experience, everytime ive started feeding my fish brine they die. I think its because thats all i started feeding them. Try cutting down to 2-3 times a week on the shrimp and just feed them regular food the rest of the time.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
You can add live rock at any time so long as the rock has been curred first. Yellow tails are a great starter fish however at most you will only want two. They will change sex to make a pair just like Clowns. You should have enough decor in the tank to allow for hidding places and territories. I think you are having some other problem then food or fish. Even though you only need to feed them shrimp every other day at most. I feed mine flakes daily and everyother day mix in the shrimp with some other supplements. I would recommend that you see about testing your water for Calcuim, Copper, Phosphate, and Hardness in both KH and GH. You might be able to take a water sample into your local fish store and have them preform these tests. Check your water source as well. You might need to get a reverse Osmos filtering syster for your tank water.
Another possible problem would be if you did a water change an added the salt mix directly to the tank.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
ok check to see if there color is pale. For instance if you have a yellow damsel and it changed to a pale yellow almost to a whiter color it may be an indiction of stress. Try getting some live rock and also check the salt water level with a special salt water tool found at your local fish store called a hydormeter. It measures the salt content in your tank and if its too low or to high the fish will be indistress. As your usual perform water changes as im shure you do. As for the other damsel in the tank being a culprit yeah its a possibility they are quite territorial so make sure you have enough rock and or decorations for everyone. This way they can all establish their own spaces in the tank.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse
live rock you need a lot of time the shock from one tank to another can really stress them out try diff damsels they are a hardy fish i have 6 some hide some dont but i would get the live rock
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=2004&Ntt=fry&Np=1&va=1
Report Spam/Abuse