All fish died

[Reefnorth]

Hello this is the first time writing on this forum.
I had alot of fish dying day after day. it was a 20 gallon tank. The fish I had: clownfish, domino damsel, purple firefish, fire fish, blue strike wrasse. And green palythoa. I added a royal dottyback and ever since I added that fish day after day a fish died. I'll list in order how who died first. First the clownfish after 3 days from adding the dottyback at night then the other day the dotty back was dead, same day blue strike wrisse, day 3 domino damsel, day 4 purple fire fish, day 5 the fire fish. The cleaner shrimp and snails and palythoa are still alive they look healthy and normal. I tested the water same day I lost the clownfish. All parameters were excellent and 0 ammonia and really low nitrate almost nothing. The fish didn't have any bumps or spots on them when they died they looked absolutely normal but just dead no sign of what killed them. The tank is about 3 months old. I did a 50% water change the 2nd day ( the day I lost the dottyback and bluestrike wrasse. Any idea of what they died from?

 

[Qasimja]

that recently added fish could have had a parasite in the gllls and it killed your other fish not saying thats what happend just saying it could have sometimes those parasites kill quickly without anything obvious

 

[Reefnorth]

that recently added fish could have had a parasite in the gllls and it killed your other fish not saying thats what happend just saying it could have sometimes those parasites kill quickly without anything obvious

Every fish before it died was breathing fast just like they do when they're gassping for oxygen

 

[Qasimja]

Every fish before it died was breathing fast just like they do when they're gassping for oxygen

how well is your aeration in your tank do you have any power heads breaking the surface?

 

[Reefnorth]

how well is your aeration in your tank do you have any power heads breaking the surface?

I have a wavemaker and when I saw them gasping for air i put it even more up so in case their was no oxygen but didn't work so oxygen wasn't the problem

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your losses.

Breathing fast is usually an indicator of parasites within the gills. Velvet often attacks the gills first, unseen, without the usual external white spots, as their numbers increase geometrically, suffocating the fish. It can be a very quick killer.

How to Quarantine

How to Setup a Quarantine Tank The following are the bare essentials: Aquarium (10-30 gallons seems to work for most people. Bigger QT lets you house more fish and gives you more wiggle room when it comes to ammonia. Smaller QT is cheaper, easier to maintain and can be setup/broke down...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

If the fish were breathing hard I would suspect ammonia, lack of oxygen or parasites.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sounds like gill and fluke issue.
There are several other issues that cause rapid breathing :
Stray voltage
High temperature
LOW salinity
High ammonia level

Please test and tell us what these readings/levels are and if not sure, take a water sample to a trusted pet store and have them test for you. Sorry to hear of loss but it is also a learning curve to resolve future issue

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

Check all params such as salinity and pH. Also check the temperature. Although not super likely, stray voltage could be a problem. Most likely, I would say that it was either velvet or flukes in the gills.

 

[Reefnorth]

Check all params such as salinity and pH. Also check the temperature. Although not super likely, stray voltage could be a problem. Most likely, I would say that it was either velvet or flukes in the gills.

No3 1
Po4 0.02
Nh4 0.05
Temperature 76°
Salinty 1.024-1.025
Okay thank you, what do you recommend me to do now? How do I make sure my tank isn't still contaminated? When can I add fish again? I want to be safe because I don't want my fish to die like that.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Any ammonia is toxic to fish. You need to cycle the tank and add new livestock slowly.

 

[esther]

Sorry to hear about your fish. ;Sorry Slow & steady is the name of the game. When did you first cycle your tank?

 

[TheShrimpNibbler]

No3 1
Po4 0.02
Nh4 0.05
Temperature 76°
Salinty 1.024-1.025
Okay thank you, what do you recommend me to do now? How do I make sure my tank isn't still contaminated? When can I add fish again? I want to be safe because I don't want my fish to die like that.

I would wait 8 weeks and quarantine all fish before introducing them to the dt. After an 8 week fallow, all parasites will be dead, but it’s pretty likely that they will be reintroduced if your fish aren’t quarantined. I would recommend that you raise the temp to 78. As others have said, any ammonia at all is dangerous, so you always want that at 0.

 

[brandon429]

This is not a cycling matter or no fish would live two days at the very start. It's disease based. * one dead fish though left overnite rotting can overcome the filtration system though, chain reaction loss is quick.

Only quarantine and fallow redo will save it next time

 

[S.Pepper]

What is your source of water? Are you using a ro/di system?

 

[Reefnorth]

What is your source of water? Are you using a ro/di system?

Yes im using ro/di water

 

[Bluespottedjawfish1]

Could be Brooklynella if a clownfish was involved.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I would also suggest avoiding stuffing 6 fish into a 20 gallon... Fish are territorial and if no one can settle in they get stressed and can easily get sick. A disease killed the fish but overstocking likely didn't help the situation.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Any ammonia is toxic to fish.

Not true at all.
Almost all hobby level test kits for ammonia except seachem badge and seachem multi ammonia are TAN kits (nh3+nh4).

Nh3 is ammonia gas and the toxic one we are interested in.

NH3 is safe from 0.001 to 0.02
Alert from 0.02 to 0.05
Alarm from 0.05 to 0.2
Toxic from 0.2 to 0.5
Deadly 0.5+

So technically fish are safe until NH3 levels are under 0.2ppm.

In a normal tank with pH 8.1-8.4 if a TAN kit measure 1 ppm to 1.25ppm then NH3 levels are 0.2ish.

In that tank if a fish is introduced, it will live and will not be harmed, ofcourse 0.2 is border line and it should not increase.

I run my own qt fish business and bleach tanks inbetween orders and reset using Fritz Turbostart 900. I introduce fish as soon as ammonia drops from 2ppm (starting point) to 0.25ppm on a TAN kit with no casualties.

Nitrites are another myth. If you cycle with 2 ppm ammonia you will end up with 4.5 to 5.5ppm Nitrites. They are not harmful to saltwater fish unless above few hundred ppm.

One thing most hobbyists dont check for fish is Nitrates. There is such a thing called Nitrate shock. It happens when fish goes from very low nitrate levels to suddenly high nitrates. It will shock and kill the fish.
Try to introduce fish within 10-20ppm nitrates from source to destination

 

[Katrina71]

I'm so sorry for your losses