All Fish dead within 48hrs

[Scott Max]

Didn't know if I should start a new thread. New to the forum.

All my three fish died within 48 hours. During the first 24 hours they all stopped eating and then developed cloudy eyes and became a little lethargic. Gills, skin and fins all looked normal. The next morning they were all dead. The fish had been in my tank for over 5 months. Since I don't know the cause, how do I move forward? 20 gallon nano tank is 8 months old, all water parameters are spot on ( pH is 7.9), which I check several times a week with Hanna checkers, even with backup saifert kits. As a note, recently started using light concentration of Kalkwasser to bump up my pH. All parameters normal on day of death. Have a clam and about 20 corals, mostly LPS, one Acropora. All doing very well, some even thriving. The only thing added to the tank recently were a few frags. Without knowing the cause, do I let the tank go fishless for a period of time in hopes that the culprit is self-limiting without a fish host? Or do I treat the tank as if it was bacterial or fungal, which would kill my beneficial bacteria, and then start over with recycling my tank? Of course I have a lot invested in my corals. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Didn't know if I should start a new thread. New to the forum.

All my three fish died within 48 hours. During the first 24 hours they all stopped eating and then developed cloudy eyes and became a little lethargic. Gills, skin and fins all looked normal. The next morning they were all dead. The fish had been in my tank for over 5 months. Since I don't know the cause, how do I move forward? 20 gallon nano tank is 8 months old, all water parameters are spot on ( pH is 7.9), which I check several times a week with Hanna checkers, even with backup saifert kits. As a note, recently started using light concentration of Kalkwasser to bump up my pH. All parameters normal on day of death. Have a clam and about 20 corals, mostly LPS, one Acropora. All doing very well, some even thriving. The only thing added to the tank recently were a few frags. Without knowing the cause, do I let the tank go fishless for a period of time in hopes that the culprit is self-limiting without a fish host? Or do I treat the tank as if it was bacterial or fungal, which would kill my beneficial bacteria, and then start over with recycling my tank? Of course I have a lot invested in my corals. Any input would be appreciated.

Likely with all inverts/coral doing well, this was likely disease and Not water issue and cloudy eyes and lethargic suggests either gill flukes or velvet but with time past and lack of any pics will be difficult to pinpoint exact likelihoods
Quarantine any and all fish moving forward with coppersafe and followed with Prazi Pro for complete protection from underlying issues

 

[crazyfishmom]

I think it would be helpful if you can list out all your parameters as well as which fish were in your tank together.

 

[Scott Max]

Water parameters on 6/30/24 were:

CA	440​
MG	1250​
Alk	8.3​
pH	8​
Phos	0.08​
Nitrate	0.1​
Ammonia	0.06​
Temperature	78​
Salinity	1.025​
Salt Change	20 %Pro Reef

Fish: flame angel, clown and baby niger trigger all living harmoniously.

 

[Scott Max]

Likely with all inverts/coral doing well, this was likely disease and Not water issue and cloudy eyes and lethargic suggests either gill flukes or velvet but with time past and lack of any pics will be difficult to pinpoint exact likelihoods
Quarantine any and all fish moving forward with coppersafe and followed with Prazi Pro for complete protection from underlying issues

Do you mean any new fish I get? Because all my fish are dead.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Do you mean any new fish I get? Because all my fish are dead.

That's what the poster means. Any new fish. But you may want to consider a 72 day fallow period to make sure all is well. That being said, I'm hoping that others will chime in on whether this is recommended. I have yet to study diseases. But yes, QT new fish. I'm actually going to start up a 40G Breeder with a mated pair of clowns and corals. When I launch my 155, that 40 will become my QT. I'll end up using a seller that QTs for me and use the QT to monitor new arrivals x2 weeks before they go into the DT. I ain't taking ANY more chances, cause my 90G DT died off in 48h just like yours 12 years ago. Angered me so much I quit for that length of time.

 

[vetteguy53081]

While parameters look satisfactory, more important would be what they were at time of loss

 

[crazyfishmom]

Water parameters on 6/30/24 were:

CA	440​
MG	1250​
Alk	8.3​
pH	8​
Phos	0.08​
Nitrate	0.1​
Ammonia	0.06​
Temperature	78​
Salinity	1.025​
Salt Change	20 %Pro Reef

Fish: flame angel, clown and baby niger trigger all living harmoniously.

Nitrate being 0.1 is not likely to have affected fish but could affect coral. Just something to keep an eye on.

Parameters look good. Does sound like some sort of fast acting disease but hard to know what it could be since everything happened so quickly after months of stability.

I’m sorry for your losses. It sucks.

 

[dochoot]

What have you added recently? Coral etc?

 

[Formulator]

Death that quick kind of sounds like a toxin to me. Any chance someone spilled a household cleaner, bug spray, etc in there? Where did you get the kalk/what brand? Maybe an impurity if you used an industrial source.

