dying fish
- Thread starter DPayne
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Gobies sometimes do that but it should not be a constant.
So you're still considering something other than Osmotic Shock, it's a given, fish can not handle an increase in SG as rapidly. They usually don't die in short order but over days. You can lower SG much faster than you can raise SG. Start there, QT all future fish, treat the ones left if able and leave tank fallow, mystery solved.
So you're still considering something other than Osmotic Shock, it's a given, fish can not handle an increase in SG as rapidly. They usually don't die in short order but over days. You can lower SG much faster than you can raise SG. Start there, QT all future fish, treat the ones left if able and leave tank fallow, mystery solved.
I have had freshwater tanks for years this is my first marine tank not starting of very good.I am going to wait and see what happens one of the gobie's was out swimming around earlier the rest are still hiding behind the background.If they stay living then i will assume osmotic shock,if more die then it may be something else.
Sometimes fish die from osmotic shock, sometimes they survive. All you can do is wait it out and see which happens. If the remaining fish are still alive after a week and are still acting funny, then would be the time to consider disease as a possibility.
Dom
Full Time Reef Keeper
Sounds like you are adding too many inhabitants at one time. You have to give the colony of bacteria time to grow so it can handle the increased bio load. I don't know that this would cause your problem. Just sharing an observation.
omykiss001
Active Member
Just a thought here and really depends on if the fish were mail order or did you buy from a LFS (the out of california made me think mail order)? If they are mail order this could also be ammonia burn. do you add any prime or anything while acclimating? As the pH rises during acclimation the ammonia the fish secrete while in transit can get high, but the lower pH of the bag keeps is in a less toxic state. Once you open to the air the pH will change and the ammonia can become toxic. might also explain the animals going to the top trying to get more O2 due to compromised gill function from ammonia burn.
Just a thought I had not seen thrown out and very dependent on how long the fish were in the bag, if local fish store then I agree probably either osmotic shock or disease like velvet, however that your clowns or other original fish have not succumb to this is a little mysterious. Can you timebox for us how long ago was it the first fish you added that died like this, a few days or weeks. Might help determine if velvet or something else.
Just a thought I had not seen thrown out and very dependent on how long the fish were in the bag, if local fish store then I agree probably either osmotic shock or disease like velvet, however that your clowns or other original fish have not succumb to this is a little mysterious. Can you timebox for us how long ago was it the first fish you added that died like this, a few days or weeks. Might help determine if velvet or something else.
+1 to @omykiss001's assessments. Also, can you post a closeup photo of the goby with the white patches?
i use prime for ammonia this started with the first fish i purchased i still have one clown from then 7 months ago,also the Gobie i mentioned above died i did try the FW dip and put it in QT tank no luck the first round of fish came from lfs 4 clowns 1 blue tang tang died within days slowly the clowns started dying off all but one then purchased fish mail order 1 blue tang yellow Gobie's all died within months jump ahead to a month ago yellow Gobie's, 1 flame angel, 1 striped angel acclimated them over an hour with prime in bag,Angel died within days but was out swimming around and eating the stripped angel is still alive and 2 damsels are doing fine so far the damsels have been in tank for over a month will post pic of the Gobie.
Photo #1 almost looks like missing scales; however in photo #2 I can see the growths protruding outward and that makes me think Lympho is a possibility here:
Lymphocystis:
Symptoms - Lymphocystis appears as a white or beige colored cauliflower-like growth that usually starts on the fins and spines and sometimes spreads to the body. Initially it may be small (looks like ich), and then grows in size (which is how you know it’s not ich). Lympho is a virus that many fish carry for life. Fortunately, it is rarely fatal or even harmful to the fish, and symptoms will come and go.
Treatment options - No known cure or treatment exists. However, feeding vitamin-enriched foods and maintaining pristine water conditions may expedite the “going away” process.
But I can't also rule out the possibility of a bacterial infection: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/
If I were in your shoes, I would start soaking the fish's food in vitamin supplements (exs. Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem) and see if it gets better or worse.
Lymphocystis:
Symptoms - Lymphocystis appears as a white or beige colored cauliflower-like growth that usually starts on the fins and spines and sometimes spreads to the body. Initially it may be small (looks like ich), and then grows in size (which is how you know it’s not ich). Lympho is a virus that many fish carry for life. Fortunately, it is rarely fatal or even harmful to the fish, and symptoms will come and go.
Treatment options - No known cure or treatment exists. However, feeding vitamin-enriched foods and maintaining pristine water conditions may expedite the “going away” process.
But I can't also rule out the possibility of a bacterial infection: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/
If I were in your shoes, I would start soaking the fish's food in vitamin supplements (exs. Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem) and see if it gets better or worse.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
I had a watchman with a white patch that looked like lymph and it went away over the course of a few months.
Lowell Lemon
2500 Club Member
Before we skip to disease have you used any chemicals around the tank since you set it up? Did you coat the stand or tank with Spar Varnish? Your symptoms remind me of a tanks loss due to chemical poisioning. In this case it was a tank that a cabinet maker used Spar Varnish for a canopy added months after the tank was stable and the fish were fine. Within days the fish we up near the surface gasping and dying. I removed the canopy and did massive water changes and saved some of the fish. I warned the tank owner against using Spar Varnish before he allowed the cabinet maker to use it. Costly lesson to the tank owner.
Also check for stray voltage in the tank this can kill fish as well.
Also check for stray voltage in the tank this can kill fish as well.
The stand and canopy was new i will have to check on what he used i did check for stray voltage (none).The biggest thing i can't figure out is why some fish will die but others live,like i said the clown has lived through all of this,snails, crabs,shrimp all do fine.
