I sit here typing this, absolutely beside myself with frustration, disgust and embarrassment for the most elementary oversight/neglect that one could possibly make which just cost me 2 prized fish, neither of which were cheap or deserved to die.
I did everything "right" (less ONE crucial step). I waited almost 2 months for my newly transferred DT to settle before considering adding anything. I setup a dedicated QT. I had bio media in my sump for +6 weeks before putting it in the QT.
Got my fish, acclimated them and put them in QT for the 2 week wait. Temp had some swings of up to 2 degrees, but they seemed to manage just fine. Both ate twice a day and I painstakingly watched them to make sure they ate and ate enough to remain healthy without leaving excess food in the QT.
I executed a 1 gallon water change (15 gallons in the QT) daily to keep things clean.
All seems perfect right? Ask yourself what's missing...
In all this, I never bothered to test the water. Why? Arrogance, complacency, laziness, you name it. I didn't bother testing because I was confident in my salt mix, and BELIEVED that I had enough bio media and was doing a large enough water change to keep things stable. "I've been doing this for years"
I was wrong.
Yesterday morning the pair of fish (Starry Blenny and Bellus Angel) were not as sharp/alert as they had been previously. I noticed it and should have acted. Instead I opted to observe. They were still eating so I thought they were okay.
By last night, the blenny was dead. And the Angel appeared stressed.
There was no sign of anything parasitic or obvious on the fish. I immediately tested the water and found the ammonia in the water to have spiked (I forget the number but it was substantially higher than my DT). All other parms were pretty decent, but the ammonia was my first guess and first test to come back substantially out of line.
So now I had 1 dead fish and one on the way out.
At that point I felt I had 2 choices. A massive water change in the QT or get the Angel into the DT. I felt either was a risky proposition and could result in death, so I went for what I felt would be the better chance for survival. I put the angel in the DT.
She swam around the top, obviously stressed from the QT and environment change. I just hoped she was strong enough. This morning she was hanging out in one spot and I was pretty sure she was on the way out but hoped as much as I could for her to beat it. 2 hours later she was being eaten by crabs.
I'm not posting this for sypmathy because I deserve none. I KNEW better! In fact, you're welcome to criticize every ounce of this. I've openly chastized others for this SAME MISTAKE. And here I sit, a student of the same stupidity with nothing or no one to blame but myself.
Learn something from this mistake that cost me a couple hundred bucks and more importantly, 2 PERFECT fish. Don't EVER take short cuts. Don't THINK you know better. Don't let your EGO get in the way of taking the steps you KNOW you need to.
I did everything "right" (less ONE crucial step). I waited almost 2 months for my newly transferred DT to settle before considering adding anything. I setup a dedicated QT. I had bio media in my sump for +6 weeks before putting it in the QT.
Got my fish, acclimated them and put them in QT for the 2 week wait. Temp had some swings of up to 2 degrees, but they seemed to manage just fine. Both ate twice a day and I painstakingly watched them to make sure they ate and ate enough to remain healthy without leaving excess food in the QT.
I executed a 1 gallon water change (15 gallons in the QT) daily to keep things clean.
All seems perfect right? Ask yourself what's missing...
In all this, I never bothered to test the water. Why? Arrogance, complacency, laziness, you name it. I didn't bother testing because I was confident in my salt mix, and BELIEVED that I had enough bio media and was doing a large enough water change to keep things stable. "I've been doing this for years"
I was wrong.
Yesterday morning the pair of fish (Starry Blenny and Bellus Angel) were not as sharp/alert as they had been previously. I noticed it and should have acted. Instead I opted to observe. They were still eating so I thought they were okay.
By last night, the blenny was dead. And the Angel appeared stressed.
There was no sign of anything parasitic or obvious on the fish. I immediately tested the water and found the ammonia in the water to have spiked (I forget the number but it was substantially higher than my DT). All other parms were pretty decent, but the ammonia was my first guess and first test to come back substantially out of line.
So now I had 1 dead fish and one on the way out.
At that point I felt I had 2 choices. A massive water change in the QT or get the Angel into the DT. I felt either was a risky proposition and could result in death, so I went for what I felt would be the better chance for survival. I put the angel in the DT.
She swam around the top, obviously stressed from the QT and environment change. I just hoped she was strong enough. This morning she was hanging out in one spot and I was pretty sure she was on the way out but hoped as much as I could for her to beat it. 2 hours later she was being eaten by crabs.
I'm not posting this for sypmathy because I deserve none. I KNEW better! In fact, you're welcome to criticize every ounce of this. I've openly chastized others for this SAME MISTAKE. And here I sit, a student of the same stupidity with nothing or no one to blame but myself.
Learn something from this mistake that cost me a couple hundred bucks and more importantly, 2 PERFECT fish. Don't EVER take short cuts. Don't THINK you know better. Don't let your EGO get in the way of taking the steps you KNOW you need to.