Are you certain they were all acting ill the day before death? In a nano, I wonder if there could be a chain reaction where a single fish dies and spikes ammonia, leading to the others’ demise.

 

[Goaway]

My own opinion.

Clown trigger and niger trigger fish get big
The lack of space to grow out. Probably gave them intense stress. Compromising their immune system. Allowing infection to sweep in and take them out. Flame angel, well..

 

[Outlaw Corals]

Nitrate being 0.1 is not likely to have affected fish but could affect coral. Just something to keep an eye on.

Parameters look good. Does sound like some sort of fast acting disease but hard to know what it could be since everything happened so quickly after months of stability.

I’m sorry for your losses. It sucks.

If anything, his nitrate is kind of low along with magnesium would be around 1400, I like to keep my nitrate from 20 to 40

 

[crazyfishmom]

If anything, his nitrate is kind of low along with magnesium would be around 1400, I like to keep my nitrate from 20 to 40

Exactly. Parameters for fish are just fine.

 

[NanoNana]

My own opinion.

Clown trigger and niger trigger fish get big
The lack of space to grow out. Probably gave them intense stress. Compromising their immune system. Allowing infection to sweep in and take them out. Flame angel, well..

This.

 

[JohnCol]

I had a clown develope marine velvet. Within a week every fish in the tank had it or was dead. It is wicked fast once it developes. I even tried treating. The last fish made it a few more weeks after medication but ultimately lost too. I left that tank set empty of fish for over a year before I added anything els.

 

[slingfox]

As others have stated, a 20 gallon tank for that collection of fish is a terrible idea. Very tough setup for the livestock. I hope you select a more appropriate mix of fish going forward.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Didn't know if I should start a new thread. New to the forum.

All my three fish died within 48 hours. During the first 24 hours they all stopped eating and then developed cloudy eyes and became a little lethargic. Gills, skin and fins all looked normal. The next morning they were all dead. The fish had been in my tank for over 5 months. Since I don't know the cause, how do I move forward? 20 gallon nano tank is 8 months old, all water parameters are spot on ( pH is 7.9), which I check several times a week with Hanna checkers, even with backup saifert kits. As a note, recently started using light concentration of Kalkwasser to bump up my pH. All parameters normal on day of death. Have a clam and about 20 corals, mostly LPS, one Acropora. All doing very well, some even thriving. The only thing added to the tank recently were a few frags. Without knowing the cause, do I let the tank go fishless for a period of time in hopes that the culprit is self-limiting without a fish host? Or do I treat the tank as if it was bacterial or fungal, which would kill my beneficial bacteria, and then start over with recycling my tank? Of course I have a lot invested in my corals. Any input would be appreciated.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Given the speed at which the fish died, I’d say this was Amlyoodinium/velvet. The primary symptom is rapid breathing, then not eating, then death in a few days. The first bit of rapid breathing may go unnoticed, so it seems that the fish died in just a day.

All other diseases take longer to kill fish and the fish won’t all die overnight.

Water quality issues can kill faster, but then, your coral and invertebrates would have symptoms as well.

You’ll need to hold the tank fishless for 60 days. I’d strongly urge you to quarantine new fish to help avoid these disease issues. You can also buy pre quarantined fish from some vendors.

 

[Scott Max]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Given the speed at which the fish died, I’d say this was Amlyoodinium/velvet. The primary symptom is rapid breathing, then not eating, then death in a few days. The first bit of rapid breathing may go unnoticed, so it seems that the fish died in just a day.

All other diseases take longer to kill fish and the fish won’t all die overnight.

Water quality issues can kill faster, but then, your coral and invertebrates would have symptoms as well.

You’ll need to hold the tank fishless for 60 days. I’d strongly urge you to quarantine new fish to help avoid these disease issues. You can also buy pre quarantined fish from some vendors.

Thanks Jay and for everyones input. Velvet does make sense. Regardless, I will keep the tank fishless for 60 days. Also, will look for fish stores that properly quarantine their new fish, going forward.

 

[Scott Max]

And, yes. I need to practice better husbandry, especially given fish selection. Again, thanks for everyone's input. Glad to be a part of this amazing forum!

 

[NanoNana]

Thanks Jay and for everyones input. Velvet does make sense. Regardless, I will keep the tank fishless for 60 days. Also, will look for fish stores that properly quarantine their new fish, going forward.

There are a number of vendors that will ship quarantined fish. And occasionally you can find a local vendor that does it. Many good reviews on this sight for quarantine vendors.
Please don’t overlook the suggestions about appropriately sized fish for your tank. Live Aquaria is a good quick resource for tank size as well as temperament in the quick stats section under every fish they list.

In a 20 you are very limited to what you can keep long term and run the risk of continued disease outbreaks in over sized fish even with quarantined fish. You have 60 days of fallow to research and the forum will answer any questions you have. Best of luck moving forward!