I keep losing fish in my Fluval 13.5 gallon Nano.

[Tamberav]

I would add a small power head aimed up a bit. I wouldn’t trust the stock pump at all. Plus it’s best not to have all your flow from one source.

If the inverts are fine then we can write off it being contamination or ammonia.

That leaves oxygen, parasites, acclimation, or just poor quality fish.

Acclimation sounds fine unless they have their fish really low salinity.

 

[ScottJ]

LFS has been kind enough to do it for me weekly when I pick up water. They have a machine they put the water in and it prints out what looks like a shopping receipt with the levels.

How did you acclimate the fish before putting them in? Float for 15 mins. About halfway through drain half the water out of the bag and put in some of my tanks water. Close bag and float until I hit 15 mins. Use net to scoop fish out of bag, into tank.

Are the bag water and your tank water the same salinity? Many fish stores run stock tanks at very low salinity,1.015 ish. Your tank is probably 1.025. To bring fish up to that, you really need to do it slowly, I like to take a week or two. Going lower salinity is easier on fish than going higher. Some fish are also more sensitive than others.

 

[WvAquatics]

I'm going with too large of a bioload for a new 8ish or less gallon tank. And if any make it through the water your clown is killing everything. A 13g with an established clown will probably not go well. Some clowns are just murders.

 

[Jasongtr]

Are you using the supplied return pump and no other powerhead/wavemaker?

If so the supplied pump is very weak, I've just started a fluval evo up, ive got a sicce silent 1.0 pump and a sicce voyager nano powerhead pointing towards the surface, ive no corals yet but do have a pair of clowns from our bigger tank and they are doing fine

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Are you using the supplied return pump and no other powerhead/wavemaker?

If so the supplied pump is very weak, I've just started a fluval evo up, ive got a sicce silent 1.0 pump and a sicce voyager nano powerhead pointing towards the surface, ive no corals yet but do have a pair of clowns from our bigger tank and they are doing fine

That’s what I have the 13.5 gallon evo.
I’ll look into the power head and pump. Thanks.

 

[Jasongtr]

That’s what I have the 13.5 gallon evo.
I’ll look into the power head and pump. Thanks.

Here in the uk those little sicce voyager nano powerheads are less than £30, when I get some coral in there I may get another or go for nero 3 which being dc is controllable

Good luck with it

 

[ReefKeeper666]

I'm going with too large of a bioload for a new 8ish or less gallon tank. And if any make it through the water your clown is killing everything. A 13g with an established clown will probably not go well. Some clowns are just murderLFS stores I go to said the clown

I'm going with too large of a bioload for a new 8ish or less gallon tank. And if any make it through the water your clown is killing everything. A 13g with an established clown will probably not go well. Some clowns are just murders.

The guy at the LFS said since it was such a tiny clown fish they were perfect for establishing the ammonia cycle and really shouldn’t bother other fish.

 

[WvAquatics]

Yes a clown can do the cy le for you. Your lfs lied to you. They should never suggest using an animal to cycle the tank. Many ways of supplying ammonia without a living creature. It is done and can be OK. And as far as a clown being small and messing with no other fish is just a bold lie. The clown cycled the tank claimed the tank as theirs. At that point big or small the clown could decide to kill everything. Look on forums. Clownfish are the worst tankmates of all a lot of times. They are mean to new fish in their territory they bite the hand that feeds them. Best bet remove clown to a acclimating box or new tank for a few days and add fish then rei products e clown.

 

[WvAquatics]

And for oxygen a simple air pump and airstone will airate the water. Or as suggested upgrade return or a small powerhead. I'd almost go with a nano sponge filter.

 

[Polymate3D]

I had a Evo and a clownfish in it. Started as 2. One was clearly attacking everything and anything. The other stayed until I crashed the tank unknowingly at the time.

These rocks. Did you bond them with putty? If so did you make sure the water was changed out a lot once done? This is exactly what I did wrong. Talc sucked up the oxygen and killed them all.

May not be your issue, but just adding the info that 1, clownfish in this sizes may be the dominant fish, but it won't kill a goby for example. They just don't care enough for them.

2, this rock is very suspect to me

- Paul

 

[ReefKeeper666]

Only 4 rocks in tank. One sitting solo the other 3 stacked 2 next to each other and the 3rd on top of those 2 like a lil pyramid. No glues used to bond rocks. The one that sits on top of the 2 is wedged naturally and rather tight.

 

[ReefKeeper666]

And for oxygen a simple air pump and airstone will airate the water. Or as suggested upgrade return or a small powerhead. I'd almost go with a nano sponge filter.

Another poster said the air stone could harm corals?

 

[WvAquatics]

Some say it does some doesnt. People use airstone bubes to scrub the tank. They force bubbles throght the displya tank. Just link our skimmers the bubbles attract debris and attach to them. Allowing the bubbles to make it to the filtersock and removed. Its all prefrence imo.

 

[ScottJ]

Yes a clown can do the cy le for you. Your lfs lied to you. They should never suggest using an animal to cycle the tank. Many ways of supplying ammonia without a living creature. It is done and can be OK. And as far as a clown being small and messing with no other fish is just a bold lie. The clown cycled the tank claimed the tank as theirs. At that point big or small the clown could decide to kill everything. Look on forums. Clownfish are the worst tankmates of all a lot of times. They are mean to new fish in their territory they bite the hand that feeds them. Best bet remove clown to a acclimating box or new tank for a few days and add fish then rei products e clown.

I had a clown in a 20 gallon, meanest fish I ever saw. Would bite my hand every time. Had to get elbow gloves to clean the rank. He (she) was in with a YWG, but they ignored each other. I moved them up to a 55 gallon tank, and no more biting the hand that fed her.

She jumped out of the tank a few months after the move. To bad too, she was just turning her life around.

 

[WvAquatics]

My maroon is nice yet to bite me. They host heatwrs and dont leave. Did it in my 120g and now im about to load them in a 180g in a few weeks. Host a back corner i dont mess with the corner though

 

[BristleWormHater]

My maroon is nice yet to bite me. They host heatwrs and dont leave. Did it in my 120g and now im about to load them in a 180g in a few weeks. Host a back corner i dont mess with the corner though

Good job thanks a good tank size to minimize their aggression

 

[ReefKeeper666]

My maroon is nice yet to bite me. They host heatwrs and dont leave. Did it in my 120g and now im about to load them in a 180g in a few weeks. Host a back corner i dont mess with the corner though

My clown hangs out away from the heater on the opposite corner of the tank towards the bottom or top but def. The corner.

 

[WvAquatics]

My clown hangs out away from the heater on the opposite corner of the tank towards the bottom or top but def. The corner.

Theu are weird fish. Im thinking my female will start beong mean shes 3-4 inches and shes been with me 3 years so im guessing the nice stage is ending