One damsel down... I think another will die soon

[teacampuzano]

So, I've had my little 29g biocube for almost a month, my water parameters have been stable and had shown no signs of nitrite-nitrate-ammonia for more than 2 weeks.
I added 3 damsels 10 days ago and yesterday one of my blue damsels passed away...
I had had problems with my yellow tail damsel because it was much bigger than the blue and 4 stripe damsel that inhabited my tank. I tried moving rocks just to prevent the yellowtail from being so territorial. It nipped at the other 2 damsels constantly and 2 days ago I had seen that my blue damsel who was incredibly friendly (compared to the others) had 1 scale torn and near its dorsal fin it had been bitten pretty badly. It was defecating a white stringy substance and it had problems "letting it loose". Blue still had coloration until 2 am then it did not eat, became lethargic and it began to lose color. when I woke up Blue was dead.

After I found the body, I took it to Aquarium Design where they had helped me out before with that mean yellowtail and they told me that my fish had been bullied and it was too small so it probably wasn't eating much due to the yellowtail.
My ammonia is present it's about (.25) but I changed the water (10% so I wont stress my fish so much). Nitrite, nitrate and pH are all good otherwise.
Now yellowtail, the meanest one, is also not eating, no longer attacking anything, and it's losing coloration. I don't see any scaring, and 4 stripes and yellowtail don't seem to exhibit any signs of ich. What can it possibly be? do i have a fungal problem? anyone's ever seen this before? I dont want to lose any more fish, any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you...


Btw, I currently have in my tank 2 (yellow tail is questionable) damsels, 4 hermit crabs and 1 horseshoe crab.

[Bill S]

At some point, you will want to get rid of all damsels. Just wait things out before adding any other fish. You will likely have to get rid of the yellow tail before adding any more fish. But, I'd wait a week or 2 for things to settle down, and your NH to go back to zero.

[Mr Cob]

You need to buy small peaceful fish for a 29g tank or you will only be able to keep one damsel because they are aggressive.

[Squiers007]

I would be curious why your ammonia is reading anything other than 0. If you tank is fully cycled and stable your ammonia should be 0.

[teacampuzano]

Thank you for your responses!
My ammonia only seemed to rise after my fish had died, before that my ammonia was nonexistent. I'm hoping that's why it's showing up, how often should I change the water to eliminate ammonia?
I just wanted to start out with damsels because they're a much hardier and least expensive fish. I think the yellow tail was just stressed due to the ammonia the 4 stripe is doing well for being nipped so frequently. I will monitor my water parameters for 1 or 2 more weeks before i get rid of the damsels and replace them with something much more friendly.

Quick question though, should I start adding corals such as mushroom corals before adding new fish? I'm new to the hobby so any advise would be greatly appreciated!

[Mr Cob]

You can begin to add corals slowly....the natural filtration will need to adjust every time you add something new, so always add slowly, weeks apart. I would not add anything else until you remove the damsels otherwise you will have to move the corals and tear everything down when you do decide to remove the damsels in order to catch them.

[Mr Cob]

Mushrooms, kenya trees and green star polyps are inexpensive and hardy...best corals to start with.

[Squiers007]

When adding corals you can basically add as many as you want at a time since they are not adding any bio-load to your system. When adding fish, go slow like Mr. Cob said and only add one at a time at least a week apart. As far as the ammonia is concerned your biological filtration should take care of removing it, but you may see a slight rise in your nitrite, then your nitrate.

[Bill S]

When adding corals you can basically add as many as you want at a time since they are not adding any bio-load to your system.

I would like to respectfully disagree with that statement...

As noted above, try some easier type corals first, like mushrooms and stars. I'd wait with them until your system tells you it can handle fish, other than damsels. Most are filter feeders and/or photosynthetic. And yes, you will have to tear your tank apart to get to them.

[Mr Cob]

Also, once you have your fish, adding as many corals as you want can seriously stress a fish and possibly cause them to get sick because you are dramatically changing their environment. Also, corals CAN add to the bio-load depending on what type of coral you are talking about. Know that nasty brown slime some of your corals release from their mouth from time to time....well it ain't exactly twinkies. I guess if you don't feed your corals then they probably don't add to the load because there isn't any waste.

