Newbie needing help

[natalieyork3]

Need yalls help again. I have a 32 gal Bio Cube. Levels have been perfect for 2 wks so I finally decided to put fish in my new tank at the house Friday. We put 2 clowns and one Starki Damsel. The 2 clowns stay up in the corner unless they see food and the Starki was social until Yesterday. He started staying under a rock. Didn’t want to eat or come out. I checked the ammonia and it had changed to almost .25. I changed out 2 gallons and rechecked it this morning with no change. But little damsel wasn’t moving his back tail and color was off. 2 hrs later he was gone. Ammonia is still at .25, everything else is on point. The 2 clowns seem to not want to come out of the corner. They really don’t swim like fish. You would think something was wrong with them. I’m so wanting this to work to enjoy them. I know it’s a learning curve but I’m lost and losing a fish at that price within a 3 day period the last pics was Friday and blue light is tonight

 

[natalieyork3]

The clown fish stay where they are all if the time

 

[Gumbies R Us]

What are your nitrates and nitrites? API has a reputation for being wrong with test results

 

[natalieyork3]

What are your nitrates and nitrites? API has a reputation for being wrong with test results

Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ammonia .25, high PH 7.8

 

[jabberwock]

Adding three fish at a time to a new system is not a good idea. You have to go slow. How did you cycle the tank in the first place?

 

[natalieyork3]

Adding three fish at a time to a new system is not a good idea. You have to go slow. How did you cycle the tank in the first place?

We started cycling it almost 6-8 wks ago. Water was purchased from Aquatic Cove and followed everything we were told. I checked the ammonia every other day until it was perfect and then we made sure it was great for 2 was prior to putting fish. We are 2 hrs from where we can purchase any so we did the pair of clowns and added the damsel. I even brought water for them to test before we purchased. I know most say don’t go by what the stores say but the owner has been extremely nice to help. My grand daughter loves them so this has become a hobby to start for her. I’ve been told to start with a pair of clowns and the damsel was in the tank with them so that’s why we got all 3 and they all got along. My grands clowns at not very nice

 

[jabberwock]

We started cycling it almost 6-8 wks ago. Water was purchased from Aquatic Cove and followed everything we were told. I checked the ammonia every other day until it was perfect and then we made sure it was great for 2 was prior to putting fish. We are 2 hrs from where we can purchase any so we did the pair of clowns and added the damsel. I even brought water for them to test before we purchased. I know most say don’t go by what the stores say but the owner has been extremely nice to help. My grand daughter loves them so this has become a hobby to start for her. I’ve been told to start with a pair of clowns and the damsel was in the tank with them so that’s why we got all 3 and they all got along. My grands clowns at not very nice

Ok, but how did you cycle it? What was your ammonia source? Live rock, dry rock? Seems like it never cycled.

 

[natalieyork3]

Carib-Sea Live rock and Carib-Sea live sand and MicroBacter clean. I have a protein filter in there too. What did I do wrong

 

[PharmrJohn]

For test kits, when i finally launch, Iwill be using Salifert for Ammonia, Nitrite not necessary and Hanna Checker for Nitrates. Also, HC for PO4 and ALK. Milwaukee MW102 for pH. Red Sea Calcium Pro for Calcium and AquaForest Mg Test Pro for Mg. FWIW.