Crap--one of my clowns died. Too much calcium?

[kcinminni]

Okay--everything was fine this yesterday, and I came home from work today and my female clown had died.

Anyway, tank parameters are fine except for calcium, which is too high (645). I recently (this past weekend) started dosing Kalk to help get my pH up (it was at 8.1, now it's at 8.0, which makes no sense). I also started running MH/PC yesterday. That and the Kalk are the only changes. Can too much calcium kill a fish?Everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine.

 

[kcinminni]

Or is it possible that the change to MH stressed her to death?

 

[Steve Richardson]

No...calcium will not kill a fish. And running new lights will not do it either in a single day - there was something else going on.

How long had the clown been in there, and how long has your tank been running? Was she eating normally? What other inhabitants are in there?
_________________
Isetta

 

[kcinminni]

I've had her for 3 weeks and the tank has been up for two months. (No need to lecture on waiting--I know.) The only other inhabitants are the other clown, some damsels, and a star polyp. And the obligatory hermits and snails. She was eating/acting fine as of yesterday.

 

[Jawbone]

Aawwww after all that I am very sorry for your loss. I hope you dont lose others

But I have a dumb question.


Why are you raising calcium levels when you dont have anything in your tank that really needs it yet.?

If I understand correctly you were trying to get your ph up -

Check your alkalinity see what happened to it after dosing the limewater.

again I am sorry about your previously wigged out clown having expired.

 

[kcinminni]

Thanks--good memory. I'm dosing Kalk mostly to get pH up, but also because I will eventually have primarily corals. I checked alkalinity (I checked everything I have a test for!) and it was fine--3.77. I guess these things just happen. Sucks, though.

 

[mariner]

KCinminni,

Maybe it was just her time.
Just her time.


The Sherminator

 

[kcinminni]

Is it possible for a damsel to pick on another fish so much that it stresses to death? They're doing it to one of their own right now (the "pickee" is in hiding). I'm wondering if they did that to my clown.

 

[Anonymous]

It is highly possible for a damsel to do just that. Damsels can be mean little guys, they don't call them blue devils for nothing.

[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: SKBok ]</p>

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, KC

 

[oranje]

first, i'd get some buffer solution to adjust pH and alkalinity. kalk is good for this, but its nice to have other options.

and the other comment... did the clowns and the damsels get along? i have one little bastard damsel who pesters my clowns all of the time, and recently did away with my wrasse

one day, the damsel started pestering him without bounds, and the next day i couldnt find the little bugger.

bah

i need a damsel hunter. i wish i knew of their evil ways before i started out with them. rabbitfish are just as hearty, a lot friendlier, and certainly more interesting :X

 

[Jawbone]

If the wrasse has just disappeared recently it may just be hiding in the sand.

both of mine do this nightly. The second the lights go out they are gone, burrowing in their favorite spot. I look under my tank and can see them or at least part of them. Dont know how they breath

 

[kcinminni]

The Damsels were fine until a couple of days ago. The day I found the clown, they had started pestering one of their own. It was totally stressed and hiding. Now it's gone, too (not so sad about that one). I'm calling them a nice little expletive right now. Anyway, I'm working on getting those little monsters out of there.

As for working on the pH with buffer, agent oranje, I tried that first with no luck. Thanks for trying, though.

[ March 23, 2002: Message edited by: KCinminni ]</p>

 

[Mike02]

Too much Calcium might not kill fish, but too much Kalk will. I wonder how much Kalk you dosed, how concentrated the mixture and how fast you dripped the stuff in. Im no expert, but just makes sense to me. i keep only corals but one time when i mixed my Kalk too concentrated, my brairium withdrew all of its polyps for 4 days and after that slowly came out over the next 2.