Slow and steady is always the BEST policy in this hobby for everything. There are all kinds of angles, but slow and steady wins the race more times than not.

[msmith619]

Thank you for your responses!
I just wanted to start out with damsels because they're a much hardier and least expensive fish.

Don't give up on the damsels. They are cheap, very pretty and tough as nails. You can do a damsel & coral tank, damsels will not attack your corals, but it will be a damsel ONLY tank. The damsels are active and attractive but can be mean. The trick is to add several of them at the same time. If there are enough, no one gets picked on too much and the aggression is spread out. A mixed damsel tank with mushrooms, kenya trees, zoas can be one of the most colorfull and active tanks. Just realize, adding other fish might be fatal after the damsels are in and have their pecking order set up. I happen to think a tank full of yellow-tailed blue devils, 3 spot domino, and 3 stripe damsels is dazzeling when mixed with green star polyps, yellow polyps and a smattering of colorfull zoas and mushrooms and that set up is almost 'bulletproof' for problems.
If I had an 'extra' 29 gallon, I would have one like that for beauty and ease of care.

[Mr Cob]

I had my 120 setup with only damsels for about a year...it was a fun tank to watch and the colors were nice, but that was a 120g and you're talking about a 29gallon. There isn't much room there for more than one or two damsels...they WILL fight especially as they grow.

[Mr Cob]

Inless you have a 29gallon long, then you have a little more room for fish to claim territory...but a 29g cube is limited and best served as a peaceful tank if you wish to have more than one or two fish.

[Third Coast Tropical]

my 2 cents......I will never put any damsels in any of my tanks ever, unless I am feeding an angler or something...I tell my friends the same thing...there is so much more out there than damsels...I cant stand them, feel they are boring, beginner, and incredibly mean/aggressive.....

[Third Coast Tropical]

At some point, you will want to get rid of all damsels. Just wait things out before adding any other fish. You will likely have to get rid of the yellow tail before adding any more fish. But, I'd wait a week or 2 for things to settle down, and your NH to go back to zero.


This is good info.

[teacampuzano]

**Update**
So far everything seems alive. I now dislike damsels, i mean they tell you they're aggressive but I thought, *well maybe not these damsels*... At least the dead one was nice...:hypnotyized: I will definitely make sure my damsels are treated well when I trade them in for something A LOT calmer. Any suggestions?

My slight trace of ammonia, after 4 days of waiting it out and changing the water, is now completely gone, but nitrate is present:mad:. I cleaned my filters out so I don't know what else to do....

I am definitely taking it as slow as possible. I just like to get advise from people who've done this before so I won't make as many mistakes.
Thank you!

[recoiljpr]

**Update**

My slight trace of ammonia, after 4 days of waiting it out and changing the water, is now completely gone, but nitrate is present:mad:. I cleaned my filters out so I don't know what else to do....
!

It's a natural part of the Nitrogen cycle. Ammonia to Nitrite to Nitrate. Just be patient and wait it out. Cleaning your filters is a good place to start, just keep doing it every week or so from now on.

http://www.fl-seafood.com/i/aquarium_nitrocycle_figure3.gif

[Mr Cob]

I will definitely make sure my damsels are treated well when I trade them in for something A LOT calmer. Any suggestions?

once things stabilize...how about a purple firefish, a cleaner shrimp, sand sifting goby, and a false clown...that's a good fish lineup for that size tank.

[recoiljpr]

once things stabilize...how about a purple firefish, a cleaner shrimp, sand sifting goby, and a false clown...that's a good fish lineup for that size tank.

I have a biocube as well. I have a pair of ORA tank raised clowns. I'm also currently trying to decide what to finalize my fish with. Right now, i've been leaning towards a goby/pistol shrimp pair as I think they are really fascinating. I "really" want a mandarin, but i'll wait untill I get a bigger tank for him.