New Saltwater Mom needs help!! ()

[Candiifir]

@vetteguy53081 YES!!!

 

[Cwentz758]

@Sosuke I’m going to get a couple pieces tomorrow. There’s a reed shop about 2 hours from me, I’ll go by there tomorrow

While you’re there pick their brains and explain your situation hopefully they’ll be more help. Explain to them you’re newer and need general guidance. I would save yourself the pain and not plan on buying anymore fish for the near future.
Like others mentioned the BRS tv series is a great at home to learn some basics, especially pay attention to cycling the tank. Damsels are pretty hardy and may survive which in the long term will help speed the cycle with their waste.
Also plan on probably NOT owning tangs specifically the sail fins and hippo in a 75g they get rather large, many will say no tangs but many have had luck with smaller tang species and I personally have a small yellow tang in my tank.
Red Sea has some good test kits which can be kind of intimidating for a newer reffer but in the long run most kits are the same.
API has a master kit which many deeper in the hobby don’t recommend but I feel is a decent start for a new tank, and cheaper.
also biggest thing is don’t let these set backs ruin the hobby for you, take a breath and absorb as much as you can even if it feels overwhelming it’ll all work out better in the long term. I’m 5 years into the hobby and I still feel like I know little, maybe just enough to be dangerous lol.

And before you make that two hour drive call and see if they’re open. Some places with this whole virus crap are closed atleast my local reef stores are.

Welcome!

 

[Candiifir]

@Cwentz758 I actually called him today, he’s open by appointments, I’ll be sure to bring my handy dandy mask and hand sanitizer . It’s definitely overwhelming, but that’s why I’m here!!

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

 

[Cwentz758]

Wonder if R2R reached out to like the big name stores, PetCo petsmart etc if they could work a deal where they advertise the site in the fish section. I mean if they’re in this for the animals it should be free as this is a great source that frankly their employees generally can’t provide.

 

[Gernader]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Brandon Smith]

 

[josvanmeer]

@blasterman Thank you for that-that actually makes pretty good sense. The ones that are still doing great (except the blue damsel and three striped damsel) came from Petco. The others I ordered online, and were overnighted to me...

Believe it or not Petco orders most of their stock from ORA, which is extremely reputable in aquaculture, it would surprise me that those fish would be not survive in even a bad environment, because they are all captive bred, except for maybe dragonets.

 

[SPR1968]

Some great advice already so Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Candiifir]

@SPR1968 yes, it’s been great!! Love this place!!

 

[fishguy242]

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun....
pics!!!..we all love pics..

 

[windemerejack]

Hi and welcome from the UK. Very friendly and knowledgeable folk on here, you will love it.
Stay safe

 

[Jamo7]

Welcome! Your next decoration will be coral! Look forward to that.

 

[JoshO]

Firstly welcome to R2R and the hobby!
With regards to your issues I feel your acclimation is quite rushed and so is your stocking rate. You have quite a few aggressive fish in damsels which could be bullying other fish. As also mentioned there is the likelihood that your tank isn't cycled yet and as such you're experiencing ammonia spikes that some fish simply aren't able to tolerate. Seems like a lot of people have given good advice so have a good read and hopefully it'll help rectify the issues a bit!

 

[GaryE]

I wouldn't add more than 1 or 2 fish to that tank at once it can cause problems with the tank. I would look into getting liverock rather than the decorations because it will make it more realistic while also creating a huge place for beneficial bacteria to grow and colonize.

Are you saying my pineapple isn't realistic? My hawkfish loves perching on it..

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Okay, here goes:

my water temp is 79°, salinity is normal, along with the nitrate/nitrite being 0, the pH level is about 0.5 lower than what it should be.

Fish #1 was a black saddled Toby. Been in the tank for 8 days, still doing great, along with my cleaner crabs.

Fish #2-3 were butterfly fish (died immediately) and three striped damsel (still alive and kicking it)

Fish #4-6 were sailfin tang (day 1-2 was perfect. Day 3, out of the blue did the carousel flips and sunk to the bottom-now dead) and orange tail blue damselfish (day one never saw him-day 2 came out a little, now is all over the place enjoying life)

Fish #7-8 blue line snapper (did amazing/very active days 1-5, now just lays at the bottom and every hour or so has a swim spurt and goes back to the bottom) and a blue tang who swam great day 1-2, and day 3 just randomly died-no symptoms at all)

what in the WORLD am I doing wrong??! I’m not emotionally stable enough (kidding.....sort of. Lol) to keep doing this. Some of them are totally normal and some are just dropping. Any thoughts??

Welcome to R2R. Hope you solve the problem of why your fish are dying.

 

[dbl]

Looks as if you're getting plenty of advice so I shall just offer a welcome to the family.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Sambird2942]

Welcome to the community! It does seem as if you jumped into stocking the tank too soon. The system needs time to build up a tolerance to the waste. There are also so many better tempered and hardier fish to choose from and as some of the previous reefers mentioned, get a refractometer and salifert test kits. You only have fish now so you will do fine, just familiarize yourself with the routine and go slow. Remember to top off and do weekly water changes after the cycle. Good luck and stay safe!

 

[Gigidoll]

Okay, here goes:

my water temp is 79°, salinity is normal, along with the nitrate/nitrite being 0, the pH level is about 0.5 lower than what it should be.

Fish #1 was a black saddled Toby. Been in the tank for 8 days, still doing great, along with my cleaner crabs.

Fish #2-3 were butterfly fish (died immediately) and three striped damsel (still alive and kicking it)

Fish #4-6 were sailfin tang (day 1-2 was perfect. Day 3, out of the blue did the carousel flips and sunk to the bottom-now dead) and orange tail blue damselfish (day one never saw him-day 2 came out a little, now is all over the place enjoying life)

Fish #7-8 blue line snapper (did amazing/very active days 1-5, now just lays at the bottom and every hour or so has a swim spurt and goes back to the bottom) and a blue tang who swam great day 1-2, and day 3 just randomly died-no symptoms at all)

what in the WORLD am I doing wrong??! I’m not emotionally stable enough (kidding.....sort of. Lol) to keep doing this. Some of them are totally normal and some are just dropping. Any thoughts??

From reading your posts, I definitely think you’re not ready for live stock at that level. You have to completely cycle and wait for your bacteria to build up unless you are adding some form from a bottle? We have a duty to care for these animals and protect them, and putting them into conditions that aren’t within norm, will surely kill them. Like others said I’d wait for cycle, get a reputable testing kit, and hold off on any kore livestock... especially that many at once