[BlueCornerPalau]

hello,

Our lawnmower Blenny looks bad
lighter than normal
darker towards tail
breaqthing heavily
sometimes mouth open
not eating/foraging like usual
started yesterday
hes big too4 inches had him a few weeks

ofered him sea weed and Formala 2 flakes wouldnt take either.

New tank month old

Water:
0 ammonia
0 nitrate
0 nitrites
ph 8.1 (lower than before? added a little Succes Buffer)
temp 79-80 (got hole saw to vent stand this weekend)
sg 1.0235 (a bit higher than it was at,1.022 so added a bit more ro di water)
have to recheck alkalinity but was perfect last week
using reef crystals

Not sure what the problem is
some of the coraline algae is showing white spots on the tips of rocks ,weird ,like it was scraped or bleached out, thought it might be related since hes an algae eater.
recently did water change 5%
use ddifferent RoDi water from different new LFS??
90 gal tank
other fish seem fine. chromis,damsel, ocellaris
cleaner shrimp is fine
using purple up,lots of purple growth on sand and back glass

[jvharding]

Hello Rich

Your Tank is still going through many changes and in regard to Purpleup. A tank that is one month old needs to complete it's cycle. Use of a calcium additive is not needed yet. I do not recommend this product everyone using it seems to have the same issue with PH and ALK fluctuation Issues. This could be why the Blenny is not doing well. Reef crystals is a good mix and additives so early on will complicate things. Are you using a skimmer and if so what kind? Invest in your Own RO/DI System because you cant be sure what your getting unless you use a TDS Meter. Use a frozen food with algae, Add Kent Garlic Extreme to it. This may help entice your fish to eat.

[pogodzib]

Good advice Jack. A 1 month old tank is typically very unstable. I don't recommend to anyone that they dose any chemicals during the first month and gradually start adding supplements at around 1 month to start getting the tank ready for corals and fish. Free ammonia and nitrites can cause your fish to gasp for air and is very common when people add fish too quickly. You might be reading 0 for both ammonia and nitrites at this time, but there was probably a time when the fish got exposed to those chemicals and you may be seeing the side affects now. Usually, it is recommended to not start adding any fish until around 4-6 weeks, let alone having multiple fish in the tank at this point. Try to slow down from this point forward.

What I would do would be a 10% water change and then feed using frozen foods soaked in garlic extract. Brine shrimp is like a candy to fish (not much for nutrition, but it tastes good) so I'd suggest using a mixture that contains some brine shrimp along with something else.

As far as your coraline algae, pH, etc... - They are probably being affected by the Purple Up usage. STOP USING THE PURPLE UP. If your rock got exposed to air during transport, the coraline algae will usually turn white for a little while, but it will come back if you tank has good water quality. You also mentioned that you added some pH buffer. YI - pH buffer raises the alkalinity level. I would never suggest adding a pH buffer without first knowing your alk & calcium levels. Many times, esp. in winter, a tank's pH is low due to excessive CO2 buildup in the tank because of the home's air having a high CO2 level. My old house was tight and my tank would drop down to a pH of 7.67 at night. Fish and corals can both do good at a low pH, as long as the tank is stable. A stable tank is much more important than having a tank with near idea parameters that is unstable and fluctuating.

BTW - Welcome to RB!!!

[BlueCornerPalau]

Excellent, thanks a million.

I'll try and follow the good advice.

No more puple up.

slow down.

no buffer.

I setup a better mixing bin today.
22 gal tub,powerhead, thermometer,stealth heater. Shoudl work.
Pickedup 10 gal RO.Di water for top offs.
Mixing my own R/O water with reef crystals.

Thanks again,

Richard